Other "Palestinians" are of little interest...

From Gatestone Institute, 31 August 2016, by Khaled Abu Toameh:

• Nearly 3,500 Palestinians have been killed in Syria since 2011. But because these Palestinians were killed by Arabs, and not Israelis, this fact is not news in the mainstream media or of interest to "human rights" forums.
• How many Western journalists have cared to inquire about the thirsty Palestinians of Yarmouk refugee camp, in Syria? Does anyone know that this camp has been without water supply for more than 720 days, and without electricity for the past three years? In June 2002, 112,000 Palestinians lived in Yarmouk. By the end of 2014, the population was down to less than 20,000.
• Nor is the alarm bell struck concerning the more than 12,000 Palestinians languishing in Syrian prisons, including 765 children and 543 women. According to Palestinian sources, some 503 Palestinian prisoners have died under torture in recent years, and some female prisoners have been raped by interrogators and guards.
• When Western journalists lavish time on Palestinians delayed at Israeli checkpoints, and ignore bombs dropped by the Syrian military on residential areas, one might start to wonder they are really about.

It seems as though the international community has forgotten that Palestinians can be found far beyond the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. These "other" Palestinians live in Arab countries such as Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, and their many serious grievances are evidently of no interest to the international community. It is only Palestinians residing in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that garner international attention. Why? Because it is precisely these individuals that the international community wield as a weapon against Israel.

Nearly 3,500 Palestinians have been killed in Syria since the beginning of the civil war in 2011. But because these Palestinians were killed by Arabs, and not Israelis, this fact is not news in the mainstream media. This figure was revealed last week by the London-based Action Group For Palestinians of Syria (AGPS), founded in 2012 with the goal of documenting the suffering of the Palestinians in that country and preparing lists of victims, prisoners and missing people in order to submit them to the databases of human rights forums.

Yet the "human rights" forums pay scant attention to such findings. They are indeed too busy to take much notice, wholly preoccupied as they are with Israel.

By focusing their attention only on the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, these "human rights" forums continuously seek to find ways to hold Israel responsible for wrongdoing, while ignoring the crimes perpetrated by Arabs against their Palestinian brothers. This obsession with Israel, which sometimes reaches ridiculous heights, does a great disservice to the Palestinian victims of Arab crimes.

If you take some numbers, according to AGPS, 85 Palestinians were killed in Syria in the first year of the civil war in 2011. The following year, the number rose to 776. The year 2013 saw the highest number of Palestinian victims: 1,015. In 2014, the number of Palestinians who were killed in Syria was 724. The following year, 502 Palestinians were killed. And since the beginning of this year (until July), some 200 Palestinians were killed in Syria.

How were these Palestinians killed? The group says that they were killed as a result of direct shelling, armed clashes, torture in prison, bombings, and as a result of the besieging of their refugee camps in Syria.

Yet the plight of its people in Syria does not seem to top the list for the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah. Pride of place on that list goes to assigning blame to Israel for everything the PA itself has caused. For PA President Mahmoud Abbas and his senior officials in the West Bank, the Palestinians in Syria simply do not rate. In fact, in a step that boggles the mind, the PA leadership is currently seeking to improve its relations with the Assad regime in Syria -- the very regime that is killing, imprisoning and torturing scores of Palestinians on a daily basis.

In a move that has enraged many Palestinians in Syria, the Palestinian Authority recently celebrated the inauguration of a new Palestinian embassy in Damascus. "They [the PA leadership] have sold the Palestinians in Syria and reconciled with the Syrian regime," remarked a Palestinian from Syria.
Another Palestinian commented: "Now we know why several PLO delegations have been visiting Syria recently; they sought to renew their ties with the regime and not ensure the safety of our refugee camps or seek the release of Palestinians held in [Syrian] prisons."

Others accused the Palestinian Authority leadership of "sacrificing the blood of Palestinians." They pointed out that the Syrian regime, by permitting the opening of the new embassy, was rewarding the PA for turning its back on the plight of the Palestinians of Syria. The Palestinians complained that PA diplomats and representatives in Damascus, to whom they appealed in the past for help, have ignored their calls.

International media outlets regularly report on the "water crisis" in Palestinian towns and villages, especially in the West Bank. This is a story that repeats itself almost every summer, when some foreign journalists set out to search for any story that reflects negatively on Israel. And there is nothing more comfortable than holding Israel responsible for the "water crisis" in the West Bank.
But how many Western journalists have cared to inquire about the thirsty Palestinians of Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria? Does anyone in the international community know that this camp has been without water supply for more than 720 days? Or that the camp has been without electricity for the past three years?

Yarmouk, which is located only eight kilometers from the center of Damascus, is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Syria. That is, it was the largest camp. In June 2002, 112,000 Palestinians lived in Yarmouk. By the end of 2014, the camp population had been decimated to less than 20,000. Medical sources say many of the residents of the camp are suffering from a host of diseases.

Palestinians flee Yarmouk refugee camp, near Damascus, after fierce fighting in September 2015. (Image source: RT video screenshot)

These figures are alarming, but not to the Palestinian Authority leadership or mainstream media and "human rights" organizations in the West. Nor is the alarm bell struck concerning the more than 12,000 Palestinians languishing in Syrian prisons, without the right to see a lawyer or family members. These include 765 children and 543 women. According to Palestinian sources, some 503 Palestinian prisoners have died under torture in recent years.

Sources say that some of the Palestinian female prisoners have been raped by their interrogators and guards. Huda, a 19-year-old girl from Yarmouk, said she became pregnant after being repeatedly gang-raped while she was held in Syrian prison for 15 days. "Sometimes, they used to rape me more than 10 times a day," Huda recounted, adding that as a result she suffered severe bleeding and lost consciousness. She also told an hour-long story of how she was held in a cell for three weeks with the bodies of other prisoners who had been tortured to death.

Such stories rarely make it to the pages of major newspapers in the West. Nor are these stories discussed at conferences held by various international human rights organizations, or even the United Nations. The only Palestinian prisoners the world talks about are those incarcerated by Israel. The Palestinian Authority leadership never misses an opportunity to call for the release of Palestinians held by Israel, most of whom are suspected of or have been found guilty of terrorism. But when it comes to the thousands who are being tortured in Syria, the PA leaders in Ramallah are deadly silent. For the sake of accuracy, it is worth mentioning that the Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas have sometimes contacted the Syrian authorities regarding prisoners -- but it turns out that the two groups were just seeking the release of some of their members.

Reports from Syria say that three Palestinian refugee camps remain under strict siege by the Syrian army and its puppet Palestinian groups. Yarmouk, for instance, has been under siege for more than 970 days, while the Al-Sabinah refugee camp has been under siege for more than 820 days. The Handarat camp has been facing the same fate for over 1000 days. Most of the residents of these camps have been forced to flee their homes. In Yarmouk, 186 Palestinians have died of starvation or lack of medical attention. More than 70% of the Daraa camp has been completely destroyed due to recurring shelling by the Syrian army and other militias.

The Palestinians of Syria would have been more fortunate had they been living in the West Bank or Gaza Strip. Then the international community and media would certainly have noticed them. Yet when Western journalists lavish time on Palestinians delayed at Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank, and ignore barrels of explosives dropped by the Syrian military on residential areas in refugee camps in Syria, one might start to wonder what they are really about.

Should you support the New Israel Fund?

The New Israel Fund (NIF) claims to “protect human rights, champion social justice, and defend democracy... [and to] invest in hundreds of Israeli organizations whose work changes the equation on civil rights, on religious freedom, and on social justice” Sounds great, right?

What about Jewish identity, and the Jewish people’s right to self-determination? How does the NIF stand on those issues?

Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor reports that the NIF has for many years funded NGOs active in campaigns that portray Israel as a racist, apartheid state (demonization); undermine Israel’s right to exist (de-legitimization); accuse Israel of war crimes (lawfare); and promote boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS), aimed at destroying Israel as a Jewish nation. NGO Monitor provides a list of about 25 NGOs that are active in these harmful campaigns, and hundreds of examples of their activities. These NGOs receive millions of dollars (about 20%) of NIF’s funds, and have done so for years.

Those NGOs are also funded by European governments and they collaborate with interests outside Israel in these demonization, de-legitimization, lawfare and BDS campaigns. The Observer recently reported that the NIF received funds from a George-Soros-funded NGO to promote Palestinian-Authority lawfare and BDS. Tower magazine also reports that NIF-funded NGOs “…cooperate with international partners hostile to Israel... [focussing] primarily on international audiences …in France, Norway, Netherlands, the UK, and the U.S.”

We all have the right to express an opinion about Israeli policies. But only citizens of Israel have the democratic right, at the ballot box, to determine those policies, which will affect their well-being and their safety against daily mortal threats. NIF’s claim of defending democracy rings hollow while it funds NGOs attempting to undemocratically impose the will of foreign interests from outside the nation.

     

NIF also promotes the notion that Israel’s Jewishness is at odds with its democratic character. Some NIF-funded NGOs advocate for dismantling Israel’s Jewishness, including replacing the flag and the national anthem, and promote the Palestinian “right of return,” which will demographically eliminate Jewish self-determination. One has drafted a constitution that would replace Israel’s Jewishness with a “democratic, bilingual, and multicultural” framework, and has also inserted allegations of Israeli discrimination into the US Black Lives Matter manifesto. Eminent Australian Jewish community leader, Isi Leibler, commented on revelations that an NIF associate director said that “in 100 years, Israel would be majority Arab and that the disappearance of the Jewish state would not be the tragedy that Israelis fear since it would become more democratic...” He suggested that she was in fact, rationalizing NIF funding of groups supporting the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state.

Isi Leibler, also said

It is a somber reflection on the naivety of well-intended Jewish philanthropists that they continue donating [to the NIF] despite repeated documented exposures demonstrating that this body is sponsoring anti-Zionist, pro-Palestinian and post- Zionist organizations, committed to undermining the Jewish state. Many of the donors are liberal Jews genuinely committed to Israel who blindly accept at face value statements from NIF officials who obfuscate the truth.

The NIF is entitled to sponsor enemies of Israel and the Jewish people. But they should do so transparently so that naive charitable donors are not duped into believing that their contributions are being utilized to transform Israel into a better society.

The typical response of NIF officials to any criticism, and to the abundant evidence of its anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish activities, is to attack the critics and their sources. For example, the NIF has run paid advertisements claiming that “NGO Monitor is a mouthpiece for the extreme right.” In Australia their leaders have publicly accused critical individuals of "conspiracy theories and vilification" and "try[ing] to suck the oxygen out of Jewish life". I’ve been the target of such personal attacks on several occasions, including one instance in which an NIF Australia leader threatened legal action in an attempt to silence me.

NIF leaders have even maligned an entire Jewish community with accusations of "power structures that silence [young people]", "toxic McCarthyism within the Jewish community" and "protecting a narrow view of what it means to be pro-Israel" in an apparent attempt to engineer a mutiny of its misguided supporters against anyone who criticizes the NIF.

Typically, NIF officials have portrayed a recent controversy over an NIF-sponsored event in Western Australia as a communal dispute between “right-wing” and “left-wing”, between “conservative seniors” and disaffected “progressive” youth, or for/against “settlements”. This is not just untrue. It’s destructive to attempt to divide our Jewish community, which includes and welcomes a broad diversity political views, provided they promote Zionism and Judaism.

The NIF has also accused West Australian Jewish community newspaper, The Maccabean, of “censorship”, because it declined to accept an NIF advertisement. The Maccabean is an independent organization created for the benefit of the Jewish community and can choose with whom it will do business. I wouldn’t expect it to take advertisements from organizations opposed to kashrut or brit milah, nor from those that support BDS or any anti-Jewish or anti-Zionist campaigns. NIF is an organization that supports both anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish campaigns, so it’s not surprising that The Maccabean has declined its advertisement.

So, if you want to protect Jewish identity, and the Jewish people’s right to self-determination, should you support the NIF?

The answer is a clear: NO. If you care about Zionism and the continuity of Judaism, there are many, much-more constructive ways to promote those values.

  

Further reading:

NGO Monitor - New Israel Fund
Analysis of NIF 2015 Funding for 25 Political Advocacy NGOs
Analysis of New Israel Fund (NIF) Funding for Divisive Campaigns
NIF shares Soros’ anti-Zionist agenda, which they hide from their fellow Jews
NIF is Not a Pro-Israel Organization
New Israel Fund (NIF) Has Crossed the Line
NIF Funds Groups Attempting to Erase Israel’s Jewish Framework
NIF Funds Groups Campaigning to Equate Israel with Apartheid
NIF Funds Groups Aiding Goldstone and UN Demonization
NIF Funds Groups Promoting Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions
NIF Funds Groups Helping to Prosecute Israeli Officials Abroad
New Israel Fund Supports Groups that Hurt the Jewish State
NIF "Ethnic Cleansing" Rhetoric in Europe
New Israel Fund's Campaign of Subversion
The New Israel Fund, Dipping Its Toe Into the BDS Swamp
Jewish Groups Outraged at NIF BDS and Delegitimization
NIF’s War on Victims of Terror
Birthright Cuts Ties with NIF
The immense funding campaign behind the anti-Israel NIF
New Israel Fund Can’t Handle Debate
The two faces of the New Israel Fund
Stand Against the New Israel Fund
NIF Opposes Transparency Law
NIF Harms Israel in the UN
Adalah's Misleading Charges of Racism
Questions on Adalah, BDS and Movement for Black Lives Platform
Baladna Arab Youth Association
European-Funded and NIF-Funded NGOs That Promote the Nakba Narrative
Zochrot "Right of Return Event"- EU and NIF Funded Participants
NIF-Funded B'Tselem
B'Tselem - False Gaza War Allegations
NIF-Funded Bimkom
NIF-Funded Breaking the Silence (Shovrim Shtika)
Answers to Questions about Breaking the Silence and the NIF
NIF-Funded Combatants for Peace
NIF-Funded Emek Shave
NIF-Funded Gisha
Gisha's Tunnel Statements in Support of Hamas
HaMoked and B´Tselem´s Torture Allegations
Hamoked Funding
Human Rights Defenders Fund (HRDF)
NIF -Funded Israeli Social TV
NIF-Funded Ir Amim
NIF-Funded Machsom Watch: Political Agenda
Machsom Watch Reports Distorted by Political Bias
NIF-Funded Molad
NIF Funding for Molad: Violation of Guidelines
NIF-Funded Mossawa undermines existence of Israel
NIF -Funded Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality (NCF)
NIF-Funded Nine-Seven-Two (+972) Magazine
NIF-Funded Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI)
NIF-Funded Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-I)
Physicians for Human Rights-Israel Gaza Mission
NIF-Funded Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR)
NIF-Funded Parents Circle Families Forum (PCFF)
Behind the facade at Parents Circle
NIF-Funded Sadaka-Reut
NIF-Funded Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement
Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement calls for “liquidation” of the Jewish Agency and the Jewish National Fund
Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement Demonization
NIF-Funded Terrestrial Jerusalem
NIF-Funded Yesh Din
Yesh Din's Israel-bashing at the UN Security Council
Yesh Din's Lawfare Report
Stop the NIF

 

King of Morocco: ... Virgins in Paradise?

In an address directed toward Moroccans living abroad, Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco, said that they should "always be among the first to defend peace, harmony, and coexistence in their countries of residence."

Calling the killing of a priest in his church "unforgivable," Mohammed VI said that the Jihadists are "led by ignorance" and are "destined to dwell in Hell for all eternity."

"Can anyone of sound mind believe that the reward for Jihad could be some virgins in Paradise?" he asked in the address, which was broadcast by Morocco's Channel 1 on August 20.

[Transcript translated to English] King Mohammed VI:

"My dear countrymen, the whole world is talking about the problem of immigration, and about the human tragedies suffered by the immigrants. This situation is exacerbated by the spread of terror and extremism, and the attempts to link it - rightly or not - to the immigrants, especially in Europe. In this context, I call upon the Moroccans living abroad to adhere to the values of their religion and to their age-old customs, in confronting this phenomenon, which is alien to them. I also encourage them to protect the good reputation for which they are known, to persevere in these difficult circumstances, and to unite in their ranks. I call upon them to be always among the first to defend peace, harmony, and coexistence in their countries of residence.

"We understand the difficult situation in which they live. They are suffering from the distortion of the image of Islam, as well as from the terrorist attacks, which have harvested the lives of so many of them. They suffer from reprisals, and from accusations leveled against them by some, because of their faith. Naturally, we strongly condemn the killing of innocent people. We believe that the killing of a monk is prohibited by the shari'a, and that killing him in a church is an unforgivable act of stupidity, because he is a human being and a cleric, even if he is not a Muslim. Islam has instructed us to be good to the People of the Book. Allah said: 'We make no distinction between any of His messengers.' Allah said: '...one who believes in Allah, Judgement Day, the angels, the Quran, and the prophets.'

"The terrorists who operate in the name of Islam are not Muslims. They have nothing to do with Islam, and jump on the bandwagon in order to justify their crimes and stupid acts. They are people who have been led astray, and they are destined to dwell in Hell for all eternity. Led by their ignorance, they believe that what they do constitutes Jihad. When was Jihad ever about the killing of innocent people? Allah said: '...do not transgress. Allah does not love the transgressors.' Is it conceivable that Allah, the Forgiver, the Compassionate, would order a person to blow himself up or to kill innocent people?! It should be noted that Islam prohibits suicide of any kind, regardless of the reasons. Allah said: '...whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption upon the land - it is as if he had killed all of Mankind.'

"Islam is a religion of peace. Allah said: 'Oh you who believe, enter Islam one and all.' Jihad in Islam is subject to specific conditions, including the condition that it must not be waged unless for the purpose of defense, and may never be waged for the purpose of killing or aggression. It is prohibited to kill people under the pretext of waging Jihad. Another condition of Jihad is that it must be declared by the Emir of the Believers - not by any individual or group. People who call for killing and aggression, who unjustly accuse people of heresy, and who interpret the Quran and the Sunna in a manner befitting their goals are attributing lies to Allah and His Messenger. This is the true heresy.

[...]

"They are exploiting some Muslim youth, especially in Europe. They are exploiting their ignorance of the Arabic language and of true Islam, in order to convey their erroneous messages and misleading promises. Can anyone of sound mind believe that the reward for Jihad could be some virgins in Paradise? Is it conceivable that anyone who listens to music will be swallowed by the Earth? And there are similar lies. The terrorists and extremists are using all possible means to persuade the youth to join them, and to strike at societies that bask in the values of liberty, openness, and tolerance.

[...]

"We are all being targeted. Anyone who believes in what I have said serves as a target for terrorism. Terrorism struck in Morocco in the past, and then it hits in Europe and many regions in the world. Given the spread of ignorance in the name of religion, everybody - Muslims, Christians, and Jews - must stand together in the fight against all types of extremism, against hatred, and against close-mindedness. The history of humanity is the best proof that it is impossible to achieve progress in any society suffering from extremism and hatred, because these are the main causes for the loss of security and stability. Human history abounds with successful examples, showing that cooperation and coexistence between religions give rise to open and modern societies, ruled by love, harmony, comfort, and prosperity. This was embodied in the Islamic culture, especially in Baghdad and Andalusia, which was one of the most progressive and open human societies."

Can the PA run a state and make peace?

From JCPA, by Pinhas Inbari:

[introduction only - follow the link to access the entire essay]

The Fragmented West Bank: The Whole Is Less than the Sum of Its Parts

The Palestinian Authority is failing to control extensive parts of the West Bank. As a result, some districts of the West Bank are developing in different directions, thereby accelerating the process of the PA’s disintegration.

In Hebron, for instance, the large clans of Mount Hebron have linked up with each other, reestablished the Tribal Council of Mount Hebron, and sent a delegation to Amman to express loyalty to the king of Jordan under the Jordanian flag.

Heads of Hebron University and University of Jordan sign agreement in Amman

In Ramallah, the PA’s de facto seat of government, Europe seeks to organize a phalanx of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as a political force. This effort is opposed by the PA, which wants the NGOs to be under its own rule. It was because of this pressure that former PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad resigned from the leadership of the key NGO Palestine of the Future.

Nablus, for its part, has gone into a tailspin of total anarchy. It is under the rule of gangs, with exchanges of gunfire in the heart of the city and attempts at political assassinations.

A gas delivery truck near Ramallah with “don’t shoot” sign. 

How far have things deteriorated? (Pinhas Inbari)

Ramallah’s loss of control over the West Bank districts raises questions about its ability to run a state and play its part in ensuring not only Israel’s and Jordan’s security, as required by various agreements and the rules of conduct between neighboring states, but even its own security.

The tearing of the Palestinian political and social fabric will only increase as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas nears the end of his tenure.

The fragmented Palestinian West Bank will be a weaker entity than the weak states that collapsed in the Arab Spring. When the Palestinian entity collapses, the vacuum will be filled by the negative forces that have become the nightmare of the world.

Abbas is losing it

From The Gatestone Institute, 25 August 2016, by Khaled Abu Toameh:

• The Palestinian Authority is now paying the price for harboring, funding and inciting gang members and militiamen who until recently were hailed by many Palestinians as "heroes" and "resistance fighters."
• Hamas's dream of extending its control to the West Bank now seems more realistic than ever -- unless Mahmoud Abbas wakes up and realizes that he made a big mistake by authorizing local and municipal elections.
• The blood pouring out in Nablus and other Palestinian towns is proof that Abbas is on his way to losing control over the West Bank, just as he lost Gaza to Hamas in 2007. In an emergency meeting held on August 25 in Nablus, several Palestinian factions and figures reached agreement that it would be impossible to hold the vote under the current circumstances.

Hours after his security officers lynched a detainee, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas urged Palestinian businessmen living abroad to support the Palestinian economy by investing in the Palestinian territories. The Palestinian Authority (PA), he asserted, was "working to provide security and safety to encourage investment."

 

...It must be nice to create your own reality...Abbas neglected any reference to the latest wave of "security chaos" in PA-controlled areas in the West Bank, specifically Nablus, the largest Palestinian city.

 

Five Palestinians, including two PA police officers, were killed in the worst scenes of internecine violence to hit the West Bank in recent years. Abbas was either playing the businessmen for fools or hoping that they share his deaf and blind state.

 

The violence in Nablus did not come as a surprise to those who have been monitoring the situation in the West Bank in recent months. In fact, scenes of lawlessness and "security chaos" have become part of the norm in many Palestinian cities, villages and refugee camps -- a sign that the PA may be losing control to armed gangs and militias.

 

Palestinians refer to the situation as falatan amni, or "security chaos." An article published in Gatestone in June referred to the growing instances of anarchy and lawlessness in PA-controlled areas in the West Bank, first and foremost Nablus.

 

Palestinians refer to Nablus as the "Mountain of Fire" -- a reference to the countless armed attacks carried out against Israelis by residents of the city since 1967. Current events in Nablus, however, have shown how easily fire burns the arsonist. The Palestinian Authority is now paying the price for harboring, funding and inciting gang members and militiamen who until recently were hailed by many Palestinians as "heroes" and "resistance fighters." Unsurprisingly, most of these "outlaws" and "criminals" (as the PA describes them) are affiliated in one way or another with Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction.

 

Nablus, the so-called Mountain of Fire, is now threatening to turn into a volcano that is set to erupt in the face of Abbas and his PA government.

 

The situation in Nablus the past few days raises serious questions about the ability of the PA to perform basic security measures and rein in armed gangs and militiamen. Moreover, the unprecedented violence has further shattered Palestinian confidence in the PA and its leaders ahead of the local and municipal elections, scheduled to take place on October 8.

 

Hamas's dream of extending its control to the West Bank now seems more realistic than ever.

 

Under the current circumstances, Abbas would be offering the West Bank to Hamas on a silver platter -- unless he wakes up and realizes that he made a big mistake by authorizing the local and municipal elections...

 

Things lately began to unravel when on August 18, in the Old City of Nablus, two Palestinian Authority security officers, Shibli bani Shamsiyeh and Mahmoud Taraira, were killed in an armed clash with gunmen.

 

Hours later, PA policemen shot dead two Palestinian gunmen who were allegedly involved in the killing of the officers. The two were identified as Khaled Al-Aghbar and Ali Halawah. The families of the two men accused the PA of carrying out an "extrajudicial" killing, and claimed their sons were captured alive and only afterwards shot dead. The families called for an independent commission of inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the killing of their sons. Palestinian human rights organizations have also joined the call for an inquiry into the killings.

 

On August 18, two Palestinian Authority policemen were killed in an armed clash with gunmen in Nablus (left). In April of this year, a fierce gun battle erupted between Palestinian Authority policemen and members of the Jaradat clan in the refugee camp of Jenin (right). The clash started during an attempt to arrest a clan member.

In June, two other PA security officers, Anan Al-Tabouk and Uday Al-Saifi, were also killed in a shootout with gunmen in Nablus. The PA claimed that "outlaws" were behind the killings and vowed to punish the culprits.

 

Tensions in Nablus reached their peak on August 23, when scores of PA policemen lynched Ahmed Halawah, a former policeman suspected of leading a notorious gang belonging to Abbas's Fatah faction. Halawah was beaten to death by PA policemen shortly after he was arrested and taken to the PA-run Jneid Prison in Nablus.

 

The PA leadership, which has since admitted that Halawah was lynched by its policemen, says it has ordered an inquiry into the case. Its leaders have described the lynching as an "unacceptable mistake."

 

The lynching of the detainee sparked widespread protests throughout the West Bank, with many Palestinians calling for an immediate inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the case and demanding that those responsible be brought to trial.

 

The Palestinian Bar Association issued a statement strongly condemning the lynching of Halawah as a "crime and a human rights violation." The Association called for holding those responsible, adding, "The regrettable and painful events, including the crime of killing Ahmed Halawah, do not serve the interest of the citizen or homeland and deepens divisions in our society." It also called on the PA and its security forces to abide by the law and honor the human rights of the Palestinians and their public freedoms.

 

Alarmed by the widespread condemnations of the lynching of Halawah, some Palestinian Authority officials began issuing direct and veiled threats against Palestinian critics.

 

Palestinian lawyer Wael Al-Hazam, who called on Abbas to "withdraw" his security forces from Nablus, was visited by unidentified gunmen who sprayed his house with 14 bullets. The attorney and his family members were not hurt in the shooting attack, which was clearly designed to send a warning message to anyone who dared to raise his or her voice against human rights abuses by the PA security forces. And in this instance, the message arrived.

Shortly after the attack on his house, the lawyer issued a statement in which he said, "14 bullets are enough to silence me. I'm a man of the law and I cannot face bullets. My pen and voice are the only weapon I have. I do not possess armed militias to defend myself." The attack on his house came shortly after PA security officers threatened the lawyer, warning him against appearing on a TV show to discuss the latest wave of violence in his city.

 

The turmoil in Nablus has prompted many Palestinians to call on Abbas to make a decision to postpone the upcoming municipal election in their city. In an emergency meeting held on August 25 in Nablus, several Palestinian factions and figures reached agreement that it would be impossible to hold the vote under the current circumstances.

 

Sarhan Dweikat, a senior member of Abbas's Fatah, said that an election delay was needed, to

"protect the social fabric and preserve our national project, which is facing an existential threat in light of the security chaos and anarchy in Nablus. ... Conditions in Nablus do not provide a positive climate for holding elections."

It is hard to see how Abbas, delusional as he appears to be, would heed the calls to postpone the local and municipal elections. His pathetic attempt to persuade Palestinian businessmen to invest their money in PA-controlled areas at a time when the flames are engulfing his backyard is yet another sign of the man's refusal -- or inability -- to see the reality on the ground.

 

This is the same president who claims that he is seeking to lead his people toward statehood and a better future. Incredibly, Abbas can probably continue to fool world leaders into believing that he and the Palestinian Authority are prepared for statehood. Yet the blood pouring out in Nablus and other Palestinian cities and villages is proof positive that Abbas is on his way to losing control over the West Bank, just as he lost the Gaza Strip to Hamas in 2007. If until now it seemed that Hamas posed the biggest threat to Abbas's rule over the West Bank, it is now obvious that that is not so. The real threat, as brought home in blood in the West Bank, is coming from Abbas's homegrown loyalists-turned-rebels

 

Expose the criminal Palestinian Authority and the culture of death!

From Isi Leibler, 24 August 2016:

...Ever since the Oslo Accords, successive Israeli governments have felt obliged to understate and even dismiss Palestinian terror and hatred in order to maintain domestic public support for policies that, alas with the benefit of hindsight, were doomed to fail. At the very early stages, Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat told his people that the ultimate goal was the end of Jewish sovereignty – and we dismissed such outbursts as empty words merely designed to placate his radical domestic opponents.

 

But as the government falsely praised our peace partner, many Israelis deluded themselves into believing that the terrorism we faced was an extremist aberration and that the Palestinians were committed to ending the conflict on the basis of a two-state solution. Likewise, most of the world accepted at face value our repeated praise of Arafat and his successor, Mahmoud Abbas, as moderates and genuine peace partners.

 

This suited the long-term Palestinian policy of destroying us in stages. They readily accepted concessions and withdrawals but without compromising one iota, and they continue to demonize us and challenge our legitimacy.

 

But the worst aspect was our failure to highlight the poisonous brainwashing the Palestinian Authority had inflicted on its population. While Arab hostility to Jews prevailed even during the Mandatory period, it was not comparable to the culture of death and evil that today saturates every aspect of Palestinian life.

 

The Palestinians have stated explicitly that their state would be Judenrein and that Jews would never be permitted to live in their ancestral home even if they were willing to accept Palestinian jurisdiction. Indeed, Palestinians were brutally executed when they were deemed to have sold land to a Jew.

 

The Palestinian Authority has become a criminal society and can be compared to prewar Germany when the Nazis transformed their population into genocidal barbarians by depicting Jews as subhuman. The Palestinians depict Jews as “the offspring of apes and pigs” and call for their extermination. This is not even done subtly but with blatant statements to this effect emanating daily from religious and political leaders and accessible from vast documentary sources compiled by Palestinian Media Watch, MEMRI and others.

 

A society in which children from kindergarten are brainwashed into believing that the highest goal in Islam is to achieve martyrdom in the course of killing Jews can only be described as criminal.

 

The demonization of Israel and manifestations of the culture of death are promoted without inhibition by the leadership, the mullahs in the mosques and the state-controlled media. They amount to direct incitement for individuals to strike out and kill Jews in concert or randomly. The “heroic” scenes of youngsters stabbing Jews, the praise by Abbas himself of martyrs “with holy blood” and the totally contrived religious frenzy accusing Israelis of planning to destroy Al-Aqsa mosque, coalesce into a witch’s brew of primeval rage and hatred.

 

The PA provides generous state salaries to terrorists apprehended by Israelis, and if they are killed, their families are remunerated — from funds provided by Western countries. Religious and political leadership at all levels sanctifies terrorists as heroes and national martyrs. City squares, schools and even football clubs are named in their honor.

 

The barbarism imbibed by the Palestinians is reflected in the street celebrations that erupt spontaneously with every murder of an Israeli. Even more nauseating are the repeated displays on TV of mothers expressing pride that one of their children had become a martyr and usually expressing hope that her other children would follow the example.

 

Under these circumstances, it is no wonder that Palestinian opinion polls reflect public support for terror attacks against Israel and opposition to a two-state solution. The Arafat/Abbas indoctrination process has radicalized successive generations into believing that the only solution to the conflict is the permanent termination of Jewish sovereignty in the area.

 

There is irrefutable evidence of the barbaric and genocidal nature of Palestinian society. Indeed, the reality is that, despite maintaining a “moderate” stance to the outside world, internally the Palestinians and ISIS are birds of a feather — although the Palestinians are probably more corrupt.

 

Alongside the turbulence in the region and the threat from Iran and ISIS, could one envisage any country agreeing to accept statehood for what will inevitably be a neighboring criminal state pledged to its destruction or a candidate for an ISIS or Iranian takeover? This would be utterly inconceivable.
 

Yet most of the international community, including the United States, regards this as an issue of two nations arguing over real estate. Were that the case, the Palestinians would not have dismissed the offers by Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert, who were willing to concede up to 97% of the territories formerly controlled by the Jordanians.

 

Israel has been the target of repeated defamation and delegitimization yet has basically only been on the defensive, seeking to refute the lies being disseminated. But as Joseph Goebbels said, if one repeats a lie continuously, people begin believing it. This dictum has now been realized; many in the Western world have absorbed the distorted Palestinian narrative of Israel being an apartheid state, an occupier and a nation born in sin.

 

Ironically, the weakness of our position lies in the fact that, until recently, in order to appease our allies and “protect” Israelis from being confronted with the stark reality, we deliberately held back from telling the truth and failed to highlight the barbaric and criminal nature of our purported peace partner.

 

Had we mounted campaigns at the outset, exposing the horrors perpetrated by our neighbors, it may not have influenced anti-Semites and the delusional Left but it would have made a significant impact on the open-minded.

 

But even now, belatedly exposing the barbarity of our neighbors should be made the top priority in our foreign relations efforts rather than the endless disputes over whether the miniscule 2% of territory comprising settlements (which are not being expanded) is justified.

 

The recent initiative by Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman to establish relations with independent Palestinians, aside from not having cabinet approval, is bound to fail because any Palestinian engaged in such negotiations would immediately be assassinated.

 

Pressure must be exerted to encourage rank-and-file Palestinians that their best interests will be served when they appoint leaders who genuinely support the peace process. Alas, for the time being, that is not even on the horizon.

 

Today, we must move forward and promote a focused effort with detailed documented exposure of the evil nature of Palestinian society, which will make it far more difficult and embarrassing for the Americans and Europeans to continue pressuring Israel to accept the creation of what will invariably be a criminal state — particularly in the context of the mayhem prevailing in the region and the terrorist threats now impacting the heartland of Europe.

J Street and NIF share Soros’ anti-Zionist agenda, which they hide from their fellow Jews

From Observer, 17 August 2016, by Abraham H. Miller: 

George Soros. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The recent hack of George Soros’ “charitable” giving revealed nothing new. The man who told journalist Steve Kroft in a televised interview that roaming the streets of Budapest with his faux godfather to confiscate the property of his fellow Jews for the Nazis was the most exhilarating time of his life has long had a problem with both his Jewish roots and the creation of a Jewish state.
Most revealing in the interview was Soros’ comment that he felt no guilt about what he had done during the war years—not even survivor’s guilt, common among those who live through a catastrophe, troubled him.

So, the emergence of documentation showing how Soros funds those whose goal is to destroy the Jewish character of Israel—if not the Jewish state itself—is in keeping with the very essence of a man who as a child so identified with the aggressor that he relished the experience of working for the Nazis.

Ironically, when those who want to vilify Jews need a role model that conforms to their framing of a fictional and vile Jewish character, Soros figures prominently. Yet, Soros’ pattern of funding and political backing generally resembles that of the neo-Nazis and Islamists who so conveniently find something in Soros’ Jewishness to decry.

In reality Soros, with his progressive, anti-Zionist agenda, is actually one of them. He is as much a practicing Jew as the Iranian ayatollahs; and when it comes to foreign policy, finding daylight between him and them would require a microscope.

It is not surprising that Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine is hobnobbing with Alexander Soros, George’s son and intellectual heir apparent. Alexander Soros is a big fan of Tim Kaine.

And so he should be. Kaine is a prominent supporter of President Obama’s ill-conceived and daily-changing Iran deal with its secret memoranda that is not only an existential threat to Israel’s existence but is also changing the balance of power in the entire Middle East. This is all the more problematic as Turkey sinks into internal chaos as a result of the unsuccessful coup, which enhances Iran’s potential as a serious rival.

This is the very essence of Soros’ policies, which have shown greater opposition to a Jew building a bathroom in Jerusalem than the ayatollahs building a nuclear weapon in Iran.

Soros has repeatedly tried to hide his support for the anti-Zionist Jewish progressive. Consequently, J Street for years denied Soros’ support, which was hidden through a Hong Kong-based cutout.
Both Soros’ foundation and the New Israel Fund, another Soros beneficiary, fund Adalah, a group that trains Israeli-Arabs and Jewish progressives to wage lawfare against the Jewish state and is a strong advocate of BDS.

In my own experience sitting on a panel with a representative of the New Israel Fund at a synagogue in Oakland, California, the NIF panelist vehemently and with outrage denied the very suggestion that his organization funds Adalah. Yet, it does.

Clearly, organizations like J Street and NIF share Soros’ anti-Zionist agenda. Otherwise, they would not receive funds from him. But their sharing of that agenda needs to be hidden from their fellow Jews, who might appropriately conclude that these are not organizations seeking to liberalize the Jewish state as much as they want to destroy it.

The revelations from the hack of Soros’ foundation only add support to what we already know. Soros’ agenda is to destroy Israel as a Jewish state, and those who receive money from him share that agenda. Their attempts to distance themselves from Soros simply show that they cannot afford to have the Jewish community comprehend the actual nature of their intentions.

*Abraham H. Miller is an emeritus professor of political science, University of Cincinnati, and a senior fellow with the Haym Salomon Center @salomoncenter.

Abbas is expendable

From the JCPA, 22 August 2016, by Yoni Ben Menachem:

About a year ago, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas stopped his threats to resign, dismantle the PA, and hand the keys to Israel.

He realized that the Israeli leadership is not impressed by his threats; that the Palestinian public does not hold him in high regard after more than 10 years of rule without any achievements; that his popularity has declined; and that no one in the territories pays heed to his empty admonitions.

Mahmoud Abbas posters during the 2012 local elections. Featured alongside of him are photos of Yasir Arafat, Marwan Barghouti, and Abu Jihad.

(AFP Photo / Musa al-Shaer)

Now, suddenly, he has changed his tune. Instead of threatening to dissolve it, he now touts the PA as an important “national accomplishment” that must be preserved at all costs without allowing Israel to destroy it.

What Is Abbas Seeking?

Near the end of his tenure, the main consideration guiding 81-year-old Abbas is to remain in power while seeking an appropriate successor, one who will allow him to retire honorably and will ensure the well-being of his family and his two sons’ economic interests.

Abbas is not looking for diplomatic adventures. He is sticking with his strategy of internationalizing the conflict and, hence, he supports the French initiative. That initiative could lead to an international conference by the end of the year while entailing a minimum of risk to Abbas’ rule.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman’s new plan, which has been dubbed “the carrot and stick,” gravely concerns Abbas. Particularly worrisome to him is the idea of [Israel] opening a dialogue with Palestinian academics and business people. Abbas sees this as going over his head to find a new Palestinian address, thereby undermining his legitimacy as leader of the Palestinian people.

Hence, the PA has hastily put pressure on the Private Sector Coordination Council, which has issued a statement that “the PLO is the sole and exclusive representative of the Palestinian people.”

As Abbas sees it, Liberman’s new plan poses a threat to his continued rule. It is not every day that an Israeli defense minister, with the prime minister’s approval, announces a plan that determines, in effect, that Abbas is not the exclusive representative of the Palestinian people and that he, too, can be replaced.

The PA chairman is proceeding with great caution. Although it has been several days since Liberman broached his new plan, Abbas still has not responded to it personally and is keeping mum.

The defense minister’s new plan has upped the pressure on Abbas. According to senior Fatah officials, from now on he will take great care not to give the Israeli defense establishment pretexts to take measures to undermine senior PA senior officials as well as Abbas himself, such as invalidating their official VIP travel documents, lifting the easier conditions at the border crossings, and so on.
The PA chairman will now bear down more than ever on security coordination with Israel to prevent, through his security mechanisms, any resurgence of the “knife intifada,” which is abating.

The defense minister’s new plan has, indeed, become a means to pressure the PA chairman.
The carrot-and-stick policy in the territories is not new; it was begun after 1967 by then-Defense Minister Moshe Dayan. From that time to the present, several Israeli defense ministers have employed it. This policy has an internal logic of not punishing those not involved in incitement and terror while encouraging the moderates.

Liberman’s announcement of his new plan at this present juncture – concurrent with the local elections campaign in the territories and with the arrest by the Shabak (Israel Security Agency) of Hussein Abu Kweik, Hamas’ representative on the Committee to Coordinate the West Bank Elections – creates the impression that Israel is planning to intervene in these elections as part of the plan. This has led senior PA officials to claim that Israel wants to reestablish the Village Leagues – which, in their day of the late 1970s, dealt with municipal matters and routine services – and to treat the West Bank Palestinians as “residents” and not as a people with rights.

(Koret Communications)

Abbas fears that the Israeli defense establishment will exploit the sharp dissension in Fatah to expand its ties with the heads of the independent lists and with heads of large West Bank clans who will run in the elections, thereby helping these figures create a route that bypasses the PA.

Israel is in full control of Area C of the West Bank, which constitutes about 60 percent of the total land. This enables Israel to exert major influence in all areas of life. The municipalities and local councils require Israel’s approval for their measures, which, in itself, gives Israel powerful leverage over the Palestinian population in general and the heads of the municipalities in particular.

Will Elections Erode the PA’s Status?

From Abbas’ perspective, the intensification of Israeli influence over the West Bank municipalities and local councils stands to help Israel erode the PA’s status and legitimacy among the West Bank Palestinian population, and thus undermine what he calls a major “national accomplishment.”
Israel, meanwhile, is allowing the preparations for the elections to go forward despite the fact that, according to the Oslo agreements, Israel could put a stop to them because of the participation of Hamas, which is defined as a terror organization.

That Israel refrains from aborting the elections is seen by the PA as a move aimed at weakening it and even further aggravating the strife between Fatah and Hamas.

Israel has not rescinded its recognition of the PLO, which is mandated by the Oslo agreements. It continues to work with the PLO in accordance with signed agreements, including the economic agreement known as the Paris Protocol. Nevertheless, the defense minister’s new plan is a sword of Damocles over Abbas’ head and over whoever will eventually replace him. In other words, notwithstanding the agreements between the two sides, Israel will not sacrifice its security interests, and any Palestinian leader can be replaced.