ERDOGAN ON FAREED ZAKARIA BLAMES EVERYTHING ON ISRAEL THAT FRAUD AS USUAL AS A MUSLIM LEADER DOES.I HEARD HIM AND EVERY THING HE SAID WAS LIES AGAINST ISRAEL.
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/24/erdogan-israel-shows-no-mercy/
FAREED ZAKARIA ON PA STATEHOOD
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/category/palestinian-authority/
Following UN Speeches: Quartet Sets Timetable for Talks-Quartet sets new timetable for talks between Israel and the PA: proposals within three months and substantial progress within six months.By Elad Benari, Canada First Publish: 9/24/2011, 12:47 AM
The Middle East Quartet published on Friday a new timetable for re-launching negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.According to Reuters, the Quartet, which comprises the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia, said in a statement it would like to see comprehensive proposals within three months on issues of territory and security, and substantial progress within six months.Israel’s Channel 10 News added that the Quartet’s timetable calls for a first meeting between Israeli and PA representatives to take place within four weeks. According to the report, during this meeting the two sides will express their commitment to a timetable which will see a peace agreement reached by the end of 2012.The Quartet’s statement says that following the six-month progress period, the Quartet will hold an international conference in Moscow in which it will conduct consultations with both parties.A donors’ conference is also being planned, Channel 10 said, in which world countries will express their support for a Palestinian state led by the current Fatah Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad.The Quartet’s representatives called Israel and the PA to refrain from what they termed provocative actions in order to ensure the effectiveness of the negotiation process. The Quartet members stressed that they intend to remain actively committed to the process and hold meetings with the parties on a regular basis.
The statement also notes that the Quartet recognizes the PA’s achievements in preparing its state institutions and promises that the Quartet members will review the steps they can take to be actively involved in the PA’s state institutions.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton later said that the Quartet proposal was a concrete one and urged the sides to seize the opportunity to negotiate.The United States is very pleased that the Quartet was able to issue a statement today with a concrete and detailed proposal to begin a negotiation between the Israelis and the Palestinians without delay or pre-condition, Clinton was quoted by Reuters as having told reporters.The Quartet proposal represents the firm conviction of the international community that a just and lasting peace can only come through communications between the parties, she added.Channel 10 reported that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office has not yet responded to the Quartet statement. Netanyahu’s spokesman, Roni Sofer, told Channel 10 that Netanyahu’s office is studying the contents of the statement.The Quartet’s statement came following the speech given by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas which officially launched the PA’s unilateral statehood bid to the UN.Abbas used the speech to attack Israel and blame it for occupying Palestinian territories for 63 years, that is, from the 1948 founding of the Jewish state, not The 1967 Six Day War. Netanyahu later gave a speech of his own, in which he publicly extended his hand for peace and urged Abbas to return to the negotiations table.(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)
Hamas Dismisses Abbas Speech: He Decreased Palestinians’ Rights-Hamas dismisses Abbas’ UN speech, saying that by recognizing Israel, he decreased Palestinians’ rights.By Elad Benari First Publish: 9/24/2011, 12:22 AM
The Hamas terror group dismissed on Friday Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ UN speech, saying that it failed to address PA Arabs’ aspirations.Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency that by recognizing Israel and seeking UN membership for a Palestinian state on 22 percent of historic Palestine, Abbas decreased Palestinians’ rights.Barhoum called Abbas to go back to comprehensive national dialogue [with Hamas, ed.] and to achieve reconciliation and unite the Palestinians.Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, signed a reconciliation agreement with Abbas’ Fatah party, which rules in Judea and Samaria, in May. The agreement called for a formation of a unity government, but it has stalled over a leadership row.Earlier on Friday, Hamas’ Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said that the PA should not beg for a state, adding that liberation of Palestinian land should come first.He said that what is happening at the United Nations harms the dignity of our Palestinian people, particularly when there is no guarantee of the right of return (the Arabs’ wish to have millions of so-called Palestinian refugees - the descendants of Arabs who fled Israel before the 1948 Arab-Israeli war – to return to Israeli cities).In his speech before the UN General Assembly on Friday, Abbas said he holds the Israeli government responsible for the expansionist movement of the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, saying that this will destroy chances of peace. He blamed Israel for shattering every peace initiative and claimed that Israel has been occupying Palestinian territories for 63 years.He confirmed that he is submitting an application for a sovereign and independent homeland, which he said contains a request for full member nation status in the UN based on the June 4, 1967 borders. His brandishing of the request was met with a standing ovation by the automatically pro-Arab General Assembly.Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu gave his own speech in his response, in which he called on Abbas to drop unilateral moves and return to the negotiating table.
President Abbas, why don’t you join me? said Netanyahu. We have to stop negotiating about the negotiations. Let’s just get on with it. Let’s negotiate peace! Now we’re in the same city. We’re in the same building. So let’s meet here today, in the United Nations!(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)
Abbas View of Israel: Land of Jesus and Mohammed, not Jews-AP refutes Abbas’ speech in the UN and notes he omitted any reference to Jewish biblical figures. Media fed up with Abbas? By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu First Publish: 9/25/2011, 5:46 PM
The Associated Press refuted Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ speech in the United Nations last Friday and noted he omitted any reference to Jewish biblical figures. The news agency’s report on Abbas’ speech in the United Nations indicates media may be fed up with him and reveals a dramatic reversal of decades of alleged anti-Israel reporting.Associated Press refuted Abbas’ statements point by point and took to Abbas task for not mentioning the Jewish connection with Israel and referring to the area as the land of Mohammed and Jesus, with no mention of any Jewish biblical figure.Major news agencies the past three decades have overwhelmingly painted Israel in a negative light and have promoted, sometimes intentionally, the Arab cause, usually depicting Israel as the cause of terror and militants as the victim.Sunday’s AP report was markedly different and may be the beginning of the end of media support for the Palestinian Authority.Abbas presented a narrative that is disputed by Israel, and in at least one case, appeared to be factually incorrect, AP reported. It took aim at Abbas’ charges that the occupation of Judea and Samaria and part of Jerusalem is the only occupation in the world.The news agency wrote, THE FACTS: The world is full of ethnic minorities that might claim to be ruled by occupiers, ranging from Tibetans living under Chinese rule to Kurds in Turkey, Basques in Spain, Chechens in Russia and Muslim separatists in Indian-ruled Kashmir.The Associated Press continued, point by point, to challenge Abbas in a style that previously was usually seen only in quotes by Israeli officials or Israeli nationalists.For what may be the first time, a major news agency implied that Arab prisoners are terrorists.
THE FACTS: Abbas did not mention that most Palestinian prisoners are being held because of alleged involvement in violence against Israelis. Israel's prison service says it's holding some 6,000 security prisoners, many of them involved in planning or carrying out deadly attacks on civilians,the news agency reported.It also challenged Abbas’ claim that Gaza is part of the Palestinian Authority, telling millions of readers that Hamas took control of the region more than four years ago and that unity talks between Abbas’ Fatah faction and Hamas are at a standstill.
Mainstream media for years have reported or implied that Hamas rocket attacks on Israel are a result of the occupation, but the Associated Press refuted Abba’s condemnation of the Operation Cast Lead counterterrorist campaign.THE FACTS: Abbas did not mention that the operation was launched in response to persistent rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled territory, Associated Press said.Perhaps even more significant, the news agency did not accept Abbas’ statement that Israel is an obstacle to peace talks.Its report stated, THE FACTS: The Palestinians did not accept two Israeli peace offers, in 2000 and 2008, that offered them a state in the vast majority of the territories they claim. Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has repeatedly offered to launch negotiations — but refused to accept minimum outlines of a peace deal endorsed by the Palestinians and the international community. He has also not met the Palestinian condition of a settlement freeze for the duration of the talks.Reuters was more middle-of-the road than Associated Press but at least did not fall back on its routine pro-Arab reportage. Coincidentally or not, the news agency is investigating one of its journalists who promoted the Palestinian Authority in emails.The gulf between Israel and the Palestinians on borders, security, refugees and Jerusalem looks unbridgeable, Reuters wrote. It added, And any chance of the United States leaning on its Israeli ally for concessions seems remote, with President Barack Obama heading into a bruising battle for re-election next year.
The Beginning of the End of Oslo? Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday demanded a renegotiation of key aspects of the Oslo Accords.By David Lev First Publish: 9/24/2011, 11:10 PM
Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday demanded a renegotiation of key aspects of the Oslo Accords, claiming that the agreement had prevented the PA economy from expanding as much as it could have. At issue is the Paris Agreement, which set up the system whereby Israel collects customs and taxes for the PA, and in return allows PA Arabs to work in Israel.We want to reopen the Paris Agreement and make changes to it, Abbas told reporters as he returned to Ramallah from Washington. The agreement is not fair and there are restrictions on Palestinians that prevent our economy from growing and prospering. The Paris Agreement does not give us the opportunity to develop our economy and our country.Sources in Jerusalem said that if Israel considers renegotiating the Paris Agreement, it may reconsider other components of the Oslo Accords as well.Abbas' statement came out of fear that Israel would take action against the PA for its failed statehood bid. Speaking Friday, a top official in the Prime Minister's Office, Liran Dan, said that the government was considering placing sanctions on the PA, including abrogating several previously signed agreements.In an interview with Israel Army Radio, Dan said that Israel was considering several steps that might be implemented as a response to the UN bid which abrogated the Oslo Accord stipulation stating that all problems be resolved through negotiation. The government will discuss these options when Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu returns to Israel.With that, Dan said, he believed that Israel and the PA would resume negotiations in the coming weeks.Congressional officials in the U.S. have also threatened tp slap sanctions on the PA and withhold some or all of the $500 million the PA receives in American foreign aid annually.Last week, the PA's top monetary official warned that a cessation of foreign aid from the United States could lead to fiscal ruin and collapse. Really, the risk of a PA collapse is very real under the financial strain, without US assistance without donor assistance in general,Palestinian Monetary Authority Governor Jihad al-Wazir said, once again showing that the PA has not managed to use the enormous aid grants it has received to develop a viable economy, and prefers to blame Israel and the Oslo Accords for it.
Abbas Turns Down Quartet, Demands Agreement before Talks-Abbas, after rebuffing Obama, now rejects the Quartet’s proposal for resuming talks because it does not include pre-conditions.By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu First Publish: 9/25/2011, 8:47 AM
Abbas, after rebuffing President Barack Obama, now has taken on the Quartet and rejected its proposal for resuming talks with Israel because it does not include pre-conditions.The Quartet – the United States, United Nations, Russia and the European Union – set a timetable for an agenda for peace talks within a month and concrete proposals within three months. It also set the end of 2012 as a new deadline for an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.PA Foreign Minister Riad Maliki quickly rejected the idea as incomplete because it does not call on Israel to halt all development in Judea and Samaria and areas of Jerusalem claimed by the Palestinian Authority.The closest the Quartet came to satisfying Abbas’ demand for a halt to Israeli development was a statement that the Quartet calls upon the parties to refrain from provocative actions if negotiations are to be effective. The Quartet reiterated the obligations of both parties under the road map.
The only new thing that the Quartet carries is a time line for discussing the issues of security and borders,Maliki said. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he is considering the Quartet proposal and added he could consider another building freeze.I am willing to talk about it,he told CNN.Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Sunday morning he thinks Israel should accept the Quartet’s latest attempt to bring Abbas back to the negotiating table.However, the Palestinian Authority effectively has rejected any compromise and wants Israel to agree in advance to its demands before sitting down for talks, which presumably would be aimed at simply signing an agreement.
Lieberman: Abbas Running Away from Responsibility-Abbas is running away from responsibility to make peace with Israel, Foreign Minister Lieberman says. UN set to discuss his bid.By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu First Publish: 9/25/2011, 7:30 AM
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is running away from responsibility to reach an agreement with Israel, Foreign Minister Lieberman says as the United Nations prepares to discuss his bid for recognition for the Palestinian Authority.He told Voice of Israel government radio that Abbas’s refusal to talk with Israel for two years, his then going to the United Nations and again refusing discussions without pre-conditions proves he has no interest in peace. Lieberman also said Israel should accept the Quartet's proposal for renewing talks. Abbas rejected it because it does not contain his precondition of a halt to all building for Jews in areas where he claims sovereignty.In his speech to the United Nations, Abbas delivered an unusually harsh attack on Israel that Lieberman and others said was nothing short of incitement. He called Israel an occupying power since its inception 63 years ago, implying non-recognition of Israel's right to exist.The Foreign Minister said he was justified in walking out along with Israeli UN ambassador Ron Prosor and later Minister Yuli Edelstein, in the middle of Abbas’ remarks, explaining that he would have been criticized had he not exited the General Assembly.
He denied reports that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was angry with him for not remaining seated while Abbas spoke.Both Prime Minister Netanyahu and Abbas claimed success after the opening session of the General Assembly. Lieberman said it is too early to celebrate but that Prime Minister Netanyahu won the day through reason while Abbas lost it because of his determination to talk with Israel only after it accepts all of his demands in advance.Netanyahu is heading back to Israel while the United Nations Security Council begins to discuss the motion by Abbas for recognition of the Palestinian Authority. Lieberman said that the Council can finish the discussions in two weeks, but most observers estimate that it is matter of months or even more than a year.
US Embassy Warns of Arab Terror in Southern Israel-The US Embassy is warning its citizens to beware of more Palestinian Arab terrorism aimed at Israel's southern borders.By Chana Ya'ar First Publish: 9/25/2011, 6:20 PM
The Tel Aviv Warden of the U.S. Embassy is warning American citizens to exercise caution and take appropriate measures to ensure their safety and security while traveling along the border with Egypt.A credible threat of increased terrorist activity near the border between Israel and Egypt is in effect, according to the alert sent by email to all citizens on the embassy's list. This is not the first such alert sent this month, warning of Arab terrorism.Due to proximity to the border area, surrounding areas adjacent to the Gulf of Aqaba in Israel, Egypt and Jordan could be affected.Those who do decide to travel in the south, noted the embassy, should monitor local news sources to find the latest information on the situation, as it can change unexpectedly.A terrorist alert that was declared Friday in the Eilat region is still in effect, according to Israeli security sources.Intelligence information was received indicating that terrorist groups roaming the Sinai Peninsula are planning an attack similar to the one in which eight Israelis were murdered on August 18 north of Eilat, on Route 12.In the aftermath of that attack, a multi-pronged operation carried out by a Popular Resistance Committees terrorist cell comprised of some 20 members, six Egyptian security officers also died.
Op-Ed: Netanyahu's Speech and the Deafening Silence
Published: Sunday, September 25, 2011 11:41 AM
if Israel shrank to just one downtown city block in Tel Aviv, it would still be reason for an all-out war of extermination by the Arab and Muslim world.Victor Sharpe
Those of you who saw Bibi’s speech at the UN - that Temple of Hypocrisy and Moral Turpitude - will have noticed the polite but tepid applause from a few along with the deafening silence from oh, so many of the international delegates.I fear that calling, nay begging, for peace by successive Israeli Prime Ministers is an exercise in futility.The stark fact, which nobody wants to hear, is that Islam will never make peace with a non-Muslim state, especially if the Muslim foot trod triumphal upon that same territory once occupied in the name of Allah. Even though the Jewish people in the Land of Israel pre-date Islam by millennia, nevertheless for Muslims in general, and for those Arabs who call themselves Palestinians, all the territory is theirs and they will call it by its fraudulent name: Palestine, which is a name that had nothing to do with Arabs living in the area.As I have written before, if Israel shrank to just one downtown city block in Tel Aviv, it would still be reason for an all-out war of extermination by the Arab and Muslim world.Until people understand that it is not radical Islam which creates the horror and misery that burdens all mankind but simply Islam, there can be no understanding of the existential threat we face in what is left of the Free World.There is no moderate Islam and no radical Islam; there is only Islam. It is a bitter pill to swallow and no amount of sugar coating can ever make it palatable. Netanyahu uttered the words West Bank over and over again. This is a fundamental mistake. He must, and all of us must, call the territory by its Jewish biblical and ancestral name, Judea and Samaria, and then call it aka the West Bank.The inextricable Jewish connection with this G-d given promised land - attested to in the Torah and Tanach - must be proclaimed again and again and again in the halls of international diplomacy and the international corridors of power.
So it is the same with the counter-productive word, settlements – which in the English language is a pejorative term. These Jewish communities are not the outposts of an alien presence in another people’s land. No. These are Jewish villages and towns populated by the Jewish descendants of biblical and post-biblical native Jewish ancestors who for untold generations farmed and tended the hills and valleys of this Jewish heartland: Judea and Samaria. All of us must, call the territory by its Jewish biblical and ancestral name, Judea and Samaria, and then if we must, call it aka the West Bank.In conclusion, the endless and repeated begging for peace from a perverse and irretrievably hostile Muslim and Arab world must stop. The reality is desperately hard to acknowledge and accept, but it is an Islamic fact that Islam and its adherents will never make peace with non-Muslims.The Muslim is enjoined by the later writings in the Koran and Hadith to lie to the non-Muslim if it advances Islam in the world. The Muslim must break all and every agreement entered into with non-Muslims if it advances Islam in the world. This is the bitter reality non- Muslims must come to understand for if it is dismissed it guarantees war and all the horror of violent and evil terror perpetrated in the name of Allah.For Israel the course is clear. The Arab and Muslim world has proclaimed everlasting enmity towards the non-Muslim; those which Islam arrogantly dismisses as infidels. Thus, no Muslim state or its leader will ever recognize Israel as a Jewish state for that is to deny Islam; a word, by the way, which means submission - not to the will of the people as in a democracy - but only to the will of Allah.
That is an empirical fact.The Muslim Arabs who call themselves Palestinians have made their bed. Now they must lie in it for their words of deceit and venom have consequences. Historical correctness must always trump political correctness.
That being said, Jordan is Palestine.That is also an empirical fact. And one other fact. A Two-State Solution - that appalling euphemism - describing Israel and a Muslim terror state existing within the narrow strip of land from the Mediterranean Sea to the River Jordan will be for the Jewish people a repeat of that earlier dread euphemism, one the Nazis used to describe their extermination of the Jews: The Final Solution.
Op-Ed: The Illusion of PA Stability
Published: Sunday, September 25, 2011 11:14 AM
It’s no surprise that the PA isn’t rushing to hold general elections, which were initially to be held on May 4th, 2011. Recognition is the least of Abbas' problems.
Avi Yesawich-Last week, a few important misconceptions were shattered by the discovery of an extensive Hamas terror ring operating covertly in the West Bank: That the West Bank is a bastion of law and order, that Fatah retains effective control over the area, and that the potential for a Hamas takeover of the West Bank isn't real.The collaborative sting operation, conducted by the Shin Bet, IDF and Israeli Police, resulted in the exposure of 13 active terror cells and the arrest of dozens of Hamas members.The extent of the terror cells’ network was startling: a complex, international operation involving extensive financing, money laundering, intelligence and weapons smuggling operations. The terror cell was plotting several attacks on Israel, and was responsible for the Jerusalem bombing last March that left 47 injured and one dead. Future attacks were to include suicide bombings in Jerusalem neighborhoods, kidnappings, and shooting attacks throughout the West Bank and Israel.The Palestinian Authority, with a certain questionable audacity, condemned the raids against Israel for attacks that were being plotted right under their noses. Should we have assumed that Palestinian security raids on these cells were forthcoming? The PA associated the operation to failed intelligence efforts in relation to the recent attacks in the south. One doesn’t have to dig to deeply to find the fallacy in that assertion.If the PA security forces were truly unaware of the massive terror plot in Hebron - long considered Hamas’ stronghold in the West Bank – that certainly doesn’t not bode well for their security apparatus or intelligence capabilities. How much relief should we feel that the PA cannot control the subversive elements in its midst? Is such responsibility not to be expected from an entity which is lobbying aggressively for statehood? If anyone had doubts before about the seriousness of the threats emanating from the PA, or the potential implications of democratic elections following any future implemented Fatah-Hamas unity deal, it has become quite clear: the PA is not a rosy sanctuary of peace and stability. Moreover, we’ve witnessed another troubling indicator that the Palestinian Authority is either incompetent or unwilling to deal with these threats directly. As long as the PA refuses to assert authority over its own population, their credibility to lead an effective bid for statehood and adhere to requirements of international law must be scrutinized.
Hamas gaining strength
The recent raids show that Hamas is attempting to regenerate its military strength in the West Bank. For the past several years, the organization has been relentlessly persecuted, arrested and killed by Israeli and PA security forces, considerably weakening its strength and influence in the area. Such oppression hasn’t been lost on the Hamas leadership, many of whom refuse to support the PA’s UN bid for statehood. While the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation deal is effectively dead, an internal struggle for power and influence rages on between the Palestinian factions.
Logistically, a full-fledged Hamas military takeover of the PA isn’t feasible at this time. Travel restrictions on movement between Gaza and Judea and Samaria, combined with heavy suppression of the organization by IDF and PA forces, ensure that Hamas’ forces aren’t capable of challenging the established authority there.
However, the prospect is certainly viable, whether through democratic or military means, in the not-so-distant future - if statehood has been granted by the UN, general elections are held, or a peace agreement between Israel and the PA is achieved. The implications of such a takeover are expansive, and deserve consideration from both the Israeli government and world leaders alike.Despite the PA's social, economic and political successes, Hamas’ political influence in the Judea, Samaria and Gaza hasn't diminished. In fact, the group remains extremely popular in the eyes of the Palestinian population. Only two weeks ago, The Israel Project took a poll of Hamas support in the West Bank and Gaza and found that 80% of Palestinians strongly supported the organization.It’s no surprise that the PA isn’t rushing to hold general elections, which were initially to be held on May 4th, 2011, but were postponed due to the unresolved Fatah-Hamas rift.
Several Hamas leaders, including the movement’s spokesperson Mahmoud al-Zahar, have stated that if Israel left Judea and Samaria, Hamas would indeed attempt to establish authority there. Back in 2007, al-Zahar stated, Israel says the party in Ramallah (Fatah) serves Israel, and if Israel quits the West Bank, Hamas will take it over. And we say this is true. In 2010, President Abbas revealed to Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Siyassa that he possessed verified information that Hamas was planning for an eventual takeover of the West Bank.Another important detail must be addressed about the situation in Judea and Samaria: virtually every major terrorist attack that has occurred – indeed, anywhere in Israel - in 2011 was committed by Hamas, rocket and mortar fire not withstanding. Even skirmishes between Hamas and Fatah have turned deadly, such as in 2009 when a gunfight erupted between Fatah security forces and Hamas’ militants, leaving several members of each group killed during an arrest attempt conducted by the PA.Skeptics of this analysis will be hard pressed to find a security expert or military authority that will disagree with the fact that the PA security apparatus is ill-equipped to deal with Hamas, especially if the IDF withdraws from the area – an arrangement guaranteed to be included in any future peace deal with the Palestinians, save perhaps for some minor adjustments. While issuing condemnations and rhetorical denunciations, PA leaders undoubtedly realize the severity of the security consequences of prematurely ejecting the IDF from Arab-held parts of Judea and Samaria, despite appearances to the contrary.
Mahmoud Abbas decided to present the UN Security Council and General Assembly with the Palestinians official request for statehood, including details about the PA’s successes in public financial management, law and order and local governance. Unfortunately, those successes are dependent on the continued stability of the area, which is far from assured after the establishment of a Palestinian state and general elections.Hamas’ strength is growing, and if real, inclusive Palestinian autonomy is realized, the institutions the PA has worked so hard to build may very well fall to a group that is committed in its fight against true democracy and security for Israelis and Palestinian Arabs alike.
Op-Ed: Suicide Diplomacy
Published: Sunday, September 25, 2011 11:30 AM
Abbas is a suicide diplomat, he doesn't care what he takes with him, as long as Israel is one of the victims.Dovid Efune, Dir. Algemeiner Journal-From the group that introduced the world to the suicide bomber now another innovation: The Suicide Diplomat.At the United Nations café, Russia, the European Union, China, The United States, Canada, Israel and a few others are seated around a table. PA President Mahmoud Abbas has entered with explosives snugly wrapped around his waist and is about to pull the detonator cord.Since the beginning of time, warfare has taken on many forms.Terrorist tactics have been deployed on every continent and against many great civilizations to achieve political or territorial goals, justified or not.The anomaly of the suicide bomber, however, is in his singular objective to destroy as an end in itself, not one born of a desire to create a better future; for him there is no tomorrow. As for the society that cultivates, equips, indoctrinates and facilitates his heinous crime, it clearly cares not for the well being of that individual, nor his family.What of heaven? Seventy two virgins? Even to those of the Muslim faith there are less destructive paths to heaven. It can be achieved through a life of piety, submission, prayer and charity.To paraphrase Golda Meir, the logic of the suicide bomber exists only in a society that hates its enemy more than it loves its own children.As has been evidenced time and again, the Palestinian Arab hatred of Israel and the Western culture that it represents far outweighs its desire to build for itself a peaceful and productive future.A study of elementary school textbooks in Gaza or the West Bank will affirm that as a curricular objective, there is no other matter that is so firmly implanted in the minds of young Palestinian Arabs than the hatred of Israel.The Palestinian Arab bid for Unilateral Declaration of Independence this week appears to be strongly influenced by the same principles of hate and destruction.
A Wall Street Journal editorial earlier this week questioned the logic of the UN efforts, even from a Palestinian Arab perspective asking, A vote at the U.N. won't create a Palestinian state and will likely retard the creation of one, perhaps for years. It won't remove any Israeli settlements from the West Bank and might well give Jerusalem reason to accelerate the pace of construction. It could also lead Israel to take various punitive measures against the Palestinians, including freezing tax transfers worth about $100 million a month. The U.S. Congress might follow by cutting off the $600 million in annual aid to the Palestinians.This week Mahmoud Abbas acknowledged what he stood to destroy in the wake of these efforts, saying, the Palestinian people and their leadership will pass through very difficult times after the Palestinian approach to the United Nations.Saying further, We decided to take this step and all hell has broken out against us.In seeking to understand the move, The Journal referenced an opinion piece that Abbas wrote in the New York Times in May, which said that Palestine's admission to the United Nations would pave the way for the internationalization of the conflict as a legal matter, not only as a political one. It would also pave the way for us to pursue claims against Israel at the United Nations, human rights treaty bodies and the International Criminal Court.As the Wall Street Journal concluded, In other words, what Palestinians seek out of a U.N. vote isn't an affirmation of their right to a state, but rather another tool in their perpetual campaign to harass, delegitimize and ultimately destroy Israel.Understand this: peace is no goal of the Palestinians, only to hurt, maim, isolate and ultimately destroy the sovereign Jewish presence in the Mediterranean.
