Archive for October 16, 2015

Russia, US agree on all technical questions over Syria flight safety

October 16, 2015

Russia, US agree on all technical questions over Syria flight safety – Russian military

Published time: 16 Oct, 2015 14:45 Edited time: 16 Oct, 2015 15:12

Source: Russia, US agree on all technical questions over Syria flight safety – Russian military — RT News

A Russian Su-34 fullback bomber jet © Dmitriy Vinogradov

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that it will soon sign an agreement on flight safety over Syria with Pentagon after the sides agreed on all the necessary technical issues.

“All technical matters have already been agreed upon, with Russian and US lawyers now cross checking the text of the document,” Colonel-General Andrey Kartapolov told a media briefing on Friday.

According to Kartapolov, the memorandum on flight safety over Syria will be signed by Moscow and Washington “in the very near future.”

The Defense Ministry and Pentagon have already held three video-conferences discussing the agreement, he added.

“This will provide conditions for the prevention of specific situations that might cause some kind of an accident in the Syrian airspace during air operations by the Russia and the coalition partners,” Kartapolov stressed.

He also repeated that Moscow is ready to extend cooperation on avoiding conflict in the skies over Syria with the US and all other concerned parties.

Kartapolov also said that the Defense Ministry has established direct contact with the Turkish military to avoid incidents with Russian flights near the Turkish border.

Earlier on Friday, the Turkish military said it had shot down an unmanned aircraft on the Syrian border.

All Russian military planes have safely returned to base in Syria after combat missions, with all drones operating as planned, Moscow said after the Turkish announcement.

A hotline between a Russian Air Force base in Syria and the Israeli Air Force command center has also been established in order to coordinate flights over Syria, the spokesman stressed.

On Thursday and Friday, the Russians and the Israelis held joint training to avoid incidents in Syrian airspace, Kartapolov added.

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Not Satire | Iran’s Deputy Chief of Staff: ISIL Created to Maintain Israel’s Security

October 16, 2015

Iran’s Deputy Chief of Staff: ISIL Created to Maintain Israel’s Security. FARS News Agency (Iranian), October 16, 2015

13940111000174_PhotoI

TEHRAN (FNA)- Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazzayeri blasted the western countries for supporting the Takfiri terrorist groups, and said that the West has created the ISIL for the sake of maintaining the security of Israel.

“Today by looking at this issue (of terrorism) from every angle, we see the Americans standing behind the scene of ISIL terrorism in the region; they do this to sway away threats from Israel,” General Jazzayeri said on Friday, addressing the funeral procession ceremony held for two Iranian military commanders killed in Syria.

He pointed to Iran’s military counseling services for Syria and the martyrdom of Iranian military commanders in the Arab country, and said, “Were it not because of Iran’s wisdom, Syria would not be in the hands of the Americans and Israelis… .”

On Tuesday, two other IRGC commanders, providing military counseling services to the Syrian forces in their fight against the Takfiri terrorists, were killed in Syria.

Colonel Farshad Hasounizadeh, the former commander of IRGC’s Saberin Special Brigade, was martyred while fulfilling his duty as military adviser in Syria and fighting the Takfiri terrorists in the Muslim country.

Also, the former commander of IRGC Hazrat Hojjat 1 Brigade Hajj Hamid Mokhtar-band, nicknamed Abu Zahra, was killed in Syria.

Both Hasounizadeh and Mokhtar-band were IRGC war veterans and were martyred in Southern Syria.

Their martyrdom comes just days after another IRGC war veteran Brigadier General Hossein Hamadani was martyred during an attack by the ISIL Takfiri terrorists in the outskirts of the city of Aleppo while fulfilling his duty as military advisor and defending the holy Shiite shrines in the country, an IRGC statement said on Friday.

General Hamadani was in Syria to render military advice to the Syrian army and popular forces in their fight against the ISIL terrorists in the Arab country.

According to Iran’s military rules, those missed or killed in operation are promoted to a higher rank and that’s why in a few Persian-language sources, Colonel Hasounizadeh has been referred to as a General.

In September 2014, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Gholam Ali Rashid announced that Iran’s military advisors are present in the friendly regional states to provide those nations with necessary military recommendations.

“Some of our commanders are in the field to give military advice to the Iraqi army, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Palestinian resistance movement,” Major General Rashid said, addressing a conference attended by a group of senior military commanders in Tehran.

Categories: Iran - Syria war, Iran and Israel, Islamic State, Israel, Western nations
Tags: Iran - Syria war, Iran and Israel, Islamic State, Israel, Western nations

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US confirms Iran tested nuclear-capable ballistic missile

October 16, 2015

US confirms Iran tested nuclear-capable ballistic missile

By REUTERS \

10/16/2015 20:06

Source: US confirms Iran tested nuclear-capable ballistic missile – Middle East – Jerusalem Post

“The United States is deeply concerned about Iran’s recent ballistic missile launch,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said in a statement.

The United States has confirmed that Iran tested a medium-range missile capable of delivering a nuclear weapon in “clear violation” of a United Nations Security Council ban on ballistic missile tests, a senior US official said on Friday.

“The United States is deeply concerned about Iran’s recent ballistic missile launch,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said in a statement.

“After reviewing the available information, we can confirm that Iran launched on Oct. 10 a medium-range ballistic missile inherently capable of delivering a nuclear weapon,” she said. “This was a clear violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1929.”

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Tags: Anti Semitism, Iran, Iranian missiles, Iranian nukes, Islam, Israel, Obama, P5+1, Terrorism, U.S. Congress, US confirms Iran tested nuclear-capable ballistic missile, USA

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Palestinian and Western Leaders: Blood on Their Hands

October 16, 2015

Source: Palestinian and Western Leaders: Blood on Their Hands

by Richard Kemp
October 16, 2015 at 5:00 am

Secretary Kerry’s comments will encourage the continuation of violence and lead to further deaths of both Israelis and Palestinians.

His explanation for the widespread knifings, suicide bombings, shootings, arson, firebombings, vehicle attacks and lethal rock-throwing is either naive or mendacious; perhaps both.

Kerry asserts that the frustrations of Israeli settlement activity are responsible for the Palestinians’ murderous behaviour. The reality is that this new wave of killings is a continuation of the aggression against Jews that has been going on in the territory of Palestine for many decades — since long before 1948 and pre-dating the first Israeli settlements in the West Bank that Kerry falsely brands as illegal.
The violence is motivated by the same racist and sectarian zeal that drives the Islamic State and numerous Arab governments and jihadist groups that have sought to eradicate the presence of “infidels,” whether Jews, Christians or Yazidis, from land that they consider the exclusive preserve of Muslims.
Palestinian children are taught that Jews are descended from apes and pigs and must be killed before their “filthy feet” desecrate the holy places of Islam — in the words of President Abbas.
Secretary Kerry, the UN, and the EU should be discouraging further violence by condemnation and by meaningful threats of sanction against the Palestinian Authority leadership. The international community has encouraged Hamas’s illegal use of human shields and berated Israel for defending itself and for inflicting civilian casualties, which were in reality the unavoidable consequence of Hamas’s unprovoked aggression and its way of fighting from within private houses, schools, hospitals and mosques.
This encouragement of Hamas violence, especially the effectiveness of its human shield strategy, did not go unnoticed by other Islamist terrorist groups. That is also what Hizballah wants: the wholesale deaths of their own people as a trigger for unbearable international pressure against Israel.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has shockingly justified the latest Palestinian murder campaign in Israel. His comments this week at Harvard University will encourage the continuation of violence and lead to further deaths of both Israelis and Palestinians.

Secretary Kerry’s remarks are particularly troubling because it is unimaginable that he would provide such justification other than for the killing of Israelis. His explanation for the widespread knifings, suicide bombings, shootings, arson, firebombings, vehicle attacks and lethal rock-throwing is either naive or mendacious; perhaps both. He asserts that the frustrations of Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank are responsible for the Palestinians’ murderous behaviour. Of course this is nonsense.

The reality is that this new wave of killings is a continuation of the aggression against Jews that has been going on in the territory of Palestine for many decades — since long before the re-establishment of the Jewish state in 1948 and pre-dating the first Israeli settlements in the West Bank that Secretary Kerry falsely brands as illegal. The violence is motivated by the same racist and sectarian zeal that drives the Islamic State and numerous Arab governments and jihadist groups that have sought to eradicate the presence of “infidels,” whether Jews, Christians or Yazidis, from land that they consider the exclusive preserve of Muslims.

For years, the Palestinian people have been betrayed by their weak, divided and jaundiced leadership who have consistently rejected every opportunity to make peace with their Israeli neighbours. Seeking to divert attention from their gross failures, the immediate trigger for the current murder campaign was the unfounded accusations of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmud Abbas and other rabble-rousers that the Israeli government was planning to change the status of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem — a holy place for both Jews and Muslims.

But what made it possible to conjure up widespread violence so rapidly and to such devastating effect were the years of incitement to hatred against Jews by the Palestinian leadership, including President Abbas. In propaganda that would have impressed Nazi Germany’s Dr. Josef Goebbels himself, Palestinian children are indoctrinated with hatred for Jews and the Jewish State from the very earliest stages of their learning. In schoolbooks, on the TV and in the mosques, they are taught that the whole of the land of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank is Arab territory, stolen from them by the Jews. They are taught that Jews are descended from apes and pigs and must be knifed, blasted and stoned to death before their “filthy feet” are allowed to desecrate the holy places of Islam — in the words of President Abbas.

It is this type of sustained, government-sponsored incitement to hate, reducing the objects of their venom to subhuman status, which made it so easy for ordinary Germans to indulge readily in the orgy of violence that enabled the most efficient genocide in the history of the world.

Although the Palestinian leadership must bear the brunt of responsibility for their incitement to murder, Western leaders also have blood on their hands. Much of the material of hate that inspires Palestinian children is funded by the U.S., Europe and other Western as well as Arab nations.

Rather than seeking to appease the perpetrators by blaming the victims for their fate, Secretary Kerry should be discouraging further violence by outright condemnation and by meaningful threats of sanction against the Palestinian Authority leadership. Instead, he adopts a morally relativistic stance that has the darkest consequences. Understanding that, as so often in the past, the U.S. and the West sympathizes with their fascistic barbarity against a Western democratic state, the Palestinians will step up their violence.

This is the same moral failure that has encouraged three wars in Gaza since Israel withdrew in 2005. Western governments, international bodies such as the UN and the EU and human rights groups consistently refused to condemn salvo after salvo of Hamas rocket attacks against Israeli civilians. Only when Israel has been forced to strike back in self-defence have they bestirred themselves. Then, more often than not, it has only been to justify Hamas’s terrorist aggression, as Secretary Kerry has justified Palestinian violence this week. Emboldened first by a lack of international interest and then by international condemnation of Israel’s defensive response, Hamas and their fellow Gaza terrorists continued, repeatedly, to attack Israel. There is little doubt that this will happen again in the future.

In each of the Gaza wars, the international community encouraged Hamas’s illegal use of human shields that resulted in so much death and suffering in Gaza and Israel. At best with only token criticism of Hamas’s war crimes, international leaders vigorously berated Israel for defending itself and for inflicting civilian casualties which were in reality the unavoidable consequence of Hamas’s unprovoked aggression and its way of fighting from within private houses, schools, hospitals and mosques.

This encouragement of Hamas violence, especially the effectiveness of its human shield strategy, did not go unnoticed by other Islamist terrorist groups. Lebanese Hizballah, for example, has embedded 100,000 rockets — all pointed at Israel — among the towns and villages of southern Lebanon. Many houses have a kitchen, sitting room and rocket room. Should Israel need to defend itself against these missiles, which threaten their civilian population, many hundreds — perhaps thousands — of Lebanese civilians will inevitably be killed in the process. As with Hamas, that is what Hizballah wants: the wholesale deaths of their own people as a trigger for unbearable international pressure against Israel.

It is here that Secretary Kerry should be focusing his energies — on the removal of this threat, which is certain to materialize if international action is not taken. But of course, he will not. Because those missiles are under the control of Iran. Indeed, today Iran is intent on strengthening and reinforcing Hizballah’s offensive capability against Israel. And Secretary Kerry and President Obama have invested too much political capital in their nuclear deal with Iran. Itself catastrophic for the region and the world, the deal is nevertheless their proud legacy, and they cannot afford to upset the ayatollahs and risk them walking away.

Neither will the UN nor the EU lift a finger to prevent the inevitable future conflict and death in southern Lebanon or in Gaza. Like Secretary Kerry, they and the international human rights industry will continue to justify and encourage anti-Israel aggression, reserving their efforts for the repudiation of the Jewish State and perpetuating current and future waves of violence and death.

Colonel Richard Kemp spent most his 30-year career in the British Army commanding front-line troops in fighting terrorism and insurgency in hotspots including Iraq, the Balkans, South Asia and Northern Ireland. He was Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan in 2003. From 2002 – 2006 he heading the international terrorism team at the Joint Intelligence Committee of the British Prime Minister’s Office.

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Don’t let facts confuse you

October 16, 2015

Don’t let facts confuse you, Israel Hayom, Judith Bergman, October 16, 2015

When it comes to Israel and terrorism, there is a standard one-size-fits-all default formula that works whatever the facts on the ground here are. This is fortunate for the multitudes of self-declared “Middle East experts” out there, because it means that they can explain the situation here without having to resort to reality — in other words what is actually happening here — and without having to preoccupy themselves with understanding that reality.

As the Jewish radical and anti-Semite, Ilan Pappe, told the Belgian newspaper “Le Soir” in 1999: “Indeed the struggle is about ideology, not about facts. Who knows what facts are? We try to convince as many people as we can that our interpretation of the facts is the correct one, and we do it because of ideological reasons, not because we are truthseekers.”

Despite being outrageous and counter-intuitive to anything that the once truth-seeking Western civilization stood for, this quote and the worldview it represents — disturbingly similar to that of the former Soviet Union — has become the mantra, whether they are aware of it or not, of hordes of journalists, opinion makers, and politicians. You should keep that in mind, when listening to statements such as this one:

“And there’s been a massive increase in settlements over the course of the last years. Now you have this violence because there’s a frustration that is growing.”

In other words, it is “the occupation” — part one of the one-size-fits-all default formula. And no, the statement did not come from an obscure source in the Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement, but from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

Once the almost ritualistic “explanation,” completely removed from reality (since new settlement construction has been the lowest under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than under any of his predecessors, according to data from Construction Ministry), of why Israeli cities and roads are made unsafe by Palestinian terrorists on the prowl to kill Jews had been established by Kerry, he proceeded to part two of the formula: “I am not going to point fingers [at the culprits] from afar. This is a revolving cycle that damages the future for everybody.”

The mysteriously self-igniting “cycle” of violence. No mention of the situation in Israel seems possible without “the cycle.” It has been in the formula — just like the settlements — for decades. And why shouldn’t it be? After all, it frees you from attaching any weight to the current reality of unprovoked Palestinians killing Jews just because they are Jews. In fact, the inherent bias implicit in this “cycle” concept is that it is all really the Jews’ own fault.

Coming from Kerry, the statements are naturally much more disturbing than when the identical analysis — or rather lack of analysis — comes from most other politicians and opinion makers, since the U.S. is still supposed to be our biggest ally.

In stark contrast, Canadian National Defense Minister Jason Kenney posted the following message on his Facebook page on October 14: “Canada condemns in the strongest terms possible the recent wave of terror attacks against Israeli civilians that has resulted in a number of tragic deaths and injuries. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the victims. We are deeply concerned by escalating incitement and violence that does nothing to advance the interests of peace, stability, and security in the region. There can be no justification for these attacks, and we will continue to oppose efforts undermine Israel’s legitimacy or right to defend herself in the face of terror.”

It is a rare thing for the analysis of international affairs to be subjected to such reductionist and indeed static extremes, as is the case with Israel. The one-size-fits-all default formula is recycled in all situations, regardless of facts on the ground and regardless of Israel’s actions.

There are no signs of this trend changing in the near future. In fact, the willingness of the general international public to shut eyes and ears to reality and not let it interfere with the ideology inherent in this formula has indeed become comparable to a natural reflex. That is what will happen, when you repeat a lie long enough. There is indeed now, a whole generation of Western youth literally brought up with that lie, which explains the prevalence of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic activity on university campuses.

As a consequence, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas believes he can get away with openly lying about anything. This includes claiming the child terrorist Ahmed Manasra had been “executed” by Israel, when in fact Abbas was perfectly aware that the very same terrorist is being treated with excellent care at an Israeli hospital by the very people that he was brainwashed to kill, and at the expense of the Israeli taxpayer.

Abbas knows the default formula better than anyone and he is relying on it to accomplish his goals. He knows fully well that his lies work the moment they hit the airwaves or the internet and that no amount of proof to the contrary will change that fact. The world loves a blood libel and Abbas knows that. After all, he has a Ph.D. advocating Holocaust denial and years of experience telling him that lies about Israel — the “Jenin massacre” and the Muhammad al-Dura case, just to mention a few — gain a life of their own, once they are out there, regardless of how much proof is presented to the contrary.

The workings of this kind of logic would have made the old Soviets proud. This is no coincidence, of course, since so many of the old PLO terrorists learned their trade in the communist bloc. Abbas himself earned his Ph.D. at a university in Moscow.

The Cold War ended a long time ago, but the legacy of the Soviet ideological mindset is alive and well.

Categories: Abbas, Ideology, Israel, Jews, Media, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian heroes, Palestinian terrorists, Settlements
Tags: Abbas, Ideology, Israel, Jews, Media, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian heroes, Palestinian terrorists, Settlements

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Israel will never agree to international forces at Temple Mount, Danon says

October 16, 2015

Israel will never agree to international forces at Temple Mount, Danon says

By TOVAH LAZAROFF, JPOST.COM STAFF, MAARIV ONLINE \

10/16/2015 18:58

Source: Israel will never agree to international forces at Temple Mount, Danon says – Israel News – Jerusalem Post

Israel will never agree to the stationing of international forces on Temple Mount, Jerusalem’s new envoy to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said on Friday.

The UN Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency session beginning at 7 p.m. local Israel time (noon in New York).

Representatives of world powers are expected to discuss the intensifying violence of recent weeks between Israel and the Palestinians.

“If the UN is committed to advancing peace, it should support direct negotiations [between Israel and the Palestinian Authority] and it should condemn incitement,” Danon said.

Danon’s remarks dovetail with Israeli warnings that Jerusalem’s holy sites would be set ablaze if they were placed under the control of the Palestinian Authority.

The government in Jerusalem issued its statement hours after hundreds of Palestinian rioters had set fire to sections of the Joseph Tomb’s compound, located in the West Bank Palestinian city of Nablus.

“The fire illustrates what would happen to Jerusalem’s holy places if they were in the hands of the Palestinian Authority,” Foreign Ministry Director-General Dore Gold said. “Only Israel can protect the places that are holy to all religions in Jerusalem.”

“The attack is reminiscent of the action of Islamist extremists in Afghanistan and Libya,” Gold said.

Gold was referring to events in 2001, when the Taliban, the Islamist movement that ruled Afghanistan, oversaw the destruction of Buddhist shrines and statues as well as landmarks declared as UNESCO heritage sites.

The blaze was set hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at a Jerusalem press conference during which he accused Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of inciting Palestinian violence against Israelis by falsely charging that it was harming the al-Aksa mosque compound on the Temple Mount, which is the third holiest site in Islam.

The Temple Mount and the city of Jerusalem is one of the major points of contention between Israelis and Palestinians, who want the eastern part of the city, including the Old City, to be the capital of its future state.

Israel believes that the entire city should be united under its sovereignty, save for the Temple Mount, which is already under the custodianship of the Islamic Wakf and Jordan.

On Friday, Israeli politicians and diplomats linked Joseph’s Tomb with the situation in Jerusalem as they warned that only Israel could protect freedom of religion at holy sites in the capital.

Yisrael Beytenu party head Avigdor Liberman held the PA responsible for the flames at Joseph’s Tomb and said it showed that the PA’s “occupation is no different than that of Islamic State.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) said the arson attack, showed that Palestinian anger at Israeli had nothing to do with Israeli control of areas over the pre-1967 lines, since Joseph’s Tomb is located in a city under PA control.

“The tomb is not under Israeli sovereignty, and in spite of that, the Palestinian set it on fire. They are trying to rewrite history by harming Jewish holy places that bear testament to our deep connection to the Land of Israel,” Hotovely said.

The Tomb is located near what was once the Biblical city of Shechem and has a history of Jewish, Christian and Muslim worship.

It is fully under the control of the Palestinian Authority. Jewish worship has been severely limited at the tomb since the start of the second intifadah in October 2000, after an Israeli border policeman was killed there during clashes with Palestinians.

Under the Olso Accords, Jews were allowed regular access to the site and a yeshiva was located there.

Now Jewish worshipers can access the tomb only once a month in the middle of the night, when the IDF secures the roads in the city that lead to the tomb.

Pictures of flames jutting out from the Tomb were published by the Samaria Regional Council on Friday morning.

The fire was brought under control by Palestinian police before IDF forces could arrive on the scene.

Portions of the religious site were severely damaged in the fire. There were no reports of injuries.

Settlers and right wing politicians reacted to the arson attack by calling for the Tomb to be placed under Israeli control, in spite of its located on the edge of Nablus.

“Once again its been proved that there is no alternative to Israeli sovereignty when it comes to preserving Jewish holy sites,” said Avi Ro’eh who heads the Council of Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria. He called on the government to allow Jewish worshipers regular access to the site.

On Friday afternoon, Abbas condemned the arson attack and called for an official committee of inquiry into the matter.

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Anti Semitism, international forces at Temple Mount, Islam, Islamic Jihad, Islamic slaughter, Israel, Jerusalem, Jerusalem’s holy sites would be set ablaze, Middle East, Olso Accords, Palestinians, Terrorism, UN

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The State Department clown car makes things worse in the Middle East

October 16, 2015

The State Department clown car makes things worse in the Middle East, Power Line, John Hinderaker, October 15, 2015

(Kirby: Israel has changed the status at Temple Mount. Whoops. I didn’t mean to suggest that. — DM)

Palestinians have launched at least 28 attacks on Israeli Jews over the past week, leaving seven dead and more than 70 wounded. These attacks, mostly using knives while a few involved guns or motor vehicles, have been encouraged by Islamic preachers on the West Bank and by Mahmoud Abbas.

This violence, while of great concern to Israelis, pales in comparison with the human catastrophes in Syria and elsewhere in the region. But as always, Israel and its tormentors occupy a disproportionate share of the world’s attention, including–unfortunately–that of the U.S. State Department.

Initially, John Kerry sparked outrage by suggesting that the Palestinian attacks were caused by Jews building homes in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem:

“There’s been a massive increase in settlements over the course of the last years,” Kerry said during a question-and-answer session, “and there’s an increase in the violence because there’s this frustration that’s growing.”

That makes perfect sense–the natural reaction to Jews moving into their ancestral homeland is to try to kill them, evidently.

Yesterday, State Department spokesman John Kirby made matters worse during his press briefing by maintaining an exquisite neutrality as between would-be murderers and their victims. The colloquy is too long to reproduce here, but it is helpful to read the whole thing to get a full understanding of the tone. I will reproduce some highlights, and comment on them:

QUESTION: Let’s start with the Middle East and some comments that Secretary Kerry made yesterday and also that the White House just made. … There’s been quite a bit of, I don’t know, uproar maybe is the right word about his comments about settlements contributing to – massive increase in settlements over the course of the last years being responsible for the current upsurge in violence. Recognizing that the settlement issue is one that is of serious concern to the Palestinians, is it the Administration’s view that settlement activity is, in fact, to blame for or is responsible for the current surge in attacks that we’re all seeing?

MR KIRBY: I think the Secretary was very consistent yesterday and has been over time in not trying to affix blame for the recent violence too particularly, and he was unequivocal yesterday, as you saw, in condemning the terrorist attacks against Israelis. What he has talked about is the challenges that are posed on both sides by this absence of progress towards a two-state solution. So – and he’s also highlighted our concern that current trends on the ground, including this violence, as well as ongoing settlement activity are imperiling the viability of eventually getting to a two-state solution.

QUESTION: So it is not, then, the Administration’s view that a massive increase in settlement activity in the last years is directly responsible?

MR KIRBY: I think the Secretary well understands that there’s a lot of nuance and context behind the violence that’s occurring recently. And as I said, he was careful not to affix blame in either direction on this in terms of past practices. What he did talk about – and you might have seen it if you saw him at Harvard last night – is that he understands there’s disenfranchisement, there’s disgruntlement, there is – there’s frustration on both sides that has led to this.

So, when dozens of murderous attacks are launched, it is important not to place blame on either the perpetrators or the victims.

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State Department spokesman John Kirby

Now and then, the fog does lift and the administration’s position is clear. That was true with regard to an incident in Dimona, where an Israeli stabbed several Arabs in retaliation against the many attacks that had been carried out against Jews:

QUESTION: All right, this will be very brief. I understand that you have decided now how to qualify the stabbing attack on the Palestinians in Dimona?

MR KIRBY: Yes, we’ve had a chance to look at that attack more deeply, and I think you’re going to ask me what – do we consider it an act of terrorism. And we do.

QUESTION: You do consider it an act of terrorism. Okay, so that would suggest then that you believe that this is – that both sides are, in fact, committing these —

MR KIRBY: Well, I would say certainly individuals on both sides of this divide are – have proven capable of and in our view guilty of acts of terror.

There are terrorists on both sides, so neutrality is appropriate.

Kirby also ventured the opinion that the Israelis have been guilty of using excessive force. It wasn’t clear what he had in mind here; shooting terrorists who were in the midst of stabbing Israelis, apparently:

QUESTION: [I]n response to Michael’s question, you said you’d seen reports of what many would consider to be excessive use of force. And I presume that you were talking about from the Israeli side. Is that correct?

MR KIRBY: Yes.

QUESTION: You said what many would consider. So is the Administration among those who would consider what the Israeli actions have been to be excessive?

MR KIRBY: I think, again, without qualifying each and every one of them, we’ve certainly seen some reports of security activity that could indicate the potential excessive use of force. And again, we don’t want to see that anywhere. We don’t want to see that here in our own country. So yeah, we’re concerned about that.

QUESTION: So the – so you have raised this issue with Israelis? You’ve said that —

MR KIRBY: We – we’re always concerned about credible reports of excessive use of force against civilians [Ed.: I.e., terrorists armed with knives], and we routinely raise our concerns about that.

QUESTION: Okay. Now, that’s just a little bit different than what you said before. So you believe that these are credible reports of excessive use of force by the Israeli security forces on Palestinian citizens?

MR KIRBY: We’ve seen reports. We’re always concerned about those kinds of reports.

The Arabs have frequently used rumors of changes in the administration of Temple Mount as a pretext for violence, and apparently are doing so again. The Obama administration gave them aid and comfort:

QUESTION: All right. And then the visit to Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif by Israelis, is that – does the Administration consider that to be visits to there – does the Administration consider that to be incitement?

MR KIRBY: I’m not going to be able to characterize every single act with terminology. What the Secretary has said and stands by is that we want to see the status quo restored, the status quo arrangement there on Haram al-Sharif and the Temple Mount, and for both sides to take actions to de-escalate the tensions. …

QUESTION: Is it the Administration’s position that the status quo at the Temple Mount has been broken?

MR KIRBY: Well, certainly, the status quo has not been observed, which has led to a lot of the violence.

The topic was revisited later, and Kirby reinforced his point:

QUESTION: So I just have two extremely brief ones, so we can move on after that. You said in answer to my question on the status quo whether – at the Temple Mount whether it’s been broken or not, you said that it has not been observed and that is what has led to – I think. I’ll go back and look at the transcript, but I think you said it had not been – it was not – has not been observed and that is what has led to a great deal of the violence. That certainly sounds like you’re affixing some kind of blame to Israel if this is, in fact, what the Administration believes has led to the violence – the visits by – visit by Israelis to —

MR KIRBY: Well, it’s not about believing it, Matt. I mean, you just looked at what’s been happening in that – on Haram al-Sharif and the Temple Mount recently. I mean, just if we’re looking at this in acute – through an acute lens, I mean, the activity there, the status quo not being observed, has led to violence. There’s – that’s indisputable. That’s not a belief; that’s a fact.

It is not a fact, however, and shortly thereafter Kirby took to Twitter to recant:

John Kirby ✔@statedeptspox

Clarification from today’s briefing: I did not intend to suggest that status quo at Temple Mount/Haram Al-Sharif has been broken.

7:38 PM – 14 Oct 2015

Emphasis added. The result of the State Department’s oafish diplomacy was to enrage our ally Israel:

Jerusalem reacted furiously Thursday to State Department spokesman John Kirby’s statement that Jerusalem was not maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount and accused it of using disproportionate force to stop the wave of stabbing attacks.

“The comments by the US State Department spokesman are so crazy, deceitful and baseless, that I expect President [Barack] Obama and US Secretary of State [John] Kerry to distance themselves from them, and to clarify the US position today,” said Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan.

John Kerry’s State Department is a clown show, and Kerry drives the clown car.

Categories: Abbas, Israel, Palestinian terrorists, State Department
Tags: Abbas, Israel, Palestinian terrorists, State Department

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Report: UN Officials Inciting Murder of Jews, Call to “Stab Zionist Dogs”

October 16, 2015

Report: UN Officials Inciting Murder of Jews, Call to “Stab Zionist Dogs”

Friday, October 16, 2015 12:08 pm

Source: Report: UN Officials Inciting Murder of Jews, Call to “Stab Zionist Dogs” – UN Watch

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GENEVA, October 16, 2015 – UN staffers are using the imprimatur of their official positions to incite Palestinian stabbing and shooting attacks against Israeli Jews, with one UN-identified employee calling on Facebook to “stab Zionist dogs,” according to a new report issued today by UN Watch, the Geneva-based non-governmental organization that is accredited by the United Nations with the mandate to monitor the world body’s compliance with its charter.

UN Watch submitted the report today to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, UNRWA chief Pierre Krähenbühl, and U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power, whose government’s $400 million annual grant makes it the largest funder of UNRWA.

“The UN and top funders of UNRWA such as the United States government must act immediately to terminate employees who are inciting murderous anti-Semitism and fueling the deadly pandemic of Palestinian attacks against Israeli Jews that have claimed innocent men, women and children, aged 13 to 78,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch.

“Despite UNRWA’s promise, in the wake of our previous report, to take action and dismiss UNRWA perpetrators of incitement, there has been no accountability whatsoever,” said Neuer. “On the contrary, UNRWA’s main response has been to try and intimidate UN Watch.”

“We call once again on Ban Ki-moon and UNRWA to immediately terminate their employees who incite to murder. Moreover, we call for the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry, to include representatives of the U.S., the EU (gave $139 million), the UK ($95 million), and other top UNRWA funders, to investigate the culture of impunity for perpetrators of racism and incitement that pervades UNRWA.”

“UNRWA’s strategy of impunity, denial and deflection only enables more incitement and violence. It’s time to put an end to the pattern and practice of UNRWA school principals, teachers and staff members posting antisemitic and terror-inciting images, indicating a pathology of racism and violence within UNRWA that must be rooted out — and not buried, as UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness has attempted to do by calling for boycotts of newspapers or NGOs that dare to report these incidents of hate,” said Neuer.

“We’re urging the UN to finally recognize that these despicable posts, published on Facebook accounts run by people who openly identify themselves as UNRWA officials, constitute a gross violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence,” said Neuer.

_________________________

Report on UNRWA Teachers
and Other Officials
Inciting Violence & Antisemitism

UN Watch Report
October 16, 2015

1: “STAB ZIONIST DOGS,” SAYS U.N. EMPLOYEE HANI AL RAMAHI

Hani Al Ramahi - UNRWA link

Hani Al Ramahi, who identifies himself on Facebook as a “Projects Support Assistant at UNRWA” (screenshot here), posted the violent image below last Thursday, on October 8th, in which a keffiyeh-clad man stares down the camera as he grasps a knife, bearing the Palestinian colors, daubed in blood. “Stab Zionist dogs,“ reads the caption.

Recommendation: UNRWA should fire Hani Al Ramahi for using the name of UNRWA on an account that incites violence and terrorism.

_________________________

2: U.N. EMPLOYEE IBRAHIM ALI GLORIFIES
KNIFINGS, MOLOTOV COCKTAIL ATTACKS

Ibrahim Ali, who lives in Hebron and identifies himself as an UNRWA employee on his Facebook page (screenshot here), posted this video on his timeline on October 6th (screen captures below), which glorifies a gruesome series of terrorist attacks, including shootings and stabbings, of Israeli Jews.

Recommendation: UNRWA should fire Ibrahim Ali for using the name of UNRWA on an account that promotes violence and terrorism.

_________________________

3: HIBA MIARI, UNRWA TEACHER, CELEBRATES STABBINGS

Hiba M. Miari - UNRWA link

Hiba Miari, identifying herself on her Facebook page as an UNRWA teacher (screenshot above), celebrated the recent Palestinian stabbing attacks against Israeli Jews with a cartoon that she posted online on October 11th. A masked Palestinian is shown playing music on a violin made of a giant knife — the kind used for stabbing. The picture was deleted after it was first exposed by the blogger Elder of Ziyon, though UNRWA has never condemned the incitement or announced any punitive action.

Recommendation: UNRWA should fire Hiba Miari for using the name of UNRWA on an account that glorifies and romanticizes violent acts of terrorism.

_________________________

4: UM KARAM, UNRWA TEACHER, GLORIFIES STABBING SERMON

UNRWA link

Um Karam, who identifies himself on his Facebook page as a teacher at UNRWA (screenshot above), posted the infamous video of mosque sermon in which Sheikh Abu Rajab pulled out a knife and, with violent stabbing motions, exhorted Palestinians to murder Jews in the name of Islam.

Recommendation: UNRWA should fire Um Karam for using the name of UNRWA on an account that promotes murder and terrorism.

_______________

5: SOUHAIB FAYYAD

Souhaib Fayyad, who identified on Facebook as part of UNRWA, celebrated the stabbing of Israeli Jews by turning his Facebook profie picture, on October 12th, into an image of a dagger, morphed out of the Facebook “Like” icon. UN Watch captured the image below before it was removed. Fayyad’s actions were documented by the blogger Elder of Ziyon, and his UNRWA-linked Facebook page has since been deactivated. UNRWA has never condemned its employee’s incitement or announced any punitive measures.

Recommendation: UNRWA should fire Souhaib Fayyad for using the name of UNRWA on an account that promotes and condones murderous acts of terrorism.

_______________

6: MAHMOUD ABU ZAKARI

Mahmoud Abu Zakari, identified on his Facebook page as an UNRWA social worker, celebrated the stabbing of Israeli Jews on October 11th, by turning his profile picture into an image of a hooded youngster clutching a large knife, ready to strike (below).

Recommendation: UNRWA should fire Mahmoud Abu Zakari for using the name of UNRWA on an account that promotes and condones acts of violence and terrorism.

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7: MAEN DAJANI, U.N. TEACHER, DEFENDS STABBER

Maen Dajani, identifying himself on his Facebook page as a teacher with UNRWA, joined in the PA-Hamas campaign to demonize Israeli self-defence against stabbings as “executions of teenagers,” when he shared a post on October 14th (screenshot below) purporting to illustrate that Israeli media had photoshopped a knife into the hand of a 15-year-old “martyr” who attempted to stab an Israeli. Dajani, who failed to reply to another user’s comment on his post in which the photoshop claim is conclusively refuted, was first exposed by the blogger Elder of Ziyon.

Recommendation: UNRWA should fire Maen Dajani for using the name of UNRWA on an account that excuses violence and terrorism.

_________________________

8: UNRWA’S SALEH MOHSEN ADVOCATES VIOLENCE

Saleh Mohsen, identifying himself on his Facebook page as an UNRWA employee, celebrated the outbreak of Palestinian stabbing attacks against Israelis by calling, on October 4th, for a “West Bank Intifada”:

On October 9th, this UN employee shared a post on his timeliine calling for a “Third Intifada” (see three hashtags below) and then, on the same day, turned his profile picture into the violent image of a masked stone-thrower (see below), as first exposed by the blogger Elder of Ziyon.

Recommendation: UNRWA should fire Saleh Mohsen for using the name of UNRWA on an account that promotes violence and terrorism.

______________

9: UNRWA’S “ARAB IDOL” MOHAMMED ASSAF
ADVOCATES “WEST BANK INTIFADA,” GLORIFIES VIOLENCE

Mohammed Assaf, UNRWA’s “Youth Ambassador” and most famous personality — an “Arab Idol” winner who is a key fundraiser and face of the organization, appointed by UNRWA’s Commissioner-General — has been using his UN imprimatur to glorify violence throughout his Facebook timeline. In the image above, Assaf glorifies three Palestinian youths who attacked Israeli Jews as holy “martyrs” (Shahid).

Recommendation: UNRWA should fire Mohammed Assaf for using the name of UNRWA on an account that promotes violence and terrorism.

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Israel, Palestinians, Terrorism, UN, UN Officials Inciting Murder of Jews, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, UNRWA

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Fatah’s armed wing calls for more attacks against Israel

October 16, 2015

Fatah’s armed wing calls for more attacks against Israel

By JPOST.COM STAFF \

10/16/2015 17:53

Source: Fatah’s armed wing calls for more attacks against Israel – Arab-Israeli Conflict – Jerusalem Post

Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades posts call for more violence on its Twitter account.

The Fatah movement’s armed wing, the Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades, called for more attacks against Israel on Friday.

The military arm of Fatah, the secular organization which has dominated the Palestine Liberation Organization and is under the control of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, posted on its Twitter account an explicit call for Palestinians to carry out attacks against Israelis.

Earlier on Friday, Palestinian gunmen fired shots at an IDF vehicle near the Palestinian village of Silwad, east of Ramallah.

There were no injuries in the incident. The army said it spotted three suspects fleeing the scene. Units began a search of the area.

Palestinians set fire to a Jewish shrine in the West Bank and an attacker disguised as a journalist stabbed an Israeli soldier on Friday as tensions ran high after more than two weeks of violence.

Israel’s military said about 100 people converged on the tomb of the biblical patriarch Joseph in the Palestinian city of Nablus and set parts of it ablaze before Palestinian security forces arrived and pushed them back.

Hours later, a Palestinian posing as a journalist wounded an Israeli soldier with a knife before being shot dead near the town of Hebron, the Israeli military added.

Reuters television footage showed the Palestinian rolling on the ground and surrounded by Israeli troops after the attack. He was holding a knife and wearing a fluorescent yellow vest over a t-shirt marked “PRESS.”

A military statement about the shrine attack said: “We view this incident with gravity and strongly condemn any attack on holy sites. We will find and arrest those who set the fire.”

Joseph’s tomb has been venerated for centuries by Jews, Samaritans, Christians and Muslims.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack. He ordered the damage to be repaired and opened an investigation into the arson.

A statement from his office said Abbas “stressed his rejection of these actions and all actions that violate law and order, and which distort our culture, our morals and our religion.”

Violence also broke out in the Gaza Strip when Palestinians approached the border fence with Israel. They threw stones at soldiers, who opened fire, killing a Palestinian and wounding 27 others, Palestinian medical officials said.

The Israeli military said hundreds of people gathered along the border, some hurling rocks and burning tires at the fence. A military spokeswoman said troops “are operating to prevent further escalation of violence using riot dispersal means and firing towards main instigators.”

Yaakov Lappin and Reuters contributed to this report.Earlier on Friday, Palestinian gunmen fired shots at an IDF vehicle near the Palestinian village of Silwad, east of Ramallah.

There were no injuries in the incident. The army said it spotted three suspects fleeing the scene. Units began a search of the area.

Palestinians set fire to a Jewish shrine in the West Bank and an attacker disguised as a journalist stabbed an Israeli soldier on Friday as tensions ran high after more than two weeks of violence.

Israel’s military said about 100 people converged on the tomb of the biblical patriarch Joseph in the Palestinian city of Nablus and set parts of it ablaze before Palestinian security forces arrived and pushed them back.

Hours later, a Palestinian posing as a journalist wounded an Israeli soldier with a knife before being shot dead near the town of Hebron, the Israeli military added.

Reuters television footage showed the Palestinian rolling on the ground and surrounded by Israeli troops after the attack. He was holding a knife and wearing a fluorescent yellow vest over a t-shirt marked “PRESS.”

A military statement about the shrine attack said: “We view this incident with gravity and strongly condemn any attack on holy sites. We will find and arrest those who set the fire.”

Joseph’s tomb has been venerated for centuries by Jews, Samaritans, Christians and Muslims.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack. He ordered the damage to be repaired and opened an investigation into the arson.

A statement from his office said Abbas “stressed his rejection of these actions and all actions that violate law and order, and which distort our culture, our morals and our religion.”

Violence also broke out in the Gaza Strip when Palestinians approached the border fence with Israel. They threw stones at soldiers, who opened fire, killing a Palestinian and wounding 27 others, Palestinian medical officials said.

The Israeli military said hundreds of people gathered along the border, some hurling rocks and burning tires at the fence. A military spokeswoman said troops “are operating to prevent further escalation of violence using riot dispersal means and firing towards main instigators.”

Yaakov Lappin and Reuters contributed to this report.

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades, Anti Semitism, Christians, Islam, Islamic Jihad, Islamic slaughter, Israel, Jews, Joseph's tomb, Mahmoud Abbas, Middle East, Middle East War, Muslims, Netanyahu, Palestine Liberation Organization, Palestinian Authority, Palestinians, Samaritans, Terrorism

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‘Abbas: We Will Continue The Popular Resistance; Israel Is Plotting To Change Status Quo In Jerusalem; Israel Uses Terror, Executes Children

October 16, 2015

‘Abbas: We Will Continue The Popular Resistance; Israel Is Plotting To Change Status Quo In Jerusalem; Israel Uses Terror, Executes Children, Middle East Media Research Institute, C. Jacob, October 16, 2015

Like the first and second intifadas, the current wave of terrorism is being exploited by Palestinian organizations and leaders, including by Palestinian President Mahmoud ‘Abbas, who attack Israel and accuse it of terror and crimes while making false claims and allegations. Some Palestinian organizations and leaders praised the perpetrators of the attacks, stating that they acted in self-defense. Fatah’s military wing, the Al-Aqsa Brigades, even called to escalate the attacks.

In his recent statements and speeches, ‘Abbas did not mention any violent Palestinian actions, but spoke only of “popular resistance,” which he advocates. This term is highly misleading, since it evokes nonviolent action such as peaceful protests and marches, whereas the recent wave of Palestinian terror has included mostly knifings, many of which resulted in grave injuries and deaths, as well as the throwing of stones and firebombs and the slinging of metal balls, which have also resulted in injuries and deaths.

PA and its head, Mahmoud ‘Abbas, have not only refrained from condemning the terror of the recent month, but are encouraging it to continue and are presenting the perpetrators not as attackers who deliberately set out to stab Israelis but as innocent Palestinians whom Israel executed under false pretenses. They call the injuring or killing of terrorists “war crimes” and even state that they mean to sue Israel in the International Criminal Court. The language used by ‘Abbas – such as “the terror of the Israeli government and the settler herds”, “execution in cold blood,” and “Israel’s hostile attack” – is obviously not conducive to calming the atmosphere, and in fact incites violence.

Granted, ‘Abbas and his security apparatuses are currently working to prevent the spread of the conflicts in the PA territories, and they have indeed arrested Hamas activists. Furthermore, ‘Abbas met with Fatah leaders in the various districts, apparently to instruct them to take measures to quell the violence. However, these measures seem to be motivated by the fear of losing control of the situation and by the desire to avoid giving Israel an excuse to retake the PA territories.

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Mahmoud ‘Abbas (image: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, October 14, 2014)

The Libel Of A Changed Status Quo At Al-Aqsa

In his October 14, 2015 speech on Palestinian television, ‘Abbas reiterated the libel that was the main catalyst for the current terror incidents, namely that Israel plans to alter the status quo in Jerusalem, despite repeated declarations by Israeli officials that Israel has no intention of doing so. ‘Abbas also declared that Israel’s actions were sparking a religious conflict. He said: “These days Israel’s hostile attack on our Palestinian people, its soil and its holy sites is intensifying, and the savage racism in its ugly form adds hideousness and repulsiveness to the occupation. These pose a threat to peace and stability and herald the lighting of the fuse of a religious conflict that will spark an all-consuming conflagration not only in the [Middle East] region but in the entire world. This is a warning bell for the international community to immediately intervene in a positive manner, before it will be too late.

“We say explicitly and unequivocally that we will not agree to a change in the status quo in the blessed Al-Aqsa and we will not allow Israel to carry out any plot intended to damage its sanctity and its purely Islamic [character]. The right [over Al-Qasa] is our exclusive right – Palestinians and Muslims everywhere. We seek rights, justice and peace. We have attacked nobody and we will not agree to attacks on our people, our homeland and our holy sites.”[1]

It should be mentioned that, one month ago, in a meeting with East Jerusalem residents, ‘Abbas urged them to continue opposing the “invasions” of Al-Aqsa and to prevent the Israelis from dividing it:

“The Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher are ours. They are all ours, and they [the Israelis] have no right to defile them with their filthy feet. We shall not allow them to do so, and we shall do whatever we can to protect Jerusalem. We are in Jerusalem and will remain there. We will defend the places sacred to Christianity and Islam and will not abandon our city. We will continue to cleave to every inch of its soil and do everything to make its voice heard. I am confident that no harm will come to Jerusalem, even though Israel is waging a war of extermination against it. We will continue defending it under any circumstance. We are talking with everyone, and everyone is asking what we are doing to make [Jerusalem’s] voice heard.”[2]

‘Abbas: Israel Is Executing Palestinians, Including Children, In Cold Blood

Another false accusation invoked by ‘Abbas in his speech, and which has recently become a prominent part of the Palestinian narrative, is that Israel is executing Palestinians, including children, on the pretext that they attempted to stab Jews. As an example he cited the case of Ahmad Manasra, the 13-year-old boy who, on October 12, stabbed and critically wounded an Israeli boy his own age in the Pisgat Zeev neighborhood of Jerusalem, although Manasra is only moderately wounded and is hospitalized in Israel. ‘Abbas said: “We have told the entire world from the U.N. stage that in no way will we accept the existing situation in occupied Palestine, nor will we surrender to the logic of oppressive force and to the policy of occupation and aggression adopted by the Israeli government and its settler herds, who are using terror against our people, our holy places, our homes and our trees and are executing our children in cold blood, just as they did to the boy Ahmad Manasra and to other children in Jerusalem and elsewhere.”

Abbas stated further that the PA would sue Israel for the executions at the International Criminal Court: “We will file new suits over the execution of our sons, daughters and grandchildren. Whoever fears international law and its penalties should desist from committing crimes against our people.”[3]

The claim about the Israeli executions was echoed by Palestinian chief negotiator and PLO Executive Committee secretary Saeb Erekat, who said at a press conference that Israel was executing Palestinians, while ignoring the fact that they were killed while stabbing or attempting to stab Israelis. He said: “We demand that the [U.N.] special rapporteur on human rights Christof Heyns arrive immediately and investigate the field executions… According to the directive of President [‘Abbas], we decided to collect information in order to submit three lawsuits, against Prime Minister Netanyahu, his defense minister and the heads of the Israeli security forces.”[4]

‘Abbas: The Martyrs’ Blood Is The Price Of Freedom; The Palestinian Struggle Has Gained Attention, Earned Respect Of The Entire World

In his speech ‘Abbas called to continue the “popular resistance” and congratulated Jerusalem and the martyrs, stating that the events are the result of Israel’s rejection of the hand extended in peace and the continued construction in the settlements: “O heroic Palestinians, in your struggle and steadfastness you have gained considerable victories and political achievements, and thanks to this wondrous steadfastness the Palestinian cause has gained the attention and earned the respect of the entire world. True, we have paid for it in the blood of our martyrs and wounded, in the tears of our mothers and the torment of our prisoners, but that is the price of freedom, which is now very close.

“[I] congratulate you, our glorious people, as well as proud Jerusalem and its residents who stand on the front line; [I] congratulate Gaza, the West Bank and our people in the diaspora. Victory will come, with Allah’s help… We will persist in our legitimate national struggle, which focuses on our right to defend ourselves, the nonviolent popular resistance and the diplomatic and legal struggle, and we will act with the required patience, wisdom and valor to defend our people and its diplomatic and national achievements, which were attained following decades of struggle and persistence and via the long road of the martyrs, wounded and prisoners.

“The instability and insecurity result from the Israeli government’s rejection of our hand that is extended in [a bid for] a just peace that will guarantee the rights of our people, its freedom and its national honor. [They result from Israel’s] stubborn persistence in building in the settlements and imposing dictates [upon the Palestinians]. Peace, security and stability will only be achieved if the Israeli occupation ends and an independent Palestinian state is established, with holy Jerusalem as its capital, in the June 4, 1967 boundaries.

“Members of the glorious Palestinian people, wherever you are, I call upon you to rally together and unite, and be alert to the occupation’s schemes that are designed to torpedo our national enterprise. We will never be deterred from defending our people and protecting them. That is our right. [I] congratulate the martyrs, the wounded and the prisoners.”[5]

Senior Fatah Officials Praise The Terrorists, Encourage Continued “Popular Resistance”

Saeb Erekat praised Fadi ‘Aloun, who carried out an October 4, 2015 stabbing in Jerusalem, as well as Muhannad Al-Halabi, who stabbed two Israelis to death in Jerusalem’s old city the same day. He also listed the names of “martyrs,” most of whom perpetrated terror attacks, while emphasizing their young age. He added: “The Israeli method vis-a-vis the Palestinian people is [carrying out] field executions… Israel kills civilians and children and imposes collective punishments.”[6]

Other senior Fatah officials justified the violence and/or encouraged its continuation. In an interview with the Amad press agency, Fatah Central Committee member and former West Bank General Intelligence head Tawfiq Al-Tirawi said that the Palestinian people had the right to defend itself and to resist in order to secure its future, for popular resistance was one of the methods of resistance.[7]

Fatah Central Committee member ‘Azzam Al-Ahmad said: “We must continue the national awakening, for diplomatic activity without popular resistance is valueless. The time has arrived to expand the circle of [those] joining the popular resistance, and all of us have to participate in the struggle, each according to his ability.”[8]

Fatah Central Committee member ‘Abbas Zaki told the Turkish news agency Anadolu: “Armed struggle against the occupation is a legitimate right that we will not relinquish. However, this [activity] requires unity among all the Palestinian factions and establishing a central war room and formulating plans so that the armed struggle exacts a steep price from the enemy while [also] benefiting the Palestinian people. We reserve the right to [engage in] armed struggle, which is an option we will not give up, but we must consider how and when to carry it out, and whether the climate is right to use it to our benefit. At present we support [waging] a popular intifada that will confound the enemy and paralyze his security and economy, and prompt the world to address the question of how to end the world’s last remaining occupation.

“Deciding on an armed struggle now will [only] serve the enemy, who has the military power to kill [us] on a daily basis. Today we are defending ourselves, and we will continue to do so. We do not want escalation, but the enemy is attacking and destroying our cities and villages. [The means] of self-defense differ from one Palestinian to the other, some of us use stones and others knives.”[9]

Overt And Covert Threats To Escalate The Violence

In addition to congratulating the perpetrators of the stabbings and calling to continue the violence, members of the Fatah Central Committee even called to intensify it. ‘Azzam Al-Ahmad stated that, if Israel continued its “crimes” against the Palestinians, events would spiral out of control, and added: “There is a resemblance between the Israeli forces and the ISIS terror organization.”[10]

An October 13 announcement issued by the Al-Aqsa Brigades welcomed the attacks and called to “escalate them on the ground against the Israeli occupation that has made everything permitted, including killing women, children and the elderly in cold blood… The response will be painful and shocking, and we will act to light a fire under the filthy feet of the Zionists.”[11]

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Image on Al-Aqsa Brigades website shows knife cleaving a Star of David, with the caption: “Palestinian, stand up and resist, and never relinquish your right” (3asfa.com, October 13, 2015)

Endnotes:

[1] Al-Ayyam (PA), October 15, 2015.

[2] See MEMRI TV Clip No. 5080, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas: Jews “Have No Right to Defile the Al-Aqsa Mosque with Their Filthy Feet”, September 16, 2015.

[3] Al-Ayyam (PA), October 15, 2015.

[4] Amad.ps, October 13, 2015.

[5] Al-Ayyam (PA), October 15, 2015.

[6] Amad.ps, October 13, 2015.

[7] Amad.ps, October 13, 2015.

[8] Amad.ps, October 13, 2015.

[9] Amad.ps, October 9, 2015.

[10] Amad.ps, October 13, 2015.

[11] 3asfa.com, October 13, 2015.

Categories: Abbas, Al-Aqsa Mosque, Fatah, Islamic jihad, Israel, Jerusalem, Jews, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian heroes, Palestinian terrorists
Tags: Abbas, Al-Aqsa Mosque, Fatah, Islamic Jihad, Israel, Jerusalem, Jews, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian heroes, Palestinian terrorists

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