Posted tagged ‘Islamic terrorism’

Trudeau on anniversary of Ottawa jihad attack: “Diversity makes our country strong”

October 24, 2016

Trudeau on anniversary of Ottawa jihad attack: “Diversity makes our country strong” Jihad Watch

The reality beneath Trudeau’s adulation of diversity is like a festering sore; his misplaced praise diverts attention away from the grave threat of jihadi infiltration and its threat to homeland security, and undermines the real heroes who stopped the jihadists on that fateful day at the Canadian Parliament.

Most worrisome is that prior to carrying out their attacks both perpetrators were known to Canadian law enforcement authorities. In fact, Rouleau was included in the list of 90 Canadian nationals considered at ‘high risk’ for possible involvement in terrorist activities; yet at the time not considered sufficiently serious to warrant tighter surveillance of his activities, surveillance that might have prevented his attack.

The anniversary of the jihadist attack on Canadian Parliament is no occasion to applaud diversity. The West has allowed an indiscriminate form of “diversity,” Islamic supremacism, to undermine democracy and terrorize Western citizens.

The heroic act of Canadian Parliament’s head of security, sergeant-at-arms Kevin Vickers, saved the day.  Vickers risked his life to take down Michael Zehaf-Bibeau in a “dramatic hail of gunfire,” right after Zehaf-Bibeau — an Islamic convert who had joined the Islamic State — shot dead a Canadian soldier. Vickers even “changed my impression of Canada,” according to Josh Marshall, editor and publisher of the far-Left political website Talking Points Memo, which “decreed” Vickers  “Lord High Badass of Canada.”

The humble Canadian hero received global, deserved accolades;  one was in the Israeli Parliament, where he stated: “This is not about me. This is about the team of Commons security services.” He went on:

Safety is community based.

This is not an issue just for security, this is everybody’s issue and how we deal with this is by everybody, all the citizens, working together with their local police, their national police to ensure we have a safe society.

Vickers’ message of everyone working together to ensure the safety of society is important; sincere democracy-supporting Muslims should be at the forefront of facilitating such efforts, not shouting “Islamophobia.”

Israel is a most suitable place for Vickers to have been honored, as it was under jihadist attack long before the modern jihadist incursion into the West. We also know that Israel is a very diverse country, from which Trudeau can take lessons as Prime Minister of a multicultural state; beginning with the facts that Raffa Abu Tareef, a Druze writer, researcher and 25-year veteran of the Israel Defense Forces, points out:

Islamism is a movement that regards the sovereign Jewish state as an existential battle between Islam and Judaism…..

the movement has fostered the “Islamization” of the geography and history of the Land of Israel. In an attempt to provide a framework for dealing with what it sees as the occupation of Palestine by the Jews, Islamists have rewritten the history of the Land of Israel.

Islamic supremacism – through lies about victimhood and “Islamophobia” — has made deep inroads into Europe under the cover of “diversity,” and is well on its way in North America to doing the same, a territory that is perceived by Islamic supremacists as “dar al Harb” (House of War) that must be subjugated under “dar al Islam” (House of Islam). It is a similar premise to the “Islamization” of geography that Tareef describes, in which Western countries are deemed “colonialist victimizers,” a term that corresponds to “the Zionist entity”; but jihadists conceal their own history of bloody conquest, modern day abuses and ongoing slavery of blacks by Muslim Arabs. There is no respect for “diversity” or pluralism in the vocabulary of the Islamic supremacists who have infiltrated us.

As Trudeau denies this reality, he continues to smile and indiscriminately worship “diversity,” even on an inappropriate occasion.

justin-trudeau-4-photo-cijnews

“Trudeau says reaction to Ottawa attack shows that diversity ‘makes our country strong’”, by Jonathan Halevi, CiJ News, October 22, 2016:

Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, issued on Saturday, October 22, 2016, a statement on the two-year anniversary of the attack at the Cenotaph and Parliament Hill with no word on the perpetrator’s motive and ideological affiliation. Trudeau described the attack as “brutal”, “vicious” and “deadly” emphasizing that “Canada will not be intimidated by hatred and violence.”

He further said that the reaction to the attack demonstrated yet again that “diversity and collective love of democracy are what make our country strong and our nation great.”

The following is Trudeau’s statement:

“Two years ago, Canadians were shocked by the brutal attack that took place in and around Parliament that claimed the life of Corporal Nathan Cirillo and injured others.

“This vicious attack, at the very heart of our democracy, sought to frighten and divide Canadians. Instead it had the exact opposite effect, drawing us closer together and making us stronger. In the wake of this deadly assault, parliamentarians and Canadians united in condemning terrorism and further embracing our diversity.

“The whole country honoured first responders – Senate and House of Commons Protective Services, the RCMP, former House of Commons Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers, medical personnel and others – for their bravery and their willingness to put themselves in harm’s way for Canadians of all backgrounds and faiths.

“It showed the world that Canada will not be intimidated by hatred and violence, but will meet these acts with strength and conviction. This also showed me yet again that our diversity and collective love of democracy are what make our country strong and our nation great.

“I join all Canadians today in mourning the loss of Corporal Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent – who was killed two days earlier in an attack in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec.

“These two members of the Canadian Armed Forces made the ultimate sacrifice for the country they loved. The most fitting tribute that we can pay them is defending the values that they so personified.”

On October 20, 2014 , Martin Ahmad Couture-Rouleau, a convert to Islam, deliberately drove into two Canadian Forces soldiers in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, near Montreal, killing Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent before he was shot dead after a police chase. Faisal, his Facebook friend, told CBC that Couture-Rouleau was a supporter of the Islamic State (aka ISIS, ISIL, IS, Deash, Caliphate). He posted on a Facebook page that was allegedly affiliated with him the black flags of the Islamic State. Months before the attack, the Police was aware of Couture-Rouleau’s radical statements on social media and arrested him in July 2014 foiling his plan to board a plane to Turkey, probably in his way to Syria. To watch CBC report on Martin Ahmad Couture-Rouleau click HERE.

On October 22, 2014, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, 32, Canadian born and a convert to Islam, shot dead a soldier and was killed after opening fire inside the Parliament in Ottawa. Zehaf-Bibeau saw himself as a “mujahid”, meaning a fighter in the path of Allah, and said that “Canada’s officially become one of our [Muslim mujahideen] enemies.”

A Short time before he went to the attack at Parliament Hill, Zehaf-Bibeau recorded his last message to the world in which he told his motives:

“In the name of Allah, the most gracious and the most merciful. All praises to Allah, the lord of the universe. We seek his help and ask for his forgiveness. Lord, open for me my chest, ease my task for me and remove the impediment from my speech. In the name of Allah the most gracious and the most merciful.

“To those who are involved and listen to this movie, this is in retaliation for Afghanistan and because Harper wants to send his troops to Iraq.

“So we are retaliating, the Mujahedin of this world. Canada’s officially become one of our enemies by fighting and bombing us and creating a lot of terror in our countries and killing us and killing our innocents. So, just aiming to hit some soldiers just to show that you’re not even safe in your own land, and you gotta be careful.

“So, may Allah accept from us. It’s a disgrace you guys have forgotten God and have you let every indecency and things running your land. We don’t, we don’t go for this. We are good people, righteous people, believers of God and believing his law and his Prophets, peace be upon them all….

Kiss Goodbye Your Freedom of Speech

October 24, 2016

Kiss Goodbye Your Freedom of Speech, Center for Security PolicyFrank Gaffney, Jr., October 24, 2016

The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that Facebook has decided that Donald Trump violated its “hate speech” policies in calling for a ban on Muslim immigration until a way could be found to stop importing more jihadists. Its chairman, Mark Zuckerberg, however disagreed with some employees – including a dozen Muslims involved in censoring content – that Facebook should remove Trump’s comments because he is, after all, a presidential candidate.

Facebook has adopted, though, the European Union’s practice of suppressing so-called “defamation” of Islam. And Zuckerberg’s candidate, Hillary Clinton, supports UN Resolution 16/18 that effectively requires the prohibition of speech that offends Islamic supremacists.

If Mrs. Clinton becomes president, count on your First Amendment-guaranteed freedom of speech not extending to discussion of the global jihadist threat, lest it offend the jihadists.

That’s a formula for getting more of us killed by them.

Hamas: The unity of ‘Palestine’ is holy

October 23, 2016

Hamas: The unity of ‘Palestine’ is holy “Palestine borders Lebanon and Egypt, and extends from the River to the Sea.”

Dalit Halevy,
23/10/16 09:28

Source: Hamas: The unity of ‘Palestine’ is holy – Defense/Security – News –

Islamic Jihad rally in Gaza

Reuters

Mahmoud Al-Zahar, a senior official in the political branch of Hamas, said at an Islamic Jihad event on Friday in Gaza that Hamas extends its hand to anyone who helps to “liberate Palestine.”

“We will not accept compromise or any international conception, unless it serves the Palestinian interest,” he said.

In an apparent appropriation, for the purposes of Palestinian ideology, of the Jewish belief in the sanctity of the entire Land of Israel, Al-Zahar erased Israel from the map in his address, and referred to its geographical space as the Arab land of “Palestine.”

“We emphasize the unity of the land, the people, the struggle, and the history, and we do not recognize the terminology of ‘The [West] Bank and Gaza’ as an expression of Palestine; rather Palestine borders Lebanon and Egypt, and extends from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea,” Zahar said, adding that the unity of the land was holy, permanent and unchanging.

He warned Israel against damaging Al-Aqsa Mosque and the “lions” guarding it. “He who tries to damage Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the lions around it, the ‘West Bank’ and Jerusalem, is delusionally mistaken that he can turn the clock back.”

Germany: World must take action in order to end Syrian crisis

October 21, 2016

European leaders condemn Russia for involvement in Syrian civil war The German Chancellor announced that the EU will take action in order to put an end to the deteriorating situation in Syria.

Oct 21, 2016, 4:00PM

Source: Germany: World must take action in order to end Syrian crisis – World News | JerusalemOnline

Merkel and Putin Photo Credit: Reuters/Channel 2 News

While the Russian and Syrian airstrikes on Aleppo continue, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said today (Friday) that the entire world needs to take action in order to end the “barbaric” situation in the city. Merkel added that if the attacks do not end, the EU will take measures against Russia and the Syrian government. Additional European leaders also condemned Russia for the continuous attacks on the city.

“We demand an end to the attacks,” said Merkel. “We have not only said that we could not only impose sanctions against Syria but also sanctions against all who are allied with Syria. This applies to Russia.” The EU leaders indented to impose new sanctions on Moscow but Italy has been opposing this course of action.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said that she would support sending a strict message to Russia and Syria in order to cause them to cease the attacks. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called the attacks on Aleppo “crimes of historic proportions.”

SIGN THE PETITION

October 21, 2016

Help STOP the UNITED NATIONS attempt to wipe Israel from history

http://www.iltv.tv/unesco/?referrer=UnitedWithIsrael

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) passed a monumental draft resolution this past week denying the Jewish connections to the Temple Mount and Western Wall in Jerusalem.

Denying the Jewish connections to the Temple Mount and Western Wall in Jerusalem.

The draft will now move on to Unesco’s executive body, which will vote on whether to adopt it.

Citing the “need” for “the safeguarding of the cultural heritage of Palestine and the distinctive character of East Jerusalem” The resolution refers to the Temple mount (the location of two Jewish Temples) only as the “Al-Aqsa Mosque and Al-Haram Al-Sharif” affirming the Muslim affinity to the holy site and erasing all Jewish connection to Judaism’s holiest site.

By failing to mention any connection to the Jewish people to the Temple Mount, UNESCO has declared it position to hand over the rights and authority of Judaism’s most holy sites to the Palestinians.

The resolution was hailed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as: “An important message to Israel that it must end its occupation and recognize the Palestinian state and Jerusalem as its capital”

We must share our voice to protest this!

“To say that Israel has no connection to the Temple
Mount and the Western Wall is like saying that China
has no connection to the Great Wall of China or that
Egypt has no connection to the pyramids”

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu

Report: US, Egypt, Asking PA Not to Approach UNSC before Nov. 8

October 21, 2016

By: JNi.Media Published: October 21st, 2016

Source: The Jewish Press » » Report: US, Egypt, Asking PA Not to Approach UNSC before Nov. 8

Secretary Kerry meets with PA Chairman Abbas
Photo Credit: Wikipedia commons

The US and Egypt, which is a temporary member of the UN Security Council, have recently passed on messages to the Palestinian Authority leadership asking them not to promote any move against Israel until after the Nov. 8 elections in the US, Ha’aretz reported, citing a senior PA source. The source claimed there have been several messages, direct and indirect—through Arab and Western go-betweens, warning that the US would veto any anti-Israel move initiated prior to the elections, including condemnation of the settlement enterprise.

The source noted that, despite their “dissatisfaction” with these requests, the PA leadership will restrain itself and avoid any UNSC move until after the elections. However, as soon as voting in the US is over, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is determined to accelerate his plan to promote an anti-settlements vote at the council, the source said. The same PA official admitted, however that “so far there has been no agreement on the final draft and we are not clear what the American position would be.”

Sources inside Abbas’s office have told Ha’aretz that the chairman’s recent contacts with US officials, including a meeting with Sec. John Kerry, have not created the impression that the Administration is planning to initiate a UNSC move, or even support another member country’s initiative. “We have no illusions or expectations that the Americans would not veto or torpedo a proposal submitted to the UNSC,” a senior Palestinian official said. “We also haven’t heard of an outline being worked on or any proposal to be put forth in the future. All we hear are ideas.”

A month ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he “hoped” President Obama would not seek to establish a Palestinian state at the UN. Asked if Obama had promised him that he would not seek to establish a state of Palestine without Israel’s cooperation before the end of his term in January, Netanyahu told the Jerusalem Post: “If you’re asking if he spoke to me about this, the answer is no. If you’re asking me if I am hoping that he won’t do this, the answer is yes.”

UK Cleric and High School Rector: “No Son of a Bastard Will Remain Alive After Swearing at My Prophet”

October 19, 2016

UK Cleric and High School Rector: “No Son of a Bastard Will Remain Alive After Swearing at My Prophet”, Counter JihadBruce Cornibe, October 19, 2016

shah-sadruddin

In the West governments have the duty to protect free speech as well as other freedoms (exceptions for reasonable censorship – for example, sexually explicit content). The point is that ideas and concepts should be up for debate in order for society to learn and advance. Unfortunately, in much of the Islamic world certain ideas are not only prohibited by they can be punishable up to a death sentence. Let’s take a look at some examples of Muslim support for blasphemy laws.

First, a case in the UK reveals how Mufti Shah Sadruddin, a prominent figure among Bangladeshi Brits, has advocated for the death of those who insult Islam. This is the same Sadruddin who apparently ran for a “local councillor” position a couple years ago, the UK’s Mirror reports:

Footage has emerged of Mufti Shah Sadruddin making a shocking hate speech in London – a year before he tried to become a local councillor.

In his hate-filled rant, he rages against atheists and suggests those who insult his religion should be killed.

The shocking comments were unearthed ahead of a documentary about the abuse, violence and hatred suffered by some Muslims who choose to leave the religion.

Raging against non-believers, Sadruddin says in the video clip: “No son of a b*****d will remain alive after swearing at my prophet.”

The comment was filmed a year before he stood as a Conservativecandidate for Newham council in 2014.

In the run-up to the election, he claimed: “I believe in equality, I believe in fairness, I believe in loving the human race and I hate to hate anybody.”

So basically equality, fairness, and love are being defined by Sharia standards or Sadruddin is blatantly lying in order to advance his Islamist agenda in the UK. An ICM Unlimited survey released earlier this year shows that other British Muslim adults (18 years and older) also have particular sensitivities in matters regarding Islam’s prophet. For example, when asked: “In your opinion, should any publication have the right to publish pictures of the Prophet?” – 4% of the Muslims surveyed said “Yes” while 78% responded by saying “No[.]” And that question just deals with simply posting a picture – whether it’s a positive or negative portrayal of Muhammad is irrelevant here! Another question the survey asked reads: “And in your opinion, should any publication have the right to publish pictures which make fun of the Prophet?” – 1% of Muslims said “Yes” while 87% said “No[.]” While no one who is serious about their faith typically enjoys when other people insult or mock one’s beliefs, the fact that just the mere drawing of Muhammad causes such ire within the Islamic community is a real cause for concern within the UK.

A second case reveals how blasphemy laws are not only enforced in Pakistan but they also apply to non-Muslims as well – and an influential segment of Pakistanis support such laws. A recent article from the Pakistan Christian Post shows that “about 150 top Muslim Clerics (Muftis) issued a religious decree and demanded from Government to hang Asia bibi and all other prisoners of blasphemy laws and also demanded speedy trial of pending cases of blasphemy in Pakistani courts.” Asia Bibi is the Christian mother of five children who has been behind bars since 2009, and is facing the death penalty because of “allegations of blasphemy.” This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise considering a 2013 Pew Research Center article shows that 81% of Muslims in Pakistan believe “sharia is the revealed word of God[.]” The same Pew article found that “[a]mong Muslims who support making sharia the law of the land” (84% in Pakistan) about one third (34%) of those believe Sharia should apply to non-Muslims as well.

Another case exposes how even in America there’s an influential sector of Muslims that essentially help enforce de-facto blasphemy laws by stoking anti-blasphemy anger within the Islamic community when a Muslim Reformer wants to be truthful about the life of Muhammad. Recently, Muslim Reformer (and writer at Counterjihad.com), Shireen Qudosi, testified in front of a House Homeland Security Committee about the subject of radical Islam. At one point during the hearing Qudosi explained how Muhammad switched from being non-violent to violent during his “prophethood[,]” while he and his followers conducted jihad on their adversaries – however, CAIR clipped the segment into a video and basically suggested that Qudosi insulted the Islamic prophet (video here). Not only does the Hamas linked CAIR (professed to be “America’s largest Muslim civil liberties organization”) know that such a video stirs up animosities within the Muslim community that threatens the very life of Qudosi, but they are also trying to shut down any reasonable analysis of Muhammad’s life. One would like to see CAIR try and refute the fact that Muhammad did wage jihad, which included the vicious killings of innocent people. How long are Islamists going to keep painting Muhammad as a peaceful saint when the Quran and Sunnah tell a different story? We must be able to discuss these things without the fear of physical retaliation for offending somebody’s religion.

Robert Spencer on why non-devout Muslims sometimes turn to jihad terror

October 19, 2016

Robert Spencer on why non-devout Muslims sometimes turn to jihad terror, Jihad Watch via YouTube, October 19, 2016

Teachers union protests FBI ‘Radical Ideologies’ website because it could single out Muslims

October 19, 2016

Teachers union protests FBI ‘Radical Ideologies’ website because it could single out Muslims, Jihad Watch,

Islamic jihadists are singling us out, but that doesn’t seem to matter. There have been almost 30,000 jihad attacks worldwide since 9/11 and no remotely comparable number of any other attacks by any other group, and they’re worried that Muslims will be “singled out” by a toothless program that doesn’t even name them in the first place.

james-comey

“Teachers Union Protests FBI ‘Radical Ideologies’ Website Because It Could Single Out Muslims,” by Amber Randall, Daily Caller, October 18, 2016:

A teacher’s union and associated groups are coming out against the FBI campaign to counter radical ideology, saying that it could lead to the singling out of Muslims.

Various groups penned a letter to FBI Director James Comey, declaring that the website made them feel “deeply troubled,” reports The Wall Street Journal.

The website, called “Don’t Be A Puppet,” was advertised for use in schools to teach younger people how to avoid being tempted by radical extremist thought. The website urges students to divulge any suspicious behavior they see to teachers and law enforcement.

The groups, which encompass the American Association of School Administrators and American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, wrote that they believed the website would cause people to view Muslims and Middle Eastern students in a negative light.

The website, introduced last year, functions as a game to teach teenagers how to identify and avoid “violent extremists.”

“The site emphasizes that by blindly accepting radical ideologies, teens are essentially becoming the “puppets” of violent extremists who simply want them to carry out their destructive mission—which often includes targeting or killing innocent people,” the FBI website explains.

Those who disagree with the website took issue with what the website calls warning signs of potential extremist actions. Some of the warning signs include “talking about traveling to places that sound suspicious” and “using code words or unusual language.”

“We know we need to be hyper-vigilant. But there’s a difference between being hyper-vigilant and engaging in racial profiling. This program, while probably well intended, shouldn’t go forward,” the American Federation of Teachers union President Randi Weingarten declared….

Palestinians: Fatah Prepares for War with Israel

October 19, 2016

Palestinians: Fatah Prepares for War with Israel

by Khaled Abu Toameh

October 19, 2016 at 5:00 am

Source: Palestinians: Fatah Prepares for War with Israel

  • “We have pledged to prepare an army of fighters by devoting our full abilities and energies to consolidate the option of armed struggle as the only means to liberate Palestine.” — The armed wing of Fatah, Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Martyr Nidal Al-Amoudi Division.
  • The international community continues to perceive Fatah as the “moderate” Palestinian party with whom Israel should make peace. Yet Fatah is far from a single united bloc; many groups within the faction continue to seek the “liberation of Palestine” through armed struggle. Moreover, neither Abbas nor any of his senior Fatah loyalists have repudiated the war-set Fatah militias. Crucially, many of these Fatah militiamen continue to receive salaries from the Palestinian Authority.
  • These Fatah gunmen who are preparing for war with Israel are indirectly receiving their salaries from Western donors, including the US and many EU countries, who fund the Palestinian Authority.
  • These groups believe that they represent the real Fatah, the one that never recognized Israel’s right to exist and holds on to armed struggle as the only way to “liberate Palestine.” They are not breakaway groups. That is why they continue to operate under the name of Fatah.
  • Fatah is a two-faced hydra; one face tells the English-speaking international community what it wants to hear, namely, that it supports a two-state solution and seeks a peaceful settlement to the conflict with Israel, while the other tells the truth: it is committed to an armed struggle and the “liberation of Palestine,” and is even preparing for war with Israel.

Some 300 members of the Palestinian Fatah faction, headed by Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, have begun receiving “military training” in the Gaza Strip in preparation for war with Israel.

The armed wing of Fatah, Aqsa Martyrs Brigades – The Martyr Nidal Al-Amoudi Division, announced that its members have been enrolled in a new military academy for training “fighters” in the Gaza Strip. The academy, inaugurated recently in the Gaza Strip, would train the “fighters” on various fighting methods “in the context of a program for preparing for any future battle” with the “Zionist enemy.”

The Nidal Academy was named for Nidal Al-Amoudi, a top Fatah militant killed by the Israel Defense Forces on January 13, 2008, after he carried out a series of armed attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers during the Second Intifada. “The academy has been named after the commander Nidal Al-Amoudi (Abu Hussein) to fulfill his dream of qualifying the fighters militarily, morally, religiously and revolutionarily,” explained a statement released by the Fatah armed group. Noting that some 300 “fighters” have already joined the academy, the group said that they have begun undergoing training in various methods of warfare.

“We have pledged to prepare an army of fighters by devoting our full abilities and energies to consolidate the option of armed struggle as the only means to liberate Palestine,” the group declared.

The Martyr Nidal Al-Amoudi Division is one of several Fatah-affiliated militias that continue to operate in the Gaza Strip despite Hamas’s violent takeover of the area in the summer of 2007. These groups pose no threat to the Hamas regime, which is why they are allowed to operate freely in different parts of the Gaza Strip. The groups’ explicit policy is to prepare for war with Israel and launch terror attacks against Israelis. Hamas, however, which expelled their leaders from the Gaza Strip and continues to persecute dozens of Fatah activists in the Gaza Strip, is not on their hit list.

The Fatah-affiliated militia inauguration of its own “military” academy in the Gaza Strip is a novel move. In recent years, Fatah armed groups have posted videos of their men undergoing military training orchards and fields, far from the watchful eyes of their rivals in Hamas. Now it seems that Hamas has nothing to fear from the Fatah militants, as Israel is the sole target.

Thus instead of training their men to retake the Gaza Strip and liberate it from the oppressive regime of Hamas, the Fatah “fighters” are busy preparing for war with Israel or fighting among themselves. Indeed, it appears that the Fatah armed groups are actually competing with Hamas for the title of “Most Prepared to Destroy Israel.” Like Hamas, they wish to win the hearts and minds of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by showing that they too support the “armed struggle” against Israel and seek to “liberate Palestine.”

Fortunately for Hamas, the Fatah militias are rather preoccupied with internecine struggles. This leaves precious little time to think about ways of improving their people’s lives.

Today, at least five other Fatah armed groups function in the Gaza Strip: The Abu Rish Brigades, the Jihad Jibril Brigades, the Abdel Qader Husseini Brigades, the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and the Fatah Sukkur (Hawks). Some of these groups have in the past claimed responsibility for firing rockets at Israel. And there is not much harmony or love between these Fatah groups, whose members regard each other as rivals and political foes rather than comrades and colleagues.

Sources in the Gaza Strip point out that many of the members of these groups are former Palestinian Authority policemen who lost their jobs after the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip. As such, many of them remain on the payroll of the Palestinian Authority, despite the fact that they are more than willing to lambast Mahmoud Abbas and his policies. In other words, these Fatah gunmen who are preparing for war with Israel are indirectly receiving their salaries from Western donors, including the US and many EU countries, who fund the Palestinian Authority.

The Martyr Nidal Al-Amoudi Division recently launched a scathing attack on Abbas for attending the funeral of former Israeli President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem. Masked members of the group posted a video on social media in which they strongly condemned Abbas for attending the funeral, saying they are opposed to any form of “normalization” with Israel. They demanded that Abbas apologize to the Palestinians and Fatah, adding that the “armed struggle was the only way to “liberate Palestine.”

Members of Fatah’s Martyr Nidal Al-Amoudi Division read a statement condemning Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for attending the funeral of former Israeli President Shimon Peres.

More recently, the same group “welcomed” the shooting attack that was carried out in Jerusalem by Musbah Abu Sbeih and in which two Israelis were killed — a 60-year-old grandmother and a 29-year-old police officer. “This heroic operation is a clear message that the armed struggle is a deeply-rooted doctrine among Palestinians,” the group stated. “The operation is a natural response to the crimes of the occupation.”

Make no mistake. These groups believe that they represent the real Fatah, the one that never recognized Israel’s right to exist and holds on to armed struggle as the only way to “liberate Palestine.” They are not breakaway groups. That is why they continue to operate under the name of Fatah. In their view, they are following the principles of their former leader, Yasser Arafat, who launched Fatah as a “national liberation movement” and never truly abandoned the option of an armed struggle against Israel. It is Abbas and his colleagues in Fatah, they say, who have deviated from Fatah’s doctrine and true goals.

The power play among Fatah militias in the Gaza Strip reflects the wider division among Fatah’s political leaders. According to Palestinian sources, Fatah leaders in the Gaza Strip have truly become disassociated from the faction’s leadership in the West Bank. Abbas’s aides blame exiled Fatah strongman Mohammed Dahlan for the schism, claiming that he provides dissenting Fatah officials with money, in an attempt to undermine the Palestinian president, who is also head of Fatah. Abbas recently summoned Fatah leaders from the Gaza Strip to an emergency meeting in Ramallah to discuss Dahlan’s growing influence in the Gaza Strip and the rifts in Fatah. The move came after thousands of Fatah members who are loyal to Dahlan staged a large demonstration in the Gaza Strip against Abbas. During the protest, they burned and trampled on pictures of Abbas.

Such developments in Fatah are notable for a specific reason: by and large, the international community continues to perceive Fatah as the “moderate” Palestinian party with whom Israel should make peace. Yet Fatah is far from a single united bloc; many groups within the faction, in their own words, continue to seek the “liberation of Palestine” through armed struggle. Moreover, neither Abbas nor any of his senior Fatah loyalists in the West Bank have repudiated the war-set Fatah militias. Crucially, many of these Fatah militiamen continue to receive salaries from the Palestinian Authority.

Fatah is, in fact, a two-faced hydra; one face tells the English-speaking international community what it wants to hear, namely, that it supports a two-state solution and seeks a peaceful settlement to the conflict with Israel, while the other tells the truth: it is committed to an armed struggle and the “liberation of Palestine” and is even preparing for war with Israel. Worth noting as well is that some of these Fatah militias also continue to operate in some parts of those territories controlled by Abbas’s security forces in the West Bank. And like their cohorts in the Gaza Strip, they too receive salaries from the Palestinian Authority.

Abbas has lost the Gaza Strip not only to Hamas, but also to his own erstwhile Fatah supporters, who are marching in a totally different direction from the Fatah leadership in the West Bank. The dispute between Fatah and Hamas, which has effectively split the Palestinians into two entities, one in the West Bank and the other in the Gaza Strip, is one reason Palestinians are farther than ever from achieving an independent Palestinian state. The infighting in Fatah and the gulf separating its leaders is another. Abbas’s claim to sole Fatah leadership is hardly credible to even the most credulous of Abbas backers: thousands of his “fighters” are preparing for war with Israel.

Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.