Doc's Talk: With Biden in Region, PA Cancels Ceremony for Terrorist who Killed American; PA Will Still Name Square After Terrorist

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

With Biden in Region, PA Cancels Ceremony for Terrorist who Killed American; PA Will Still Name Square After Terrorist

Remarks by Vice President Biden and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas
Recent incidents of incitement by the Palestinian Authority
Watch speech by Vice President Biden at Tel Aviv University (March 11, 2010, 4 a.m. EST/9 a.m. GMT)

• Palestinian Authority to name public square in Ramallah after terrorist
• Incitement by Palestinian Authority contravenes Oslo Accords and Road Map for Peace
• Israeli government establishes “incitement index” to hold PA accountable

Senior Palestinian Authority (PA) officials at the last minute canceled plans to hold a ceremony Thursday (March 11) to dedicate a square in the West Bank city of Ramallah commemorating a female Palestinian terrorist who led a 1978 terrorist attack that killed 37 civilians including a U.S. citizen.[1] Ahe event would have coincided with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to the region. Biden is in the Middle East to support indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians agreed upon this week. The United States will act as mediator in these talks.[2]

The PA canceled the ceremony[3] after Israeli Information and Diaspora Minister Yuli Edelstein requested Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ask the U.S. administration to put a stop to the event celebrating terrorist Dalal al-Mughrabi.[4] The square will still be named after al-Mughrabi.

The Fatah movement’s official spokesman, Faez abu Ita, said al-Mughrabi is a symbol of “our national struggle” and that the Palestinian people and Fatah are proud of her sacrifice.[5] He also said Palestinians have the right to celebrate al-Mughrabi in any way that they see fit and that they don’t need anyone’s permission to do so.[6]

Al-Mughrabi, who was a member of PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction, led a cell of terrorists that infiltrated Israel from Lebanon and hijacked a bus of vacationers. In all, the terrorists killed 37 civilians, 12 of them children and one a U.S. citizen. The American Gail Rubin, was the niece of former U.S. Senator Abraham Ribicoff, and a nature photographer.[7]

In the past two years, al-Mughrabi has been honored in numerous ways. Two girls’ high schools have been named after her, as have two summer camps. One of the schools was renovated using money allocated to the PA from USAID.[8] There is a Palestinian youth soccer tournament named the Dalal al-Mughrabi Football Championship and in May 2009 a computer center in Hebron was also named after al-Mughrabi.[9]

A crucial component of the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians is a commitment by both sides to desist from incitement. The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (also known as Oslo II), signed in 1995, states, “Israel and the Council shall...abstain from incitement, including hostile propaganda, against each other and...shall take legal measures to prevent such incitement by any organizations, groups or individuals within their jurisdiction.”[10]

In addition, the Road Map states that as part of Phase I of the agreement, “All official Palestinian institutions end incitement against Israel.”[11]

In an effort to put an end to the Palestinian culture of hate, the Israeli government announced Wednesday (March 10) that it would officially begin monitoring the Palestinian media and establish a “Palestinian incitement index.”[12]

“People must know exactly what is happening on this issue, because for a peace agreement, education toward peace and acceptance of Israel are needed,” Netanyahu told the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee.[13]

Other Recent Incidents of Incitement by the Palestinian Authority

*
Following the killing of Israeli civilian Rabbi Meir Hai in the West Bank on Dec. 24, 2009, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared the terrorists responsible for the attack to be shahids (martyrs) after they were killed during an arrest operation by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) unit. In addition, Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad visited the families of the terrorists to give his condolences.[14]

Rabbi Hai was shot and killed by terrorists from Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militia in the West Bank on Dec. 24, 2009. He was driving from his home in the community of Shavei Shomron to the nearby community of Einav.[15]

Fatah’s official website issued a statement following the terror attack stating that the “armed struggle” should be continued and that “resistance” is “the primary option for liberating Palestinian lands from the filth of the children of Zion [Jews].”[16]
*
During Fatah’s sixth General Assembly that began Aug. 4, 2009, the faction issued a statement saying, “We won’t abandon any of our options, and we believe that resistance, in all forms, is a legitimate right of occupied people in confronting their occupiers.” Fatah is headed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

The statement caused concern in Israel as it seemingly left the door open for a return to violence in the name of politics. Fatah’s new platform also insisted on the right of Palestinian refugees from 1948 and their descendants to be settled inside Israel. This is often seen within Israel as a policy designed to subvert the state and a severe obstacle to any final peace agreement.[17]
*
In June 2009, PA Minister for Prisoners Ashraf al-Ajrami lauded the terrorist activities of the Fatah-run Palestinian security forces. He said the PA security forces were “the ones who bore arms and carried out the greatest and most important operations [terror attacks] against the Israeli occupation - and especially against soldiers, and some of the most famous operations [terror attacks] in the West Bank - Ein-Arik, Wadi Al-Haramiyeh, Sorda, and others. These were carried out by the heroes of the Palestinian security forces, who protected the homeland and the national interest.”[18]
*
In June 2008, al-Ajrami appeared to advocate the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers when he said, “The language of peace and negotiations is not enough to urge Israel to cooperate positively regarding prisoners. The way Israel likes, it seems, is to exchange [prisoners] with kidnapped Israeli soldiers.”[19]

Footnotes:

[1] Ravid, Barak, “Israel to soon publish 'Palestinian incitement index,'” Haaretz, March 10, 2010, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155420.html

[2] Laub, Karin, “Israel apologizes for embarrassing Biden,” AP, March 10, 2010, http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ioi_0jtO9RjMwPNRoXNCndRPRq3gD9EBO9VG0

[3] “PA cancels ceremony honoring leader of 1978 terror attack in Israel,” Reuters via Haaretz, March 10, 2010, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155508.html

[4] Ravid, Barak, “Israel to soon publish 'Palestinian incitement index,'” Haaretz, March 10, 2010, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155420.html

[5] “Fatah: We are proud of Dalal al-Mughrabi and that she is a great symbol in our national struggle,” WAFA, March 10, 2010, http://arabic.wafa.ps/arabic/index.php?action=detail&id=67181

[6] “Fatah: We are proud of Dalal al-Mughrabi and that she is a great symbol in our national struggle,” WAFA, March 10, 2010, http://arabic.wafa.ps/arabic/index.php?action=detail&id=67181

[7] “Abbas sponsors birthday celebrations honoring terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, killer of 37,” Palestinian Media Watch, Dec. 31, 2009, http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=1526; Taillandier, Caroline, “Middle-East Connected Anti-American Terror Attacks,” MERIA, Vol. 5, No. 4, December 2001, http://meria.idc.ac.il/JOURNAL/2001/issue4/jv5n4a5.htm

[8] Marcus, Itamar, “US Money for Palestinian Girls' School, Named for Terrorist who Murdered 36 Israelis and an American,” Palestinian Media Watch, http://www.pmw.org.il/murder.htm, accessed March 10, 2010

[9] “Abbas sponsors birthday celebrations honoring terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, killer of 37,” Palestinian Media Watch, Dec. 31, 2009, http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=1526

[10] “The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sept. 28, 1995, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/THE+ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN+INTERIM+AGREEMENT.htm

[11] “A Performance-Based Roadmap to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” website of the UN, http://www.un.org/media/main/roadmap122002.html, accessed Jan. 12, 2010

[12] Ravid, Barak, “Israel to soon publish 'Palestinian incitement index',” Haaretz, March 10, 2010, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155420.html

[13] Ravid, Barak, “Israel to soon publish 'Palestinian incitement index',” Haaretz, March 10, 2010, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155420.html

[14] “Abbas turns 3 latest terrorists into Palestinian heroes,” Palestinian Media Watch Bulletins, Dec. 29, 2009, http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=1524

[15] “Man killed in West Bank shooting,” YnetNews, Dec. 24, 2009, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3824847,00.html

[16] “Behind the Headlines: Palestinian incitement distances peace,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jan. 11, 2010, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/Behind+the+Headlines/Palestinian_incitement_distances_peace_11-Jan-2010.htm

[17] Abu Toameh, Khaled, “Fatah moves 'to remove, defeat occupation,” The Jerusalem Post, Aug. 10, 2009, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249418557097&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull “Fatah Meeting Foreign Policy Platform,” Aug. 11, 2009, http://www.mideastweb.org/fatah_program_2009.htm; “Israel, the Conflict and Peace: Answers to frequently asked questions,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, November 2007, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+since+2000/Israel-+the+Conflict+and+Peace-+Answers+to+Frequen.htm#return

[18] “PA boasts of past terror attacks by security forces currently being trained by the US,” Palestinian Media Watch, July 7, 2009, http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=979

[19] “Kidnapping-for-hostage policy,” Palestinian Media Watch, June 2008, http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=663&fld_id=663&doc_id=1298

The Israel Project is an international non-profit organization devoted to educating the press and the public about Israel while promoting security, freedom and peace. The Israel Project provides journalists, leaders and opinion-makers accurate information about Israel.

No comments:

The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

Doc's Talk