Gaza exports potatoes to Jordan via Israel

PalPress and COGAT report that two truckloads of potatoes, weighing 34 tons, were exported from Gaza to Jordan this morning.

Some 330 truckloads of goods also entered Gaza via Kerem Shalom this morning.

Although I saw a small shipment of gravel last week from Egypt to Gaza, I have not seen any exports from Gaza into Egypt.

Must be because of that Israeli siege.

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Will Jordan be next?

From AFP:

Jordan plans to raise power prices after doubling taxes on cellphones to offset a large budget deficit, despite warnings that such measures will provoke a public outcry.

Grappling with little or no natural resources and an external debt of more than $23 billion, the kingdom is trying to reduce a $2 billion fiscal deficit this year and at the same time tackle cuts in Egyptian gas supplies.

Sabotage attacks on gas pipelines from Egypt -- the energy source for 80 percent of Jordan’s electricity -- are costing the government at least $1 million a day, energy officials say.
In response, as it tackles paring down a $10.5-billion 2013 budget, the government in Amman intends to hike the price of electricity by 15 percent, having already doubled taxes on cellphones to 16 percent and to 24 percent on mobile telephone contracts.

“Such wrong and uncalculated steps show that the government lacks a comprehensive understanding of the situation,” Yusuf Mansur, chief executive officer of the Amman-based Envision Consulting Group, told AFP.

“When the government increases prices and taxes, the productivity and consumption of people will be affected and this will reduce government revenues.”

Mansur, who headed Jordan’s Agency for Economic Development, estimated the current inflation rate at about seven percent and this year’s real economic growth at 2.6 percent.

According to the government, the inflation rate now stands at 6.5 percent, and real economic growth will come to 3.5 percent.

“People, including government employees, will resort to strikes and protests and the government will be forced to borrow more or impose more taxes. It’s a vicious circle,” he said.

“We are completely dependent on foreign aid and government economic policies have failed, at least in the past three years. I expect a very bad recession in the next stage.”

A government decision in November to raise fuel prices, including household gas, by up to 53 percent, sparked a wave of nationwide protests, with some calling for King Abdullah II to step down, which is punishable by imprisonment.

Unemployment stands at about 14 percent in the country of 6.8 million people where 70 percent of the population is under 30, but other estimates put the jobless figure at between 22 and 30 percent. The minimum wage is $211 (159 euros) a month.

Last month, ratings agency Moody’s cut its sovereign grade for Jordan from “B1” from “Ba2,” in the middle of its category for “speculative” or so-called junk debt, saying government finances had weakened sharply in the past two years.

And in May, Standard & Poor’s lowered Jordan’s long-term credit rating by one notch to “BB-” with a negative outlook due in part to the conflict in neighbouring Syria.

Jordan is home to more than 500,000 Syrian refugees, and Amman has repeatedly complained they are burdening the country’s scarce resources, while calling for international aid.

“Regional instability, including the disruptions in Egypt’s gas supplies and the Syrian refugees, is seriously affecting the budget,” lawmaker Mohammad Dmur, head of parliament’s finance committee, told AFP.

Economics has been the main incentive behind the revolution in Tunisia and the newest one in Egypt. Islamists are poised to take advantage of the Jordanian situation, although the Egyptian coup will make it more difficult.

It seems clear that Israel is poised to replace Egypt as the supplier of gas to Jordan as soon as the Mediterranean fields are operating more steadily, but that is not going to happen immediately and it also won't happen without some backlash from Jordanians who simply hate Israel.

No matter what, Israel's most reliable neighboring ally is in danger.

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Jordanian paper pushes the Helen Thomas ethnic cleansing plan

Addustour, a popular Jordanian newspaper, looks at the death of Helen Thomas and asks - what's so wrong with her idea of kicking all the Jews out of Israel? It is a plan that should be taken seriously, according to this op-ed.

After all, Herzl didn't care where the Jewish homeland would be. And Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said they'd allow Jews to return to that country once Israel was destroyed. And Jews themselves say they were kicked out of Arab countries, implying that they would return if they could. (Jordan, of course, would have no Jews returning, so it is an easy plan for a Jordanian newspaper to push.)

Of course, a few Jews would be allowed to remain in Israel according to the Helen Thomas Peace/Ethnic Cleansing Plan. You know, the ones who say that they disavow any concept of Jewish nationalism.

Yes, the best way to memorialize "this courageous woman" would be to take her liberal idea of ethnic cleansing and implement it fully.

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Jordan says Israeli carrots "invading markets" during Ramadan

Al Ghad writes about Jordanian markets selling Israeli carrots, but labeling them as coming from Syria or Turkey.

"Citizens" complained of the presence of large amounts of Israeli carrots in the local  vegetable markets since the beginning of the month of Ramadan.

They say that the sellers of vegetables hide the origin of the product, claiming that they are imported from Syria.

The article says that due to the reluctance of many Jordanian citizens to buy Israeli products those traders are resorting to removing the labels and putting them on display racks.

The article claims that Israel "flooded the markets" these carrots, which are of high quality.

The agriculture minister admits importing vegetables from Israel to meet demand as necessary, but insists that they do not originate in the territories.

(h/t Khaled Abu Toameh)

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The Nakba that no one mentions: 315,000 Pal "refugees" lost their homes in Syria

UNRWA's statistics show that in Syria there are some 235,000 "Palestinian refugees" who have become displaced in that country.

Over 71,000 of the "refugees" became real refugees in Lebanon, and 8000 more in Jordan. Thousands more have fled to Egypt, Gaza, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

44,000 homes of Palestinian Arabs in Syria have been damaged or destroyed.

In total, more than half of Syria's Palestinians have been displaced.

Palestinian Arabs in Syria are still being killed daily. A UNRWA employee was killed last week, becoming the 7th UNRWA employee killed in Syria. The total number killed is above 1500.

Yet no one is calling this a "Nakba." In fact, hardly anyone is talking about this at all.

While the UN has numerous committees and events and days and meetings dedicated to helping Palestinian Arabs who are perceived to be victims of Israel, this year (besides UNRWA press releases) there has been only one semi-official statement on the matter listed in the UNISPAL archives, from January. Here it is:

Asked about reports that the Secretary-General may be acting as an intermediary between Israeli and Palestinian officials over the fate of Palestinian refugees in Syria, the Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General has expressed his deep concern on the plight of Palestinians displaced and uprooted by the violence in Syria. He has called for countries in the region to help the refugees.

That's it. A half-baked statement only made as an answer to a question. Nothing - zero- being done pro-actively by the UN to help them (again, besides UNRWA.)

The UNHRC has had nine anti-Israel resolutions since the beginning of 2012 - and not one about Syrian Palestinians.

600,000 people who left their homes in 1948 - most not forcibly but out of fear - have generated tons of papers, dozens of resolutions and thousands of man-days of obsessive attention. Over half that number are suffering much more today, and are being ignored by that same body - even among the specific committees that are ostensibly meant to help Palestinians!

Even the Palestinian Arab media have far more articles about Jews walking on the Temple Mount than about their fellow Palestinians being murdered, injured and made homeless daily.

Gaza fishermen get more attention from the media, NGOs, the EU and the UN than hundreds of slaughtered Syrian Palestinians.

It is more than a double standard. It is proof that the only reason people pretend to care about Palestinian Arabs is because they really want to demonize Israel rather than to lift a finger to actually help any Palestinian Arabs.

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Jordan's king says Palestinian issue the "crux of the conflict" in the region

From Ammon News:

His Majesty King Abdullah II said the Middle East was facing enormous challenges that threatened efforts to bring about peace, security and stability in the region, warranting a concerted global effort to stop the region from sliding into further violence and turbulence and enable its people to realize a better future.

He told the annual Sun Valley Economic Forum in the American state of Idaho that the stalemate in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and the continuation of the Syrian crisis and its repercussions were the two key challenges threatening the future of peace and stability.

The King reiterated that the Palestinian issue was the crux of the conflict in the region, stressing the need for action to find a just and lasting settlement according to the two-state solution – an independent and viable Palestinian state on 1967 borders and living in peace and security alongside Israel.

Yup - Egyptian chaos, Syria civil war and resulting refugee crisis, Lebanon's infighting, water shortages through the region, the rise of Islamism, Jordan's own energy crisis - all of those problems are dependent on creating yet another Arab state and making Israel even tinier than it is.

Blaming Israel for anything is really a hard habit to break for Arab leaders.

The real question is how come no one at this economic forum seemed to challenge the king on his idiocy.

Then again, it appears that he is just repeating the Obama administration/s Middle East strategy. The religion of linkage is as powerful as ever.

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Jordan increasing censorship of news

From AFP:

The Jordanian government said on Tuesday that it had blocked 254 unlicensed news websites, 16 of them in the previous two days, using powers under a 2012 law criticized as a threat to freedom of expression.

Fayez Shawabkeh, head of the Press and Publication Department said: “16 local news websites were blocked in the past two days after carefully examining their situation.

“This brings the total number of sites the PPD blocked recently to 254, while 111 sites have obtained licenses.”

On June 3, authorities said they would block nearly 300 out of 400 local news websites “for failing to obtain the necessary licensing,” under last year’s controversial legislation.

The law gave the government powers to regulate “electronic publications,” requiring them to register with the PPD and obtain a license.

It stipulates that the chief editors of news websites must be members of the Jordan Press Association, giving the government the right to censor content and hold journalists liable for comments posted on webpages.

The PPD has insisted “the decision does not seek to restrict freedoms,” and that “the objective is to organize the work of these websites.”

Journalists accuse the government of seeking to control who can publish news.

One of the sites blocked in the past two days is 7iber, Arabic for “ink.”

Its editor, Lina Ejeilat, told AFP 7iber was an interactive website that published reports and features from contributors, and said it should not be covered by the legislation.

“We are a blog and definitely not a news website,” she said.

Shawabkeh disagreed, saying that “7iber is registered at the trade and industry ministry as a news website and posts news and political analyses about Jordan, which means that the law applies to it.”

The PPD’s decision drew renewed criticism of Jordan from international human rights watchdogs, as well as from journalists, activists and the main opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, who saw it as an attempt to impose censorship.

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Jordan paper warns that "normalization" is just another form of "occupation"

In Assabeel, writer Ahmed Shawabkeh warns that Israel's desire to have normal relations with its Arab neighbors is nothing less than a method for Israel to non-militarily occupy the Arab world.

The establishment of normal relations "between the perpetrator and the victim," allows Israel, and indeed all Western powers, to achieve what cannot be achieved by direct military occupation - and it costs less, too!

The worst types and the worst form of normalization, Shawabkeh informs us, is practiced by "the Jewish entity" against all its Arab neighbors, either through treaties and formal conventions or via vague and veiled understandings, all done forcibly against the will of the people.

This awful occupation involves Israel using natural resources of the "occupants," spying on them, marketing Israeli goods to them - many of which are carcinogenic and other items [perhaps, ideas] that kill souls and bodies. Israel also is said to have poisoned Egyptian land by planting trees and other agricultural initiatives.

Military occupation is preferable to this insidious "civil occupation," he says, because the occupant knows he is being occupied in a military occupation and can be on guard for the enemy's evil plots - but normalization is worse, because it is like a cancer spreading throughout your body that you are not aware of.

How can self-respecting Arabs establish relations with the likes of those who had spurned God and His prophets, and occupied the land and killed people and desecrated the holy places? How can they sign agreements and treaties and open their embassies and exchange visits and meetings and kisses with these Jews?

Shawbakeh concludes by saying that reconciliation and normalization with Jews should provoke anger and abhorrence and indignation.

By the way, the author is a dean of an Islamic university and holds a PhD in modern history from Ain Shams University in Cairo.

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Many Jordanian teens justify "honor killings"

From AFP:

Belief that so-called honor killings are justified is still common among Jordanian teenagers, a Cambridge University study revealed on Thursday.

The study by researchers from the university's Institute of Criminology found that almost half of boys and one in five girls interviewed in the capital, Amman, believe that killing a daughter, sister or wife who has "dishonored" or shamed the family is justified.

"Researchers surveyed over 850 students, and found that attitudes in support of honor killing are far more likely in adolescent boys with low education backgrounds," a statement said, adding that the research is published in the criminology journal Aggressive Behavior.

"Importantly, the study found that these disturbing attitudes were not connected to religious beliefs."

Between 15 and 20 women die in so-called "honor" murders each year in the Arab kingdom, despite government efforts to curb such crimes.

Keep in mind that the same Arab attachment to "honor" that justifies murdering their own daughters and wives also justifies lifelong dedication to destroying Israel. Erasing shame is the most powerful motive in the Arab world, and nothing short of annihilation of the source of the shame can be effective.

Which is reason #7492 why peace is impossible.

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Jordanian/PalArab columnist: "Jews control the world through money, media and women."

This article is from Addustour, a major newspaper in Jordan, written by columnist Rashad Abu Daoud.

How I wish that that moment in Davos never happened. How I wish we hadn’t been fooled by Erdogan’s “heroic” deed when he insulted Shimon Peres, threw his papers away and left the podium at the convention. Because we Arabs are hungry for honor, we applauded the man and granted him the Arab citizenship in our hearts which are thirsty for glory. Just like when we were fond of the "CheGuevara-ishness" of Chavez when he stood up against Zionism and supported Palestine . But the man died of cancer, like others died… by poison. [Possible reference to Arafat?] It seems that the pure ones die and the filthy ones spread corruption in history as a service for Zionism.

Between one tragedy and another one, let us return to that little booklet, full of poison, which disappeared from the Arab markets, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”. Despite all that has been said about it and the attempts to cast doubt about its authenticity, what has been going on in the world, specifically in our Arab homeland and its surroundings, seems like an implementation of what’s in the Protocols to the letter.

Basically the Jews see themselves as “God’s Chosen People”, and the other peoples are nothing but nations divided into groups and classes, that should be exploited to serve the Chosen People.

More specifically, exploiting some goys to serve the Jews, after influencing them through methods which have been known to the Jews - and known about the Jews - for 3,000 years. The methods consist of money, media and women. They are the first ones who invented the stock exchange in the global economy, the first ones to create the cinema and to establish media companies. As for women – they reproduced the personality of Salome, who tempted the Emperor so that he brought her the head of Prophet Yahya – St. John the Baptist – on a silver plate [St. John the Baptist is holy for Muslims as well, under the name “Yahya”].

There is much contemporary evidence. Those who want details should read what was written about them in the global literature. Perhaps “Shylock” by Shakespeare is the best example of usury in history. Although Shylock is a Shakespearean character, but the most famous English poet didn’t invent the idea of usury – it is a Jewish custom. European society suffered at their hands for ages. It was through money that they tempted Balfour to grant them a national homeland in Palestine.

Modern times witness advanced implementations of the Protocols. Raisa, Gorbachev’s wife, the Gorbachev who destroyed half the world and handed it to the other half in order to upset the global balance, and the wife of an Arab president who was murdered on the podium of a military ceremony [Sadat, presumably], and what is said about many influential women in the world now is that they are Jewish or gentiles who were exploited in the service of the Zionist enterprise. And let’s not forget the anti-semitism which is attached to anyone who is bold enough to question the “God’s Chosen People” ideal!

We see in our times people also entangled in the same service [i.e. in the service of Zionism]. Recep Tayep Erdogan is an example. They [i.e. the Jews] gave him a role which is way too big for his size, in order to exploit him afterwards in the role he is supposed to play in the scheme to sow civil strife, the scheme that is being carried out right now in the Arab homeland. Otherwise how is it possible that Ataturk's republic is over and the military's rule, which lasted 70 years is finished just like that, in a moment, through the so-called democracy? And how could the Islamists of Turkey, after all these years, turn from reticent oppositionists to rulers who don't shy away from marketing ideas, which they know full well that are not suitable for Turkish society?

Erdogan already played a dubious role in the beginning of his rule, when he mediated between Syria and America. We said that the man is honest in standing by a geographical neighbor and brother in religion and history. But in no time he turned his back on history, religion and geography and put Turkey in one basket with Israel and America, naturally under the banner of democracy, of which we have actually not seen anything but the fragmentation of the Arab countries along sectarian, class and political lines.

Today Erdogan is falling into the same pit that he dug for Syria . There you have Turkey on its way towards a rift, which will turn into a tool of destruction, so the Turks are going to yearn for the days of the military [rule].

If you think that Abu Daoud is some crackpot writing for a fringe newspaper, his CV lists that besides this newspaper column ("Constitution") he has been the managing editor of the Khaleej Times, assistant managing editor of Basma magazine in Jordan, editorial director of the Journal magazine (Saudi Arabia,), and author of several books.

Oh, and the antisemite is a Palestinian Arab, born in Nablus but educated in Damascus.

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

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Jordanian newspaper: "Let's kill the Jews everywhere"

Batayena

This article, by Dr. Muhammad Qasem Batayena writing in Jordanian newspaper Assawsana. is the worst one I have ever read. And that's saying something.

Batayena is apparently a Ba'athist, and in other articles he writes of his support for the Assad regime and he refers to Saddam Hussein as a "martyr." Even so, as you will see, he will happily use Koranic references as well.

The title of the piece is "Let's Kill the Jews Everywhere."

---

I'm not an extremist, nor racist… I'm not bloodthirsty and not vengeful… I'm not a terrorist and I've never been a killer… All my life I hated the color red, and my dictionary never included the word "blood"… I am not bloodthirsty at all… but I'm an oppressed Muslim and an Arab whose will has been taken away from him… that is how we were shaped in (these) bad times, which we haven't chosen (to be born into)… this is how it was planned that we should be… we are living in volcanic lands… We smell the smell of blood coming from every direction… they [presumably the Jews] turned the color of the ground into red… our people's body parts were scattered and their factions fought each other (literally "shot at each other") through Arab-like Hebrew hands ["musta'ariba", see Wikipedia for analog Mista-arvim]… and because I look at all these things without doing a thing – for that I'm an Arab.

Because all my limbs are chained and I cannot move… because my tongue was made silent by the treacheries of the blood-traders [Arab rulers who made peace with Israel or at least don't fight it]… because my heart became dead and my words are no longer virgin, because my brown skin hides behind it chagrin/sorrow/anger and humiliation/disgrace, and therefore I am an Arab for sure… because our blood is permitted, while the blood of the apes and pigs is forbidden… because the Arab tyrants sold us for a cheap price and served us on golden plates as sacrifice for the Zionists… because the rotten Jewish tourist walks around [Arab countries] firmly guarded by Arab guards, in order to guard his filthy soul… because any Arab who wants to pray in Jerusalem has to obtain a visa from the killers of the children of Palestine… because the hero Daqamseh , see here] is described as "a criminal murderer by our Arab-like ["musta'arabin" again) ambassadors in the so-called Israel, and therefore I'm an Arab, unfortunately.

Yes, unfortunately, our identity is lost since that whore Livni slept on the bosom of the rulers of Qatar, and its leaders kissed Hillary Clinton and hugged the black whore Condoleeza Rice… Yes, unfortunately I'm an Arab since Palestine has been erased from the map of the world… since that/one Canadian policeman told me that Israel is oppressed and it has to be aided [not sure if he means the Canadian government, or he refers to a personal encounter with an actual Canadian policeman]… since I found out that the entire world collects donations in order to support Israel in getting rid of terror, therefore I'm sorry that I'm an Arab.

Thus, I have to be ashamed of my Arabness... I have to bury my head in the sand like an ostrich, with chagrin and weakness… but this will never happen… since our great leaders have taught us that Falsehood might win the battle but Truth wins the war, our paragon, leader and Master (the prophet) Muhammad Bin Abdallah Peace Be Upon Him taught us this... Yes, we will triumph, pray in Jerusalem and take revenge on the filthy murderers… we will kill them wherever we find them, as the Holy Koran told us [referring to the verse in the Koran which begins: "And kill them wherever you find them… " Sura 2, verse 191]… we will make them taste the taste of death, in which they became masters all over the Islamic and Arab lands… Yes, we will kill them, and I swear that if I get the chance, I won't miss it… since I believe in Allah and his Messenger, and I know that this world is nothing but the enjoyment of a delusion [another Koranic reference]…Therefore I want to be proud that I'm a Muslim Arab who doesn't believe in the Arab borders [he is a Baathist/nationalist Arab who believes in Arab unity "from the Maghreb to the Gulf"].

---

This is important not only for its unmistakable message of genocide against Jews, but from the perspective of the Arab honor/shame mentality.

Batayena is writing exclusively from the point of view of Arabs being deeply humiliated by the very existence not only of Israel, but of Arabs who dare make peace with Israel. While this level of vitriol is unusual in even for the Arab media, it is clear that his point of view is not anomalous or even unusual.

{h/t Ibn Boutros]

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Five more Palestinian Arabs killed without the media noticing

On Wednesday, five more Palestinian Arabs were killed in Syria.

A rocket shot at the Yarmouk camp killed three, including a mother expecting her sixth child.

Another was killed in Jobar and one in Homs.

Of course, "pro-Palestinian" groups have been silent.

Meanwhile, the Free Syrian Army warned Hezbollah to stop interfering in Syria or else they might attack Hezbollah in Lebanon.

And Reuters has a story on the increased numbers of refugees streaming into Jordan from Syria - but doesn't mention that Jordan still turns Palestinian Arabs back at the Syrian border, another small fact that "pro-Palestinian" groups are ignoring.

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Jordan tells Syrian Palestinians to drop dead. No one cares.

From Times of Israel earlier this week:

Jordan has turned away dozens of Palestinian refugees on the Syrian border fleeing regime bombardment of the Yarmouk refugee camp south of Damascus.

Palestinian refugees living in the Yarmouk refugee camp south of Damascus have tried to enter Jordan through the Jaber border crossing after their camp was bombarded by Assad regime forces in previous weeks. They told Al-Jazeera earlier this week that while Palestinian refugees carrying Jordanian IDs were allowed to enter Jordan, children of Jordanian women who were not citizens are being refused.

Jordan has absorbed some 126,000 Syrian refugees, but Palestinians fleeing Syria are placed in a separate refugee camp at the Cyber City compound, under stricter conditions, and are banned from entering Jordanian cities. The Jordanian government fears that an influx of Palestinian refugees may tilt the demographic balance in Jordan even more towards the Palestinians, who are already believed to comprise a large majority of the population.

“Jordan is not obligated to pay a political price for the Syrian crisis,” Jordanian government spokesman Samih Maaytah told Al-Jazeera when asked why the Palestinians were not being let in.

More from today:

Jordan will not allow Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria to enter the kingdom, for fear that doing so would encourage Israel to deport Palestinians to Jordan, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said on Thursday.

“There are those who want to absolve Israel once again of its responsibility for banishing Palestinians from their homes,” Ensour said in an extensive interview with the London-based Arab daily al-Hayat. “Jordan is not the place to solve Israel’s problems. Jordan has taken a sovereign and explicit decision not to allow Palestinians carrying Syrian [travel] documents to enter Jordan.”

“Receiving these brethren is a red line for us, because it will be a prelude for another wave of deportation, which is what the Israeli government wants,” Ensour added. “Our Palestinian brothers in Syria have rights in their country of origin, and they should remain there until the crisis is over.”

The Arab world is in an uproar over this blatant apartheid against Palestinian Arabs, as well as Mahmoud Abbas' disgraceful refusal to save the lives of Syrian Palestinians as well. Human rights groups are appealing every day to the UN to save the lives of these hapless victims of Syrian violence. Electronic Intifada and 972Mag are all over these displays of hypocrisy and callous disregard for the lives of Palestinian Arabs.

Just kidding!

No one gives a damn if Palestinian Arabs live or die if they cannot be used as weapons against Israel. The silence from the "pro-Palestinian" community is deafening - and very, very telling.

(h/t Josh)

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Anti-Israel NGOs keep on pumping out lies

A reader asked me to comment on an October report apparently being distributed to EU politicians by some 20 NGOs to pressure them into banning imports of goods from Jews - and only Jews - who work in Judea and Samaria.

These slick-looking reports are churned out with regularity by the anti-Israel crowd, complete with lots of footnotes that no one will ever check out for veracity. Beyond that, they engage in deception by framing issues in the most biased way possible.

I don't have the time to fisk this entire report, called "Trading away Peace: How Europe helps sustain illegal Israeli settlements," but I noticed one section, 2.2, that is emblematic of the deception throughout the document.

Ban on dual-use items: Israel bans Palestinians from importing a range of “dual-use” items, including chemicals and fertilisers used in factories and agriculture. While Israeli settlers have full access to these materials, Palestinians are forced to turn to more expensive or less effective alternatives that further increase the cost of production and often have greater negative long-term impact on the environment. It is estimated that the fertilizer restrictions lead to losses of between 20% and 33% in agricultural productivity.

It is simply unbelievable that such a paragraph could be written without even acknowledging the history of terror attacks - using home-made explosives - that have come from the West Bank. The demand that Israel ignore its own security imperatives is untenable an shows an alarming lack of concern about the lives of Israelis.

Any report such as this that doesn't even acknowledge Israel's very real security concerns - even if only to dismiss them - can be assumed ab initio to be biased against Israel no matter how many footnotes it has.

But here's the next paragraph:

Obstacles to movement of goods: While settlers enjoy easy and direct access to Israeli and international markets, all Palestinian goods destined for Israel or further export must pass through Israeli checkpoints where they are unloaded from Palestinian vehicles and extensively checked before they can be re-loaded onto an Israeli vehicle on the other side (the so-called ‘back-to-back’ system). This is extremely time-consuming and often damages the products. Palestinian goods destined for international markets then pass through Israeli port and airport terminals where they face further disadvantages, obstacles and excessive time delays. All these obstacles significantly reduce the competitiveness of Palestinian products and increase the unpredictability of their delivery times and quality.

This is a bit silly; if there were an independent Palestinian Arab state declared on the 1949 armistice lines today, access to the European markets of Arab goods would have the exact same restrictions. In fact, goods exported to Jordan from the PA have more onerous restrictions than those going through Israel! (This recent post of mine addresses the issue.)

In other words, they are objecting to Israel behaving like a sovereign nation.

More deception follows:

Gaza closure: Compared to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip has been subject to even more stringent restrictions, especially since the takeover by Hamas in 2007. Exports from Gaza, a territory inhabited by 1.6 million Palestinians, have been banned almost entirely, contributing to the low volume of overall Palestinian exports. Despite the easing of some restrictions by Israel since 2010, the volume of exports from Gaza is still less than 2% of the pre-2007 levels. EU imports from Gaza over the five years of blockade have been limited to a few shipments of agricultural produce to the Netherlands and two trucks of garments to the UK.

The source for this, Gisha, does not note what percentage of goods exported from Gaza before 2007 went to Israel. My understanding is that a significant majority of all goods exported from Gaza before the blockade did go to Israel. Surely Israel has the right to limit its imports from Gaza if it chooses. So the 2% figure, while probably accurate, does not give any indication of how many goods were exported from Gaza to the EU before 2007, which I would venture to say was negligible. But if, say, 85% of Gaza's goods used to go to Israel  then Gisha should note that before putting out the 2% number.

It might just be that Israel doesn't want to buy goods from a sector that is still shooting rockets at it. Just a wild guess. Do these NGOs think that Israel should be allowed to say where it imports its tomatoes from?

Besides, Israel is indeed working to increase the number of exports from Gaza to the West Bank, as I've reported. One question to ask is what demand there is for Gaza goods in the West Bank today and if that is not being met.  Another question is whether any of these NGOs are complaining that Egypt is not importing goods from Gaza, which Israel could not limit if it tried. These are questions that this report does not ask - because the truth is not the goal of reports like these.

This is an indication of the bias that pervades this - and similar - reports. People who are not well-versed in the issues, those who do not have the time or inclination to research it themselves, those who don't have the necessary skepticism and those who are already sympathetic to the anti-Israel cause will swallow this garbage without thinking.

Which is exactly what the Israel-haters want.

The organizations behind this exercise in demonization are:

1. Aprodev
2. Broederlijk delen (Belgium)
3. Caabu (UK)
4. CCFd - Terre Solidaire (France)
5. Christian Aid (UK and Ireland)
6. Church of Sweden
7. Cordaid (Netherlands)
8. danChurchAid (denmark)
9. diakonia (Sweden)
10. FinnChurchAid (Finland)
11. ICCo (Netherlands)
12. IKv pax Christi (Netherlands)
13. International Federation for Human rights (FIdH)
14. Medical Aid for palestinians (UK)
15. medico international (Germany)
16. medico international switzerland
17. The Methodist Church in Britain
18. Norwegian people’s Aid
19. Norwegian Church Aid
20. Quaker Council for european Affairs
21. Quaker peace and Social Witness (UK)
22. Trocaire (Ireland)

Truth and fairness are obviously not part of these organizations' agenda.

By the way, if you object to my characterization in the first paragraph of these organizations' goals as banning imports of goods from only Jews who work in Judea and Samaria, I am being entirely accurate.

There are a number of industrial zones across the Green Line - Barkan, Atarot and Adumim - whose companies get targeted regularly by the anti-Israel crowd. Richard Falk relies heavily on the "Who Profits" website when he insists that certain American and Israeli companies be universally boycotted, and this "Trading Away peace" report quotes "Who Profits" some 26 times.

I looked through the Who Profits site, and I was unable to identify a single Israel-Arab-owned company that they propose boycotting.

Yet, according to this Globes article that discussed the success of these industrial parks, the Atarot park was quoted as having "a nice combination between Arabs and Jews, both in terms of employment and business ownership."

So there are definitely Arab-owned companies in these industrial zones - but not one of them are targeted for boycott!

One probable example is Al Mada'ain Food Products, formerly Slava Food Company, in Atarot, owned by Abu Ghazala Haitham. Assuming that Mr. Haitham is an Israeli citizen, then why isn't his company being tracked for being boycotted by Who Profits or other similar "pro-Palestinian" initiatives? Is he not Palestinian? [If he isn't an Israeli citizen, then presumably the PA will arrest him any hour now.)

When you go beyond the rhetoric and fine print in the volumes of invective released by these NGOs, you uncover the fact that they really are discriminating against Jews, and only Jews.

I think there is a name for that, but these "humanitarian" organizations get very upset when you say it.

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Western money goes to terrorists, not peace

From the Wall Street Journal:

A report by Palestinian Media Watch recently revealed that British taxpayers have been paying salaries to terrorists. It revealed that £3 million every month is paid by the Palestinian Authority (PA) in salaries to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The salaries come from the PA's general budget. That "general budget" is kindly provided by the U.K., among other EU countries.

Many British taxpayers, struggling to pay their family's way through a recession, might rightly wonder why their money is going to pay as much as £2,000 a month to people serving the longest sentences—those who have targeted Israeli buses and other civilian targets with suicide bombers, for instance. That is higher than the average wage in nearly all of Britain. You might be forgiven for wondering, if you were a struggling teaching assistant in the North of England, why failing to tick "suicide bomber" on your careers form should have left you so much worse off than a terrorist in the Middle East.

Meanwhile:

The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, where students from Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority learn together, may not open its gates in the next academic year.

Located in the southern kibbuz of Ketura, the institute was established in 1996 as an engine for the vision of Israeli-Palestinian peace. This is the only place in the Middle East dealing with the common environmental problems of Israel and its neighbors.

“From my point of view it's a severe blow,” explained Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, director of the institute's Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation. “We won’t have partners on the other side, the environmental problems won't go away and it will be increasingly difficult to solve them.”

The institute, Abu Hamad says, doesn't only promote international cooperation, but peace between peoples as well.

“We need $1.5 million to begin 2013. Some donors promised us hundreds of thousands of dollars over a span of years, but those contributions have shrunk or vanished."

Yes, the terrorists get paid far more every month than a real example of cooperation and peace needs to start its academic year.

No one in the "pro-Palestinian" crowd supports the existence of real peace programs between Israel and the Arabs. Because they aren't "pro-Palestinian" at all - but anti-Israel.

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Both those stories are worth reading in full for other reasons.

The British story notes how Britain's International Development Minister Alan Duncan adamantly refuses to accept the evidence and insists that paying these prisoners - whose payscale increases with the time they are in prison - is really "social welfare."

The Arava story notes that the institute has to hide the fact that it is in Israel when recruiting students from Jordan.

(h/t Ian, Zvi)

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Will anyone call this Jordanian action "apartheid"?

I noted back in April that Jordan was segregating Palestinian Syrians from other Syrians fleeing across the border, not allowing most of them to enter the country.

HRW just caught up:

The Jordanian authorities have forcibly returned some newly arriving Palestinians from Syria and threatened others with deportation, Human Rights Watch said today.Since April 2012, the authorities have also arbitrarily detained Palestinians fleeing Syria in a refugee holding center without any options for release other than return to Syria. The Jordanian authorities should treat all Palestinians from Syria seeking refuge in Jordan the same as Syrian asylum seekers, who are allowed to remain and can move freely in Jordan after passing security screening and finding a sponsor.

“To its credit, Jordan has allowed tens of thousands of Syrians to cross its borders irregularly and move freely in Jordan, but it treats Palestinians fleeing the same way differently,” said Gerry Simpson, senior refugee researcher and advocate for Human Rights Watch. “All those fleeing Syria – Syrians and Palestinians alike – have a right to seek asylum in Jordan, move freely in Jordan, and shouldn’t be forced back into a war zone.”

Since April, Jordanian authorities have automatically detained all Palestinians who enter Jordan without passing through an official border post, without the possibility of release. No such policy exists for thousands of Syrians entering the same way.

The Palestinians are arriving under the same circumstances as the fleeing Syrians and should not face threats of forced return, Human Rights Watch said. None should be detained unless for compelling and legally prescribed reasons and for a limited period of time, with judicial review. Like Syrian refugees, Palestinians from Syria interviewed by Human Rights Watch in Jordan said they had fled the country due to violence and general insecurity in their home areas.

Isn't this "apartheid"?

Where are the protests, the boycotts, the empty-headed entertainers who are so keen on showing how well they understand human rights? Where are the "pro-Palestinian" groups? Where are the petitions and Twitter hashtags and Facebook groups?

I mean, these are Palestinian Arabs being discriminated against, which usually elicits outrage because they are so victimized.

I can't figure out why this issue has been essentially ignored.

A real mystery.

(h/t Ian)

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