Monday, September 05, 2005
Elder of ZiyonMore evidence that the world expects Palestinians to act like animals; honor killings and rioting is just the same ol' same ol'. For some reason the liberal media does not notice how incredibly bigoted it is to not expect Arabs or Muslims to act like civilized human beings.
Israeli Jews are expected to act in a manner way beyond the standard of morality expected for Western nations, and Palestinian Arabs are expected to act like subhumans. Ironically, both parties live up to their expectations very well.
I am also curious if Presbyterians will protest the desecration of Christian symbols by Muslims at all.
Efforts were underway on Sunday to calm the situation in this Christian village east of Ramallah after an attack by hundreds of Muslim men from nearby villages left many houses and vehicles torched.
The 'pogrom' began on Saturday night and lasted until the early hours of Sunday, when Palestinian Authority security forces interfered to disperse the attackers. Residents said several houses were looted and many families were forced to flee to Ramallah and other Christian villages.
The attack on the village of 1,500 was triggered by the murder of a Muslim woman from the nearby village of Deir Jarir earlier this week. The woman, according to Palestinian security sources, was apparently murdered by members of her family for having had a romance with a Christian man from Taybeh.
'When her family discovered that she had been involved in a forbidden relationship with a Christian, they apparently forced her to drink poison,' said one source. 'Then they buried her without reporting her death to the relevant authorities.'
When the PA security forces decided to launch an investigation into the woman's death, her family protested for fear that the relationship would be exposed. The family was further infuriated by the decision to exhume the body for autopsy.
The attack on Taybeh is one of the worst against Christians in the West Bank in many years. Residents said it took the PA security forces several hours to reach the village. Others complained that the IDF, which is in charge of overall security in the area, did not answer their desperate calls for immediate help. Taybeh is classified as Area B, where the Palestinians have only civilian control.
"More than 500 Muslim men, chanting Allahu Akbar [God is Great], attacked us at night," said a resident of Taybeh. "They poured kerosene on many buildings and set them on fire. Many of the attackers broke into houses and stole furniture, jewelry and electrical appliances."
With the exception of large numbers of Palestinian policemen, the streets of Taybeh were completely deserted on Sunday as the majority of the residents remained indoors. Many torched cars and littered the streets. At least 16 houses have been gutted by fire and the assailants also destroyed a statue of Virgin Mary.
"It was like a war, they arrived in groups, and many of them were holding clubs," said another resident.
"Some people saw them carrying weapons. They first attacked houses belonging to the Khoury family. Then they went to their relatives. They entered the houses and destroyed everything there. Then they tried to enter the local beer factory, but were repelled by Palestinian security agents. The fire engine arrived five hours later."
UPDATE (1:30 PM EDT) : Small pockets of the world press are finally noticing this outrage. ABC (Australia), Guardian (UK), and Christian Today (UK). And that's it. No US media outlets at all, even Christian ones (at least from what I can find in Google News.)
