Report Debunks ‘Cold-Blood’ Claim on Palestinian Deaths
Israelis, Erekat said, “killed 66 Palestinians in cold blood” since negotiations started last summer. A new report, however, investigates the backgrounds of those killed, finding that a majority were members of radical terrorist organizations.Controversial show on Jewish ties to Israel finally goes on display
B’Tselem, an Israeli monitoring group, lists 43 Palestinians who were killed by the IDF from August 2013 through the end of March. In his report, Lt. Col (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, finds an overwhelming majority of those killed were combatants from radical Islamist terrorist organizations.
Those terrorist groups include Hamas and its al-Qassam Brigades military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades (Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s military wing), al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades (Fatah’s military wing), the al-Qaeda associated Majlis Shura al-Mujahideen, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
It is important to note that the nine people who were not affiliated with an organization were killed in response to standard military procedures. Three were killed as they approached a military outpost at the Gaza border and three others were killed participating in violent demonstrations. After firing at an IDF force, another Palestinian man was killed, and another instance included a woman shot by return IDF fire following an initial escalation of violence emanating from Gaza.
A UNESCO exhibition on the history of the Jewish people’s ties to the Land of Israel will open Wednesday in Paris, six months after its originally scheduled debut had been canceled on short notice due to pressure from Arab member states.No End to the Palestinians’ Self-Inflicted Tragedy
The exhibit, entitled “People, Book, Land: The 3,500 Year Relationship of the Jewish People to the Holy Land,” was authored by Israeli historian Robert Wistrich for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which partnered with UNESCO on the initiative.
On Wednesday afternoon, Wistrich and several representatives of the Wiesenthal Center, will be hosted by French President Francois Hollande in the Elysee Palace, a few hours before the exhibition will be ceremoniously opened in the presence of some 300 diplomats and other dignitaries.
The very existence of naqba commemorations is therefore instructive in a way few realize. It informs us that Palestinians have not admitted or assimilated the fact – as Germans and Japanese have done – that they became victims as a direct result of their efforts to be perpetrators.
It informs us that Palestinians would still like to succeed today at what they miserably failed to achieve then.
And it informs us that they take no responsibility for their own predicament, which is uniquely maintained to this day at their own insistence.
If readers doubt this, consider the following vignette: in January 2001, John Manley, then-foreign minister in Jean Chretien’s Canadian government, offered to welcome Palestinian refugees and their descendants to Canada. The Palestinian response? Mr. Manley was burned in effigy by Palestinian rioters in Nablus, and Palestinian legislator Hussam Khader of Fatah – not Hamas or another of the Islamist groups –declared, “If Canada is serious about resettlement, you could expect military attacks in Ottawa or Montreal.” A similar offer by then-Australian Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock also received a threatening Palestinian rejoinder.
Why this astounding response by a government official to an offer of refugee relief? Because establishing a Palestinian state and resettling the refugees and their descendants inside it or abroad would remove any internationally accepted grounds for conflict. That’s why helping to solve the Palestinian refugee problem is regarded as a hostile act – by Palestinians.
Making murder respectable
Barely a week has passed since the Palestinian unity government was sworn in, and the international community has wasted little time in conferring legitimacy on this nascent terrorist regime.Isi Leibler: Further ugly vibes from the Obama administration
Tossing aside any pretense of morality, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations all embraced the new Palestinian administration, despite its incorporation of Hamas, a genocidal Islamic terror organization.
In case anyone forgot, Hamas is the Palestinian equivalent of Murder, Inc. Its main claim to fame is popularizing suicide bombings and rocket attacks against innocent civilians, blowing up passenger buses during rush hour and demonizing Jews as the “sons of monkeys and pigs.”
Adding irony to insult, the West agreed to work with these terrorists-in-suits during the week commemorating the 70th anniversary of D-Day, when Washington and its allies unequivocally mustered the determination to combat evil.
The process began in March when President Barack Obama publicly lambasted Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in a brutal and offensive manner the day before their scheduled meeting in Washington. It climaxed last week when the White House reneged on its commitment to Israel, announcing that it would continue business as usual with the new PA government after the merger with the genocidal Hamas, the terrorist organization which remains utterly committed to the destruction of Israel.A war against Israel's right to exist
Prior to this, administration spokesmen had been campaigning behind the scenes to undermine the standing of Israel with the American public. That Israel had frozen settlement construction for nine months and conceded to an abhorrent release of Palestinian terrorists with blood on their hands were facts they simply ignored. Conversely, the Palestinian refusal to make a single concession or agree under any circumstances to an end of conflict was rarely mentioned.
Even following the announcement of the PA-Hamas union, Secretary of State John Kerry continued blaming Israel, making bizarre predictions about it becoming an “apartheid state,” which followed his earlier warnings of an impending “third intifada” and “international boycotts” – all of which he subsequently retracted.
For a while, the international community was determined to make the PA into the "good cop" in contrast with Hamas' "bad cop." Now, with their unity, this is no longer relevant, but the State Department and the European Union are determined to continue on with the charade.Fayyad Explains Why J Street Is Irrelevant
Perhaps this willful blindness is the result of the constant and steady erosion of our moral integrity and intellectual courage that began the day that Arafat and Rabin shook hands on the White House lawn. I am afraid it also signifies something deeper. It signifies the profound failure of imagination of many in leadership roles around the world, as well as the fact that the peace process for many has become like a religion, and has ossified in many people's minds. For some, it is to be preserved at all costs, irrespective of the nefarious behavior and maximalist and deadly intentions of one of the parties.
Ben-Ami’s pretense is that this makes J Street a moderate force rather than a Jewish rump of so-called progressive groups like the leftist Moveon.org. But that pose of moderation is just as absurd as clinging to the notion that Fayyad represents Palestinian opinion. As one of the other speakers at the J Street event noted, the Israeli public has repeatedly rejected leftists who agree with the American group and is likely to swing even further to the right in the future. The reason for this is that, unlike liberal American Jews, Israelis have been paying attention to the repeated PA rejections of peace offers and the fact that Fayyad is a man without a party or supporters among the Palestinian people. It’s not that most Israelis don’t want a two-state solution. They do want it. It’s just that they have come to accept the fact that the Palestinians don’t want one.Top US lawmakers demand Kerry explain position on Hamas
More than their disgraceful position on Iran or their slavish applause for Obama’s betrayal of Israel on Hamas, the presence of Fayyad at the J Street event shows that they are not only wrong on the issues, they are also irrelevant to any serious discussion about the Middle East.
The leading Democratic and Republican members of the US House of Representatives Middle East subcommittee sent a letter to Kerry Monday seeking an explanation from the Obama administration regarding Hamas, which has been designated by the United States and Israel as a terror organization.US Senator Menendez vows response from Congress to Palestinian unity government
“Any decision to work with this unity government could be extraordinarily counterproductive in our efforts both to promote peace and to help support the security of our ally Israel,” said the letter from Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), the committee’s chairwoman, and Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), its top Democrat.
Ros-Lehtinen and Deutch said in the letter that they are ready to convene a hearing on the issue so that the Obama administration can explain how any ongoing relationship would not violate US law, which bans interactions with Hamas. Ros-Lehtinen authored the 2006 law which bans such contacts.
"Severe consequences" await a unified Fatah-Hamas government, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Robert Menendez warned on Monday, referring to the new Palestinian Authority as a "two-headed dragon" in violation of US aid requirements.Israel a Strong Focus of Senator Ted Cruz’s Foreign Policy Push
"Palestinians must choose between peace with Israel as a Jewish state and a marriage with Hamas, a terrorist organization," Menendez (D-NJ) told a gathering of the American Jewish Committee in New Jersey, adding that the marriage "will have severe consequences."
"US law is explicit on this," he added. "We will not provide assistance to a Palestinian government in which Hamas has a role and exercises 'undue influence.'"
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a Tea Party favorite, recently returned to the Capitol after a tour of Europe and the Middle East with Secure America Now, including a two-day stop in Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, members of the Knesset, and Israeli defense leaders.Former US national security advisor: Don’t let Hamas participate in Palestinian elections
“I went this time because the national security threats to Israel and to the United States have never been greater than they are right now,” Cruz told JNS.org when asked about the purpose of his recent mission. “In particular the threat of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons capability. It was striking… [that when] I met with a number of senior leaders across the Israeli government, there was complete consensus across party lines in Israel from every single person with whom I met that, number one: the prospect of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapons capability is the gravest national security threat in the world and to the nation of Israel; and number two: that the current deal being negotiated with Iran is a very, very bad deal and is a historic mistake.”
Hamas should not be allowed to run in the upcoming Palestinian elections as long it remains an armed terrorist organization committed to Israel’s destruction, said Samuel Berger, a former US National Security Advisor from 1997 to 2001 .Not 'Land for Peace,' But 'Land for Terror'
“We should make it clear to [Palestinian Authority] President [Mahmoud] Abbas now. And persuade the European Union and Arabs states to do likewise that we will oppose an election in the Palestinian territories that includes Hamas,” said Berger who served under former President Bill Clinton.
He made his remarks at the 2014 Herzliya Conference sponsored by IDC Herzliya, just one week after the united Fatah Hamas Palestinian government was formally sworn into office during a Ramallah ceremony.
Ya'alon also rejected the international community's claim that the pact could result in a takeover of Palestinian Arab moderates in Gaza. Rather, he echoed the statements of several Israeli leaders - including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu - that the situation reflects the reverse.Jordan Summons Australia Diplomat Over Policy Change
"If one thing will happen from this 'reconciliation pact,' it will be a Hamas takeover in Judea and Samaria, not a takeover of Fatah in Gaza," he said. "This is happening before our very eyes."
Ya'alon further slammed the idea of negotiations - and land swaps - in his speech, saying that both options promise only the illusion of peace.
Jordan summoned Australia's charge d'affaires John Feakes after Canberra said it would no longer refer to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria as "occupied", the foreign ministry in Amman said on Monday.Jews Have To Leave Because An Arab Led An Army Here In The 7th Century (satire)
"The ministry summoned the Australian charge d'affaires and informed him that the kingdom is concerned about the Australian government's decision to stop referring to east Jerusalem as 'occupied'," ministry spokeswoman Sabah Rafei said in a statement.
"The Australian government's decision violates international law and resolutions that consider east Jerusalem as an integral part of all Palestinian territories occupied in 1967," Amman claimed.
The logic is simple: Caliph Omar accepted the surrender of the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem in 636 CE. Therefore the Jews are not permitted to exercise sovereignty in this part of the world in 2014. It’s a basic reasoning exercise. The manifest miscarriage of justice represented by the establishment of a Zionist state cries out to be righted, because a man named Sophronius – himself an ethnic Arab – handed over the city and its countryside to the Saracens. That is why Jews have no place here. Q.E.D.Islamist Leader Attacks Pope for Visiting 'Muslim' Western Wall
Later attempts to dislodge Arabs from Palestine do not diminish the force of the argument. The Crusaders controlled the land for a time, but ultimately failed; the Ottomans, for even longer, but they are no longer. They were unable to erase the fact that almost a millennium and a half ago, an army from Arabia accepted the surrender of the non-Muslim government in the Holy Land, a fact so formidable that it undermines any claim by anyone else ever, especially the Jews, who only recently conquered the place, which is immaterial because I said so.
Remember: it is only the conquests of the seventh century that count. Everything else is a footnote.
Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the radical Islamic Movement in Israel, wrote an open letter to Pope Francis last Thursday, criticizing him for his visit to the Western Wall (Kotel) two weeks ago, and further claiming that the site is Muslim.A 'Miracle in Samaria' - New Neighborhood in Itamar
In the letter, which was posted on the Arabic site Al-Sonara, Salah condemns the pope for placing a note in the Kotel.
"The Israeli occupation utilized the visit of the pope in the most ugly fashion," wrote Salah, going on to list the pope's actions he saw as being in Israel's favor at the 'Al-Buraq' Wall, a name given by Muslims to the Kotel in the 1920s in an attempt to claim it. The name refers to Mohammed's "winged steed" he supposedly rode to Jerusalem in his "night journey." (h/t Bob Knot)
A new neighborhood, "Nofei Aroma," was dedicated on Thursday in the Samaria community of Itamar, located south-east of Shechem (Nablus).‘No sugarcoating’ as first movie on ’67 battle for Jerusalem takes shape
The neighborhood was dedicated in memory of Gilad Zar Hy''d, a founder of the community and security officer of the Shomron Regional Council who was murdered by Arab terrorists this week 13 years ago.
Construction on the new neighborhood began immediately after and in response to the Fogel family massacre in 2011, when Ehud (Udi) and Ruth were killed in their home by Arab terrorists, along with three of their six young children, the youngest being their three-month-old daughter Hadas.
They weren’t yet born, but Joseph Schick and Jacob Septimus remember 1967.“Militant” Jews Dance and Pray
“It was a story I grew up with, and reading about it after being shocked about the Holocaust, it was like the perfect underdog tale” says Septimus, a director, producer and former advertising creative director working to get a new feature film, “Jerusalem ’67,” off the ground.
Joseph Schick, a lawyer and sportswriter now launching a producing career, is more blunt. “This is a story that has never been shown on film. Even the documentary footage is more about the south – everyone thought the action was going to be in Egypt. Our film will be about the people and the city of Jerusalem.”
If ever there was an example of how the word “militant” has become a meaningless catch-all term in the media, it’s this story from AFP:Nakba Day rally victim to undergo autopsy, report says
Several dozen radical Jews gathered on Monday at the Jerusalem site known as the Cenacle to protest against Christian pilgrims praying there for Pentecost, a police spokesman said…So let’s get this straight – when Palestinians carry out acts of terror, they are described by AFP and most other media outlets as “militants.” When Jews dance and pray, they are also “militants.”
An AFP photographer said Christian pilgrims and tourists were kept by police in one part of the church as militant Jews danced and prayed.
The body of one the two Palestinian teenagers killed at a Nakba Day protest on May 15 is set to be exhumed and examined by two doctors from abroad to determine the cause of death, the news website Al Araby Al Jadeed reported Monday.Hamas Vows Revenge on Israel Over Hunger-Strike Bill
The autopsy was approved by the family of Nadeem Siam Nawara, 17, despite their initial religious objections. Siam Nawara, the father of Nadeem, explained that “the investigation will not bring my son back, but his exhumation will expose the Israeli government and prevent them from killing more children.”
Two specialists, one from the US and the other from Denmark, will collaborate with Palestinian doctors in the inquiry, which is set to be completed by June 11, the report said.
Hamas spokesman Hussan Budran vowed revenge on Israel on Tuesday, calling on Palestinian Arabs in Judea and Samaria to "fulfill their obligations" to hurt IDF soldiers and attack Jewish communities.Gazans Learn From Goldstone Report
"Israel will pay a heavy price in blood until it could be persuaded to solve the problem of hunger striking prisoners," he warned, in an interview with Al-Quds Al-Arabiya.
On Monday, the Knesset approved a bill to force-feed hunger strikers on its first reading, sparking a debate about the "right to protest" between Knesset MKs.
The Government bill seeks to authorize the Commissioner of Prisons to petition the District Court to obtain a permit for medical treatment of hunger-striking prisoners.
“The central malicious claim of the report is that Israel deliberately targeted civilians to ‘punish’ Gazans. The report refuses to accept that Hamas used human shields by embedding in civilian areas in Gaza. Not only does the report fail to condemn Hamas, it actually accuses Israel of using human shields.
“If one accepts the Goldstone report, terrorists in future asymmetric conflicts can learn from it that it is worthwhile to deliberately operate in areas where civilian harm is greatest. Damage to international humanitarian law is of lesser concern, as almost all credible legal experts in the field have rejected the report’s terribly flawed legal analysis.
“In April 2011, Goldstone admitted in a Washington Post article that the central premise of the report, that Israel deliberately targeted Palestinian civilians, was wrong. He falsely claimed however, that his commission had reached erroneous conclusions based on evidence it had at the time.
"The truth is that it willfully ignored evidence which was already right in front of them.”