Abbas was obviously trying to send a message to the West that he is against attacks on Jewish sites, although I will bet anyone that in one year there will be no concrete results from this "investigation."
But even the sham is too much for Na'ami, a professor in Gaza.
President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the burning of the Jewish shrine «Tomb of Joseph» in the heart of the city of Nablus.Here is a fairly prolific Arab columnist justifying the destruction of a supposedly Muslim shrine because Jews claim them.
His decision to form a committee to investigate the incident and his pledge to restore the shrine is an affront to the Palestinian people and shows disregard for our national rights. It also shows leniency with the horrible crimes committed by the Jewish terrorists who visit this shrine.
This shrine is practically a Jewish settlement in the heart of the city of Nablus, attracting tens of thousands of settlers who take advantage of their presence in the region, and the protection of the Palestinian Authority security for them to provoke the Palestinians.
... Burning this shrine was an opportunity to get rid of the source of renewed terrorism, and this confirms how miserable this step by Abbas was and demonstrates his orientation.
It is a perfect example of the absurd zero-sum mentality of most in the Arab world: if Jews like it, it must be bad for Arabs. And therefore better it is destroyed than any Jews get benefit from it.
Of course, there are no comments on the column pointing out that his hate has nothing to do with Zionism, but Jews.
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