Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Noah Rothman: Barack Obama Made the World a More Dangerous Place
And that was fine with the Obama White House. From 2009 to 2013, the White House seemed intent only on extricating itself from European affairs. The administration repeatedly canceled plans to provide radar and interceptor missiles to Central European states, withdrew the last American armored units from European soil, and mused publicly about America’s “pivot to Asia” while ending America’s doctrinal commitment to fighting a great-power war on two distinct fronts.Israel’s Supreme Court: Families of terror victims can sue Palestinian Authority
While the Obama administration did pursue sanctions against Moscow in the wake of its attack on Ukraine, they were narrowly targeted. All that “kicking and screaming” must have happened behind closed doors since there’s little evidence for the pressure Obama describes putting on Europe. The Obama White House even lobbied against the passage of sweeping sanctions laws such as the 2012 Magnitsky Act, and the administration never applied them. It was left to the Trump administration to make use of those tools. And when it came time to provide Ukraine with the means to resist Russian aggression, the Obama administration balked. Kyiv asked for anti-tank weapons from the U.S., but the U.S. provided only small boats, body armor, and binoculars.
As for Obama’s hazy recollection of Putin—a man who supposedly bears little resemblance to the rational figure he once knew—we can only conclude that the former president is a terrible judge of character. The Putin he knew was the very same Putin who is implicated in the murder of critical journalists, who tore Grozny to the ground, invaded Georgia, and slaughtered innocents in Syria. Obama knew Putin was “ruthless,” but he did not know he was reckless. How does the president imagine Putin became so risk-prone if not through the many signals he received over the years licensing his audacity? What similarities are there between 2013-2014 and 2021-2022 except for the presence of a Democrat in the Oval Office and the prospect of a renewed nuclear deal with Iran in which Russia plays an instrumental role?
Obama’s self-serving historical revisionism isn’t new. The 44th president is often cast as both master of his domain and a prisoner of circumstances outside his control. It’s a self-serving narrative that should have received a more hostile reception at a “disinformation” conference. American presidents wield a lot of power, and Barack Obama used his to lay the foundations for the more dangerous world we all now inhabit.
The Palestinian Authority 'expresses consent to their actions, in a way that takes responsibility'Employee at USAID Contractor Celebrated Terrorist Attack Against Israeli Civilians
Israel’s Supreme Court ruled Sunday that the Palestinian Authority (PA) can be held responsible by the families of those killed in terror attacks.
The court found that the PA’s controversial policy of paying stipends to Palestinian security prisoners and to families of those killed while committing terror attacks constitutes “confirmation” of terrorist activities.
Some believe that the PA’s payments are necessary social assistance for families who lost a breadwinner, while others criticize the payment system as encouraging terrorism.
The decision means that families of those killed and victims of terror attacks can demand financial compensation from the West Bank’s governing authority, Walla! News reported.
This ruling regarded four lawsuits against the PA in Jerusalem’s District Court by the families of those killed in attacks that took place between 2001 and 2002, the early days of the Second Intifada
In 2019, the lawsuits were rejected by the Jerusalem court, which ruled that the payments made by the PA did not confirm that the attacks were carried out on behalf of the authority.
Meir Sachivshorder, one of the partitioners to the Supreme Court - who lost his parents, sister, and brother in a 2001 attack - responded to the decision: “This is a war I have been waging for 21 years… paying salaries to terrorists,” according to Walla! News.
Just hours after news broke that a Palestinian terrorist gunned down several Israeli civilians last week, an employee for one of the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) top contractors took to Twitter to celebrate the attack.
"The news is sweeter than a tray of knafeh [dessert] after iftar," tweeted Rawan Abu-Salhieh, who was working at the time as a Jordan-based employee for Proximity International—a prime contractor for USAID that is engaged in several projects that receive U.S. aid dollars. The April 7 terror attack in Tel Aviv killed three Israelis and left six wounded.
Abu-Salhieh routinely celebrates terror attacks on Israel and promotes accounts that encourage violence against Jews, according to a Washington Free Beacon review of her Twitter account. In one Twitter post from two weeks ago, Abu-Salhieh retweeted a graphic that praised a March 29 terror attack in Israel, stating, "shoot and don't have mercy" and describing the assailant as a "heroic martyr." At least a dozen other tweets and retweets contain similar rhetoric in support of terrorism against Israel. Abu-Salhieh deleted her account last week after her comments came under scrutiny from regional observers. Abu-Salhieh's public LinkedIn profile also disappeared shortly after Free Beacon inquiries about her posts; and a Proximity official said she no longer works for the organization, though she was employed when some of her most controversial tweets were published.
Abu-Salhieh's role at an organization that receives U.S. government funding is renewing concerns about USAID's vetting process, which was cited by a government watchdog group in 2021 for its failure to ensure that grantees are not tied to terrorism. Former USAID officials told the Free Beacon that the agency turns a blind eye to contractors that have ties to terrorism and employees who support it. They say this failure to perform oversight work on grant recipients endangers the foreign aid system and allows taxpayer funds to enrich Israel's detractors.
"When someone like the woman who has been flagged is working on a variety of different USAID contracts, the onus is on USAID to actively vet," Bonnie Glick, former deputy administrator at USAID during the Trump administration, told the Free Beacon. "The vetting of key staff should disqualify the contract or grant recipient if they have key personnel who are acting in ways that are anathema to USAID's values."
Proximity International's CEO, Courtney Brown, condemned Abu-Salhieh's rhetoric when reached for comment by the Free Beacon and disclosed that she is no longer an employee of the organization, though she was at the time several of her most controversial tweets were posted. Brown said her departure from the organization was in motion prior to the Free Beacon‘s inquiries, but due to the company's human resources policies, would not disclose the reasons she parted ways with Proximity.
Why Palestinians Celebrate the Murder of Jews [T]he celebrations once again prove that a Palestinian who murders a Jew is a hero, whereas one who seeks peace with Israel is a traitor.
Here is an inconvenient truth for Blinken: the poll that was conducted one week before he arrived in Ramallah, the de facto capital of the Palestinians, showed that most Palestinians (58%) are opposed to the two-state solution. Why? They do not believe in Israel's right to exist.
These Palestinians want peace without Israel, not peace with Israel. The only peace they envision is one where Israel would cease to exist.
That is why -- as this and previous polls have shown -- most Palestinians continue to support Hamas, whose charter openly calls for the elimination of Israel.
Praising the recent wave of terror attacks in Israel, Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar said on April 9, "These recurring heroic operations prove a clear fact -- that there is no future for the Jews on our Palestinian land."
[I]t is leaders such as Zahar whom the Palestinians would prefer as their president. A Palestinian leader who talks about destroying Israel or murdering Jews has a better chance of being elected than one who states that he is opposed to terrorism and wants to work towards achieving a two-state solution.
Palestinians have been radicalized... by their leaders to the point where peace with Israel or a two-state solution is seen as an opportunity to slaughter.
The Biden administration, meanwhile, continues to pretend that Abbas and his government are credible partners, and that Israelis and Americans can do business with them. The UN Human Rights Council must be abolished
But no one thought of ousting China from the UN Human Rights Council.UN Watch: PLO rep tries to shut down Hillel Neuer for exposing UN investigator’s bias
There have been failures like Libya and Venezuela or Islamic autocracies where Sharia law is in force like Qatar or Pakistan, places where with impunity thousands of Christian girls are kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam, raped and sold.
Then there is Cuba, where thousands have been executed, we will never know how many, political dissidents are tortured and the Castro regime boasts one of the highest per capita incarceration rates in the world.
Pakistan legitimizes rape, forced conversion and slavery of Christian girls. When Christians Johnson Masih and his wife Samina went to the police to find out what happened to their 13-year-old daughter, the officers showed them an Islamic marriage certificate. Shakaina had married "Ali Bashir". The child, like her mother, was already cleaning, at the age of 13, for some Muslim families in Lahore. "One day Shakaina goes missing," her father told the Morning Star News. "We were given a photocopy of the 'nikahnama' (wedding certificate) and we were told that we would have to go to court if we wanted to meet her." Her kidnapper had forcibly converted her to Islam and married her.
And there are many more like her. Like Maira Shahbaz, a kidnapped 14-year-old Catholic, forced to convert to Islam and marry her kidnapper. The Lahore High Court ruled that she should stay with her kidnapper.
One of the member countries of the United Nations Human Rights Council is Mauritania, where slavery was formally abolished in 1981, but it is estimated that 20 per cent of the the population is still slaves, slaves of the Haratin ethnic group, blacks, owned by Arabs and Berbers.
In a new report drawn up by three NGOs on the middle range of Nigeria, it is revealed that the persecutions against the Christian minority have already caused between 13,000 and 19,000 victims since 2009. Nigeria was a member of the UN Human Rights Council until 2021.
Or to quote Hillel Neuer, director of UN Watch: “First of all I will list 5 of the worst violators of religious freedom (China, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Nigeria and Eritrea) and then I will list 5 members of the UN Human Rights Council (China, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Nigeria and Eritrea)… ". Eritrea is also known as the "African North Korea".
Either the United Nations Human Rights Council becomes what it should have been according to its original mission - a forum where those who respect people's freedom and dignity sit - or let it be abolished.
The Palestinian delegate tried to shut down UN Watch director Hillel Neuer and accused him of arrogance for calling out the extreme bias of UN Rapporteur Michael Lynk. United Nations Human Rights Council, Geneva, Switzerland, 25 March 2022.
House Committee to discuss removal of Ayman Odeh from Knesset
The Knesset House Committee will convene "as soon as possible" to discuss Likud MK Shlomo Karhi's request to dismiss Joint List head MK Ayman Odeh from the Knesset, head of the committee MK Nir Orbach announced on Tuesday.Gantz touts plan to let in tens of thousands more Palestinian laborers
Karhi submitted the request to remove Odeh from the Knesset following the latter's call for Arab-Israelis serving in Israel's security establishment to lay down their weapons and disobey orders.
The Likud MK's motion, which would require the signatures of 70 MKs and the support of 90 MKs in a vote in the Knesset plenum, had already garnered significant support from a number of MKs, both in the coalition and the opposition.
While the entire opposition, bar the Joint List, is expected to support the dismissal, even coalition parties such as Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu announced the entire faction will support Karhi's motion.
Odeh, who doubled down on the statement made in a video released on social media, did claim he directed the call specifically towards Arab-Israeli security officers serving in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Public Security Minister Omer Bar Lev and Israel Police chief Kobi Shabtai all expressed pride and support of Arab-Israeli security officers following Odeh's comments, which they labeled as "inciting."
"It is humiliating for one of our sons to join the security forces of the occupation. The forces here are humiliating our people, humiliating our families and humiliating everyone who comes to pray," Odeh said in the video statement, filmed near Jerusalem's Old City's Damascus Gate.
"Our position is that we will be with our people to end the murderous occupation so that Palestine will rise, Palestinian flags will be hoisted on the walls of Jerusalem and peace will spread on the land of peace. The young people must not join the occupying forces. Throw the weapon in their face and tell them that our place is not with you. We will not be part of the injustice and the crime," he added.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Tuesday that his office was working on plans to allow thousands more Palestinian workers into Israel legally, as Israel aims to seal up gaps in the West Bank security barrier.Justice Ministry greenlights connecting illegal West Bank outposts to power
Gantz toured parts of the security barrier in the northern West Bank where a Palestinian terrorist entered Israel to carry out a deadly shooting attack in Tel Aviv last week.
“Alongside intelligence, offensive and defensive operations, we are advancing solutions that will enable tens of thousands of additional workers to enter Israel in an orderly manner,” Gantz said during the tour.
He revealed that he has instructed relevant bodies to prepare a plan that also includes upgrading the border crossings.
“It will improve security and improve both the Israeli economy and the Palestinian economy. We will continue to fight terrorism and take care of the economy,” he added.
Israel has recently been increasing the number of work permits it is issuing to Palestinians from both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. There are currently around 130,000 West Bank Palestinians who have permits to work in Israel and Israeli settlements in the West Bank. At the end of last month, the government said it will raise the number of permits for Gazans to work in Israel by an additional 8,000, to a total of 20,000.
Israeli security services say the Tel Aviv gunman, Ra’ad Hazem, crossed illegally into Israel through a break in the security barrier.
There are many gaps in the West Bank barrier, and the IDF has dispatched thousands of troops in recent weeks to the seam zone area to prevent Palestinians from crossing into Israel. Though some of the barrier is a concrete wall, much of it is just fencing.
The Justice Ministry gave a green light on Tuesday to connecting some illegal West Bank outposts to electricity, a controversial step that will now move to the Defense Ministry for authorization.Yisrael Medad: It's terror, not resistance - opinion
The measure could also help the government mollify right-wing Yamina MK Nir Orbach, who listed the move as one of his demands for remaining in the imperiled coalition.
The Defense Ministry will need to determine the criteria for homes to be connected to the power grid, according to the opinion issued by Deputy Attorney General for Civil Affairs Carmit Yulis.
“I welcome the opinion… which in principle allows connection to electricity for young settlements that could potentially be authorized,” wrote Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar in a statement on Twitter, using the colloquialism for illegal outposts.
A source in the Justice Ministry familiar with the matter confirmed that the opinion only applies to outposts built upon Israeli state land, not private Palestinian land. Additionally, the source said that a similar approval process to connect Palestinian homes to the grid in West Bank Area C is planned for the future, but is not part of the current effort.
“This is an important move for Israeli citizens in young settlements and I hope that the full process will be completed within a reasonable period of time, after past Israeli governments have refrained from addressing the issue,” Sa’ar added.
The problem with the violence needs to be clarified before it can be successfully addressed.‘We Won’t Let Them Win,’ Says Israeli Premier at Site of Tel Aviv Terrorist Attack
The first element is that it is all so unnecessary. If the Arabs had not adopted a rejectionist stance by refusing all diplomatic and political offers made starting, perhaps, with the Weizmann-Faisal Understanding of 1919, and on to the two pre-state partition plans and the many arrangements proffered after and culminating in the Oslo Accords, they would have their Arab state of Palestine. Preferring violence as their instrument of gain – from the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem to Yasser Arafat to the "pay-for-slay" Palestinian National Authority, not only hasn't worked but it reminds Israelis of the history of the conflict. That memory simply reinforces the unwillingness of Israelis on one hand to capitulate, and on the other strengthens their resolve to persevere as well as increases hostility to Arabs as a whole, a very unhealthy mindset.
Take, for example, the statement released in a short video this past Sunday evening by Israeli Knesset lawmaker Ayman Odeh of the Joint List, a mixed faction of Communist, Arab pan-nationalists and others, including a Jewish representative. In it, Odeh called on Arab Israelis serving in the country’s security units to “throw the weapons [you hold] in their faces … [as] young people must not join the occupation forces … it is a humiliation.” He spoke after video clips at the riot scenes near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem showed Arab undercover policemen arresting miscreants and restoring public order. This will cause a long-term backlash especially as both a Christian Arab man and a Druze man were murdered in the last month by Arab terrorists.
Second, the horrific character of the "resistance violence" in specifically attacking civilians with knives, guns, firebombs, car-ramming and the constant throwing of rocks at civilian vehicles is not in the tradition of normative liberation movements, which Arabs in this country claim to follow. It is an immoral campaign of violence, not resistance, even if there is support for such violence from abroad.
A third aspect is that it flies in the face of Israel's successes in reaching out to other Arab Muslim states. The infamous three noes of the 1967 Khartoum Conference – no recognition, no negotiations and no peace with the Palestinians – are long gone. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas, along with the Islamic Jihad, are just out of step and the more they initiate instances that afford them the opportunity to assert that it is Israel that is engaged in provocations is wearing thin. Unfortunately, King Abdullah II of Jordan is still playing the provocation game but he is a special case, desperately clinging to his role as Custodian of the Holy Places in Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Public Security Minister Omer Barlev and Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai on Monday night visited the Ilka Bar in Tel Aviv, the site of the deadly terror attack on Thursday.Israel: Stabbing Attempt in Ashkelon, Assailant Shot Dead
The pub opened its doors on Monday for the first time since the attack, which left three Israeli civilians dead and 14 others wounded.
“I came here tonight to strengthen the owners [of the bar] and the residents here,” said Bennett. “We won’t allow them, our enemies, to stop us from living. We won’t let them defeat us. We are getting back to our lives and at the same time taking the fight to their homes, their bases, their resources, and God willing, we will win,” he added.
Barlev visited the bar together with Israeli Consul General in New York Assaf Zamir and his wife Maya Wertheimer.
“Alongside the terrible pain from the loss of life, on this night in this packed pub, our great strength is evident, the way we look ahead, the knowledge that if we are hit, we won’t break,” said Barlev.
Ra’ad Hazam, the Palestinian terrorist, was killed in a gunfight with security forces early on Friday morning, April 8.
According to a Kan 11 News report, he was planning a second attack on Passover eve.
A police officer was left lightly wounded after being stabbed in Israel’s southern city of Ashkelon early Tuesday morning, Israeli media reported.
According to reports, the officer went to perform a security check on the man, who was acting suspiciously. During the investigation, the man drew a knife and stabbed the officer.
The officer was lightly wounded and evacuated to Barzilai Hospital by Magen David Adom rescue services.
The assailant, a man from Hebron in his 40s, was shot and killed by the officer.
Israel’s police said the officer “responded quickly, fired and neutralized the suspect, whose death was declared on site.”
The latest incident comes as Israeli security forces are on high alert as the country faces a new wave of terror that has left 14 dead in the last two weeks, with attacks taking place in Beersheba, Hadera, Bnei Brak and Tel Aviv.
A man was shot on Sunday in Ashkelon after attempting to steal a weapon from the military.
Tal Yitzhak who lost his wife Laura in Beer Sheva terror attack asked not to disseminate video of her fighting terrorist. He asked to share this: him returning to scene w/their 3 daughters to package food boxes for upcoming holiday. He spoke beautifully about Laura, life & love: https://t.co/Zm8GcXhCLj
— ???? ?????-???? | Michal Cotler-Wunsh (@CotlerWunsh) April 12, 2022
Tension amid attacks, clashes in Israel & West Bank
Abbas appears unable to halt rising tensions in West Bank
PA Cop Confessed to Attempting Mass Murder in Jewish Settlement
A Palestinian Authority customs policeman, armed with an automatic weapon and wearing a bulletproof vest on Sunday night tried to enter the settlement of Vered Jericho in the Jordan Valley, intending to carry out a mass shooting attack, Kan 11 News reported Monday night.
The policeman arrived at the settlement, which is located near the PA city of Jericho, in a PA police patrol car he had stolen. The guard at the gate confronted him and won’t let him enter, at which point the policeman walked away and fired an entire cartridge into the air. He then fired two more bursts into the air.
The gate and the security fence are located about half a mile from the settlement.
The policeman was arrested by the PA security forces and confessed to planning to carry out an attack on the residents of Vered Jericho. PA security is now investigating the man’s ties to the Islamic Jihad.
A PA Security official told Kan 11 News that the PA “understands the seriousness of the act and rejects it since it does not represent the PA’s intentions.” However, it should be noted that, since 2010, PA Security personnel have carried out six terrorist attacks, five of them involving shooting, most recently about two years ago. There were also earlier incidents in which PA police officers used their weapons against Israelis illegally, one of the most famous of which was the lynching in Ramallah carried out on two Israeli soldiers at a PA police station. Two policemen were also involved in the shooting attack in Hadera.
NYT knows exactly what it's doing by wink-winking a 'maybe the Jews are lying about their existence in the holy land'-type article. At what death toll will the Times be satisfied? What's the specific number of Jews it wants murdered this round?
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) April 12, 2022
Still going. pic.twitter.com/FFoufsspLo
— Gilead Ini (@GileadIni) April 11, 2022
PMW: Dr. Terror and Mr. Peace - How Abbas/Fatah/PLO organizations simultaneously praise, justify, and condemn the Tel Aviv terror attack
In an environment in which terror against Israel and Israelis is promoted, encouraged, and even rewarded - all on a daily basis - "it wasn't surprising to see the plethora of Palestinian announcements praising the terror attack in Tel Aviv on April 7, in which 3 Israelis were murdered and many others were injured.
Among those praising the attack were Fatah and its terror wing the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), and the Palestinian Liberation Front (PLF), all of whom are members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
While Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas heads both Fatah and the PLO, but could not be seen by the international community as staying silent, he issued a mealy-mouthed condemnation in which he said that “killing Palestinian and Israeli civilians will only lead to an additional deterioration of the situation.” [WAFA, official PA news agency, April 8, 2022; official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, April 9, 2022]
But while Abbas was “condemning” the murders, all the organizations he heads were busy glorifying it.
Fatah praises the Tel Aviv terror attack
At the house of the terrorist on the morning after the attack, Fatah’s military wing lauded the murderer:
“Hundreds of Jenin refugee camp residents came to the family home of the Martyr in a mass procession, while the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades eulogized Martyr Ra’ad and said that he is one of its members.”
[Sama News, independent Palestinian news agency, April 8, 2022]
Declaring terrorist Ra'ad Hazem a “Martyr” - the highest honor achievable in Islam according to the Palestinian Authority - Fatah Movement Secretary in Jenin Ata Abu Rmeileh said that the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades and Fatah were accompanying the terrorist “to his wedding” - a Martyr's funeral is considered a wedding to the 72 Virgins in Paradise in Islam:
“On this blessed day, the first Friday of the [Muslim fasting] month of Ramadan, we in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades and the Fatah Jenin branch… accompany to his wedding one of the Fatah and Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades leaders in the Jenin refugee camp and Palestine”
[Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), April 8, 2022]
Hmmm, let’s look at this @hzomlot:
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) April 12, 2022
? Ukraine does not indiscriminately shoot Russian civilians.
? Ukraine does not build tunnels into Russian school.
? Ukraine does not pay salaries of murderers, like Pay to Slay.
? Ukraine does not reject Russia’s right to exist. https://t.co/R1MQsNNV3z
HonestReporting Fact Check: All the Times PA Envoy Husam Zomlot Lied on CNN
Amid a terror wave that has taken the lives of 14 Israelis, the Palestinian Authority's envoy to the UK appeared on CNN to discuss imposing sanctions on the Jewish state.
Husam Zomlot was previously accused of denying the Holocaust, defending the PA's policy of paying 'salaries' to terrorists, and making light of rocket attacks targeting Israeli civilians. Yet Zomlot, who also serves as an advisor to PA chief Mahmoud Abbas, was given a platform by CNN host Becky Anderson to spread lies.
HonestReporting fact-checked some of his claims.
Check the tape. She charged at them full speed.
— Joel Taubman (@JoelTaubman) April 10, 2022
Hamas Official Abu Marzouk Laments International “Double Standards”: Nobody Cares about the Palestinian Refugees, But Everyone Is in Turmoil Over Ukrainian Refugees with White Skin and Blue Eyes; Their Resistance Is Considered Legitimate, While Ours Is Considered “Terrorism” pic.twitter.com/h2jEsseQyE
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) April 12, 2022
Puerto Rican Imam Ben Shaban Praises Perpetrator of Tel Aviv Terrorist Attack: This Was a Man Who Was Worth 1,000 Men; He Single-Handedly Made Tel Aviv Stand Still; Men Like This Will Liberate Palestine, Restore the Muslims' Honor #Palestinians #terrorism #PuertoRico pic.twitter.com/gvHt7F0m44
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) April 12, 2022
MEMRI: Apologia In Palestinian Authority (PA) Daily For PA President Abbas's Condemnation Of Terror Attacks Against Israelis: We First Condemned the Murder Of Palestinians And Only Afterward The Murder Of Israelis, So As To Avoid Being Accused Of Harboring A Double Standard
In its April 10, 2022 editorial, the Palestinian Authority (PA) establishment daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida explained and justified PA President Mahmoud Abbas's published condemnation of the wave of Palestinian terror attacks in Israel in which Israeli civilians were killed. It emphasized that in his statements, Abbas had first condemned Israel's murder of Palestinians, and then, so that there would be no accusations by the international community that the PA maintained a double standard, he included as well a denunciation of the murder of the Israelis.MEMRI: Qatari Press Praises Tel Aviv Terror Attack In Which Three Israelis Were Killed – And The Terrorist Who Carried It Out
The editorial also stated that Abbas was using political language that the world understands and appreciates, and that his statements aimed first and foremost to denounce Israel, to depict it as responsible for the violence, and to deprive it of any pretext to continue with it. It was apparently written in response to Palestinian elements' criticism of the PA condemnation of the terror attacks.
The following are translated excerpts from the editorial:
"There are those who take an entirely populistic and demagogic approach to the condemnation published by the [Palestinian] presidency about the murder of 'Israeli civilians.' According to this approach of theirs, [the condemnation] has nothing to do with principled positions; it is aimed [solely] as incitement against the Palestinian leadership – which has never manipulated words in its explicit and honest political discourse of clear positions regarding the various issues pertaining to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Its discourse never includes hollow slogans or populistic and emotional phrases…
"National responsibility requires wisdom to express the positions [of the leadership] regarding the fervor of the conflict, in language which does not manipulate principles and is not based on double standards [on the part of the international community], from which we still suffer. The condemnations [published] by the [Palestinian] presidency are actually aimed at condemning the Israeli occupation's tyrannical and violent policy toward our people – when it is [the occupation] that seeks to create and perpetuate a cycle of violence and to exploit it to carry out more acts of aggression and more violent reactions against our Palestinian people, especially on the part of the armed groups of the most extremist and racist settlers! No condemnation by the presidency has not first stressed that the murder of Palestinian civilians 'will lead to further deterioration of the situation. So that there will be no suspicion regarding a double standard, [the presidency] clarified [that this also applies to] 'the Israeli civilians.' This is the language of national responsibility, in its political verbiage – a language that is understood and appreciated by the world, because it is the language used by a responsible state to express its basic principles and its moral values.
The Qatari press coverage of the April 7, 2022 Tel Aviv terrorist attack, in which three Israeli citizens were killed, was overwhelmingly positive, with writers praising it. The Palestinian perpetrator, Ra'ad Hazem, was called a martyr and his death a martyrdom operation (istishhad). The Qatari Al-Quds Al-Arabi daily, which is published in London, called the shooting a "quality attack that will go down in the history of the Palestinian resistance and its quality operations."[1]Want free Wi-Fi? First agree to anti-Zionist terms of servce
Qatari establishment dailies published articles in praise of the attack and its perpetrator. In his column in the Al-Watan daily, Palestinian journalist Samir Al-Barghouti praised Hazem – whom he referred to as "Palestinian heroes" – for joining the ranks of terrorists and added that it was worth sacrificing one's life to defend the Muslim holy places.
In an article in the Al-Sharq daily, Qatari journalist Aisha Al-Obaidan justified the recent wave of terror attacks in Israel, and castigated the Arab country that condemned them.[2] She contended that they were not terrorist attacks but martyrdom operations for the sake of Palestine.[3]
Other Qatari journalists and reporters for the Qatari-Al Jazeera media network extolled the attack and attacker on social media, as they did previously for other terror attacks in Israel, in Beersheba, Hadera, and Bnei Brak.[4]
The following report will present praise for the Tel Aviv attack in the Qatari press and social media:
Columnist In Qatari Daily Eulogizes Tel Aviv Attacker: "May You Be Blessed"; "You Have Gone Down In History" With The Other Heroes Of Palestine
In his column in the Qatari daily Al-Watan, Palestinian journalist Samir Al-Barghouti eulogized terrorist Ra'ad Hazem. Congratulating him on joining the roster of Palestinian heroes, including leading Hamas operative such as Yahya 'Ayyash, one of the founders of Hamas's military wing Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam brigades who instituted the method of suicide bombings, he added that resistance in defense of the holy places requires harnessing every resource and even sacrificing one's life. Al-Barghouti wrote:
"You have gone down in history with your [lightning] flash, your thunder [ra'ad in Arabic, i.e. his name], and your determination [hazem, his surname]. You went out from Jaffa [where you were killed] as a martyr, to write your name in blood alongside the names of the Palestinian heroes [who have died] since the start of the resistance. May you be blessed [in Paradise] with the friendship of [Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmad] Yassin, [Hamas cofounder 'Abd Al-'Aziz] Al-Rantisi, and [Yasser] Arafat. May you be blessed with the companionship of [senior PFLP official] Ghassan Kanafani, [Fatah cofounder and Arafat's deputy and spokesman] Kamal Nasser, [senior PLO and Fatah officials involved in the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre of Israeli athletes] Kamal Al-'Adwan and [Muhammad] Yousuf Al-Najjar. Enjoy the friendship of... [Fatah coleader and founder of the Black September organization] Abu Iyyad and of Abu Jihad [Khalil Al-Wazir, Fatah cofounder and head of the PLO military wing] and your beloved Yahya 'Ayyash...
An organization that wants to counter the Jewish presence in Jerusalem has apparently been offering free Wi-Fi to tourists in the the Old City as a means of furthering anti-Zionist propaganda, Israel Hayom has learned.On Iran, Biden Should Take ‘No’ for an Answer
The non-governmental organization, Burj Al-Luqluq, has filled the void left after authorities in Jerusalem after they stopped offering free service several weeks ago. Under the new situation, the NGO allows users to get connectivity if they sign up through a special form. After doing so, the network automatically redirects them to a screen where they could download a popular game called "Protector of Al-Aqsa", in which rioters fight the "Zionists" in an effort to counter the Judaization of the city.
The Ministry for Jerusalem Affairs said in a statement that it lacks the authority to take action against organizations who independently offer connection to their networks, referring the matter to the Ministry of Communications.
"The ministry has been implementing together with the Communications Ministry a program to bolster the Israeli internet infrastructure in every neighborhood in east Jerusalem," it said in a statement, saying this was part of the governmen's resolution to reduce the economic disparities in the city.
We have heard from Biden officials that there is no cost to seeking a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear program. The argument is that, at the very least, America looks like it's seeking peace, even if no deal can be reached, making it easier to rally allies to enforce sanctions against Iran if there is no deal.Was the Infiltration of the Secret Service Part of an Iranian Plot to Kill John Bolton?
But this endless diplomacy has very real costs, as the attack in Syria makes clear. The Iranians seem confident they can attack U.S. positions and injure U.S. forces without much blowback. U.S. Central Command acknowledged last year that the IRGC directed dozens of attacks in 2021 against U.S. positions in Iraq and Syria. The Biden administration has responded with two weak counterstrikes against Iranian proxies, leaving IRGC positions unscathed.
Or consider what message it sends that the administration continued negotiating for a nuclear deal with Iran after its military fired a barrage of missiles dangerously close to the U.S. consulate in Irbil, Iraq, last month. At the time, Iran claimed credit for the attack and said it was a response to Israeli attacks in Syria that killed two IRGC officers. And the Biden administration kept negotiating, even after the White House informed Congress in January of Iranian assassination plots against former Trump officials, including Mike Pompeo, Brian Hook, and John Bolton.
In light of this Iranian aggression, Biden's insistence on maintaining the IRGC's terror designation does not seem like toughness at all given that any nuclear deal reached in Vienna would result in a cash windfall for Iran's terror masters—regardless of the IRGC's designation, or lack thereof.
It would be a disaster for American interests and allies in the Middle East if the IRGC is the beneficiary of a new nuclear deal, as it was in 2015 under the Obama administration. Israel has already proven that it can foil Iran's nuclear ambitions through sabotage and assassination.
President Biden should instead focus on aiding those efforts while responding directly to the IRGC's attacks on U.S. positions. Pretending that negotiations with Iran are cost-free leaves the mullahs with the impression that they won't pay a price for their efforts to kill Americans. Worse, it may give the Russians the same idea.
Recently released court filings and press reports suggest that the two men apprehended for impersonating federal agents last week in Washington, D.C., might have been part of an Iranian assassination team whose mission was to kill former high-ranking U.S. officials. Yet even as the Biden administration became aware of a possible Iranian plot to kill Americans on American soil—an act of war—White House aides continued to negotiate the restoration of the Iran nuclear deal while seeking to accommodate the clerical regime’s thirst for revenge against former Trump administration officials: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Special Envoy for Iran Brian Hook, and National Security Advisor John Bolton.
According to media reports, the two men, Arian Taherzadeh and Haider Ali, are U.S. citizens. The latter told witnesses he had connections to Pakistani intelligence, and early reports from The New York Times, NBC, Associated Press, and other news sources seemed to make a point of not mentioning any possible link to Iran, despite at least one of the men having visas to visit that country.
Unsurprisingly, both men are now being actively investigated for possible ties to Iranian spy services, according to CBS News. Ali reportedly visited Iran twice in recent years.
Clearly, the two men enjoyed the financial and logistical support of a well-funded organization that supplied them with arms, electronic devices, and cash, which they used to infiltrate and compromise U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
70 former US officials & experts to Biden: “Mr. President, no deal can be worth giving terrorists a green light to kill Americans, empowering a terrorist organization to harm US interests and allies, or turning our backs on American victims of terrorism.” https://t.co/BYW5Jf0gDp
— Richard Goldberg (@rich_goldberg) April 11, 2022
A badge of honor! Congrats to @RichardGrenell, @DavidM_Friedman and all the American patriots for being added to the Islamic Terror Republic of Iran blacklist! You must have been doing something right.https://t.co/sRmz5Xb7ce
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) April 12, 2022
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