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Thursday, November 03, 2022

11/03 Links Pt1: Israelis Want Leaders Who Have a Vision for a Jewish and Zionist State; Melanie Phillips: Israel joins the West’s culture wars

From Ian:

With overwhelming victory, Netanyahu set to form strong, stable, legitimate, right-wing gov’t
Apparently in Israel, the fifth time is the charm. After repeated attempts by the opposition, by defectors from his own right-wing bloc, by the prosecution and the Supreme Court to prevent embattled former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from ruling, the electorate finally ended Israel’s protracted political deadlock by voting overwhelmingly in favor of Netanyahu and his natural—and loyal—right-wing allies.

With 87.6 percent of the paper ballots counted, Netanyahu’s bloc is likely to surge to as many as 65 seats in the 120-member Knesset. The number represents a stable parliamentary majority. By contrast, Israel’s left-wing collapsed to barely 45 seats—a massive 20-seat gap between the right-wing and left-wing blocs. Parties comprising the outgoing coalition secured only 50 Knesset mandates this time around, including an Arab party affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Even if the distribution of mandates shifts slightly as the final votes are counted, the results are clear: Netanyahu is returning to power for a third stretch as head of government, after a year in the opposition.

The vote was a national referendum on the fitness of Netanyahu—Israel’s longest-serving prime minister—as the man best suited for the top job. It was also a referendum on the tremendous damage caused cycle after election cycle by opposing parliamentarians who conspired to block the people’s choice from serving as prime minister.

In a major surprise, turnout was the highest in years. Many had said that Israelis were growing tired of going to the polls each year and might boycott the voting booths. On the contrary, Israelis embraced their hyper-democracy and voted overwhelmingly to return stability to the electoral system. And the voters proved once again that Israel is a traditional, center-right country.

Despite all the efforts to oust him, it is now clear that Netanyahu has not lost any support across five consecutive elections. And now, the right-wing government he is poised to assemble represents the most stable alignment he has ever secured. There is virtually zero chance that Netanyahu will attempt to move towards a so-called unity alignment with parties that have tried to prevent him from serving as premier. Doing so would bring a Trojan horse and the opposition directly into his cabinet. Stability depends on forming an alliance with parties that actually support Netanyahu’s candidacy.
Continuity expected on Bennett-Lapid policies on Lebanon, Turkey - analysis
The next government is likely to continue some of its predecessors’ key regional policies if Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu forms a coalition, as expected.

Netanyahu expressed sharp opposition to the Lebanon maritime demarcation agreement shortly before it was set to be signed, calling it “terms of surrender.”

However, when the deal was finalized last week, Netanyahu said he would “behave as [he] did with the Oslo Accords.” When Netanyahu became prime minister in 1996, he fulfilled the previous government’s commitment that Israel would mostly withdraw from Hebron, following negotiations in which he demanded the Palestinians pledge to stop terrorism.

Netanyahu’s attitude towards the Oslo Accords as prime minister can be summed up in a statement he made at the time: “If they give, they will get; if they don’t give, they will not get.” Netanyahu repeated this call for reciprocity several times in his autobiography published last month, and as such, is likely to be his approach to the Lebanon agreement, as well.

US President Joe Biden provided Prime Minister Yair Lapid with a letter of guarantees over the weekend that would likely limit Netanyahu’s ability to change the deal. The letter backs up the Lebanon agreement and states that the US is committed to supporting the IDF and strengthening its ability to defend Israel, including against threats to its ships and energy assets.

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati told Reuters on Wednesday that the US guarantees protect the maritime boundary deal.
Melanie Phillips: Israel joins the West’s culture wars
With the result of its election this week, Israel has joined other Western countries in a notable current trend: A revolt by the public against the political establishment.

The Religious Zionist Party has now become the third-largest party in the Knesset. This is likely to mean cabinet posts for the rabble-rouser Itamar Ben-Gvir and the ultra-conservative Bezalel Smotrich in a new government led by the Likud Party’s Benjamin Netanyahu.

While their likely inclusion is due to Israel’s baroque political structure—some 90% of voters didn’t vote for them—the increase in support they received is significant.

Just as happened in Hungary, Italy, the U.S. and Sweden, the once-fringe Religious Zionist Party has come to power because a significant proportion of the public has become profoundly disillusioned with a political establishment that it felt was ignoring and betraying its interests and values.

Before the election, a number of mainstream conservative-minded Israeli voters said they would be voting for Ben-Gvir. So too did a surprising number of the secular young in Tel Aviv. For the latter, Ben-Gvir’s authenticity and directness made him an unlikely political rock star. In addition, among some conservatives, there was a weariness with Netanyahu.

Others who had previously voted for the Yamina Party’s Naftali Bennett felt a deep sense of betrayal when he tore up his previous promises and principles and formed a governing coalition with the left-of-center Yair Lapid that depended upon the Islamist Ra’am Party.

As this coalition staggered along, there was further disillusionment. Bennett and Lapid seemed to be groveling to the Biden administration, only for Israel to get kicked in the teeth in response.


Israelis Want Leaders Who Have a Vision for a Jewish and Zionist State
If preliminary election results are to be believed, the Religious Zionism party—led by Bezalel Smotrich, and which includes a faction led by the controversial Itamar Ben-Gvir—could get fourteen seats in the next Knesset. Daniel Gordis has little affection for either politician, but argues that they win votes not for their most extreme statements, but because they guarantee something essential that many Israelis want, and that other political figures don’t persuasively offer. To illustrate his point, Gordis cites a campaign video from the center-left incumbent, Yair Lapid:
It’s a perfectly fine, innocuous video. There’s not a platform there that I disagree with. The elderly living with dignity. Combat soldiers having their education supported by the state. Women’s rights. Caring about people with disabilities. Respect and protection for gay and lesbian couples. A liberal Israel. A democratic Israel. All the rest. What’s the problem?

The problem, for me, is that if you translated this video into French and substituted “France” for Israel, Emmanuel Macron could use it in his next campaign. Translated into English with “America” substituted for Israel, it would make a fine video for Liz Cheney or Amy Klobuchar. It’s a lovely video that would work for any modern liberal democracy.

But here’s the rub. I never intended to move to any old modern liberal democracy. Democracy? Of course? Liberal (in the philosophic, not political sense)? Absolutely. But “any old”? Definitely not. I came here to live in a Jewish state, a state that while not imposing religiosity on anyone, would be Jewish in manifold ways, culturally, educationally, in values, and much more.

And in this video, the words “Jewish” and “Zionist” are entirely absent. . . . The first time I watched the video, I felt like I’d been sucker-punched.

That, in short, is why some of Ben-Gvir’s voters voted for him. . . . They may or may not want many things, but what matters to them is that this state not be like France or the United States, that its leaders be mindful that they are at the helm of a Jewish state, the place to which the Jewish people has returned to reconstitute itself.


Bibi returns: Is a right-wing Israeli government just as likely to make peace as a left-wing one?

Many in Israel dismiss corruption charges against Bibi as highly exaggerated & politically motivated

Israel has a track record of belligerent politicians moderating once in power. Will Ben Gvir follow?

Will Bibi defy expectations and govern from the center? After all, he’s gay-friendly and war-averse

U.S. Jewish Leaders to Work with New Israeli Government
The bottom line among the mainstream Jewish community is a willingness to work with an Israeli government in any form. "The fact that so many people voted shows that Israelis are saying they believe in the system and want to be a part of it," said William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. "I'll go to Prime Minister Netanyahu and we will work with him. The American government will work with him." Daroff said that when Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited Washington last week, "President Herzog was right on the mark, telling us, President Biden and others that we must have respect for each country's democracies."

That approach was seconded by Adam Odesser, director of the Israel Action Center at the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, who said the high turnout among the Israeli electorate on Tuesday "shows how Israel is a thriving democracy. The turnout was one of the highest percentages in the past 20 years....No matter who comes up on top, I think we will continue to work with whoever is there, and our connection will continue to be strong."

Andrew Keene, who represents the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA), said, "any democracy should have the full range of expression and ideology represented in government."

The Jewish Federations of North America umbrella group said it looked "forward to working with the government selected by the Israeli people, as we always have, to support Jews around the world and strengthen the relationships between Israel, the North American Jewish community, and our government leaders."

B'nai B'rith International said, "Israel proudly exemplifies what it means to be an engaged, participatory democracy. We look forward to working with Israel's next governing coalition on issues critical to the future of global Jewry and the Jewish state."
Senator Ted Cruz congratulates Netanyahu in Hebrew
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Wednesday congratulated Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu for his victory in the Israeli elections.

“Congratulations to the people of Israel on a robust high turnout election and clear choice of Netanyahu to form a government,” he tweeted.

Cruz concluded his tweet by writing in Hebrew, “Behatzlacha, Chaver” (lit. Good luck, friend).

Earlier on Wednesday, Axios reported that the Biden Administration is likely to refuse to work with Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben Gvir if he becomes a minister in Israel's next government.

Two US officials said that no final decision has been made yet, but the administration is likely to boycott Ben Gvir, who would become the first Israeli minister the US government would refuse to work with. Ben Gvir has expressed a desire to serve as Public Security Minister, a position which would make him responsible for the Israel Police and the policy in the holy places in Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.


US: We hope Israel’s next gov’t is open and tolerant
The Biden administration hopes the next Israeli government continues to uphold the countries’ shared values of an “open, democratic society, including tolerance and respect for all in civil society, particularly for minority groups,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday.

“What makes this [Washington-Jerusalem] relationship so strong, and what has made it so strong since Israel’s independence to the present day, is that this is a relationship that has always been based on our shared interests, but importantly our shared values,” said Price.

The remarks were an apparent reference to the growing likelihood of the inclusion of the Religious Zionism Party in a Likud Party-led government, with opposition head Benjamin Netanyahu returning to the Prime Minister’s Office following Tuesday’s general election.

“Regardless,” Price added, “we have a close and enduring relationship with Israel … and certainly that will continue.”

Also on Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides released a statement saying that he “look[s] forward to continuing to work with the Israeli government on our shared interests and values.”

Both Price and Nides suggested that it was still too early to predict the exact composition of the next government in Jerusalem, even as Netanyahu’s right-religious bloc appears to be poised for a resounding victory.

On Wednesday, Axios reported that the Biden administration was “unlikely to engage with” Israeli lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose Otzma Yehudit faction ran on a joint slate with Religious Zionism.


The Israel Guys: Election Results: BIG WIN For the Rightwing Parties
In the biggest voter turnout for Israel since 1999, things are looking good for the right wing bloc in the Knesset. An Arab man was arrested for attempting to kidnap an Israeli woman, an IDF officer was injured in a ramming attack near Modi'in, and the security guard who was injured in a terrorist attack last month, recovered consciousness yesterday.




Biden Administration Backs Qatar Lobby
When Elliott Broidy sued Qatari lobbyists for allegedly hacking his private emails, the foreign agents responded by going after Americans—many of them Jews—critical of Qatar. Guess who the Justice and State departments appear to be siding with?

Beginning in 2018, Elliott Broidy, a venture capitalist and former deputy finance chair of the Republican National Committee, sued the Qatari government and the former pro-Qatar lobbyists Nick Muzin, Joey Allaham, and Gregory Howard (all registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act), claiming that the Gulf emirate and its American hirelings had coordinated the theft and dissemination of his private emails. The suit also claims that some of the lobbyists had knowledge of the hacking and strategized the promotion of its contents among members of the media. Qatar is no longer a party in the case, but the lawsuit reflects the belief among Broidy and his allies that they can prove the Qatari government was responsible for the email theft—citing forensic analysis of the hack and its origins, along with a larger social and business nexus connecting the source of the hack to specific officials in Qatar. Muzin, Allaham, and Howard are accused of formulating a strategy for spreading the hacked material through the American media in full knowledge of how it was obtained.

The stolen Broidy emails showed that after Donald Trump’s inauguration, the RNC official began pursuing substantial business interests in the United Arab Emirates with the help of UAE-linked political consultants in Washington. Broidy, who had long been active in pro-Israel causes, also donated to various organizations that were scrutinizing Qatari support for Islamist movements, mostly through journalism and think tank-produced conferences and research. At the time, the UAE was part of a Saudi-led group of countries that sought to isolate Qatar over its backing of the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Islamist organization that most of the other Gulf States saw as their leading internal security threat. The emails were an uncomfortably raw look into the various political, social, and business relationships that Broidy maintained in Washington. In October of 2020, Broidy pleaded guilty to what the Department of Justice described as “back-channel lobbying” on behalf of interests in China and Malaysia. Trump pardoned him during his last day in the White House.

Broidy’s lawsuit against Qatar itself was dismissed in August of 2018 on sovereign immunity grounds—Americans have the right to sue a foreign government on U.S. soil only under very limited circumstances. But the case against Qatar’s former lobbyists continues. Earlier this year, the three lobbyists countered by issuing far-reaching subpoenas to nearly two-dozen figures in the U.S. Jewish, pro-Israel, and foreign policy communities. Tablet has obtained these subpoenas, and interviewed several recipients for this article. Many of the subpoenas were sent to groups and individuals who were, as one target put it, “somewhere between a third party and a bystander” to the lawsuit—in other words, people who could not have been reasonably expected to possess information about Broidy’s hacking allegations. But they were all either opposed to Qatar’s support for Islamist groups, or had been publicly linked to people, groups, or activities that were critical of Qatar.

The subpoenas Tablet reviewed are fairly expansive, making them onerous, costly, and time-consuming for both the filers and recipients to address. According to Broidy’s 2019 amended complaint in the lawsuit, Muzin himself told a Broidy associate that fighting future subpoenas in a lawsuit over the hack could put him “in a multi-million-dollar hole.” The cost of addressing the filings as they have wound their way through the federal court system over the past nine months isn’t quite that astronomical, but it isn’t insignificant either: One recipient estimated out-of-pocket legal fees of $40,000 for attempting to comply with the order, a process that involved hiring a lawyer who then hired a contractor to analyze their email account and hard drives. “And that’s a defense based on me saying I honestly don’t have anything,” the source added.
Israeli envoy protests UN refusal to classify murdered woman as terror victim
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan protested a UN body’s refusal to classify the September killing of an 84-year-old woman as terrorism, despite the pronouncement police made shortly after her death.

Shulamit Rachel Ovadia was killed by blows to the head from a blunt object in the Tel Aviv suburb of Holon. Police said the killing was carried out by Mousa Sarsour, a Palestinian from the northern West Bank city of Qalqilya. He was found hanged the following morning in central Tel Aviv in an apparent suicide.

Erdan’s Monday letter to UN Secretary General António Guterres accused The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) of “ignor[ing]” Israel’s classification of Ovadia’s murder as a terror attack, adding that the organization’s “unwillingness to swiftly condemn and appropriately label these acts of Palestinian terror only incentivizes the terrorists to continue their actions.”

“Ovadia’s only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” the letter said.

OCHA’s report of the incident, released in late September, said that while Israel had classified Ovadia’s murder as “nationalistic” — meaning terroristic — it is “disputed by Palestinian sources and human rights groups.”


Jordanian Lawmakers Seek Expulsion of Israeli Ambassador
A group of 66 Jordanian MPs from the 130-strong Lower House have called for the expulsion of Israel's ambassador in Amman, citing "Israeli massacres against the brotherly Palestinians." They also called on the government to recall Jordan's ambassador from Israel.

Moreover, the MPs called on the government to terminate the 1994 Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty.

The Palestinian Parliament hailed the Jordanian MPs' appeal and urged other Arab and Islamic parliaments to pressure their countries' governments to end relations with Israel.
MEMRI: Editor Of Saudi Daily: The U.S. Is To Blame For Strained Relations With Saudi Arabia; Its Policy Contravenes The Alliance Between The Two Countries
U.S.-Saudi relations have been strained in the recent weeks, one of the main reasons being the decision of the OPEC+ countries, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, to decrease their oil production by two million barrels a day. This decision angered the Biden administration, which has actually asked Saudi Arabia to increase, rather than decrease, oil production in light of the worsening global energy crisis. On October 12, 2022 President Joe Biden stated that the Saudi policy would affect the relations between the two countries. Some American officials called to cut the military aid to Saudi Arabia and to withdraw U.S. forces from it, and accused the kingdom of siding with Russia in the Ukraine war.

Saudi Arabia, for its part, rejected the criticism and stated that the decision had been motivated by purely economic and professional considerations. The Saudi press published dozens of articles that rejected the American accusations and stressed that the kingdom does not use oil in political struggles and that it has the right to take independent decisions based on its own considerations and interests. Many of the articles directed harsh criticism at the Biden administration and accused it of undermining the relations between the two countries.[1]

One of the prominent articles was by Khalid Bin Hamad Al-Malik, editor of the Al-Jazirah daily and chair of the board of directors of the Saudi Journalists Association. He blamed the U.S. for the crisis in the relations, saying that it has adopted positions and policies that disregard the security of Saudi Arabia and the region, such as handing Iraq over to the Iran-backed militias, holding nuclear negotiations with Iran and turning a blind eye to the threat posed by the Houthis and Hizbullah to the Saudi kingdom. If the U.S. accuses Saudi Arabia of siding with Russia, he said, Saudi Arabia is equally justified in saying that the U.S. is siding with the Houthis, Iran and Hizbullah.
Palestinian Stabber Injures Three Israeli Policemen in Jerusalem Terror Attack
A Palestinian terrorist injured three Israeli police officers in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City on Thursday.

Earlier this morning, police officers stopped a Palestinian acting suspiciously who entered the Muslim quarter in Jerusalem’s Old City from the Damascus Gate and started to question him, according to Israel Police.

“During the examination of the suspect, he pulled out a knife and stabbed one of the officers in his upper body,” police stated.

Two police officers opened fire at the Palestinian attacker and killed him, the police said.

According to the police report, one policeman in moderate condition was taken to hospital for medical treatment and the two other policemen who were injured during the attack were treated at the scene by Magen David Adom and other first responders.

Israel’s Public Security Minister Omer Barlev commended Israel’s security forces for their “vigilance and professionalism” in spotting and neutralizing the terrorist who could have harmed civilians.

“The police have proven once again that they are a buffer between the citizens of Israel and the terrorists, sometimes at real risk to their lives, and I praise them for their operation, determination and courage,” Barlev said. “I wish a speedy recovery to the police officers who were injured in the attack.”
Stabbing attack thwarted in Jerusalem's Old City

Israeli military kills senior member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad



Spotlight on Jenin: Part Eight: The Twin Terror Hubs of Jenin and Nablus
Jenin & Nablus Today: Partners in Crime
Following the Second Intifada, a relative sense of calm and stability returned to both Jenin and Nablus. However, over the past couple of years, this relative quiet has been shattered and replaced with an atmosphere of terror and violence.

While there was a rise in Palestinian attacks against Israeli security forces in late 2021 / early 2022, Jenin re-emerged as a prime source of Palestinian terrorism and violence in early-to-mid 2022, when Israel was struck by a wave of terrorism that it had not experienced in years. A number of these attacks, including the Bnei Brak and Dizengoff Street shootings, were committed by Palestinians from the Jenin area.

In addition to the rise in attacks emanating from Jenin and its surrounding environs, 2021/2022 also saw the emergence of a new terror group on the streets of Jenin, the Jenin Battalion.

The Battalion was established in May 2021 as an association between Palestinians belonging to different terrorist organizations (such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, and Hamas) in an effort to better coordinate resistance against Israeli anti-terror operations in the area.

The Jenin Battalion is composed of small cells that are coordinated by a central headquarters, which alerts fighters to the location of Israeli soldiers via mosque loudspeakers and social media applications like Telegram.

Following the perceived success of the Jenin Battalion in resisting Israeli forces, several other Palestinian cities adopted the Battalion’s modus operandi. In Nablus, the Nablus Battalion (along with its successor organization, the Lions’ Den) has been particularly effective in recruiting members, engaging with Israeli security personnel, as well as attacking Israeli civilians.

Aside from influencing the establishment of the Lions’ Den, some residents of Jenin have established a sort of kinship with the Nablus-based terror group. During a recent Israeli raid on a Lions’ Den bomb factory, a number of Jenin residents drove to Nablus as a show of solidarity as well as to aid in the firefight with Israeli security forces.

The contemporary violent connection between Jenin and Nablus is not a new phenomenon. Rather, it stretches all the way back to the British Mandate period, when these two centers of terrorism first became bonded together. As Jamal Huwail, a Fatah member in Jenin, noted in the Arabic-language media, Jenin and Nablus share a “resistance relationship” that is based upon a “spiritual, moral and cultural unity.”

As long as these two cities continue to serve as primary sources of violence and terrorism in the region, they will damage future prospects for peace, will embolden extremists in both Palestinian and Israeli politics, and will ultimately harm both innocent Israelis and Palestinians.
'Lion's Den group will cease to exist' - Palestinian Authority official
The Lions’ Den armed group in Nablus will soon cease to exist, a senior Palestinian Authority official said on Thursday.

The official, who was speaking to The Jerusalem Post shortly after the IDF lifted the 23-day closure imposed on Nablus and is surrounding towns and villages, revealed that another member of the group handed himself over to the PA security forces on Tuesday night.

The group has claimed responsibility for a spate of shooting attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians in the Nablus area over the past few weeks.

The official did not reveal the identity of the gunman, but said that he was now staying in one of the PA security installations in Nablus. He confirmed that some of the gunmen would be recruited to the Palestinian security services.

The Lions’ Den, which started operating in the Old City of Nablus a few months ago, consists of gunmen from various Palestinian factions, including Fatah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Hamas and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Students protest on behalf of Lions' Den members at the entrance to Tel Aviv University on October 27, 2022. (credit: IM TIRTZU) Students protest on behalf of Lions' Den members at the entrance to Tel Aviv University on October 27, 2022. (credit: IM TIRTZU)

“I can tell you for sure that the Lions’ Den is almost finished,” the official told the Post. “Their senior commanders agreed to lay down their weapons and are now staying with our security forces.”

According to the official, negotiations are underway to persuade three or four more gunmen to turn themselves in to the Palestinian security forces. “These men are still refusing to accept our offer, but I believe that very soon they will change their minds,” he added.

In the past 10 days, several Lions’ Den gunmen have handed their weapons over to PA security officers and were taken to security installations in the city.
PMW: In physics test, Palestinian students asked to calculate the distance a terrorist murderer traveled to commit his next terror attack
Terrorist Uday Al-Tamimi murdered 18-year-old female Israeli soldier Sgt. Noa Lazar and wounded an Israeli security guard in a shooting attack in northern Jerusalem last month. Ten days later he attacked again, wounding another Israeli security guard in Ma’ale Adumim, a suburb of Jerusalem, before being shot and killed by guards in the ensuing exchange of fire.

Because of his attacks, Al-Tamimi has already been featured in a question on a physics test in a Palestinian school. Students were asked to calculate “the path of the Martyr” from his home to his last attack:
Headline: “Picture: The operation of Martyr Uday Al-Tamimi is a math question in a physics test”

“A picture was published on social media of a physics test for students at one of Palestine’s schools, which includes a question on the operation (i.e., terror attack) carried out by Martyr Uday Al-Tamimi in Jerusalem...”

The article includes a picture of the physics test question, which reads:

“B. The adjacent diagram presents the path of Martyr Uday Al-Tamimi, who set out from the Shuafat refugee camp towards the entrance to the settlement Ma’ale Adumim according to the attached drawing. Calculate:
1. The actual distance that the Martyr travelled from the moment he left the refugee camp until he reached the settlement Ma’ale Adumim.

2. The relative position between the Shuafat refugee camp and the site of his death as a Martyr at the square of the settlement Ma’ale Adumim.

3. If the Martyr could have returned to the point from which he set out in the Shuafat refugee camp, what would his relative position be?”

[Donia Al-Watan, independent Palestinian news agency, Oct. 27, 2022]

This is an illustrative example of how Palestinian youth are taught that terrorist murderers are heroes – a PA policy, as Palestinian Media Watch has exposed for decades. In this matter-of-fact way, through an “innocent” question in a test, the terrorist “Martyr’s” attacks were glorified.
The expulsion of the Palestinian people in 1948 is “the crime of the 20th century” not the Holocaust
“The expulsion of the Palestinian people in 1948” is “the crime of the 20th century” not the Holocaust

Fatah Central Committee member Samir Al-Rifai: “The crime of the 20th century – the 20th century in which World War I took place, World War II took place, and many [other] wars took place here and there – but the crime considered the crime of the 20th century is the expulsion of the Palestinian people in 1948. This crime might be the number one crime in this [20th] century. But the Zionist movement is attempting to focus on the topic of the Holocaust and what happened to the Jews in World War II. We don’t want to get into the details, our people has undergone more than this.”

Al-Rifai’s statement is apparently in reference to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ claim that Israel “has committed 50 holocausts.” Abbas said this instead of apologizing for the murder of 11 Israeli athletes by the Palestinian Black September terror group at the Munich Olympics in 1972, which a journalist asked him to do at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Aug. 16, 2022.

Al-Rifai is also Fatah Commissioner of Branches Abroad [Facebook page of Fatah-run Awdah TV, Aug. 28, 2022]


FDD: Hamas Operations Continue Unhindered in Turkey
Latest Developments
Israel indicted three of its citizens in late October for providing intelligence to Hamas operatives in Turkey. Authorities have only identified the suspects by their initials but said they identified with Hamas ideology and planned to carry out a cyber-attack against the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The main suspect worked as a software engineer for an Israeli communications firm and met Hamas operatives in Turkey multiple times to transfer sensitive information about Israeli communications infrastructure.

Expert Analysis
“Despite warming relations with Israel, Ankara continues to turn a blind eye to Hamas’ activity in the country. The organization is using Turkey as a hub to circumvent international sanctions and direct military operations against Israel. If Turkey is serious about improved relations with Israel, it must demonstrate it is making a genuine effort to curb Hamas activity within its borders.” – Joe Truzman, Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

Connections to Turkey
The Hamas operatives who directed the lead suspect served under the command of Saleh al-Arouri, a U.S.-designated terrorist with a $5 million bounty on his head. Al-Arouri was based in Istanbul for several years, from where he directed Hamas’ operations in the West Bank. In a 2014 video — filmed in Turkey — al-Arouri claimed that Hamas was responsible for the abduction and murder of three Jewish youths in the West Bank.

Hamas’ Cyber Capabilities
Hamas has conducted cyber operations before, but the terror organization formally announced the establishment of its cyber unit shortly after last month’s indictments. In 2018, the IDF announced that Hamas operatives were using fake identities to target Israeli soldiers. A British news outlet reported in 2020 that Hamas was carrying out cyberattacks from a base in Istanbul; Western intelligence confirmed the report.




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