Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News: #PayForSlay

Showing posts with label #PayForSlay. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 06, 2022

Fatah Revolutionary Council meeting, chaired by Abbas, confirms support for terrorism. Media silent, as always.

The Fatah Revolutionary Council ended its tenth session in a meeting in Ramallah today, where it reiterated its support for terrorism.

The meeting was chaired by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

The slogan of the session was "Resisting occupation and settler colonialism by all legitimate means."

The final statement of the meeting said:

The increase in the pace of killing and cold-blooded executions, the blocking of roads, the demolition of homes, the establishment and expansion of settlements, and the continued detention of the bodies of martyrs, makes our resistance a binding national duty for all and an inevitable and irreversible choice. By all legitimate means guaranteed to us by international law, the occupation and its government bear the repercussions of the self-defense responses that our people and movement engage in in the field, and the international community must shoulder its responsibilities in providing protection for our people .

What does "by all legitimate means" mean? For that, you need to read the 2009 Fatah Platform, which is the most recent one published. The language is identical, but in the Platform, it is defined.

Fatah adheres to the right of the Palestinian people to resist the occupation by all legitimate means, including the right to use armed struggle . Such a right is guaranteed by international law as long as the occupation , settlement , and the denial of our inalienable rights continue .

So not only are they confirming that terror is legitimate and legal, but that any Jews who are murdered is Israel's fault ("the occupation and its government bear the repercussions of the self-defense responses that our people and movement engage in in the field.")

This mirrors a statement by the PLO Executive Committee earlier this month, where they said, "All forms of resistance are a legitimate right of our people that are guaranteed by international laws."

The Palestinian Authority is subservient to the PLO. This means that terrorism is the official policy of the Palestinian leadership.

The final statement also explicitly supports paying salaries (essentially life insurance policies) to the families of terrorists: "We will not abandon the families of our martyrs, no matter how great the sacrifices are and how great the pressures are."

The PLO and Fatah's support for terrorism is the least-reported story from a region where there are more journalists per square kilometer than anywhere else. These meetings aren't hidden from public view - they are widely reported in official Palestinian media.

The international media simply doesn't want the world to know that the PLO and Fatah are just as supportive of terrorism as Hamas is. There is an avalanche of articles about how supposedly racist and dangerous the incoming Israeli government is - and not a single one (save for one by the great Khaled Abu Toameh in The Jerusalem Post) that even hints about official Palestinian support of terrorism.

It is a conspiracy of silence to push a narrative of Israeli evil and Palestinian victimhood at the expense of the truth.

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Palestinian TV encourages kids to become "martyrs"

We've seen this before, and we'll see it again. And the West will continue to ignore this open incitement to terror aimed at children from official Palestinian Authority TV:

Song: “Mother, in a new dress accompany me to [my] wedding. I came to you as a Martyr, O mother, O mother.”

Official PA TV host: “This song was spread on social media and shows one of the youths during the confrontations with the occupation soldiers in Hebron. Perhaps there is a message in it: That even the living youth will not return to their mothers alive, but will be married off in a procession as Martyrs.

The video from social media is shown.

Young Palestinian: “Mother, in a new dress accompany me to [my] wedding. I came to you as a Martyr, O mother, O mother.

[Official PA TV, A Tour of Social Media, Oct. 28, 2022]

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"Pay for Slay" is very possibly the motive for last week's terrorist murders in Ariel

Muhammad Murad Souf, the terrorist who murdered three Israeli fathers last week in Ariel, may have been motivated by the Palestinian Authority's program of paying salaries to the families of terrorists, known as "pay for slay."

According to a fawning biography at Safa Palestinian News Agency, "Fate chose the 19-year-old martyr Souf, from the town of Haris, to be the sole breadwinner for his family after the death of his father, and he chose to end his life as a martyr in a commando operation that will be immortalized in history."

The article goes on to quote Souf's mother, saying,"May God be pleased with him. He left school to support us after his father died, and he was responsible for all the expenses of the house."

"His life was from the mosque to the house and from home to work, and he had no time for fun except for the time he spent when his friends visited him at home," his mother added.

The article notes that Souf's father died when he was in the tenth grade. He quit school to find work and support his mother and seven siblings. Muhammad was no the oldest sibling; his oldest brother Sami was already in law school at An-Najah University, which left Muhammad to become the breadwinner at around 16.

Souf first worked for Israelis at the Barkan industrial park, and then he got a job at a detergent factory at the Ariel industrial park.

One can only imagine the pressure that Muhammad felt to take care of his family, of his bitterness at missing out on enjoying his teenage years, at the little prospect of a happy marriage when he would have more mouths to feed, and at his older brother staying in school while he was forced to leave to become a common laborer.

"Martyrdom" sounds like a very attractive alternative, especially knowing that his family would no longer have to worry about affording to live. Palestinian Law No. 14, Articles 1 and 2, enacted by the PA in 2004, says that Soufs' family will receive a pension for life equivalent to triple the average West Bank salary.

That would be about 97,500 shekels a year, forever.

It is likely far higher than Souf's salary at Barkan, which was probably not much above Israel's minimum wage of 64,000 shekels a year (which in turn is still double the average Palestinian worker salary in the West Bank.)

If "Pay for Slay" didn't exist, would Muhammad Souf have wanted to risk his family losing their main means of support?

Given the choice of a thankless future doing manual labor and few prospects for any improvement on one hand, and an easy way to guarantee his family's financial security on the other hand - together with the knowledge that he would be instantly transformed into a national hero - is it any wonder that Souf chose to kill Jews and achieve martyrdom and paradise?

The Palestinian law paying "martyrs" is almost certainly responsible for the deaths of Tamir Avihai, Michael Ladygin and Motti Ashkenazi.

It is also notable that Souf went on Hajj recently, based on his photo. A 19-year old breadwinner for a family of 8 would no doubt find that difficult to afford. In retrospect, this looks like a "bucket list" item, an achievement that the religious Souf would want to earn before he dies. Israeli intelligence may want to look at the Palestinians who make the pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia to see if any of them are doing it beyond their means, as this may be an indication that they are also planning on a future windfall for their families.

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11/15 Links Pt1: Israel’s Partial Victory; Three killed, three wounded in Samaria terror attack; assailant shot dead; American Rabbis Blast Biden Admin for Funding Palestinian Terrorism

From Ian:

Daniel Pipes: Israel’s Partial Victory

These developments have two main implications for Israel.

First, Israel won a victory over the Arab states, with their far larger populations, resources, economies, and diplomatic heft, a signal accomplishment that deserves far more attention than it has received. In 1994, for example, then–IDF Chief of Staff Ehud Barak argued that “in the foreseeable future, the main threat to the State of Israel is still an all-out attack by conventional armies.” This year, Israeli strategist Efraim Inbar insisted that the “idea that Jewish and Arab states will coexist peacefully…ignores the reality on the ground.” Granted, no Arab state signed a document of surrender or otherwise acknowledged defeat, but defeat was their reality. After going into battle with guns blazing in 1948, expecting easily to snuff out the nascent State of Israel, rulers in Cairo, Amman, Damascus, and elsewhere incrementally realized over a quarter-century that the scorned Zionists could beat them every time, no matter who initiated the surprise attack, no matter the terrain, no matter the sophistication of weapons, no matter the great-power allies. The fracturing of Arab-state enmity constitutes a tectonic shift in the Arab–Israeli conflict.

That said, lasting victory can take many decades to be confirmed. Russia and the Taliban looked defeated in 1991 and 2001, respectively, but their resurgences in 2022 put these in doubt.1 A parallel revival seems unlikely for the Arab states, but the Muslim Brotherhood could again take over Egypt, Jordan’s monarchy could fall to radicals, Syria could become whole again, and Lebanon could become a unified state under Hezbollah rule. We can say with confidence that the Arab states have been defeated at least for now.

That defeat raises an obvious question: Does it offer a model for Palestinian defeat?2 In part, yes. If states with large Muslim-majority populations can be forced to give up, that refutes a common notion that Islam makes Muslims immune to defeat.

But in larger part, no. First, Israel is a far more remote issue for residents of Arab states than for Palestinians. Egyptians tend to care less about making Jerusalem the capital of Palestine than installing proper sewer systems. Civil war has consumed Syrians since 2011. Second, states compromise more readily than ideological movements because of rulers’ multiple and competing interests. Third, governments being hierarchical structures—and especially the Arabs’ authoritarian regimes—a single individual (such as Anwar al-Sadat or Mohammad bin Salman) can, on his own, radically change policy. No one disposes of such power in the PLO or Hamas. Thus are state conflicts with Israel more tractable and more prone to change than the Palestinian conflict.

Fourth, despite claims about imperialist aggression directed against them, large Arab states never convincingly portrayed themselves as victims of little Israel, something the even littler Palestinians have done with great skill, making themselves the darlings of international organizations and senior common rooms alike, giving them a unique global constituency. Finally, long-ago peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan and the recent Abraham Accords have great importance in themselves but have next to no role in diminishing perfervid Palestinian hostility toward Israel. Likewise, the Palestinians’ groupies—Islamists, Tehran and Ankara, global leftists—completely ignore the accords. If only victimized Palestinians matter, the retreat of Arab states is irrelevant.

For these reasons, Arab states withdrew after just 25 years of leading the charge against Israel, but Palestinians keep going at 50 years.

The Abraham Accords at Year Two: A Work Plan for Strengthening and Expansion

Two years on, Jerusalem’s agreements with multiple Arab states have started to prove their durability; yet, argues Meir Ben-Shabbat, much still must be done to deepen these newly established relationships and to broaden them to include more countries. Ben-Shabbat notes those factors that have slowed such developments and suggests what both the U.S. and Israel can do to encourage them. He also stresses the role of Muslim-majority countries outside the Middle East:

While it is not counted among the Abraham Accords countries, Chad should also be noted in this survey of Israel’s changing relations in the region. Led by the late Idriss Déby, this nation made its way to Jerusalem on its own, neither with a regional framework nor a supportive U.S. position. Diplomatic relations were resumed in November 2019 but kept at a low profile. In May 2022 Israel’s ambassador to Senegal presented his letter of accreditation to Chad’s current president, Déby’s son Mahamat. The focus now should be on building trust in the peace process by manifesting the fruits of peace to the people in Chad. If the people see the balance sheet of normalization with Israel as negative, this could increase the risk of negative momentum, which could block and harm the achievements of the Abraham Accords.

Ben-Shabbat has several recommendations as to how Jerusalem and Washington can proceed in other arenas, among them:

First, do not take the Abraham Accords for granted or assume they are irreversible. The acts of signing the Accords did generate a true sense of celebration, gave rise to a new spirit, mobilized fresh energies, restored optimism, and offered new hopes. But as in matrimony, real life begins after the party, including the challenges of consolidating the relationship, enhancing and expanding it, preserving its vitality, its spirit, and its passion.

Second, change course on Iran. The U.S. administration should take the next steps from its current, growing expression of frustration and displeasure with Iran, given its involvement in the war against Ukraine. A firm approach toward Iran . . . would serve the broader interests of the American administration and respond to the main challenges the West faces: weakening Russia’s ability to pursue the war, taking actions to resolve the global energy crisis, reversing the Gulf states’ drift toward Russia and China, blocking Iran’s destructive ambitions, and enhancing the process of normalization.

American Rabbis Blast Biden Admin for Funding Palestinian Terrorism

The United States’ largest rabbinic public policy organization says the Biden administration is facilitating terrorism against Israel by injecting nearly half a billion dollars into Palestinian government organizations that incite violence against the Jewish state.

The Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), a pro-Israel advocacy group representing more than 2,000 American rabbis, slammed the State Department on Monday for its allotment of U.S. tax dollars to the Palestinian government, which is funding a program known as "pay to slay," in which money is funneled to convicted terrorists and their families.

The CJV says the State Department is engaged in a "blatant double standard" on support for terrorism, given its recent comments accusing Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir of "celebrating the legacy of a terrorist organization." State Department spokesman Ned Price called Ben-Gvir "abhorrent" for his recent attendance at a memorial event for murdered religious leader Rabbi Meir Kahane, whose far-right views spawned an eponymous radical organization that the United States designated a global terrorist organization.

The State Department’s willingness to criticize Ben-Gvir—who has repeatedly condemned Kahane’s more radical views—while refraining from offering similar criticism of Palestinian terrorism is evidence of the Biden administration’s bias against Israel, according to the rabbinic group.

"The State Department is funding the [Palestinian Authority’s] ongoing support for terror while rushing to wrongly condemn Ben-Gvir for attending a memorial service for someone who died over three decades ago," Rabbi Steven Pruzansky, CJV’s Israel regional vice president, said in a statement provided to the Washington Free Beacon. "This reflects both an egregious violation of American law and a blatant double standard, at odds with the State Department’s proclamations of neutral and fair treatment. We can and should expect better from the U.S. government and its officials."

Price, in remarks late last week during the State Department’s daily press briefing, said that "celebrating the legacy of a terrorist organization is abhorrent; there is no other word for it. It is abhorrent." The State Department spokesman went on to criticize Israeli "right-wing extremists" and accuse them of promoting "violence and racism."

Price did not acknowledge the Palestinian government’s role in inciting and orchestrating deadly terror attacks on Israeli citizens, fueling the CJV’s calls of a "double standard."

Today's car ramming terrorist was 54 years old. Is this something to worry about?

This morning, at a checkpoint near Beit Horon, a Palestinian rammed an IDF soldier with a van, seriously injuring him. The terrorist then exited the vehicle with an axe and attempted to kill the soldier who was lying on the ground.The officer managed to shoot the terrorist, killing him.

Here is security camera footage of the incident:

The terrorist in this case was Habis Abdel Hafeez Youssef Rayan, who is 54 years old.

It is unusual for a man of that age to be directly involved in a terrorist attack. What could be his motivation, and will this be the start of a new wave of older male terrorists?

According to the Palestinian Shams news agency, two of Rayan's sons are members of Islamic Jihad from the town of Beit Dukko. One is Qusay Rayan, who is in Israeli prison, and Assem Rayan, who was released from prison.

I assume this is Assem with Habis.

Abu Ali Express notes that someone named Ra’ed Yosef Rayan, of Beit Dukko, has been on a hunger strike for administrative detention and that detention was just extended yesterday. It seems likely that Ra'ed is another relative of Habis, but it seems unlikely that he would go on a suicide attack for a nephew's detention extension when his own son has been in prison for longer.

When young Arab women attack soldiers at checkpoints, it is often discovered afterwards that they had faced some sort of humiliation - often caught in an illicit relationship - and their "martyrdom" is an attempt to end their shame. We will not learn it from Palestinian media, but it is possible that Habis Rayan was facing serious business problems or bankruptcy, and this is a surefire method to ensure a salary for his family for as long as the Palestinian Authority exists.

One person isn't a trend, but we need to see if other older Palestinian men decide to follow Habis - especially since he is getting widely praised in Palestinian media as a heroic martyr.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

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Jared Kushner reveals why Trump was turned off by Abbas

CNN Arabic quotes an episode in Jared Kushner's book Breaking History that I couldn't find in any English-language articles. The quotes are obviously translated from English to Arabic and back, so they will not be exact quotes from the book.

The President was scheduled to meet with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, in the West Bank. Abbas came to the White House in May, told the president he was ready to negotiate, and expressed confidence in Trump as an arbiter of a peace agreement between the Palestinians and Israel. We were impressed, but we were still waiting to hear more. Just before we left, Ambassador Friedman showed Trump a video of Abbas making serious threats towards the Israeli people.

Friedman's message was clear: Be careful with Abbas - he tells you he's for peace in English, but look carefully at what he says in Arabic. Tillerson saw what was happening in the video and got angry, claiming he was dishonest. Friedman replied: ' Are you saying he didn't say these things?' Tillerson had to admit that they were Abbas's words, but he was angry that he was losing control. It was important for the president to see all sides of the issue, especially since he was hearing from so many respectable businessmen that Abbas was a serious man who genuinely wanted to make peace.

During the bilateral meeting in Ramallah, Abbas recited the same talking points he had used during his last visit to the White House. It was as if the first meeting never happened. He failed to show any progress on the issues he and Trump had previously discussed. Trump was disappointed. He was furious and did not mince his words: 'You pay those who kill Israelis. This is official government policy. You have to stop this. We can make a deal in two seconds. I have the best players on it. But I want to see some action. I want to I see it quickly, I don't think you want to make a deal.'

Abbas became defensive and complained about Israeli security. Trump replied: 'Wait: Israel is good at security, and you say you're not going to take security from them? Are you crazy? Without Israel, ISIS can take over your territory in about twenty minutes. We're spending so much on the military. Everyone in this region spends a fortune on security. If I can get high-quality security for free to America and save the cost, I'll take it in a second'.... After witnessing Abbas' stubbornness, I understand better why 12 former presidents tried and failed in reaching a peace agreement.

This sounds like Trump - and Tillerman, and Friedman, and Abbas himself. It is consistent with what Friedman wrote in his memoir about the meeting with Trump. The Jerusalem Post said that the businessman who had tried to convince Trump that Abbas was peaceful was Ronald Lauer, which is sort of amazing - he used to be a Netanyahu supporter but had a falling out, but to hate Netanyahu so much as to tell Trump that he should accept Abbas as a peaceful statesman is almost beyond belief.

CNN Arabic contacted the Palestinian foreign ministry to comment with no response.

It is interesting that this was not reported in English-language CNN. Apparently, criticizing Abbas in English does not fit the narrative.

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Mahmoud Abbas will tell UN that terrorists are heroes

Mahmoud Abbas told Wafa News Agency that he plans to tell the world how heroic the terrorists who are in Israeli prisons are in his address to the UN in September.

"The presidency affirmed that the Palestinian people and their leadership stand with the heroic prisoners in their battle in which they defend the dignity and sanctities of their people," the statement said.

The statement went on, "President Mahmoud Abbas is constantly following the suffering of the heroic prisoners in the prisons of the occupation, and that their issue is at the top of the agenda along with the right of return, the state and self-determination. ...These prisoners are heroes and symbols of the Palestinian people. We are proud of them and their steadfastness and adherence to the justice of their cause."

Palestinian immorality is so entrenched, so much a part of their ethos, that no one blinks at the demand that terrorists be released so they can attack Jews again. So much so that Abbas knows he can say this to the entire world without criticism.

Notice that releasing the prisoners and the fictional "right of return" to destroy the Jewish state are listed before statehood in his list of demands. Because killing Jews and destroying Israel are higher priorities for the "moderate" Abbas than actual statehood.

−

World Bank, IMF continue to avoid recommending the Palestinians stop Pay for Slay

Don't tell me how to spend the money the West sends me!

The International Monetary Fund visited Israel and the territories this month to give advice on helping the Palestinian economy.

They issued a final statement with a summary of their findings. But there was something missing:

A single word about the Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund or the other programs that pay terrorists and their families.

The PA spends about $270 million every year on prisoner salaries and "martyr" family payments, a significant chunk of the PA budget altogether (a few years ago, it was 8%, it has probably increased since then.) It is nearly 2% of the total Palestinian GDP!

This is similar to the April World Bank report that also didn't mention "Pay for Slay" as a potential target for cost cutting.

Mahmoud Abbas has said many times that the top priority of spending for the Palestinians is on paying these terrorists - more than healthcare, more than education, more than retirement benefits.

That appears to be the reason the IMF and World Bank don't bother making the recommendations to cut a program that throws hundreds of millions of dollars away annually to terrorists and their families - because they know that the PA will ignore them. But that is a profoundly bad reason - their job is to make the best recommendations they can, and then report if the PA refuses to comply.

By hiding a huge source of the PA's financial woes, these world financial organizations are not doing anyone any favors. On the contrary - they become complicit in supporting terrorism.

Say the truth, and let the PA defend the indefensible.

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Palestinian leaders deliberately avoid condemning Jerusalem attack

In recent days, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas:

- Offered condolences to Egyptian leaders on the tragic church fire

- Offered condolences on the assassination of a Fatah military leader in Lebanon by unknown people

- Called three terrorist prisoners who were recently released by Israel

- Congratulated Chad's leader for its independence day, as well as those of Ecuador and Singapore

- Offered condolences to the families of three terrorists killed in Nablus by the IDF

- Condemned Israel for its "continued aggression against our people"

With this busy schedule of statements and phone calls, his choice not to condemn a terror attack in Jerusalem that targeted religious Jews is not an oversight. It is a deliberate decision.

Because Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority support, tacitly or explicitly, every terror attack.

The only time they condemn terror attacks is when they are pressured to do so by the United States. Otherwise, while they don't issue congratulations like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, they definitely don't issue condemnations.

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Palestinian leaders again say that paying terrorists is their highest priority

Israeli media announced that Israel is deducting 600 million shekels from the tax revenues that it pays the Palestinian Authority because that is the amount that the PA pays terrorists in prison and their families this year.

As usual, the Palestinian leadership said that paying terrorists is sacred and nothing Israel does will stop them from making those payments.

Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a press statement, "The Palestinian leadership, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, affirms its categorical rejection of this dangerous decision."

He stressed that the decision "will not lead to any result, because the rights of our heroic prisoners will not be affected, no matter what the pressures."

Abu Rudeineh added, "We will not accept a single penny reduction of the money of the heroes of the Palestinian people who carried the banner of freedom, for the sake of Jerusalem and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state."

The world media rarely reports that the top priority of Palestinian leaders is payments to terrorists.

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Neither The ICC Nor The US Responds When The PA Falsifies Documents Or Destroys Evidence (Daled Amos)

By Daled Amos

Abbas and the Palestinian Authority sometimes bend the truth.

Take for instance in May 3, 2017, when Abbas came to the White House and told then-President Trump about their inculcation of peace:

"Mr. President, I affirm to you that we are raising our children and our grandchildren on a culture of peace."

Palestinian Media Watch captures the moment in a video, along with examples of what the PA is actually teaching Palestinian children to say:

(The complete video is available at the above link)

It just goes to show you that when it comes to brainwashing their children to hate, the PA can really give Hamas and their videos a run for their money.

The dishonesty of Abbas and the PA goes further however, and extends to manipulating the law and distorting evidence.

On May 19, 2020, Abbas -- who has a history of threatening to quit and to annul the Oslo Accords -- did it again, claiming that the PA no longer saw itself as being obligated by its agreements and accords that it had signed with Israel.

Maurice Hirsch, Head of Legal Strategies at PMW, writes that on that day Abbas in fact proclaimed the end of the Oslo Accords:

The Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine are absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of all the obligations based on these understandings and agreements, including the security ones.

[Wafa, Official PA News Agency, May 19, 2020, Official PA TV, May 19, 2020] [Emphasis added]

The day after Abbas made the announcement, Palestinian PM Shtayyeh released a press release:

“During the meeting, Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Shtayyeh confirmed the Palestinian government's full support to the decision announced yesterday by H.E. President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership that we are absolved of all signed agreements and understandings with the Israeli and American sides. The Prime Minister stressed that we would work on translating this decision on the ground.”

[Office of the PA PM, Press release, May 21, 2020 (http://www.palgov.ps/en/article/230/Remarks-by-Prime-Minister-Dr-Mohammad-Shtayyeh-During-the-Emergency-Cabinet-Meeting)]

And a week later Shtayyeh again confirmed that all agreements with Israel were null and void:

“Today, the Cabinet will finalize plans related to the leadership’s decision, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, that Palestine is absolved of all agreements with Israel.”

[Office of the PA PM, Press release, June 1, 2020 (http://www.palgov.ps/en/article/231/Remarks-by-Prime-Minister-Dr-Mohammad-Shtayyeh-at-the-Weekly-Cabinet-Meeting) emphasis added]

And that got the attention of the ICC.

The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber requested information from Abbas “to provide additional information on this statement [by Abbas cancelling all agreements with Israel], including on the question whether it pertains to any of the Oslo agreements between Palestine and Israel.”

Sure enough, Abbas responded -- and lied to the ICC:

“Substantively, the Statement declares that if Israel proceeds with annexation, a material breach of the agreements between the two sides, then it will have annulled any remnants of the Oslo Accords and all other agreements concluded between them.”

[PA submission to ICC - PTC, June 4, 2020 https://www.icc-cpi.int/CourtRecords/CR2020_02277.PDF] [emphasis added]

Abbas lied, claiming it was merely a warning and not a declaration. Abbas knew that if he admitted that the PA actually annulled the Oslo Accords, the PA -- and his presidency -- would be null and void as well.

But as Hirsch points out, Abbas lied about something else -- his voluntary confession to a war crime.

During Abbas's original speech, he also proclaimed:

Currently, [the Israelis] have asked the banks not to pay the prisoners, [but] we will pay, no matter what they want. (literally: “against the will of their father.” emphasis added)

And he liked so much how that sounded that Abbas broadcast that excerpt on PA TV 5 times:

Abbas: “We vow to our honorable Martyrs and heroic prisoners – [The Israelis] have asked the banks not to pay the prisoners, [but] we will pay, no matter what they want."

[Official PA TV, Abbas’ original speech on May 19, 2020, broadcast on May 20, 2020]

However, when Abbas dutifully responded to the ICC request for the text of his speech -- he changed what he actually said:

Eighth: … We pledge to our honoured martyrs, our brave prisoners and our heroic wounded to remain faithful to our oath until victory, freedom, independence and return are achieved...

No mention that Abbas proudly boasted that he was going to continue his pay-for-slay policy.

Why not?

Because 5 months earlier, on December 5, 2019, the The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) came out with its Report on Preliminary Examination Activities, detailing its preliminary examination into situations under consideration for possible investigation. While Israel was one of those under consideration -- so too was the Palestinian Authority:

According to this, the ICC was considering the PA not only for the crime against humanity of torture -- but also for the possible Rome Statute crime of paying stipends to families of Palestinian terrorists (pay-for-slay).

But it's not as if Abbas really had anything to worry about. I asked Lt. Col Hirsch if Abbas faced any backlash for falsifying the document he gave to the PA. He confirmed:

The Prosecutor said nothing. While the court referred to the document, it said nothing about the fact that the version submitted was falsified.

For that matter, the ICC seemed equally unconcerned with the torture and pay-for-slay policy of the PA as well. When the ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda opened the formal investigation into war crimes

Ms Bensouda said there was a reasonable basis to believe that war crimes were committed in the context of the war, and that charges could be filed against Israel Defense Forces (IDF) personnel and members of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups. [emphasis added]

While Hamas and "other Palestinian armed groups" were mentioned, it was 'in the context of war.' There was no mention of the torture and terrorist payments conducted by the PA. That would be the same PA that happily met with Bensouda to help her prepare for declaring the investigation of Israel.

Photo by WAFA, the official PA news agency, showing PA Prime Minister Shtayyeh meeting with ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in February, 2020

It is not surprising then to find another example of the PA's disregard for truth and the law when it comes to the investigation into the death of Shireen Abu Akleh -- and how it is ignored.

It took nearly 2 months before the PA finally turned over the alleged bullet that it claims killed Abu Akleh. What are we supposed to make of that delay?

According to JNS:

the bullet had no “chain of custody,” so the P.A. could not prove it was the same bullet that killed Akleh. As evidence, it would be inadmissible in any American court. The fact that the P.A. waited so long to release the bullet, even though it was too damaged to be of any use, also casts doubt on its credibility.

But leave it to The Washington Post to spin the Palestinian delay in handing over the bullet in a positive light:

The Palestinian Authority on Saturday said it has given the bullet that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to American forensic experts, taking a step toward resolving a standoff with Israel over the investigation into her death...It signaled that both sides may be working to find a solution to the deadlock.

The fact that the PA has falsified a document to the ICC in the past, might justify a more skeptical view.

On the issue of the nature of the damage done to the bullet, leading physicist and ballistic expert Nahum Shahaf is suspicious:

"the bullet underwent a severe transformation at the hands of a hammer that created a deep depression in its back, which cannot be formed by the projectile's movement alone"...Regarding alterations made to the bullet prior to the PA allowing foreign experts to analyze it, Shahaf says he can detect streaks of crushing as well as an internal depression, which can only be produced by a hammer of enormous weight. The squeezing in question was performed on the back of the bullet and not its front, which smashes on impact. [emphasis added]

This makes the conclusion reached by the US on the incident rival the ICC when it comes to treating the Palestinian Authority with kid gloves. Based in part on the damaged, unverified bullet, the US came to the conclusion that the bullet was likely fired from the Israeli position, but not intentionally. How it was possible to reach this conclusion -- which left neither the PA nor Israel happy -- is unclear. But some kind of conclusion was necessary to try and resolve the issue before Biden's arrival in the Middle East was necessary.

And like the ICC, no official US condemnation of the delay in delivering the bullet or of the unexplained damage to the bullet was forthcoming.

Neither the falsification of a document nor the destroying of evidence by the PA merits a response.

But there is hope for some kind of justice:

The U.N. Committee against Torture (CAT) — a subsidiary of the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) — convenes today in Geneva, where it will investigate instances of enforced disappearances, violent interrogations and the holding of the remains of Israeli soldiers, among other issues. In addition to investigating the Palestinian Authority, the committee will also probe Botswana, Nicaragua and the United Arab Emirates.

In accordance with the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Palestinian Authority was required to submit a report detailing its adherence to the convention.

Not surprisingly, there is no mention of the Palestinian record on human rights -- only on Israel.

Also noted in the article:

The PA report was initially due in 2015, but was not submitted until 2019 — a delay not addressed in the report.

Not surprising -- neither the delay, nor the failure of the UN to think it worth mentioning.

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There's been a "Marshall Plan" for Palestinians for decades. It didn't work.

World Jewish Congress president Ronald Lauder made a splash earlier this month when, in Arab News, he suggested a new "Marshall Plan" for Palestinians to help bring peace.

It might seem counterintuitive, given the decades of failed peace efforts, but I believe this is exactly the right time to offer the Palestinians a new initiative — one that they cannot turn down. What I am suggesting is a “Marshall Plan” that would offer the next generation of Palestinians a future of wealth, success and self-reliance, rather than the dismal prospects of the past.

Just as the Marshall Plan put Europe on a sound financial footing, the Palestinian plan should focus on the creation of small businesses, home building, hotels, restaurants and job creation that would offer a positive future to the next generation.

A fixed sum of money could be given to young entrepreneurs to create new businesses, which would be closely monitored. If they prove to be viable but need a financial boost after a year, another small infusion could be given. In other words, provide Palestinians with all the things that made Israel and other countries financially viable, which would help create a new and successful Palestine.

Within three-to-five years, I believe per capita wealth would double annually. The wealthier a future Palestinian nation becomes, the more likely it is that it could be the viable, successful country it should be — and every country in the region would benefit from this change.

This is short-sighted, for a number of reasons.

First of all, for decades, the per-capita aid to the Palestinians has dwarfed that of every other nation. In other words, they have already been the recipients of the most extensive "Marshall Plan" in history - and it has not moderated them one bit.

Notice that even in 2019, when the US has sharply reduced aid to the Palestinians under Trump, they still received nearly double the aid per capita of the next highest recipient and quadruple that of #3.

In 2009, they received some six times what the next highest recipient was. But that didn't stop three more wars from Gaza.

Throwing money at the problem doesn't solve anything when it comes to Palestinians.

Secondly, while the PA budget is in very bad shape, a lot of that is because the government itself insists on giving a significant percentage of its budget to reward terrorism. As long as that is happening, the PA cannot and must not be a recipient of aid, directly or indirectly. The message from the world must be that this is unacceptable - not that we will send yet more money.

Thirdly, the Palestinians themselves ridicule the idea. They want Jerusalem and Hebron to be Judenrein, they demand "return" to destroy Israel demographically, they think that the ICC and UN and "human rights" NGOs will destroy Israel given enough time so they can sit back and wait.

What about aid to individual entrepreneurs, as Lauder suggests? That is also already happening. The US, Canada and private initiatives are already investing tens of millions to help Palestinian businesses. And it is not a bad idea. Palestinians high tech teams are already partnering with their Israeli counterparts. Israel is expected to increase 4G wireless networking in the territories during Biden's visit, which should help Palestinian high tech firms find partners worldwide. The Palestinian Authority does not seem to recognize that services that could be done remotely like coding should be a national priority.

Creative Palestinians will find ways to build up their businesses anyway. But they aren't the problem that needs solving.

The main problem is that the majority of Palestinians think that terrorism is the best Palestinian strategy, as the most recent poll shows.

Throwing money at people who believe in terrorism is not how to bring peace. The PA, Hamas and those who support the goals of destroying Israel should be getting less money, not more. The linkage should be explicit.

Which is what Israel is already doing. It links work permits to calm. When there is relative peace, more Palestinians can enjoy the benefits of being neighbors with an economic powerhouse. As soon as a rocket is shot towards Israel or a Jenin terrorist stabs someone in Tel Aviv, the borders get sealed - an obvious and logical response to a country under attack. Palestinians can see the linkage between their actions and consequences, and they don't want to suffer the consequences. Even Hamas has been acting to keep things calm.

This is not peace. With the current Palestinian mindset, it will never bring peace. But it brings calm, and that is the best we can hope for.

Throwing money at the problem gives a disincentive for Palestinians to cooperate with Israel. It gives the false impression that they don't need to think about working together with Israel because the cash is coming in anyway.

Linking their actions with immediate consequences - both positive and negative - is the best and most effective way to save lives, and, ultimately, to allow both sides to prosper.

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Why don't The World Bank and IMF ever recommend the PA end Pay to Slay?

On May 10, the World Bank issued a report on the economy of the Palestinian territories, with suggestions and ideas to help it make ends meet.

This follows a similar report by the International Monetary Fund at the end of April.

Both of them mention, as an issue, that Israel is withholding some tax revenue corresponding to the PA's payments to terrorist prisoners, their families, and families of "martyrs" - the so-called "Pay for Slay" program.

For example, the IMF notes:

A significant part of the fiscal problem is structural. The PA raises virtually no revenue from Gaza and East Jerusalem, while in 2021 it spent about a third of its budget in these two areas— particularly in Gaza—mainly comprising civil servant salaries and pensions, and net lending. Neither does it raise any significant revenue from Area C in the West Bank. Furthermore, the PA and Israel disagree on the amounts that the Government of Israel should transfer to the PA under the Paris Protocol, the so-called “fiscal leakages” (estimated at about 2 percent of GDP annually). In addition, the PA disagrees with unilateral Israeli deductions from clearance revenue for so-called “prisoner payments” (which amounted to 1.3 percent of GDP in 2021).

So while both groups mention the prisoner payments, neither of them suggest that the PA end the program.

They give plenty of other advice to the PA on how to reduce expenses and increase revenue. For example, the IMF recommends:

The way out of the current fiscal crisis will require wide-ranging Palestinian policy actions. Staff discussed the benefits of adopting a broad-based strategy to contain and rebalance public spending, while boosting growth. As the Palestinian authorities have fewer policy tools compared to peers, systematic reform to the key drivers of non-discretionary spending—i.e., civil service salaries and benefits, transfer payments, the public pension scheme, the health care system, and fuel subsidies—are key.

But neither they nor the World Bank ever say that if the PA would just stop paying terrorist salaries, then a significant chunk of cash would immediately become available to them.

Instead, they recommend negotiations with Israel on the topic, as if this is an expense that the PA has every right to spend even when they are being lent Western money.

It is telling that the world refuses to publicly condemn "pay for slay." And even those who are espousing responsible financial policies for the PA refuse to mention that lots of money can be saved if terrorists aren't rewarded for trying to murder Jews.

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In an interview with Palestine TV, PA prime minister Mohamed Shtayyeh discussed how the world has drastically reduced aid to the regime which is widely viewed as corrupt.

He said that the entire Arab world has stopped funding the PA, with the sole exception of Algeria.

When virtually the entire Arab world has decided that the Palestinian Authority is not worth investing in, the rest of the world should listen.

One major reason the Arab world has lost interest in the Palestinian cause is because of the ongoing split between the West Bank and Gaza. Today is the 15th anniversary of Hamas' Gaza coup, and the PA half-heartedly demanded that they should be in control of the sector. They claimed that Hamas' takeover was part of a Zionist plot against them. Saying absurd things like that doesn't help endear the PA to the Arab world, either.

Shtayyeh also complained that the US has not resumed its aid to the PA that ended under Donald Trump. The Biden administration has resumed funding UNRWA and USAID programs in the territories, but not the PA itself. Part of the reason is because of the Palestinian Authority's insistence that it continue to pay terrorists and their families as a core part of its budget.

He also whined about how EU countries have been curtailing aid, in response to the PA's funding terror and teaching hate in its schools. He stated that "We affirmed to the European Union the rejection of any conditional financial aid. We will not accept to change one line in the Palestinian curriculum."

There is nothing wrong with the West putting conditions on how its aid money is spent, and the PA refusal to adhere to those conditions shows how important it is to the Palestinian leaders to continue to teach hate and fund terror.

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NPR and the poor, misunderstood terrorists

NPR has a segment pretending to analyze the very valid reasons why Palestinian terrorists from Jenin try to kill Jews in Tel Aviv cafes by interviewing his gracious host, one uncle of the terrorist who murdered three in a Tel Aviv cafe in April.

NPR justifies terror and humanizes terrorists.

What compelled a young Palestinian man to open fire at a bar in Tel Aviv last month? It was one of several deadly attacks in Israel that has sparked a military crackdown in the occupied West Bank, where a prominent journalist was recently killed covering an Israeli raid. NPR's Daniel Estrin visited the Jenin refugee camp to trace one early spark that ignited the latest flames.

DANIEL ESTRIN: Amin Khazem invites us to his rooftop porch in the Jenin refugee camp.

From your rooftop, you can see the whole camp.

AMIN KHAZEM: Yes.

ESTRIN: What are you growing here? All these rooftop plants, what are these?

KHAZEM: Small oranges.

ESTRIN: Amin is also raising two parrots ...And looking after his 5-year-old grandson, whose T-shirt, shorts and shoes feature the silhouette of an M-16.
Here, the culture in the refugee camp is a culture of jihad and martyrdom," Amin says. They carry the memories of their families' old villages, destroyed when Israel was created.

KHAZEM: (Speaking Arabic).

ESTRIN: Wow. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine - can't even count how many bullet holes are - oh, on that wall, too.

KHAZEM: From the Israeli army.

In his Twitter thread on the story, Estrin says that the IDF took over Khazem's rooftop in 2002 in Jenin - meaning that the bullet holes are likely from Palestinians shooting at the Israelis, not from the IDF. But he doesn't bother to clarify that in the NPR story.

ESTRIN: Scars from a major battle with Palestinian militia 20 years ago. It was the Palestinian uprising. Young men from this camp were going to Israel to carry out deadly attacks. Israel stormed the camp and destroyed hundreds of homes. Amin's 29-year-old nephew Raad watched all of this when he was this little boy's age. One night last month, Raad wasn't home in the camp.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) UNIDENTIFIED JOURNALIST: A Palestinian assailant opened fire inside a crowded Tel Aviv bar, killing three Israelis.

ESTRIN: Hundreds of Israeli officers and armed civilians launched a manhunt through the streets of Tel Aviv. Officers say they found Raad at dawn and killed him in a firefight.

KHAZEM: (Speaking Arabic).

ESTRIN: Amin says the family was shocked. Raad was a techie. He invested in Bitcoin and was financially stable. But his uncle says neighbors shot Raad in the legs several months ago in a dispute over a loan. He says Raad wanted to shoot them back, but the family convinced him to reconcile. He did, and a week later, he was in Tel Aviv. Did this personal anguish drive him to kill Israelis, knowing he likely wouldn't come back alive?

KHAZEM: (Speaking Arabic).

ESTRIN: Amin denies any connection. He says Israel links Palestinian attacks to personal hardship to undermine the fight for Palestinian rights. Raad's father was a senior commander in the Palestinian security forces, trained by the U.S. to round up gunmen, bring order and prepare the ground for an independent Palestine. But here, Palestinians are fed up with their own security forces who brought no security and no independence.

KHAZEM: (Speaking Arabic).

ESTRIN: He says, "we fell in love with the United Nations Security Council and the International Criminal Court in the Arab states and ended up with delusions. People have reached a dead end. There's no horizon that we we will be liberated without us liberating ourselves." He says the camp is full of guns.

It doesn't take much to realize that Ra'ad was humiliated at not being able to take revenge on being shot by his neighbors, but once his family convinced him not to, he had to regain his honor somehow - and killing Jews is always a reliable method to do that.

In fact, this was alluded to in a video from another of Ra'ad's uncles, who praised the murderer for shooting Israelis instead of his fellow Palestinians - which is what he wanted to do!

Khazem can be seen is in the background of this video of the other raving uncle.

Estrin simply accepted the words of the terrorist's uncle - which is the Palestinian narrative that justifies all murders of Jews as a natural response to Israeli actions.

Notice that they aren't featuring any interviews with the victims' families. Only the terrorists must be understood and sympathized with.

(h/t Daniel)

UPDATE: The first picture above has what looks like notone but two swastikas on Khazem's wall. (h/t Ian)

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Israel's minimum wage is FAR higher than Palestinian average salaries

The Palestinian Authority negotiated with Israel this week agreements to help Palestinian workers in Israel.

Senior Palestinian Authority official and close Abbas aide Hussein al-Sheikh met Sunday with Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. At the time, he didn't describe the subjects of the meeting. But today, it was revealed that at least one of the topics dealt with Palestinian workers in Israel.

One was to have Israel pay Palestinian workers through Palestinian banks, which would ensure that deductions that are meant for social security benefits and insurance payments end up going to Palestinians.

Palestinians claim that money that these salary deductions have accumulated since the 1970s to over 60 billion shekels. It is unclear whether Israel intends to pay that much.

Will it go towards "pay for slay?" Hopefully there will be transparency mechanisms in place.

Another topic was for the 20,000 Gazans who have permits to enter Israel. Right now they have commercial permits for vendors, but some of them are workers, and they should have worker's permits so that they can be paid at least the Israeli minimum wage.

"This ensures that the Palestinian worker receives the minimum wage (6000 shekels), and various insurances such as health insurance, work injuries, and other rights," a PA official said.

Israel's minimum monthly wage is actually 5300 shekels, or daily NIS 244.62 for a five day a week worker.

I've noted before that the average salary for a Palestinian worker in Israel is more than double that of those in the West Bank (and quadruple that of Gaza Strip workers.) So it turns out that Israel's minimum wage is also far higher than the average Palestinian salary.