Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News: Hussein al-Sheikh

Showing posts with label Hussein al-Sheikh. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 01, 2023

Two stories the mainstream media will miss from Knesset's death penalty bill

A death penalty bill for terrorists passed a preliminary hearing in the Knesset today, and we can expect the normal outrage to ensue.

I don't think that such a bill would serve as a disincentive to terror - after all, terrorists expect to be killed during their attacks - but there are a couple of subplots to this story that are more important than the story itself.

One is that the chances that the bill actually passes is fairly low - and that is because the religious parties in the coalition are against the death penalty. As JPost writes:

Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has ruled that the death penalty violates Halacha. The Shas Party, which represents the Sephardi haredi (ultra-Orthodox) electorate, said it would support the bill only in its preliminary reading at this point, out of coalition obligations, but that it would follow Yosef’s ruling in the future, which is unlikely to change, according to Yishai Cohen, a reporter for the Kikar HaShabbat news site.

Supporters of the law, without Shas and UTJ but with Yisrael Beytenu, would likely have 52 votes. Assuming that Shas and UTJ abstain and the opposition parties oppose the bill, there would be 50 votes against it. This means that if either of the haredi parties, or even if any of the two factions that make up UTJ – the Lithuanian Degel Hatorah and the hassidic Agudat Yisrael – vote against the law, it would not have a majority in the Knesset.

The parties that are decried as the most extreme factions in Knesset may be the ones who block the bill. This violates the Western media narrative, where the extremists could never agree with the "progressives."

So they almost certainly will not report that.

Another story is the Palestinian reaction to the bill. See what Hussein al-Sheikh, Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the PLO, tweeted:

He calls all of the potential targets of the death penalty "freedom fighters."

Even though the bill is aimed only at murderers.

Most of the murderers in Israeli prison are members of Hamas, Islamic Jihad or other groups opposed to the PLO. But when given a choice, the leaders of the Palestinians always side with the terrorists against Israel.

Meaning, even the most moderate Palestinian leader is a de facto supporter of terrorism, and considers the most heinous murderers of Jewish children to be "freedom fighters."

Good luck finding a word of criticism against Al Sheikh or any Palestinian leader in the mainstream media. That is a story that must be silenced, at least until antisemitism is so normalized that the Palestinian position supporting terror becomes itself mainstream.

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

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

US diplomats drinking Palestinian Kool-Aid

The official Palestinian Wafa news agency reports:

Secretary of the Executive Committee of the PLO, Hussein Al-Sheikh, discussed with the US Special Representative for Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr, and his accompanying delegation, today, Thursday, bilateral relations, and political developments and developments in the region, especially after the results of the recent elections and the formation of a government. New Israeli.

Al-Sheikh stressed the need for a political horizon that preserves the two-state solution in accordance with international legitimacy, and for Israel to stop all its unilateral measures and daily attacks against the Palestinian people, which destroy this solution and create a difficult and complex atmosphere that affects security and stability.

And:

Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh briefed the US Special Envoy for Palestinian Affairs, Hady Amr, on the violations and unilateral measures taken by the new extremist Israeli government against the Palestinian people immediately upon assuming power.

The Prime Minister said, upon receiving the US envoy, today, Thursday, in Ramallah, in the presence of the head of the Palestinian Affairs Unit, George Noll, "The US administration is required to move urgently to put an end to the unilateral Israeli measures and threats that undermine the national authority, and systematically end the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state ."

How do we know that the PLO isn't interested in a two state solution - except as a stage on the way of taking over all of Israel?

Because their logo says so.

How do we know that the PA is likewise not interested in a peaceful, two state solution that would end the conflict?

Because they are dominated by Fatah, and Fatah's logo says so:

Every hour of every day, Palestinian officials see this logo that says that Israel must be destroyed by violent means.

Everyone ignores this. Because of wishful thinking, when Palestinian officials say that they are law-abiding, against violence, and want to live peacefully side by side with Israel, US and EU officials swallow it all.

But in Arabic they say that they want the Fatah slogan, "Revolution Until Victory," which is on the signature of every Fatah communication.

The official Fatah party platform says that terror is a legitimate right.

What are the chances that these inconvenient facts are ever mentioned by the smiling diplomats from the US and EU that parade into Ramallah all the time for photo ops?

Exactly zero.

Now ask yourself exactly why this topic is off limits, when it is the core of the reason there is no peace.

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

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

12/27 Links Pt1: The World Has Forgotten Two Israelis Held by Palestinian Terrorists; ISIS-inspired terrorist arrested for deadly Jerusalem bombings

From Ian:

The World Has Forgotten Two Israelis Held by Palestinian Terrorists

Where is Hisham? Where is Avera? It has been more than 3,000 days since Avera Mengistu, an Israeli citizen and member of the Ashkelon Ethiopian community, climbed over the border fence in Gaza and was captured by Hamas. His family has had zero contact with him since.

Roughly six months later, the same fate befell a 34-year-old who is part of Israel’s Bedouin community, Hisham al-Sayed, who crossed over into the terrorist-controlled enclave.What was the reason these young men ended up in the Gaza Strip? They have a long history of suffering from mental illness, and often wandered hundreds of kilometers from their homes.

On September 7, 2014, Avera was highly agitated; his mental well-being had begun to deteriorate after the tragic death of his brother. As a result, Avera left home and began to wander. Video surveillance showed that he took off and walked approximately 10 kilometers, where he was eventually spotted, unusually close to the Gaza border fence, by Israeli soldiers. The soldiers tried to get his attention; instead, he was startled and climbed over the border fence and disappeared into Gaza.

Hisham has a similar story. In the past, he had entered Jordan, the West Bank, and even Gaza, but he was always returned by security personnel who were aware of his mental status and vulnerability. In 2015, however, he was taken hostage by Hamas. Fast forward to now, and Hamas only released a video clip this year, which appears to show Hisham lying in a bed, looking dazed, and wearing an oxygen mask — the first sighting of him since he disappeared seven years ago.

The holding of Hisham and Avera is a human rights violation on several counts.

Firstly, they are civilians who have no part in the war between Israel and Hamas, and cannot be held or treated as enemy combatants.

Secondly, withholding information about captives, as Hamas has done, amounts to an “Enforced Disappearance” and is illegal under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which has been signed by the Palestinians. It also goes against another piece of international law they signed, called The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which provides protections for people with psycho-social, or mental health disabilities, including freedom from inhuman treatment and equal access to justice.

Finally, any detainees have the right to contact their families and receive visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross. All of these international rights are violated each moment that Hamas continues to hold Hisham and Avera hostage. Even the likes of Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, a fierce critic of Israel, has said that “Hamas’s refusal to confirm its apparent prolonged detention of men with mental health conditions and no connection to the hostilities is cruel and indefensible.”

David Singer: Israel set to uncork Hashemite Kingdom genie at UN

The UN stands to become totally irrelevant if it continues to refuse to discuss the Saudi Solution following Danny Danon - Israel's former ambassador to the United Nations – claiming at the first Abraham Accords Global Leadership Summit - that Saudi Arabia may be one of the next nations to normalize relations with Israel.

Danon stated:
“We have been in contact with the Saudis for years. I worked personally with them at the United Nations on matters of regional stability and security. It’s just a matter of time before courageous leaders step out of the shadows and full peace is achieved between all the children of Abraham. .. I expect we’ll see an agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia this year”

This was good news for those seeking an end to the 100 years-old Jewish/Arab conflict – but bad news for the UN which continues to stubbornly support the two-state solution whilst refusing to even acknowledge the existence of the game-changing Saudi Solution since its publication six months ago.

It beggars belief that on 30 November the UN General Assembly adopted five resolutions on the questions of 'Palestine' and the Middle East without one speaker uttering the words. “Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine Solution” - whose successful implementation would see the Arab populations in Gaza, part of the 'West Bank' and the wretched UNRWA camps in Lebanon and Syria becoming citizens of that newly-created territorial entity.

Cheikh Niang (Senegal) - Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People - introduced its annual report containing developments relating to the question of Palestine between 1 September 2021 and 31 August 2022 – which contained not one reference to the Saudi Solution in its 27 pages.

Israeli Prime Minister designate Bibi Netanyahu has made his intentions crystal-clear:
“I think the big prize is peace with Saudi Arabia, which I intend to achieve if I go back into office… The rise of Israeli power facilitated the Abraham Accords, and the continual nurturing of Israeli power will also nurture a broader peace with Saudi Arabia and nearly all of the rest of the Arab world. I intend to bring the Arab-Israeli conflict to a close.”

The 2022 Saudi Solution offers Israel:
sole sovereignty in Jerusalem,
sovereignty in part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and
abandonment of the 74 years-old Arab claim to return to Israel
The UN must respond to the hope of peace offered by the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine genie.

Abdullah in the middle

Millions of Jordanian citizens descend from families who lived in eastern Palestine when it was ruled by the British Empire or, before that, the Ottoman Empire. Others moved to Jordan, fleeing wars launched by Israel’s Arab neighbors—Jordan among them—in 1948 and 1967. In other words, millions of Jordanians identify as Palestinians.

“While Jordanian officials may not say so explicitly,” Dr. Schanzer writes, “the animosity harbored by Jordan’s Palestinian population toward Israel has a significant influence on the kingdom’s foreign policies.”

A chapter of history Israeli leaders seldom discuss publicly: When the first Arab-Israeli war came to a halt in 1949, Jordanian forces had conquered the biblical lands of Judea and Samaria (quickly renamed “the West Bank”), from which they expelled the Jewish population. Even Jews living in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem were driven out, and their homes and synagogues destroyed.

Upon taking east Jerusalem in the defensive war of 1967, then-Defense Minister Moshe Dayan decided to award a Jordanian waqf (a government-controlled religious entity) authority over the two important Muslim sites—Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock—that stand atop the Temple Mount, the holiest of all Jewish sites. This profound gesture of conciliation has never been fully appreciated, much less reciprocated.

Nor do Jordanians express gratitude for the essential goods Israel currently provides, for example, water (Israel is a world leader in desalination technology) and energy (40 percent of Jordan’s electricity comes from Israeli gas). Israel also cooperates closely with Jordan on “a wide range of security-related issues.”

Dr. Schanzer notes that King Abdullah, in a conversation with former U.S. National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster last May, “voiced concerns that Iranian forces in Syria could soon destabilize his country…Jordan also faces a threat from Iran-backed militias in Iraq to the north. Additional threats loom in the south, with Iranian assets reportedly operating in the Red Sea.”

Though the enemy of Jordan’s enemy should be Jordan’s friend, Dr. Schanzer expects relations with Israel to deteriorate further. He notes the king’s “unabashed distaste” for Benjamin Netanyahu, who is now forming a new government.

Netanyahu, for his part, is undoubtedly reading with distress “reports that Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has been spending more time in Jordan with the approval of the Hashemite Kingdom.”

The king of Jordan is a moderate, modern and savvy sovereign. But without Israeli support, his future and that of his country will be precarious.

And if there is to be peace between Israelis and Palestinians, Jordan will need to join the pragmatic Arab states advocating for a new regional order, one based on stability and prosperity.

For King Abdullah to explain all this to his subjects—penetrating the fog of Palestinian irredentism and rejectionism—will not be easy. But that is his job.

09/14 Links Pt1: While Confronting Russia in Europe, the U.S. Helps It in the Middle East; Fatah announces return to terror; Israel gives CIA intelligence on alleged terror-linked Palestinian NGOs

From Ian:

What Happens If Operation Guardian of the Walls Recurs?

During the twelve-day conflict between the IDF and Hamas in the spring of last year, Arabs in usually peaceful Israeli cities with multiethnic populations rioted, deeply shaking the country’s general sense of safety. Yagil Henkin considers the possibility that, in the event of a larger war between Israel and, for instance, Hizballah, the latter could work with Palestinian groups to foment similar riots within Israel’s borders:
It is incorrect to regard the May 2021 events as civic disturbances or a series of individual episodes. As in any war, the enemy learns and searches for weaknesses to exploit. As a result, Israel should brace itself for a worst-case scenario in which ethnic and religious tensions are used to incite unrest and riots, disrupt army movements and reserve mobilization, cut off supply routes and access to military bases, inflict damage on military convoys, and use threats, propaganda, and possibly assassinations to force Arab and Muslim soldiers and policemen to leave the military and law enforcement. Following [the 2021 conflict], Hizballah escalated its efforts to transfer weaponry and ammunition to Israeli Arabs for use in a future conflict.

Notably, from the perspective of Iran and Hizballah, Israeli Arabs assaulting Jews and the reverse would be welcomed outcomes. Such attacks would force the police to disperse their forces and assign some of them to suppress Jewish riots rather than supporting Israeli offensive moves, limiting Israel’s freedom of action. The suspicion and tensions would undermine citizens’ sense of security and trust in government agencies, leading to further escalation and inter-communal strife. Therefore, Israel’s opponents may view any outcome as advantageous and work hard to bring about such outcomes through financial backing, disinformation, arming radicals, radicalizing youth, etc.

Israel gives CIA intelligence on alleged terror-linked Palestinian NGOs

The Shin Bet has provided the CIA with new intelligence regarding Palestinian civil society NGOs that Israel has accused of involvement in terror.

The agency provided the new information to the CIA last week, though it is not discussing the issue publicly and was first reported by Walla.

Israel is hoping to finally flip the US in its favor on the issue after Washington has been highly critical, along with the EU and UN, of Jerusalem's moves regarding the civil society groups.

It appeared that the latest try to convince the Biden administration that the groups have ties to terror came after Israel upped the ante last month when it closed down several organizations which it had previously declared to be illegal in October 2021.

The organizations have said that Israel merely wants to silence them and their activities which often involve political criticism and activism, including protests, against Israeli control of the Palestinians in the West Bank.

Israel has said that the organizations wear two hats, one actually helping with human rights issues, and the other aiding the Popular Front for the liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Maj. Bar Falah identified as IDF officer killed overnight near Jenin

An IDF officer was killed in an exchange of fire with two armed Palestinian gunmen near the village of Jalma, north of the West Bank city of Jenin.

He was identified as 30-year-old Maj. Bar Falach, deputy commander of the Nahal Brigade’s Reconnaissance Battalion, from the coastal city of Netanya. He was buried in the city’s military cemetery on Wednesday evening.

The incident began around 11:30 p.m. when IDF observation soldiers identified two suspects approaching the fence along the seam line near a military post. The suspects, who were not identified as being armed, reached within 15 meters of the fence and lay down.

Forces, including Falah and the commander of the IDF’s Menashe Brigade, Col. Arik Moyal, were deployed to the area where the suspects had been identified. A Zik drone was scrambled to the area but was not used.

The forces split into two, one led by Falah and the other by Moyal, in an attempt to surprise the gunmen, who then opened fire on the troops who had approached within several meters.

According to Judea and Samaria Division Commander Brig.-Gen. Avi Bluth, the troops did not know that the suspects were armed until they opened fire on the force around 2:30 a.m., hitting Falah and fatally injuring him.

The two gunmen were identified by Palestinian media as Ahmed Abed, an intelligence officer in the Palestinian Authority Security Forces, and Abdul Rahman Abed, from the village of Kafr Dan near Jenin. One of them was an intelligence officer of the Palestinian Authority Security Forces.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades took responsibility for the attack, saying both the shooters were members of the terrorist organization.

"Unfortunately, last night we lost an officer who fought Palestinian terrorists in the field," said IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi, "This is yet another expression of the challenges the IDF faces in all arenas and the security it provides for Israel's citizens, sometimes at a heavy price. I convey my deepest condolences to the family, and to his partner."

Ahmed Ayman Abed, one of the Palestinians killed in an armed clash with Israeli troops in Jenin, worked for the Palestinian Authority's Military Intelligence force. pic.twitter.com/Ar8S8jr1CY
— Khaled Abu Toameh (@KhaledAbuToameh) September 14, 2022

“Youths”. They were Palestinian terrorists, who beached the West Bank security barrier and opened fire on Israeli soldiers, after refusing to first heed warnings. In the shootout, sadly, an IDF officer was killed. https://t.co/Itg74snUDd
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) September 14, 2022

PreOccupiedTerritory: Palestinian Technology Posthumously Turns Adult Fighters Into Children (satire)

The Before-Interment Alteration System, or BIAS.

Muhammed SabaanehTel Aviv, September 12 – Israeli military and Defense Ministry officials voiced concern today over a device that various terrorist factions appear to have in their possession, one that takes any corpse of a gun-wielding, bomb-planting, firebomb-throwing, or knife-brandishing Arab and transforms it into a “youth” or “child,” as reflected in mainstream news coverage of recent conflict episodes.

Officials pointed to articles and video reports surrounding the violence over the last several months in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian-governed city of Jenin, cases in which the IDF documented its actions against armed Palestinian men, often killing them – only to discover that such reliable, objective sources as CNN, the Associated Press, Reuters, The New York Times, and the British Broadcasting Corporation quoted Palestinian media and officials in calling the militant a child. Israeli military intelligence concluded that the Palestinians possess something that somehow changes an adult fighter into a child whose death Israel caused.

“As a placeholder name, we’re calling it a Before-Interment Alteration System,” disclosed one official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We know of at least twenty cases in the last year in which BIAS has been deployed to create a propaganda effect, with varying degrees of success. But other evidence points to the use of BIAS for the same purpose going back decades, to the first Intifada in 1987. Its deployment helps explain hundreds of instances in which the IDF neutralized an armed terrorist, only to find that some unexplained technology has altered the corpse so that it now resembles that of a playful youth whose innocent photographs now grace the pages and social media accounts of Western journalists and government institutions. BIAS is clearly a weapon to be reckoned with.”

Fatah officials jockeying for position when Abbas dies, accusing each other of corruption. Pass the popcorn.

Elaph published details of a report showing that Fatah official "Major General" Tawfiq Al-Tirawi was guilty of corruption.

Al-Tirawi was the chair of the Board of Trustees for the Palestinian Military and Security Academy in Jericho, associated with Al Istiqlal University. Abbas recently removed him from that position.

The report accuses Tirawi of professional and financial abuse, and of appointments to close people and relatives.

The college initiated real estate projects that appear to have been created to line the pockets of Tirawi and his cronies. The university received none of the revenues from Jericho villas and an office building in Al Ram, ostensibly for Al Istiqlal University but that the university does not need.

An audio recording of Al Tirawi surfaced where he attacked Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein al-Sheikh and his family. Al-Sheikh is a rival of Tirawi to succeed Abbas and is widely considered to have the inside track.

There is an additional investigation into Al Tirawi on "very serious" charges that Elaph said it did not want to publish yet.

Apparently, all of those who want to succeed Mahmoud Abbas, who is 87, are now digging up dirt on their rivals and planting stories. Not that the stories aren't true! But Tirawi has a history of criticizing Mahmoud Abbas and it looks like some of these accusations are sourced at the top.

Meanwhile, others note that Al-Tirawi is the head of a special investigation committee set up by Mahmoud Abbas more than ten years ago to investigate the circumstances of Yasser Arafat's death. The committee receives a monthly budget but it has yet to issue any reports.

Al Tirawi responded to that accusation, saying the committee has not yet completed the investigation, and has not yet reached accurate, objective and conclusive results about the "assassination." But as soon as it does find the "irrefutable proof" it will set up trials of the supposed murderers.

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

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

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.