Will Iran have nukes by March?

From Maariv (Hebrew), translated by Daily Alert:

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh received a promise from Iran of extensive economic aid, cash, military cooperation, and also good news, from his perspective.
Lower your profile, calm the situation, the Iranians told Haniyeh. In four months we're going to issue a statement that will dramatically change the strategic balance in the Middle East.
According to Israeli intelligence, the Iranians have promised to make an important announcement at the next Persian new year, which begins the third week in March 2007.

A few details are added by the Russian news agency Novosti:

Tehran has announced that it intends to complete its nuclear research program by the Iranian New Year on March 21. This involves the assembly of a cascade of 3,000 centrifuges, which it needs for the commercial stage of uranium enrichment. Russian and foreign experts believe that these centrifuges will enable Iran to create five to seven nuclear charges within 12 months.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has announced plans to receive the first batch of enriched uranium after commissioning 60,000 centrifuges.

The Natanz nuclear facility, where Iran is enriching uranium, is designed to accommodate only 54,000 centrifuges, but experts say that would be enough to create a nuclear bomb within two weeks. They also say the Natanz facility could reach its designed capacity in five to seven years.

Many Russian experts, however, think that Iran is bluffing when it speaks about turning on 3,000 centrifuges in March 2007. It could do this if it has bought the required number of centrifuges, but that is unlikely. Tehran is likely overstating its technical possibilities.

"Iran has made a crucial decision and is moving honorably along its chosen path," Ahmadinejad has said. According to the Iranian president, the people of his country will not only "rebuild Iran and propel it to the pinnacles of success, but will also open the door to freedom for other nations."

Iran's successful completion of a peaceful nuclear program hardly seems to be something that would change the balance of power in the Middle East, nor something that would help Hamas.

It is entirely possible that Iran is bluffing. But the free world seems to be willing to wager millions of Israeli lives on that possibility.

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PS22 Chorus sings "אשא עיני"

An unusual video on YouTube.

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Don't forget Islamic Jihad

In the fighting simmering between Fatah and Hamas, don't forget that other major faction of the peaceful Palestinian Arab people - Islamic Jihad, that "other" group that is responsible for a large percentage of terror attacks and that is the current "bad cop" in a situation where the Hamas terrorists can't figure out how to present itself to the West and Fatah pretends to be moderate.

A glance at recent Islamic Jihad statements shows that:

• They say that the best way to Palestinian Arab unity is to shoot more rockets into Israel
• They slammed Hamas for even implying that a temporary state in the post-1967 borders is acceptable, saying that no Palestinian Arab state is possible unless Israel is utterly destroyed
• Another article on their website utterly rejecting any deviation from the 1964 Fatah charter that calls for the destruction of Israel
• An article supporting the Tehran Holocaust "conference" as a decent, scientific inquiry

In other words, even if the rapidly fading sanctions against the Hamas government would force Hamas to pretend to recognize Israel, there is still a sizable force that can and will torpedo any movement towards co-existence, no matter how temporary.

Fatah and Hamas are fighting over the leadership of their thoroughly screwed people. No one can imagine a scenario where they would fight Islamic Jihad over their terrorist attacks - the "heroism" of shooting rockets and sending suicide bombers is something that is fundamentally agreed upon by all Palestinian Arab factions.

(It is notable that a Nazareth-based British "journalist," Jonathan Cook, who writes not only for the usual assortment of ultra-left rags like Counterpunch but also for the Guardian, just wrote an article praising Hamas for not agreeing to recognize Israel. He is trying mightily to make Islamic Jihad's goals acceptable for the mainstream.)

Even the most liberal wishful-thinker, who pretends that a Hamas in power will become peaceful, who pretends that new Palestinian Arab elections will bring a responsible government, who pretends that Oslo and the Roadmap are still alive and are bases for peace - even that person needs to come up with a creative way to wish Islamic Jihad away.

And so far, no one has.

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US State Dept promotes Muslim hip-hop group

Your tax dollars at work...from a State Department website.

Muslim-American Rappers Promote Tolerance in Middle East

Native Deen hip-hop group energizes Palestinian youth in Jerusalem
By Carolee Walker
USINFO Staff Writer

Muslim-American rappers Abdul Malik, Joshua Salaam and Naeem Muhammad of Native Deen perform in Jerusalem. (photo: Native Deen)

Washington – When Native Deen took hip-hop music to Jerusalem in fall 2006, the group of Muslim-American rappers was moved deeply by the holiness of the place and the energy of the hundreds of teens who attended their concerts. Yet nothing came close to the connection the performers felt to their faith during their Middle East trip.

“I could feel it in the stone and the rocks,” said Naeem Muhammad of Native Deen, a Muslim-American hip-hop group based near Washington that has a strong following in the United Kingdom and the United States.

“Our music inspires Muslims to be better Muslims, but it also gives other people a better view of our faith,” Joshua Salaam told USINFO in an interview.

The rhythm is there, and the beat is contemporary. But the heart of inspirational hip-hop music is in the powerful rap lyrics coaxing listeners to live better lives and be better people.

Native Deen traveled to Turkey, Dubai, the Palestinian Territories and Israel on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, incorporating the teachings of Islam into songs about respect and humanity. At all the concerts, the performers were greeted like “American superstars,” they said. In Dubai, Native Deen won the 2006 Mahabba Award at an event showcasing musicians, artists and filmmakers inspired to spread Islam through art.

The group, founded in 2000, is known for its positive energy, use of traditional percussion and lyrics focused on tolerance and the teachings of Islam.

“We use the Quran as a source of guidance for us when we write our songs,” said Abdul Malik. “We use the morals and guidelines that we find in the Quran to teach people and to guide people.” This means that the beat, or rhythm, comes second, according to Salaam. The lyrics are the most important aspect of the song, so in Native Deen’s sound, the rap is always in front of the percussion.

“Deen” is the Arabic word for “religion,” or way of life.

While I didn't see anything explicitly offensive in the lyrics, it is clear that the "tolerance" mentioned is only teaching others tolerance for Islam, not teaching Muslims tolerance for other religions or ways of life. In many ways the lyrics are proselytizing, which is a questionable activity for the State Department to be promoting:

He (satan) wants to bring you down, he whispers everyday
You started on the path and he led you astray
I know you will come back, you never feel at peace
You're searching for the truth to put your mind at ease
You know you're missing me, I know what you've been through
When we meet again, we have a lot of work to do

I am the Deen you know
I am the Deen you need
I am the Deen you love
Please come back to me

Your life had just begun, I helped to raise you up
You thought it'd be easy but your life turned out to be rough
You thought I let you down, I never let you go
I'm worried ‘cause you left me and you didn't even know
You know you're gonna die, who knows when that will be
Before you meet Allah you should come back to me

I am the Deen you know
I am the Deen you need
I am the Deen you love
Please come back to me

People coming back, People coming back To Islam, people are coming to this Deen
To Islam, you are invited to this Deen

The leader of the band has a blog where he tries hard not to publicize his true feelings:

We are in Palestine now. I will have to keep this blog short before I start to get heated and make some political statements that will get Native Deen arrested.

All in all, this is something that raises questions about what exactly the State Department is intending with this sponsorship.

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Astounding PalArab murder statistic (updated)

As my readers know, I have been scouring PalArab press and websites looking for accurate statistics on how many Palestinian Arabs are killed by each other, and I have been keeping my own count since late June.

Very few of the murders I've uncovered were of supposed "collaborators" with Israel. While we know that Palestinian Arabs actually trying to reduce terror is a capital crime in PA-land (along with the even more heinous crime of selling land to Jews), not too many of these murders have been reported.

But the BBC recently had an article on "collaborators" that includes this astonishing statistic:

According to a Palestinian human rights group, Adel Ahmed's experience is increasingly common.

Amid the growing chaos in the West Bank, it estimates that approximately one person a day is killed having been accused of collaborating.

No-one has been arrested following any of these killings and many Palestinians say that the charges are normally false.

However, with the breakdown in law and order, the accusation has become the excuse for revenge and bloodletting.

One murder a day for collaboration? I see clan clashes, intra-PalArab security fighting, honor killings and the ever-fun work accidents, but are these people all being killed silently?

And which "human rights" organization is saying this? I follow about six of them, and have not come across any statistics of this type.

Let's give these guys a state!

UPDATE: The "Palestine Center for Human Rights" just published a position paper in which, while they do not support the death penalty, they clearly say that any Palestinian Arab who collaborates with Israel is deserving of sever pubishment, and that they opposed the Oslo agreements where collaborators would not be punished.

In other words, this twisted "human rights" organization is telling the Palestinian people that if they know about a terror attack that is imminent that is aimed against Jews, they should not under any circumstances inform Israel to allow her to defend herself and her citizens.

How can a "human rights" organization have such a twisted view of morality?

When it doesn't consider Israeli Jews to be "human," of course!

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EU starting to consider paying PA terrorists directly

Another indication that the "boycott" is crumbling without any concessions on the PalArab side:

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The European Union will consider making direct payments to Palestinian policemen who have gone without full salaries since Hamas took power in March, an EU aid chief said on Wednesday.

But Hans Duynhouwer, head of the EU programme that provides aid to low-wage Palestinian workers, played down the chances of the EU agreeing to pay security services across the board as requested by President Mahmoud Abbas.

Duynhouwer said it was "a sensitive issue and the EU was not enthusiastic about it".

Abbas asked the EU to expand its so-called Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) to include roughly 80,000 members of the security services, including the police force.

"We have been asked to consider the possibility of making a possible payment of police in blue civil protection and this will be taken up next year," Duynhouwer told Reuters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. "It is difficult to foresee the extension to all security services, but extending it to all civil servants is an option that could be considered."

Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said the president was facing a serious problem because his presidential guard and other members of the security services had gone without salaries since March, when a U.S.-led economic blockade was imposed on the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority.

"We are facing a very big and serious problem. We have asked the TIM to extend the mechanism to include the presidential guard and security services," Erekat said. The EU created the aid mechanism in June as a way to deliver aid directly to Palestinians working in critical sectors, like health care, without providing the money to the Hamas-led government.

The mechanism has been expanded to pay 70,000 low-income public sector employees and pensioners. The security services, and civil servants with salaries higher than $600, have been excluded.

The EU aid mechanism has so far provided "allowances" to Palestinians totalling more than 112 million euros ($148 million). EU officials say it has provided access to water, health services and sanitation for 1.3 million Palestinians and paid allowances to around a million people.

So instead of telling the PA that there is no way their terrorist-moonlighting "police" would get a dime from the civilized world, Hans Duynhouwer empowers Hamas by saying that if it can just hang on to power a bit more, the EU will be happy to fill in the gaps in its budget.

See this previous post.

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Gunbattle at Rafah - Fatah kills Haniyeh's bodyguard

The idea of an independent Palestinian Arab state just keeps getting better and better all the time, doesn't it?

GAZA - Gunmen opened fire on Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniya’s convey late Thursday at the Rafah border crossing, killing a bodyguard and wounding five others including Haniya’s oldest son, medics and government officials said.

The violence capped a day of chaos at the Rafah crossing, where Haniya waited most of the day to enter from Egypt to Gaza, carrying a 35 million dollars in cash.

Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Mahmoud Al Zahar blamed the attack on militants from the rival Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinian eyewitnesses said that militants guarding Haniya’s convoy fired first on Abbas’ own security officials, who guard and secure the Rafah crossing. The witnesses said the presidential guards responded to the sources of fire, where one of Haniya’s bodyguards was slain, and five others wounded including Abul Sallam Haniya.

Added to yesterday's killing of a terror judge, and our count of PalArabs killed by each other since late June is now at 183.

Meanwhile, the nascent civil war inches forward. Wafa/Arabic reports:

• Masked gunmen attacked the headquarters of the General Intelligence Service in Jabaliya
• Major explosion caused by an explosive device, unidentified gunmen in front of a shop in the Galaa Street downtown Gaza.

No wonder every Palestinian Arab with a brain in his head is getting the hell out, leaving behind a higher percentage of people who enjoy and are addicted to violence.

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About Olmert's nuclear slip

Omri writes that Olmert's faux pas is not a big deal, and that it makes sense for Israel to be a bit more explicit about her nuclear capabilities. While I'm not sure I agree with him (why should Israel invite international pressure to sign the NPT?) there is merit in the argument.

But that's not what bothered me about Olmert's statement.

What bothered me was that this was almost certainly not meant as a veiled threat to Iran nor as a well-planned signal to the world. It was simply a boneheaded slip of the tongue, something that a supposed head of state should not be doing.

We have an Israeli government that seems to have lost all sense of strategy or purpose. It stumbles from one crisis to the next, in reactive mode, mouthing the words that have been said for decades and then doing the opposite. It is filled with incompetence and opportunism. Above all, it exudes weakness.

This government seems to have brought the Israeli people into a malaise comparable to Americans under Carter. (Its current Supreme Court is not helping matters.)

Every day that Israelis are subjected to the blustering rule of Olmert is another day of losing their confidence. And one must not underestimate the importance of the people's will.

Israel deserves a leader. Olmert's French interview proves yet again that he is not that person.

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PalArab letter to Ahmadinejad and the lack of Arab critical thinking

A few days ago it was reported that a Palestinian Arab terrorist who was imprisoned by Israel for 18 years before his release this year wrote a letter to Iran's president , telling him that his Holocaust-denial is wrong. Here is the text of the letter in English. While I am not thrilled with some of the wording, at least it shows that some Arabs still have the ability to think.

Other Victims of Denial
by Mahmoud Al-Safadi

Mr. President, I write to you following the announcement of your intention to organize a conference on the Holocaust in Teheran on 11-12 December, and I sincerely hope that this letter will be brought to your attention.

First of all, allow me to introduce myself: Mahmoud Al-Safadi, a former prisoner from occupied Jerusalem. I was released less than three months ago from the Israeli prison where I had been locked up for eighteen years for having been a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and having taken an active part in resistance to the occupation during the first Intifada. Since you were elected president, I have followed your declarations with great interest -- in particular those relating to the Holocaust. I respect your opposition to the American and Western injunctions concerning the Iranian nuclear program and believe it legitimate that you complain of the double standard that the world has with regard to the nuclear development of certain regimes.

But I am furious about your insistence on claiming that the Holocaust never took place and about your doubts about the number of Jews who were murdered in the extermination and concentration camps, organized massacres, and gas chambers, consequently denying the universal historical significance of the Nazi period.

Allow me to say, Mr. President, with all due respect to you, that you made these statements without really knowing the Nazi industry of death. To have read the works of some deniers seems to be enough for you -- a little like a man who shouts above a well and hears only the echo of his own voice. I believe that a man in your position should not make such an enormous error, because it could be turned against him and, worse still, his people.

Like you and millions of people in the world -- among whom, alas, are innumerable Palestinians and Arabs -- I was also convinced that the Jews exaggerated and lied about the Holocaust, etc., even apart from the fact that the Zionist movement and Israel use the Holocaust to justify their policy, first of all against my own people.

My long imprisonment provided me with the occasion to read books and articles that our ideology and social norms made inaccessible to us outside the prison. These documents gave me a thorough knowledge of the history of the Nazi regime and genocide that it perpetrated. At the beginning of the 1990s, by reading articles written by the Palestinian intellectuals Edward Said and Azmi Bishara, I discovered facts and positions which contradicted mine and those of many Palestinians. Their writings having piqued my curiosity and given birth inside me to the need to know more, I set about reading accounts of survivors of the Holocaust and the Nazi occupation. These testimonies were written by people of various nationalities, Jews or non-Jews.

The more I learned, the more I realized that the Holocaust was indeed a historical fact and the more I became aware of the monumental dimension of the crime committed by Nazi Germany against the Jews, other social and national groups, and humanity in general. I discovered that Nazi Germany aspired to found a "new world order" dominated by the "pure Aryan race" thanks to the physical annihilation of "impure races" and the enslavement of other nations. I discovered that various "normal" official institutions -- bureaucracies, judicial systems, medical and educational authorities, municipalities, railroad companies, and others -- had taken part and collaborated in the implementation of this new world order. From a theoretical point of view, this objective, just like the victories won at the time by the Nazi armies of occupation, threatened the existence of the Arabs and Muslims as well.

Whatever the number of victims -- Jewish and non-Jewish -- the crime is monumental. Any attempt to deny it deprives the denier of his own humanity and sends him immediately to the side of torturers. Whoever denies the fact that this human disaster really took place should not be astonished that others deny the sufferings and persecutions inflicted on his own people by tyrannical leaders or foreign occupiers. Ask yourself, I beg you, the following question: were hundreds of thousands of testimonies written about death camps, gas chambers, ghettos, and mass murders committed by the German army, tens of thousands of works of research based on German documents, numerous filmed sequences, some of which were shot by German soldiers -- were all these masses of evidence completely fabricated?

Can all that be summed up simply as an imperialist-Zionist plot? Are the confessions of high-ranking Nazis officials about their personal role in the project of extermination of whole nations only the fruit of the imagination of some disturbed spirit?

And all these heroic deeds of the people subjected to the German occupation -- the first among whom were Russians, Polish, and Yugoslavs -- only lies and gross exaggerations? Could the struggle of the Soviets against Nazi Germany be only a phantasm? The Russians continue to celebrate their victory over Nazi Germany and remember millions of their civilian and military compatriots who lost their lives in this struggle. Are they lying, too?

I invite you to read historical studies and serious testimonies before making your public statements. You divide the world in two camps: the imperialists-Zionists, who manufactured the myth of the Holocaust, and the adversaries of imperialism, who know the truth and uncover the plot. Perhaps you think that the act of denying the Holocaust places you at the vanguard of the Muslim world and that this refusal constitutes a useful tool in the combat against American imperialism and Western hegemony. By doing so, you actually do great disservice to popular struggles the world over.

At best, you cover your people and yourself with ridicule in the eyes of political forces who reject imperialism but cannot take your ideas and arguments seriously, due to the fact that you obsessively deny the existence of an abundantly documented and studied historical period whose consequences are still felt and discussed today.

At worst, you discourage and weaken the political, social, and intellectual forces who, in Europe and in the United States, reject the policy of confrontation and war carried out by George Bush, but are forced to conclude that you, too, jeopardize the world by your declarations denying the genocide and by your nuclear program.

Concerning the struggle of my people for their independence and their freedom: perhaps do you regard the negation of the Holocaust as an expression of support for the Palestinians? There, again, you are mistaken. We fight for our existence and our rights and against the historical injustice which was inflicted on us in 1948. We will not win our victory and our independence by denying the genocide perpetrated against the Jewish people, even though the forces who occupy our country today and dispossess us are part of the Jewish people.

This letter implies how difficult it is for Arabs to even have a clue about real world history, as the Arabic literature on secular topics is very sparse. This is a tragedy that is usually overlooked - a billion people who only can read one language are imprisoned by the non-existence of any ideas that are not politically-correct for the Arab world. The UN had a report on this in 2003 that looked at this problem in detail but it watered down the pertinent facts sprinkled among its 217 pages:

Curricula and education methodologies
Typically, educational material is contained in
the curriculum, which comprises a body of
lessons that is ideally a synthesis of the best of
what decision-makers and authors agree to be
worthwhile and necessary for the learning
process. In purely formal terms, curricula in
most Arab countries do not appear to be
greatly different from what many countries
around the world are adopting.
During the last decade several Arab countries
have embarked on educational reform
programmes that concentrate particularly on
revising and making modifications to the content
of curricula and syllabi.

When it comes to
the sciences, content is not usually a controversial
matter, save for some themes that are
perceived to touch on religious beliefs such as
the theory of evolution or on social taboos,
such as sex education. But the humanities and
social sciences that have a direct relevance to
people’s ideas and convictions are supervised
or protected by the authorities in charge of designing
curricula and issuing schoolbooks.
Consequently, such subjects usually laud past
achievements and generally indulge in both
self-praise and blame of others, with the aim of
instilling loyalty, obedience and support for
the regime in power. It is not unusual to find
schoolbooks in many Arab countries with a
picture of the ruler on the front page, even in
the case of textbooks in neutral subjects such
as science and mathematics.

Some researchers argue that the curricula
taught in Arab countries seem to encourage
submission, obedience, subordination and
compliance, rather than free critical thinking.
In many cases, the contents of these curricula
do not stimulate students to criticise political
or social axioms. Instead, they smother their
independent tendencies and creativity (Munir
Bashour, background paper for AHDR 2).

Generally speaking, the assigned curricula,
starting from preliminary school or even
before, embody a concept that views education
as an industrial production process,
where curricula and their content serve as
moulds into which fresh minds are supposed
to be poured.

There are various means for conveying information:
lectures, seminars, workshops, collaborative
work, laboratory work and many
others. In Arab countries, however, lectures
seem to dominate. Students can do little but
memorise, recite and perfect rote learning.
The most widely used instruments are schoolbooks,
notes, sheets or summaries.
Communication in education is didactic, supported
by set books containing indisputable
texts in which knowledge is objectified so as to
hold incontestable facts, and by an examination
process that only tests memorisation and
factual recall.

I couldn't find it in the report, I've seen reported that the number of books translated into Arabic over the past millennium is about 10,000, the same number that are translated into Spanish annually.

Arab rulers are so consumed with power that they are starving their people of the ability to think, which is why creatures like Ahmadinejad have the opportunity to brainwash hundreds of millions of people.

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Weblog awards update

OK, it turns out that I'm not quite as egoless as I like to think I am.

While I have no chance of winning, I do appreciate all votes I get. And it makes the Elders look bad when I can't gather a large number of votes.

So if you think that this blog is the best in its category (Best Middle East or Africa Blog) please remember to vote for it, daily, and spare me the embarrassment of ending up with a measly couple of dozen votes compared to the hundreds and soon thousands that others are getting.

UPDATE: Now that the voting is in full wing and it is clear that I'm not in the running, I have a new goal: to beat The Sudanese Thinker. We've been neck and neck since the beginning but since I first mentioned my goal yesterday he seems to have marshaled his forces and has pulled into the lead. What kind of a Ziyonist conspiracy can I be leading if I can't even make it to fourth place? So help me reach my much more modest goal of beating TST and vote!

And don't forget to consider the other JBlogs that are up for awards as well:

Treppenwitz (in my category)
Jack's Shack/Random Thoughts in The Best 2501-3500
Dry Bones in Best Comic Strip
A Town Crier in The Best 1001-1750

Also, my excellent competitor Sandmonkey was kind enough to link to me so I feel compelled to return the favor.

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Lunch break

I'm stuck in an all-day teambuilding meeting that is a complete and utter waste of time, and now all I can do is blog from my Blackberry during lunch. I'm suffering withdrawal symptoms from no Internet.

Tomorrow will be light too as I go on a short business trip.

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Justice, PalArab-style

The irony:

Increasing anarchy in the Palestinian Authority: Wednesday morning, anonymous gunmen shot and killed a judge in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.

Palestinian sources reported that the four gunmen got out of a civilian vehicle and opened fire at Judge Bassem el-Fara, who was killed on the spot.

This is the second murder of a Palestinian judge this week: Three days prior, Judge Jamal Abu Salim was killed in the same area.

And more:

Officials from the governing Hamas faction said Bassam al-Fara, 28, was a judge in a civil court but also a member of the group’s armed wing.

Ya gotta hand it to the PalArabs. Just when you think that Fatah is depraved for killing a judge, you realize that the "judge" was a Hamas terrorist himself.

It is somewhat interesting to see that there are any people who call themselves judges left in the territories. I recall the "Palestine Human Rights Moniitoring Group" has lists of certain types of verdicts from the PalArab "justice" system (like "collaborators" ) and their lists pretty much ended a couple of years ago. (The site is down as I am writing this.) I believe that this Google cached page has the stats.)

But I suppose that if they have so many pretend policemen, many of whom moonlight as terrorists, it only makes sense that they have pretend judges who are terrorists as well.

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Another argument for a PalArab state

I just stumbled onto a survey of Palestinian Arab attitudes towards "honor killings" and how to preserve "family honor." It was probably done a couple of years ago.

Table 1 is a survey of preferred outcomes in relation to a girl who committed an act which broke her family’s honor. The respondents are classified according to gender.

Table 1: The preferred outcome - by gender.

Total	Females	Males	Preferred Outcome
21.2	16.3	25.9	The family must kill their daughter to erase shame
24.6	25	24.2	Conceal the girl’s action
8.7	8.9	8.4	Make her marry one of her relatives
4.6	4.9	4.3	Neglect and abandon her
28.4	33	24	Guide the girl so that she will not commit the same act again
12.5	11.8	13.2	Other outcomes
100	100	100	Total

*Figures are shown as a percentage

The family has the right to murder the girl who committed an obscene act	Males	Females	Total
Strongly agree	25.3	15.4	20.4
Slightly agree	18.6	16.3	17.5
Slightly disagree	23.1	22.1	22.6
Strongly disagree	30.4	41.5	35.6
Do not know	2.6	4.7	3.6
Total	100	100	100

*Figures are shown as a percentage

A girl should be fully covered and wear and a veil	Males	Females	Total
Strongly agree	46	42	44
Slightly agree	23	20.07	21.09
Slightly disagree	17.06	24.03	20.09
Strongly disagree	11.03	11.06	11.05
Do not know	1.09	1.03	1.06
Total	100	100	100

The entire report is astounding, even for those who have looked into this before. It includes this stunning fact:

The established law in West Bank and Gaza is the Jordanian law of 1960 which was modeled under the old French law of 1807.

The law contains:

i. Quit circumstances: the male assailant goes free without punishment.

ii. Extenuating circumstances: the male assailant is imprisoned for a period of one to six months.

Article 340a of the Penal Code states:

“Every man who takes by surprise his wife or any female relative while committing adultery or fornication with another man and as a result kills, wounds or harms both of them or either of them is entitled to the quit circumstances.”

A complementary article, 340b asserts:

“Every man who surprises his wife or any female relative while being with another man while committing adultery or fornication in an illicit bed and as a result kills, wounds or harms both of them or either of them is entitled to the extenuating circumstances.”

Although article 340a and 340b are similar, the latter covers any gaps that may arise from the former. Article 340b fails to define the word “bed” and many Jordanian courts apply the term so loosely that a bed is not actually required. In the event a man fails to meet the requirement of article 340a, article 340b allows the assailant to receive a reduced sentence.

Nevertheless, the discriminatory law does not entitle women to quit circumstances or extenuating circumstances. On the other hand, the law provides a legal façade for men to defend family honour.

Except in Saudi Arabia, where the rules of Islam are applied, the laws in the Arab countries are, more or less, similar to the Jordanian law.

Sounds like a Palestinian Arab state would be a valuable addition to the family of nations.

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More murders in the PalArab paradise

A seventeen year old youth from Haris Chehab was found naked and tortured (it was not clear what his name was). Just for context, whenever Israel is considered responsible for the death of a 17-year old the youth would be called a "child."

Another Palestinian Arab, Jamal Freih Abu Salim (35), was and killed by those ever-elusive "unknown gunmen," driving a Mercedes. Another was shot and chained at a beach during a carjacking.

Never fear, though: the tens of thousands of Palestinian Arab policemen are investigating. Order will be restored as soon as possible.

My count of PalArabs violently killed by each other since late June stands now at 181.

And here was another gem from al-Hayat: On October 24th, a Muslim cleric was shot in an assassination attempt during his sermon in Ramallah. (Somehow this story flew under the radar.) He was transported to Hadassah Hospital. He has been in a coma and stillrequires much more treatment. Israel wants to transfer him to a different hospital and the Palestinian Arabs are upset, saying that it wil endanger his life (although it looks like he has brain damage.)

And his family is complaining about how long it took him to get transported to the hospital and the quality of his medical care, holding Israel responsible. Not a single word about his would-be Arab assassins!

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Arab psychosis, part 2

We recently highlighted part of an interview with the Al-Jazeerah editor blaming every single problem in the Arab world on Israel.

Lest one think that this is an aberration, look at the final statement that came out of the Gulf Cooperation Summit that just ended (the one where they say how important it is for oil-rich states where the sun shines 365 days a year to develop "peaceful" nuclear energy.)

I could not find a human English translation of the statement, but Al-Ayyam provides one in Arabic which appears to be identical to the words spoken by the Emir of Qatar three weeks ago. So I will use the Emir's wording:

The absence of a just solution of the Palestinian cause and the great sufferings by the brotherly people of Palestine that goes beyond all imagination, are the real causes of the aggravation and diversity of conflicts in the Middle East. Hence it is the obligation of the international community to give top priority to reaching a just solution of this cause in accordance with international legality, since temporary solutions or partial settlements are no longer adequate or acceptable if this area has to enjoy security and stability.

So how exactly do Israeli actions affect people in Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE?

Obviously, because some Jews who live 1500 miles away happen to control a sliver of land. This is very distressing and it causes them not to concentrate in school enough to become the leaders in science and industry that Arabs have been for centuries.

It all makes sense!

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