Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, March 21, 2014

03/21 Links Pt1: IDF Discovers Another Massive Terror Tunnel; 1,700 Hamas Millionaires in Gaza

From Ian:

It’s, therefore, inherently dishonest to deny that the feud is and always was about the creation and continued existence of the Jewish state.
That’s why it still massively matters that the Palestinians, whose raison d’être remains to replace us and extinguish Jewish sovereignty by one means or another, recognize the Jewish right to statehood in the Land of Israel. That would translate to desisting from the continuous campaign to extinguish Jewish sovereignty by one means or another.
The Palestinians and the entire Arab/Muslim realm demand strategic sacrifices of Israel that plainly jeopardize its survival prospects. What Israel demands in return is that the war against it cease. That can only happen when the initial pretext for the war is retracted. Since Israel was attacked because the very notion of a Jewish state was anathema to its Arab neighbors, then discontinuing the state of war must start with recognition of the legitimacy of a Jewish state.

Sarah Honig: Syria’s lingering hell

As the Syrian inferno keeps combusting and incinerating itself, it also sends messages of paramount existential importance to Israel – messages that we cannot afford to ignore if we want to live.
If this is the gruesome way Arabs treat each other, what would they unleash on the Jews whom all of them had been brainwashed to abhor?
If, furthermore, there’s no distinct or remotely cohesive Syrian nationality, then all the more so there’s no distinctive or remotely cohesive Palestinian nationality. The conflagration that mercilessly consumes Syria could just as likely consume the Palestinian state for which the international community hoarsely clamors. Jihadist imports with nothing to lose would just as frenziedly turn Judea and Samaria into killing fields, should we yield them.
At that point, unbridled chaos would literally reign directly and dangerously next door and inevitably impact us day to day.

IDF says it exposed massive Gazan ‘terror tunnel’

IDF Soldiers Unveil Terror Tunnel in Gaza Once Again
The Israeli military announced on Friday that it had uncovered a tunnel from Gaza into Israel meant for carrying out a terror attack, and rejected a Hamas claim that the find was an old tunnel.
IDF officials said the tunnel, uncovered on Tuesday, reached hundreds of meters inside Israel, “near civilian communities,” and went as deep as dozens of meters underground.
An IDF official said the tunnel was one of the largest, if not the largest, yet discovered, adding that the army still did not know how far it went.
“This advanced tunnel was intended to pose a direct link and threat to Israeli territory, and enable Hamas terrorists to reach and harm Israeli civilians,” IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said in a statement. (h/t Yenta Press )

Work accident!

Hamas this morning announced yet another of their brave mujahadeen being blown to bits while "engaging in a jihad operation."

Ibrahim Rafati died in an accidental explosion in Gaza City. He died, Hamas announced, "after a great career of jihad, and after hard work and jihad and sacrifice. We consider him a martyr."

That last part is important, because otherwise Allah might have put Rafati in the "dumbass" category.

Also, it was reported yesterday that two people were injured in Beit Hanoun when a rocket inexplicably crashed into their house. One was described as being in serious condition.

Perhaps Gaza TV weather reports should add "40% chance of rockets falling from the sky today."

Let us all gaze at and admire Iran's moderation

This morning, Iran's Supreme Leader tweeted:

He unfortunately didn't have the space to add "And the ~~Jews~~ Zionists would have deserved it anyway."

(h/t MtTB)

The "human rights" activist who loves terrorism

One of the underlying principles of the "peace process" is that everyone is fundamentally decent and wants peace between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. The Palestinians are just like us and it is racist to suggest otherwise - they have the same dreams and hopes and aspirations and desires to live in a peaceful world.

Here's an anecdote from this week that should cause one to think twice about this assumption.

From "Dr. Ramy Abdu" on Facebook, March 18:

This morning at 3:20am, Palestinian Security forces raided Human Rights defender Wasef Al-qadah’s family home in Nablus and arrested him.

From "Hanine Hs" on Facebook, March 18:

Just woke up to the phone call that thugs from the Palestinian Authority security forces are raiding the home of friend and colleague واصف قدح Wasef Qadh, Lecturer at the Najah University in Nablus. There is no difference between the thugs of the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli occupying forces. Both are terrorists, applying arbitrary arrests on the freedoms to live and speak!

Who is Wasef al-Qadah?

Al-Qadah is a lecturer at An Najah University. He also works for the the NGO called the Euro-Mid Observer for Human Rights. He is getting married today. In other words, al-Qadah is an upstanding citizen, a role model for all, and a shining example of the type of person that Palestinian Arabs would look up to.

Admittedly, the Euro-Mid observer is one of many NGOs whose entire existence (and funding) is dependent on them writing absurd anti-Israel reports. Last December they released a report blaming Israel for Gaza men abusing their wives. His name is listed as the registrar for their website.

So why was this fine citizen arrested on the 18th by the equally decent Palestinian Arab security forces?

Because this "human rights defender" is a supporter of Hamas, and the PA apparently didn't want him to participate in the funeral for a Hamas leader whose body was returned by Israel this week.

Yes, there was a large funeral for Muhammad Hambali, a senior Hamas commander who was responsible for the deaths of at least 20 Israelis and who was killed in a shootout in Nablus in 2003.

And "human rights defender" Wasef al-Qadah celebrated terrorist Hambali on his own Facebook page:

In the parallel universe of the Palestinian Authority, a university lecturer and "human rights" leader can also be a supporter of a murderer and a terrorist. There is no contradiction. "Human rights" and killing Jews are one and the same.

Al-Qadah was released after the funeral.

It is not like Wasef al Qadah is unique in this respect. He is typical. In fact, he is a role model! Other Western-supported NGOs have openly embraced terror as "legitimate resistance" and there is barely a peep of protest except in rare cases when the funders are forced to make a statement about it.

If you look through Palestinian Arab media and NGO statements this week to find a single voice condemning Hamas commander Muhammad Hambali and the adoration he received at his funeral, you will come up empty. In fact, you will find nothing but praise for this "hero."

There can be no peace with people for whom this terror-supporting mindset is considered admirable. And it is way past time for Western analysts and pundits to wake up and understand this self-evident fact.

(h/t Bob Knot)

Oh, Egypt shoots at Gaza fishing boats too. Now why haven't we heard that?

There have been many reports about how Israel terrorizes Gaza fishermen, enforcing the 6-nautical mile limit off the coast by shooting warning shots towards them.

But in the most recent weekly UN OCHA report, we see that Egypt shoots at them as well:

[O]n two occasions, Egyptian naval forces opened warning shots towards Palestinian fishing boats approaching the Egyptian border; no injuries or damages were reported.

Is this the first time this happened? Not at all. From February 22:

An Egyptian naval ship fired warning shots at a Palestinian fishing boat early Saturday, officials said. No injuries were reported.
The incident happened off the southern coast of the Gaza Strip within Palestinian territorial waters, Nizar Ayyash, spokesman for the union of Gaza fishermen, told the Palestinian Ma'an News Agency.

Last August:

Egyptian naval police shot and wounded two Palestinian fishermen and detained five off the Gaza Strip on Friday, medics said, an incident that hinted at increased tension between Gaza's Islamist Hamas rulers and Cairo.

These were reported, but no NGO seems to have bothered writing up reports about this.

What a mystery.

03/20 Links Pt2: Boston Jewish Leader Appalled By Arafat Visit; SJP’s underhanded tactics at Loyola U

From Ian:

Boston Jewish Leader "Appalled and Offended" By Arafat Visit

The director of Aish Campus Boston, Rabbi Chananel Weiner, was sickened to hear that Boston donors helped support a trip to Yasser Arafat’s grave: "I am appalled and offended by the visit to Arafat’s grave funded by Boston’s Jewish community for the Harvard Trek to Israel.
For Boston’s Jewish community’s funds to go toward the lionizing of Arafat strikes me as a turn of events that will stain our community beyond recognition.
As someone who lived in Israel from 2000-2005 and witnessed first hand the destruction of lives, buses, cafes, property, and much more I cannot stand for this revisionist history and allocation of funds for the next leaders of our world."

Hillel on Harvard Student Arafat Grave Visit: No Big Deal

David Eden, Chief Administrative Officer at Hillel International, provided a statement in defense of the Harvard College Israel Trek 2014. The trip made a stop at Yasser Arafat's grave and posed for a picture. His statement is quoted in full: "A photograph of Harvard Israel Trek participants at the tomb of Yasser Arafat in Ramallah is causing understandable concern. That image is not what this trip is about. This morning the Trek was up north on the Syrian border touring an elite Israeli defense post and receiving an update from a senior IDF general on the current security situation there. So much of the trip is in that vein."

Some student Israel-hate from France.

Friday 14 march, the president of Paris VIII University threw out 10 Israeli students, who had actually been invited to a debate. In Saint-Denis the pressure from radical, ideologically anti-israeli students is so strong that the “president” found nothing better than to publicly humiliate these young Israelis to calm the anger of these students.
One of the 10 israeli students, Nicolle Perle, has written a witness letter to the students of France
France's hatred is rife in Paris VIII! (French)

The video below appears to be a group of anti-Israel students who, on top of having public demonstrations where the make their hatred of all things Israeli as public as possible, also demand that no one take their picture or video the demonstration.(h/t Yenta Press)

More reports about the same incident:
Hebrew: Israeli students bullied out of Paris8 university
French: University of Paris 8 Saint Denis removes the Hebrew day license for the event "APARTHEID ISRAEL!"

Argentina has a very "Zionist" basketball team

Currently in fourth place in the Argentina National Basketball League A are:

The Parana Zionists!

So far I haven't been able to figure out how they got that name. But to make it funnier, their mascot is an...ape.

Just goes to show you the truth of the Koran!

(h/.t Ezequiel)

Fatah and PA TV again say they want to destroy Israel

One of the many questions that no Western politician or reporter ever bothers to ask Mahmoud Abbas is whether he controls the party, Fatah, that he leads, and the official TV station that the PA runs.

Because if he doesn't, then that means that he cannot even lead his own party, let alone a nation.

If he does, then that means that he supports destroying Israel.

Palestinian Media Watch shows a screenshot from a cartoon in official PA TV, as well as a similar entry in Fatah's official Facebook page.

Official PA TV broadcast a cartoon last month that showed a math teacher pointing to a map of "Palestine" as an example of "a number that is indivisible." The map included both PA areas and all of Israel.

Text on blackboard under map: "Palestine: A number that is indivisible." [Official PA TV, Feb. 21, 2014]

Fatah also continues to promote this idea. Fatah's Facebook administrator recently stated that before teaching them "to read and write," Palestinians teach their children that "Palestine" is indivisible, so that they "will only agree to one rule, which cannot be added to, subtracted from, or calculated: that Palestine cannot be divided":

"We educate our children on the national anthem every morning. They will memorize the anthem of 'return'; they will engrave the four-colored [Palestinian] flag on their hearts; they will learn the foundations of the revolution before they learn to read and write; they will only agree to one rule, which cannot be added to, subtracted from, or calculated: that Palestine cannot be divided."
[Facebook, "Fatah-The Main Page," March 5, 2014]

The text was accompanied by a photo of a teacher pointing to a map of "Palestine" replacing all of Israel drawn on the blackboard, with the explanatory text rejecting Israeli jurisdiction over Israeli cities: "Acre, Haifa, Jaffa, Ramle, Safed, Beit Shean, were and will remain Palestinian cities."

Just some more inconvenient truths that must be hushed up by the Western media and politicians.

It's all psychology. People are emotionally invested in the idea that peace is possible. It has been a centerpiece of US foreign policy for decades. Countless books and articles have been written to try to find a solution.

But the underlying assumption - that both parties really want peace - is not true. There is virtually no peace camp on the Palestinian Arab side, as we saw yesterday from someone who passionately is looking for one. Yet people who are emotionally invested in peace simply refuse to accept that the other side is not like them.

To the Palestinian Arabs, the word "peace" means something completely contradictory to its meaning in English. "Peace" is a weapon, a keyword that melts Western hearts from which they can achieve political and military goals without effort.

Have you ever once heard Abbas or Erekat or Ashrawi talk about how they want to see relations with Israel look like the day after an agreement is signed? Have any of them waxed poetic about Jews and Arabs working together on education, medicine, construction, investments, about Jews and Muslims being able to freely visit holy sites in the other country, about joint economic and business ventures? They never do. "Peace" does not mean peace, it means "get as much land as we can now and use it to gain more land later until Israel is gone." Day One of the "peace agreement" will not usher in anything remotely resembling real peace.

It will begin the next phase of a long war.

We know this. We've proven it hundreds of times, using the very words of PLO and Fatah officials, of their official media and social networking sites. Not random people in the street, not stupid people on Twitter - we are talking official, well-thought out stated positions that are said explicitly in Arabic by Palestinian Arab leaders, officials and PA-paid pundits. And surveys prove that the poisonous bile being told to the people have made them even more radical compared to their Arab neighbors.

Unfortunately, empirical proof is not enough to convince people who are emotionally tied to a lie. Hell, even a violent uprising involving suicide bombings that was planned and directed by the PLO leader wasn't enough to convince Westerners that Palestinian Arabs aren't interested in real peace. Even their dancing and celebrating on 9/11 and their making Bin Laden into a hero didn't convince Westerners of their real intentions. It is impossible to convince someone of something when they don't want to know the truth.

Especially when they don't have to pay the price for being wrong.

03/20 Links Pt1: Talk is cheap, releasing convicted terrorists just to talk is not; Obama and the Fatwa

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: The Failure of the Mideast 'Peace Process'

In Israel, there is bewilderment that it alone is being held responsible for the absence of peace.
After all, while Mr. Netanyahu has accepted the prospect of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, Mr. Abbas has said repeatedly that the Palestinians will never accept that Israel is a Jewish state.
He also continues to insist on the right of every Palestinian "refugee" to immigrate not just to Palestine but also to Israel, which would destroy it as the Jewish national home.
In addition, despite President Obama's statement this week that Mr. Abbas has "consistently renounced violence," the Palestinian Authority continues to incite hatred against Israel through its educational materials and regime-controlled media, and permits and glorifies acts of terrorism by the al Aqsa brigades and others.
Yet the U.S. and U.K. hold only Israel's feet to the fire. Why? An important part of the answer lies in the inherent nature of the "peace process" itself.

Clifford May: Middle East future shock

The Palestinians have evolved into a two quasi-state non-solution. One state is in the West Bank, where Mahmoud Abbas' Palestinian Authority maintains control, only thanks to Israeli assistance — a fact not discussed in polite diplomatic company.
Mr. Abbas clearly has no intention of ending the Palestinians' conflict with Israel. Even if he did, he has no mandate: He's now in the ninth year of a four-year term as president. Mr. Abbas also knows that were he to sign a deal, he'd be painting a bull's-eye on his back — one that every jihadist in the region, Sunni and Shi'a alike, would be eager to draw a bead on. One more thing: Why would Mr. Abbas' successor see himself as bound by anything Mr. Abbas agreed to?
Gaza is the second Palestinian quasi-state. Mr. Abbas dares not even set foot there. Hamas took power eight years ago, promising good governance and the continuation of the fight to "liberate" every inch of Israel from the despised Jews. Today, Gaza's economy is crumbling and Hamas' ability to wage war is limited.

Abbas asks Obama's help to free jailed Palestinian leader Barghouti

Any move to free such a high-profile figure as Barghouti would probably ignite a political fire storm in Israel. By the same token, it would shore up Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's standing at home and help give him domestic cover to carry on the as-yet unproductive talks with Israel.
A Palestinian official said Abbas had written to the United States asking them to bring about the release of ill prisoners, female inmates and minors, as well as Barghouti and two other high-profile leaders - Ahmed Sa'adat and Fouad Al-Shobaki.
"The president renewed his demand during the recent meetings in Washington," said Qadoura Fares, chairman of the Palestinian Prisoner Club, referring to Abbas's trip to Washington this week to discuss the shaky peace process with President Barack Obama.
An Israeli court sentenced Barghouti to five life sentences and 40 years in jail in 2004, finding him guilty of orchestrating ambushes and suicide attacks during the Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, that was raging at the time.

Al Arabiya and Maan again show they have no journalistic integrity

From Al Arabiya:

Several ancient archeological sites were “destroyed” after the Israeli Antiquities Authority conducted controversial digs in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem, a Palestinian news agency reported Wednesday.

The West Bank and East Jerusalem are part of the Palestinian territories, which have been internationally recognized since 1967.

Maan News reported the Palestinian al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage as saying that Israel started the final stage of archaeological excavations at the site, which is located in the Wadi Silwan area only 20 meters from the walls of the Old City.

The dig reportedly destroyed a cemetery that dated back to the Abbasid caliphate and damaged relics that date back to the Jebusite Canaanite era in the second millennium BC, according to the Palestinian al-Aqsa Foundation.

So without any critical thinking, Ma'an reproduces a press release by an organization known to make things up, and Al Arabiya re-reports it - so now within a day we may see Reuters or AFP making the same report.

What evidence does the Al Aqsa Foundation have? None. Their website shows some photos of the area taken from a distance. No photos of graves, no quoting of experts who have seen this supposed "destruction," no evidence of the artifacts supposedly destroyed - nada.

In the past, this same foundation has stated flatly that every single piece of archaeological evidence of Jews in the area in Biblical times is fake. They've claimed that potholes and small landslides from heavy rains are really the result of Israeli digs - and brought those charges to the UN. For years they have charged that Israel plans to destroy the Al Aqsa mosque, often giving dates that have come and gone.

Not one Arab media outlet has ever, to my knowledge, pointed out that the Al Aqsa Foundation is simply an Islamist organization, associated with infamous Sheikh Raed Salah, that makes things up and issues press releases daily about supposed Israeli crimes.

Quoting an organization with a long track record of provable lies, without mentioning that fact, is not journalism. It is incitement, and it is deliberate.

Whenever Bibi Netanyahu visits the White House, every word and gesture and demeanor is micro-analyzed to find indications of friction or combativeness or discomfort.

Yet three days ago Mahmoud Abbas visited President Obama and said some outrageous things that were roundly ignored by the media.

I would also like to affirm what you have said, that we are working for a solution that is based on international legitimacy and also the borders -- the 1967 borders so that the Palestinians can have their own independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital and so that we can find a fair and lasting solution to the refugee problem.

Obama said none of what Abbas claimed he said.

This is an old Abbas trick - to twist any conciliatory words said with respect to his pseudo-nation into what he wants to have been said. But since the original words were meant to be friendly, it would be undiplomatic to complain about how he is lying. So the national leaders let it slide and Abbas can give the impression that everyone agrees with his side.

We don’t have any time to waste. Time is not on our side, especially given the very difficult situation that the Middle East is experiencing and the entire region is facing. We hope that we would be able to seize this opportunity to achieve a lasting peace.

Abbas has never acted like a person for whom time is running out. Quite the contrary.

Abbas has been stonewalling against negotiations for years. He has said that he has plenty of time to wait for the international community to pressure Israel. Here his lie is meant to do the same - to pretend that he feels a sense of urgency when his intent is to make the West panic and pressure Israel more.

Since 1988 and into 1993, we have been extending our hands to our Israeli neighbors so that we can reach a fair and lasting peace to this problem. Since 1988, we have recognized international legitimacy resolutions and this was a very courageous step on the part of the Palestinian leadership. And in 1993, we recognized the state of Israel.

Int 1993, at the same moment that the PLO sid it recognized Israel, it also stated that they have given up on armed conflict and will exclusively use negotiations to deal with Israel. That was shown to be a lie during the deadly intifada. In other words, their words are meaningless, and provably so.

Mr. President, we have an agreement with Israel, that was brokered by Mr. Kerry concerning the release of the fourth batch of prisoners and we are hopeful that the fourth batch will be released by the 29th of March because this will give a very solid impression about the seriousness of these efforts to achieve peace.

This may be the most offensive thing of all.

Israel released over 75 convicted terrorists, the majority of whom have been involved in murders of civilians. This was because of pressure from the US in order to even bring Abbas, kicking and screaming, to the table. Abbas, meanwhile, treated these murderers as heroes and gave them well-paying jobs simply because they killed Jews.

And now Abbas is lecturing Israel that it is not serious about peace unless it releases more murderers to be honored by Abbas?

These statements are disgusting. They would be considered scandalous had any other world leader tried to say them to the President's face.

But Abbas - the Holocaust denying, terror cheerleading, corrupt dictator - is regarded as being above public criticism by the US and the mainstream media.

And if he can get away with these appalling and untruthful statements in the White House, then what incentive does he have for keeping any of his promises to Israel?

"Relationship between PLO and Egypt at all-time low"

Egypt's antipathy towards Palestinian Arab leaders is not limited to Hamas.

A senior PLO official who is close to Abbas admitted to Al Jazeera that relations between Egypt and the PLO are at an all time low.

The latest issue that upset the PLO was a nearly three hour interview on Egypt's DreamTV with Mohammed Dahlan, where he hurled accusations at the PA leadership.

Dahlan accused Abbas and other Fatah leaders of treason, murder and corruption.

The PA embassy in Egypt attempted to give a response on the same TV show, and it was denied.

Abbas plans to visit Cairo to patch things up. He announced that he received numerous phone calls of support from Egypt after the Dahlan interview, which means that he is quite nervous.