Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, June 20, 2005

Syrian historian: Palestinian moms' wombs are weapons factories (MEMRI)

The following are excerpts from an interview with Syrian historian and author Dr. Georgette 'Attiyya. Syrian TV aired this interview on June 15, 2005.

Dr. Attiyya: The Palestinian woman's womb is a factory for the conflict; it produces fighting children. After this fighting child is produced, he is taught: 'This is your land, this is your country, you will fight for it, stand on it, and die for it.' Therefore, a very important connection exists between motherhood, land, and blood."

My streak may be over...

but SoccerDad threw me a pity mention in the latest (excellent as usual) Haveil Havalim, mentioning my Palestine Post-ings website as well.

Hey, a pity mention is almost as good as a regular one :)

Mediacrity: Reuters Buries the Lead--and the Truth

Example #2659 of Reuters' explicit pro-terror bias in this article in Mediacrity.

The Palestinian Arab Refugees in April, 1948 (Palestine Post articles)

In April 1948, in one of the battles that preceded Israel's War of Independence, the Haganah decisively defeated the Arab fighters for control of Haifa. The Palestine Post has a few articles that describe the Arab refugees from Haifa during this time period that shed a little light upon the basic question of who created the Arab refugee problem?

This is only about Arabs in Haifa (and Jaffa) in a very small timeframe, but it shows the mindsets of the Jews and of the Arabs at the time and that it would be reasonable to expect that these mindsets remained somewhat consistent throughout the duration of the war.

The first article describes the Arab dilemma of whether they should leave a Jewish-controlled Haifa. Notice that these decisions are being made after the major fighting is over, while the truce is being negotiated. These Arabs, at least, were clearly not leaving because of war.

Notice also how the Haganah is bending over backwards to try to respect the rights of the Arab citizens of Haifa, pledging to protect their property and clearly expecting them to return. This is not the behavior of people who are trying to ethnically cleanse an area.

Meanwhile, Arabs were streaming out from Jaffa. A telling detail emerges in this account of the flight to Egypt: that Arabs were the ones encouraging other Arabs to leave, and other Arabs were upset by this. But no where do they say that Jews are expelling Arabs.

The general sense of panic among the Palestinian Arabs at the time can be seen from the tiny article at the end about the run on banks.

The next week, in a recap of the events that happened in Haifa, we see that it was clearly the Arab leadership who encouraged their people to leave. Interestingly, shortly thereafter most of Haifa's Arabs have returned to their intact homes, safe and sound. This is not the first time that the Arab leadership's treatment of the Palestinian Arabs were at cross-purposes with what the people wanted.

Again note how explicitly the Haganah is trying to keep the Arabs in their homes.

This is only a snapshot in time from a single source, and this is all before the outside Arab armies invaded (although this was considered a fait accompli), but it does show a couple of inescapable facts:

* The Haganah was acting in a way totally inconsistent with the desire to create a Jews-only state.
* The Jews were bending over backwards to respect Arab property and lives.
* The Palestinian Arab people were feeling that their leadership was not acting in their best interests. This feeling was amplified in an article the following week, right before Israel declared her independence:

The analogy to today is clear. Today the Palestinian people remain pawns in the hands of their supposed "leaders" - while the people just want to live and be able to raise their families, their leaders are obsessed with the destruction of Israel and are willing to sacrifice as many of their people as necessary to reach that goal. While the Arabs show no respect for the religion or property of others, the Jews retain respect for the human rights of their declared enemies. While the Arabs create nations that are Judenrein, the vast majority of Israelis have no desire to kick out the Arabs from Israel.

Crossposted to Palestine Post-ings.

UPDATE: SoccerDad adds this article with more details about that time period.

Is Sharon abandoning Gaza to make Washington happy?

I continuously look for reasons for the disengagement that makes sense. In a Jerusalem Post op-ed, one reason is given (although this is not the point of the article:

One explanation for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's about-face on the settlements, his willingness to uproot what he himself planted, is that in his mind as a statesman – rather than in his view as a general – a close strategic relationship with the US will do more to protect Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Netanya 50 years down the line than a hilltop settlement.

When Sharon is asked what he is getting for disengagement from Gaza, he – or his aides – reply that they are not getting anything from the Palestinian Authority, but are getting something very substantial from Washington: commitments that the US will back Israel's position on the Palestinian refugee issue and on retaining the large settlement blocs. This is far more important than a billion-dollar arms deal with Beijing.

Sharon has built up an unprecedented relationship with US President George W. Bush, but at the same time he has also stacked Israel's eggs in one basket to an unprecedented degree.

If this is the reason for the pullout, it makes no sense. While Sharon and Bush do have a close relationship, what good does that do Israel when either of them are out of office? To think that this will help things 50 years down the road, or even ten years from now, is foolish as well as foolhardy.

Fatah still recruiting kids to blow themselves up

It is always interesting to hear the deafening silence from the world about daily Palestinian child abuse. And this isn't Hamas; it is Fatah Tanzim, whose salaries are paid by our favorite terrorist in a suit, Mahmoud Abbas.

The Shin Bet and IDF have arrested in recent weeks four Palestinian minors, aged 15 and 16, who were recruited by the Fatah Tanzim to blow up in Israel, details released for publication on Wednesday afternoon revealed.

Arrests conducted by security forces in the Balata and Askar refugee camps in Nablus thwarted the attacks that had been in advanced planning stages.

One of the minors admitted to being recruited by Muhammad Nakib, 21, who was arrested in January this year for involvement in terrorist activities.

The minor told officials that he expressed intentions to follow in the footsteps of his friend, Omar al-For, who blew up in the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv in November 2004 – an attack that claimed the lives of three Israelis.

Two other minors from the Askar camp said they were recruited in April by Tanzim activists in the Balata camp to blow up at an IDF checkpoint near Nablus. The fourth minor said he had been recruited by operatives in Balata to blow up in Israel.

Four suspected recruiters that belonged to the infrastructure were also arrested. According to officials, they had received instructions and funds from Hizbulalh in Lebanon.

New blog just for Palestine Post articles

I decided that the articles that I write based on historical Palestine Post clippings would be more effective on their own blog, so I created one called Palestine Post-ings.

All of those articles will continue to be posted here as well, and I am not turning on comments on the other site, but it looked to me that having them all gathered in one place is more effective than searching through the other assorted stuff here.

Arab blood libel against Jews alive, well and updated

Remember how the Jews used to be accused of poisoning the wells during the Bubonic Plague?

Palestinians seem to be students of history.

RAMALLAH, June 13 (Xinhuanet) -- Palestinian chief of Environment Authority Yousef Abu Safeya accused Israel Monday of glutting the Palestinian markets with carcinogenic canned juice.

'Such kind of drinks are specifically produced for the Palestinian consumers in the Gaza Strip.' Abu Safeya told a weekly session of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).

He pointed out that the Palestinian security services had recently seized a number of shipments, including canned juice containing a carcinogenic substance.

He added that the Egyptian authorities impounded two Israeli trucks carrying child toys polluted with carcinogenic and radioactive substances at the Rafah commercial crossing on the borders with Israel in March.

UPDATE: The specific carcinogenic substance that Israel is inflicting on unsuspecting Palestinians has been identified:

It is saccharine.

For some reason, no one is saying that the PA is inciting terror when it makes classic anti-semitic claims like this with a straight face.

Haveil Havalim 24 - My streak has ended

But it is a very good issue even without yours truly being linked.

I will not be blogging during the yom tov. Chag kosher v'sameach!

Early 1948: Arabs recruit Nazis to kill Jews

Arab countries in 1948 realized that they had natural allies in fighting Jews: Germans who were in British POW camps in the Middle East during World War II.

The Germans had the advantage of real-world combat experience to be able to effectively train Arabs to throw the Jews into the sea.

Soon, it became apparent that there were other Nazi sympathizers who could be called upon to help in this jihad:

And soon, a more organized campaign was started by Egypt and Syria to recruit Muslims who had fought with the Nazis in Europe to act as mercenaries against the Jews in preparation for the upcoming, inevitable war.

Apparently, the International Refugee Organization operating in Europe was at least partially complicit in this plan to allow former Nazi sympathizers to be recruited to try to finish the job that Hitler didn't.

There has been much documented about the collusion of Arabs and Nazis, but the Nazi contributions to the Arab cause in 1948 and the active Arab recruitment of Nazi and Fascist elements appears to be a lesser-known chapter in this wicked partnership.

Jihad in Dublin

An all-too familiar scene - rabid Jew-hatred in a European city where the police stand by doing nothing.

THE blazing afternoon sun is beating down and youngsters with kaffirs wrapped round their heads mimic Palestinian terrorists, drawing on the full power of their small voices to scream anti-Israel slogans.

"Victory to the intifada," shouts one, perched on his father's shoulders as a megaphone is thrust into his face. Another clutching a "death to Israel" placard, is encouraged to join in with the chanting hundreds.

Slowly it forms into a sea of Palestinian flags and banners; the baying crowd's animosity towards the Jewish State is unequivocal.

Incitement to hatred? Not to the police, who turn a blind eye and happily offer consent to the protesters venting their venomous spleens.

It's an all-too-familiar scene frequently played out across the Middle East. Yet these aren't the dusty streets of Ramallah or refugee camps in Gaza. Welcome to the embodiment of liberal harmonisation: 21st century Europe and one afternoon on the streets of the Irish capital.

What had been promoted as a political protest against Israeli government policy turned out to be a furious demonstration of vitriol against the State - and anyone Jewish who caught the protesters' gaze.

The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign pledged it would be peaceful, but the evidence on the streets revealed far more disturbing manifestations. The timing was meticulous, coming just hours before Israel challenged Ireland at Lansdowne Road for a World Cup spot.

As the early afternoon downpour subsided, a ragbag of activists gathered at 3pm on the plaza outside Dublin's Central Bank.

The influence of non-Palestinian groups was unmistakable. The presence of Sinn Fein banners, IRA supporters and Socialist Workers' members was barely concealed. A teenager, barely 16, flogged copies of Republican newspaper An Phoblacht. A Palestinian flag was draped round his back.

Floppy-haired teenagers togged out in black Nirvana and Slipknot T-shirts arrived in search of an afternoon's 'entertainment'. They eagerly accepted placards claiming the Israeli army were responsible for the deaths of 3,600 children. Chants about the security barrier were interspersed with cackling as they mischievously adjusted the words.

Either they are unusually well informed for their age or they were just looking to stir up trouble on an otherwise mundane Bank Holiday weekend. Whatever their politics, conflict can never be a laughing matter.

Girls, who have barely finished nursery school, waved banners proclaiming Sharon to be a war criminal that their parents had cajoled into their tiny arms. Like so many generations of Irish children bedevilled by conflict, they risk being the latest young pawns in a complex political battleground.

Then there were the football fans. Celtic and Ireland shirts were encased in Palestinian flags - any tactic to incite the opposition before such a decisive match.

Mostly it was a tame affair - for such a gathering. Leaflets were handed out; flags were being flogged for 10 Euros; and the chatter between marchers was punctuated by chanting.

Until the baying crowd scented their blood: passing Israeli fans.

They had come to support their team, on the brink on an historic second-only qualification for a major international football tournament. None would talk politics, that was a matter for another day - back home. Instead they shrugged their shoulders, amazed that they were facing such animosity.

The only conflict they expected to witness was on the Lansdowne Road pitch. That changed when they came into the sights of the radar of the Palestinian supporters. Their blue stripes and Magen David flags acted like red rags to a bull.

Unprovoked, they found demonstrators squaring up to them, ranting about Israel. The travelling fans were bemused. They assumed they'd left hostilities at home, thousands of miles away. Now they were expected to act as spokesmen for Ariel Sharon, despite no-one enquiring whether they backed the Premier.

"Sieg heil! Sieg heil!" shouted one Irish fan as he proudly Nazi saluted the city's guests - scenes captured by our photographer.

All the Israelis had done was to offer a handshake as a gesture of peace, after spotting the potential flashpoint. It was declined in a forcible manner. The garda (police) response to quell the tensions? To force the Israelis out of the vicinity, as if they bore the brunt of the culpability. The rules of engagement were established.

And worse was to follow. Initially the Socialist Workers, Sinn Fein activists and Muslims reserved their condemnation for the "occupation of the Territories" and the Israeli military.

Until the marching hundreds spotted another group of Israelis. Their Budget Hyundai hire car - adorned with "Israel loves Ireland" posters - was designed to be an illustration of goodwill in this febrile atmosphere.

No chance. Hissing, booing and jeering followed. These Israelis were targeted for backing a simple, non-political message of peace. A Muslim - clad in an "end the occupation" T-shirt, a kaffir around his forehead and a Palestinian flag tied round his neck - gesticulated aggressively towards them.

A one-fingered salute made his feelings transparent: you're not welcome.

Gardai seemed to concur. Confronting the vehicle's owners, their posters promoting harmony between the two nations were confiscated and screwed up. Free speech wasn't applicable for the Israelis on Nassau Street. Their only crime was being football fans.

As one senior constable warned the fans to vacate the vicinity of the protest, without warning their vehicle was removed at speed down the street by a colleague. They were dumfounded.

An officer monitoring the protests told me: "We've been told to remove Israeli flags and banners. I don't want to be here, but I'm only doing my job."

Edging slowly towards the Embassy, a middle-aged Irish woman whipped up the crowd in a frenzy with yells of "Israel is a waste of space" into her megaphone

Passing pub-goers chanted: "Up the PLO. Up the IRA". Groups of marchers were soon echoing this. Arms raised aloft, the spectre of Nazi salutes again reared its ugly head on the route. Gardai turned a blind eye.

As the rally continued down the long road, the venomous chants built up apace. Increasingly it resembled a rally in the Palestinian territories supporting jihadist militants. There they revel in terror; here the guise was a peaceful demonstration.

When they spotted a man sporting a Republic shirt and a kippah, the police stepped in. He was a Chelsea fan from London, and had come for the weekend with friends to watch the match. Bafflingly, the garda tried to remove him from the street. When the Palestine Solidarity marchers spotted him, the response was by now sadly predictable. They turned their venom on him, despite displaying no signs of affiliation with Israel and being one of their own - an Ireland fan. The kippah was enough; this made him fair game.

Again this overt antisemitism and incitement to hatred was unchallenged.

By the time the crowd reached the Israeli embassy their blood was boiling. But as the international television crews pitched up, the speeches delivered by the Palestinian supporters were forced to take on a moderate tone.

Against a backdrop of a re-creation of the security barrier, they claimed their argument was not against Israel.

Try explaining the "waste of space" and "victory to the intifada" yells that reverberated around Dublin. They called for the aerial attacks on Palestinians to stop. Then issued a plea for bombers of their own.

One became suspicious of my presence, having followed them on foot for nearly three hours.

"Your sort aren't welcome," the Muslim protester angrily informed me - assuming that I was Israeli.

At 5.20pm as the crowd dispersed could Dublin now prepare for the main event, a World Cup qualifier?

WITH the clock counting down until kick-off, the strains of Hevenu Shalom Aleichem and Am Yisrael Chai struck up at the rear of the Israeli Embassy. A small group of flag-waving Israel fans began passionately expressing their support.

Some were Irish Christian Friends of Israel, others had made the trip across the Irish Sea and later fans from the Jewish State upped the tempo with festivities and flag waving.

In an instant, the atmosphere was soured when a break-off from the Palestinian rally breached the confines of this peaceful gathering on the narrow pavement.

"A tiny crew of middle-aged motley tree huggers," remarked one observer. But with their giant flags they were determined that their presence was felt.

The Israeli team had been due to pass by the embassy to greet the travelling fans en route to Lansdowne Road, but security concerns prevented this from happening.

Meanwhile the police - so hasty preventing anyone interfering with the earlier Palestinian demo - did nothing to halt this intimidation. Palestinian supporters were allowed to heckle and taunt. One delivered repeated shouts of "Nazis".

Despite Israel fans urging them to halt the standoff, the police response was mute. The scuffles were inevitable.

One skin-headed man openly admitted to being an Irish Republican Army backer, the terrorists responsible for some of the worst violence in Ireland and Britain.

Sealed lips from watching police, despite their quick-fire interventions earlier in the afternoon against the Israelis.

The two sides remained fixed in place, eye-to-eye, flag-to-flag, until they departed for the match. As one protester packed up his placard, another poster was already in place on the reverse, campaigning for the bin tax to be axed. The bedraggled coalition had revealed their true rent-a-mob colours. On to the next demo then.

INSIDE the creaking Lansdowne Road, specks of red, green and white exposed themselves, but stewards appeared powerless to remove the Palestinian flags being hoisted in the stands.

Initially animosity was reserved for Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern. The Taoiseach's anthem was booed, while silence ensued throughout the Hatikva. The 600 Israel fans in the North Bucket braved the teeming rain to belt out the anthem with pride.

But within 11 minutes of the whistle the Israelis were silenced. Lethal strikes from Ian Harte and Robbie Keane appeared to wrap up the tie. Struggling to press forward, Israel didn't appear to have a chance.

On their journey through the heated streets of Dublin, the team had been distracted by a replay of last month's Champions League final. Now they desperately sought to draw inspiration from Liverpool's comeback, a feat they accomplished within six minutes of the break.

Stage one was completed by Avi Yechiel, who marked his international debut with a well-timed equaliser.

Stage two came in the second minute of injury time when Yossi Benayoun, who was being watched by Newcastle United scouts, was brought down in the penalty area. After being forced thrice to retake the spot kick, with jeering ringing in his ears, Avi Nimni displayed coolness to level the tie and edge Israel closer to the World Cup finals in Germany.

At half time fans burst into a chant of "Israel Milchamah" - Israel's army - while the Irish were in shock. In the VIP area, an ashen-faced Taoiseach faced an ecstatic Roman Abramovitch, as the Chelsea owner tucked into kosher sandwiches.

And as the tie went into a nailbiting second 45, the visitors faced a barrage of antipathy as their players fought to defend the draw. The acrobatics and apparent histrionics of goalkeeper Dudu Awat infuriated the home crowd and they never forgave him for seemingly feigning injury which led to Andy O'Brien's sending off.

If anything, it was surprising that just one red card was brandished by Greek referee Kyros Vassaras. Israel defender Shimon Gershon feared the closing stages were developing into a street fight. "Tackles and elbows were flying in everywhere," he said.

At 9.31pm, with dusk settling over Dublin, Israel secured the vital point that nudged them closer to the finals in Germany. One Israel fan summed up the mood: "For the first time in Irish history, Israel was attracting the ire and venom of the Irish public with total justification."

However, an Irish fan would not let the tension remain on the field. As Awat was sitting in the lobby at the team's hotel, a bucket of ice was hurled at the Israeli keeper, who was already suffering from a suspected broken nose.

It underlined the rage facing Israelis even before the match. And it signalled the end to a disturbing day the Irish capital would rather forget.

A city that has played witness in centuries past to the tortuous results of bloodshed was again given the oxygen to become a battleground for simmering rivalries - even in the 21st century. Even in Europe, where for one weekend Israelis hoped to find solace in sport and escape the daily traumas back home. Some chance.
(hat tip to Pounce_UK)

Any similarity between Palestinians and adult human beings is purely coincidental

Palestinian Minister Mohammed Dahlan, in charge of coordinating Israel's Gaza withdrawal, said Thursday that Israel has failed to provide vital information about the pullout and accused the Israelis of creating the conditions for a new Palestinian uprising.

In other words, he is saying, "If we don't get what we want we're going to start to throw things! Waaaaaa!"

In other words, he is saying, "My people cannot control their emotions. They are mentally unstable. You have to give them what they want or they might make things uncomfortable for you."

In other words, he is saying, "Palestinians do not have the same free-will that God gave real human beings. They cannot choose right and wrong. They only have instinct. And, unlike dogs and cattle, they cannot be domesticated."

In other words, he is saying, "If you do what we want, nobody gets hurt. For now."

In other words, he is saying, "We have no responsibilities. We only have demands. And no matter what you do, we will always have more demands."

In other words, he is saying, "When you do something bad it is your fault. When we do something bad it is your fault."

This is the mentality of the Palestinian Arabs.

UPDATE: SoccerDad has some observations.

News flash: Palestinian leaders lie!

It is not news when Palestinian leaders, officials, and media lie. What is amazing is that despite decades of consistent lying - easily debunkable lies, bald-faced lies, lies that are so absurd that one would have to be an idiot to believe them - the news media still will report Palestinian statements without even a hint of cynicism.

I think it is a Western pathology - since we are brought up to think that "honesty is the best policy" it is beyond our experience to believe that someone is a complete and utter liar. (Although we are also taught to stretch the truth, to color our observations, and to soften facts a bit for various etiquette and cultural reasons, Westerners are averse to real in-your-face lies.)

This blindness to when someone is lying to your face can have very bad consequences. The Western press is obligated to act with suspicion, to check facts, to be cynical, especially when the person who is stating his stories has been shown to be a liar time and time again. For one to act "even-handed" when comparing the statements of known liars and their more-truthful counterparts is dishonest itself.

Let's look at some history of Palestinian Arab lies:

"Since its establishment, the racist Zionist entity has been implementing various forms of terrorism on a daily basis which are a repetition of the Nazi terror There is no difference between Hitler and Ben-Gurion, and if there was a difference at all, it was one of quantity and not one of substance." - from an article in the official PA newspaper "Al-Hayat Al-Jadida", September 3, 1997.

"Israeli practices in many aspects are equal with, if not more brutal than, those practiced by occupying Nazi soldiers dealing with French-Dutch citizens during the Second World War." PA Information Ministry press release, December 10, 1997.

"Abd Al-Fatah Hamid, the Head of the Control and Inspection Department in the PA Ministry of Supplies, said that a committee will work ... against spoiled goods and food supplies, which are one of Israel's means in its war against Palestinian society." from an article in the Palestinian daily, "Al-Ayyam", October 29, 1997.

"They brought Russian Jewish girls with AIDS to spread the disease among Palestinian youth." Abdel-Razek Al-Majida, Commander of the Palestinian General Security Service in Gaza, quoted by the official PA newspaper "Al-Hayat Al-Jadida", May 15, 1997.

"... there is no tangible evidence of any Jewish traces/remains in the old city of Jerusalem and its immediate vicinity. PA Information Ministry, December 10, 1997.

'Jerusalem is not a Jewish city, despite the Biblical myth implanted in some minds ? There is no tangible evidence of Jewish existence from the so-called 'Temple Mount Era' ? The location of the Temple Mount is in question ? it might be in Jericho or somewhere else' (Walid Awad, Director
of Foreign Publications for the PLO's Ministry of Information, interviewed by the IMRA news agency, Dec. 25, 1996).

Attallah Quiba, the Palestinian ambassador in Sri Lanka, believes that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was killed by unnamed Israelis using advanced technology, the Island newspaper said. Responding to questions at a media conference in Colombo on Friday, Quiba claimed that two Israelis who met Arafat on the day he was taken sick "used a laser device to attack Arafat."

Palestinian television reported, on the basis of an official announcement by the Palestinian leadership, that a priest named Jacques Amathis had been killed and dozens of monks wounded in an IDF action in Bethlehem. The announcement was published prominently in the Italian and French media and prompted a storm of protest. The following day the 'late" priest was interviewed by the MINSA agency and confirmed that he and the monks in the monastery were safe and well.

Saeb Erekat accused Israel of a "massacre" in Jenin and published the number of 520 deaths (ten times the actual number).

'The Nazis probably killed less than one million Jews and the Zionist movement was a partner in the slaughter' - Mahmoud Abbas in his book.

In April, PA head Mahmoud Abbas claimed in a meeting with Israeli reporters that the PA has collected all the weapons held by 'wanted' Palestinians in Jericho and Tulkarem and that they will all soon be joining the PA security forces. In fact, none had been collected.

"We have started to deal with the culture of violence, we stopped the culture of violence and the Palestinian people have started looking at it as something that should be condemned and it should stop." - Mahmoud Abbas

There is a famous, possibly apocryphal quote from Yassir Arafat: ""I am ready to kill for the sake of my cause; wouldn't I lie for it?" Although I cannot find a source to it, it brings up a fundamental truth - why does the Western press trust murderers and proven liars? Why do they give the same weight to statements by Palestinian sources who are known to have lied to the press in the recent past? Why are Palestinian newspapers quoted as authoritative sources?

But there is a far more fundamental question that is much more important than the fact that Palestinians habitually lie to the world: How can anyone expect Israel to make agreements with liars? Time after time, the Palestinian "negotiating" stance has offered nothing of substance, nothing but words - and their words are worth far less than the words of honest people. Yet the world expects Israel to give real concessions in exchange for only words - the words of proven liars.

This is Israel's "peace partner." No one in their right mind would buy a car from someone who acts like this; but Israel is expected to spend much more on the empty promises of terrorist-supporting liars.

The world press gives the Palestinian position legitimacy by its refusal to do basic fact-checking or context when Palestinian officials speak. This is fundamentally immoral and dishonest itself, and it results in more lies and more deaths. To treat Palestinian lies with deference that would not be given to the leaders of any Western nation is not journalism - it is a political agenda that has no place in newsrooms.

(Sources for some quotes: here, here and here. If any of them can be shown to be in error, please let me know.)

UPDATE: See also this article from 2003.

Bizarro World Israel

Here is who is getting arrested:

Seven 15-year-old girls were arrested early Monday morning - for writing slogans and their names in the soot of a Jerusalem tunnel wall.

Here's who is getting freed:

Palestinian former prisoners pay their respects at the grave of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at his former headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday June 2, 2005. [AP]

Israel buys huge tool to destroy tunnels

OK, a purely defensive device, won't hurt anyone, designed to stop people from bringing in weapons to kill Jews.

How long before we see Palestinians and terror-supporters complaining about it, under the guise of "human rights" or "religious tolerance" or something similar?

The Israel Defense Forces have found a way to block the tunnels Palestinians dig under the Gaza-Egypt border to smuggle in weapons by using a huge trench-digging machine, according to a military publication.

The 100-ton behemoth would dig deep channels along the border route Israel patrols, exposing the tunnels, the soldiers' weekly 'Bamahane' reports in its current edition.

The new trenching machine, made U.S. company Trencor Inc., might provide at least an interim answer to the smuggling problem by neutralizing tunnels now in operation.

A small picture of the machine in the weekly shows the 'Trencor' logo on the side of the yellow vehicle, sporting a snout designed to dip deep into the ground to dig trenches.

The weekly said only that the machine arrived disassembled from Texas and is now being put together. It will be operational 'in the coming weeks,' it said.