Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Amazing bias at WaPo

The Washington Post outdid itself in a front-page story today, meant to tug at the heartstrings about how Israel is to blame for everything awful in Gaza:

GAZA CITY -- The batteries are the size of a button on a man's shirt, small silvery dots that power hearing aids for several hundred Palestinian students taught by the Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children in Gaza City.

Now the batteries, marketed by Radio Shack, are all but used up. The few that are left are losing power, turning voices into unintelligible echoes in the ears of Hala Abu Saif's 20 first-grade students.

The Israeli government is increasingly restricting the import into the Gaza Strip of batteries, anesthesia drugs, antibiotics, tobacco, coffee, gasoline, diesel fuel and other basic items, including chocolate and compressed air to make soft drinks.

This punishing seal has reduced Gaza, a territory of almost 1.5 million people, to beggar status, unable to maintain an effective public health system, administer public schools or preserve the traditional pleasures of everyday life by the sea.

Everyone knows that the first paragraphs of any news story are the only ones that 90% of the readers see, and these first paragraphs are a doozy. Heartless Israel is stopping the supply of hearing-aid batteries to first graders in Gaza, along with - gasp - chocolate!

Let's jump ahead a few dozen paragraphs to the end of the article, that no one ever looks at. Sprinkled towards the end reporter managed to touch fleetingly on some other possible factors for Gaza's woes in between other bash-Israel sections:

But since the rocket attacks from Gaza began -- killing a total of 13 Israeli citizens since the start of the most recent Palestinian uprising in September 2000 -- the frequent closure of crossings to Israel has choked the export-reliant Palestinian economy....

Hamas, which won parliamentary elections in January 2006, trounced the U.S.-backed Fatah movement in Gaza in June. The violent takeover, which Hamas swiftly consolidated politically and culturally, cemented the strip's isolation....

Now rolling blackouts have begun across the strip, partly because the Palestinian Authority refused for days last week to pay the Israeli company that supplies fuel to Gaza....

Trucks carrying tobacco and coffee usually have low priority in the lines backed up at the crossings. Israeli military officials say they try to push 60 to 70 trucks through a day, despite frequent rocket and small-arms attacks.

See how even-handed the esteemed WaPo is? They'll mention that the Gazans elected a bloodthirsty terror group and supported them in their takeover of Gaza, killing hundreds, and that Gazan terror groups shoot rockets at the very sources of supplies that the WaPo is crying about for 95% of the article. Just they'll do it in such a way that you can barely notice it.

Because we wouldn't want the intrepid reporter saying anything explicitly bad about Hamas or the people that freely elected them. After all, he has to work in Gaza, to tell the truth would be suicidal! Israel won't kidnap him for blaming the Zionists for Gaza's self-inflicted woes.

An indication of how utterly biased this article is can be seen by the fact that it was reprinted in the rabidly anti-semitic Uruknet website, that normally spends its time reprinting Al-Qaeda press releases.

Way to go, WaPo!

More misrepresentations of Islam

During Hajj, one sees many articles by Muslims trying to explain their religion to the rest of the world - more often than not, to entice new converts. This is their right.

What they do not have the right to do is to lie.

Unfortunately, newspaper editors are usually not too knowledgeable about the accuracy of these articles, and they will print them without question.

Yesterday I showed how the famous dictum that Muslims ascribe to the Koran, that killing one person is tantamount to killing the entire world, is not what the Koran actually says. Today, there are more articles being published with similar inaccuracies:

From the Allentown Morning Call:

According to Quran and biblical versions, the Prophet Abraham dreamt that he was sacrificing his first-born son, Ismail (Ishmael).

The Koran might imply that, but the Bible is quite explicit that it was not Ishmael.

From a Columbus, Ohio leader of CAIR:

This great annual convention of faith demonstrates the concept of equality of mankind, the most profound message of Islam, which allows no superiority on the basis of race, gender or social status.

Except that you have to be a Muslim in order to be a part of this great "equality of mankind." Does this mean that non-Muslims are not quite human?

Egyptian sheikh sues to allow female genital mutilation

From Earthtimes:

In an act that has sparked outrage among Egyptian women's rights activists, a controversial Islamic scholar filed a lawsuit against the minister of health protesting a recent ban on female circumcision, a practice referred to by rights groups as female genital mutilation (FGM). Egyptian Sheikh Youssif al-Badri claimed the ministerial decree violated the Egyptian constitution as well as Islamic principles.

Conservative Muslim and Christian Egyptian families, have their daughters circumcised as a means to preserve their chastity. Recent studies revealed that about 90 per cent of Egyptian women have been subjected to the practice.

In June, the health ministry banned doctors and nurses from carrying out the procedure. The announcement followed the death of an 11-year-old girl in Upper Egypt as a result of the procedure. Medics who carry out circumcisions may face imprisonment and being stripped of their medical licenses.

While al-Badri argues that the practice is necessary in curbing women's sexual inclinations, women's rights activists and physicians disapprove of his view.

"Many of the circumcised women who seek our help were traumatised having no ability to lead a normal sex life, which affects their relationships with their husbands," said Nihad Abul-Qomsan, head of the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights.

...Egypt's top Islamic and Christian authorities were quick to voice support for the ban, saying the practice had no basis either in Koran or in the Bible.

"The constitution is based on the Islamic sharia law, which does not stipulate FGM, giving a wife the right to enjoy sex with her husband," Khalil Mustafa Khalil, who holds a masters degree in FGM legislation, told the independent al-Badeel newspaper.

I'm just wondering what university gives a masters degree in FGM legislation.

Has Bush's 2005 letter to Sharon any relevance anymore?

One of the highly-touted benefits from Israel's withdrawal from Gaza was a letter from President Bush to Ariel Sharon saying that the US position towards the "right of return" and major settlement blocs was in large agreement with Israel's:

The United States is strongly committed to Israel's security and well-being as a Jewish state. It seems clear that an agreed, just, fair, and realistic framework for a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue as part of any final status agreement will need to be found through the establishment of a Palestinian state, and the settling of Palestinian refugees there, rather than in Israel.
As part of a final peace settlement, Israel must have secure and recognized borders, which should emerge from negotiations between the parties in accordance with UNSC Resolutions 242 and 338. In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli populations centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949, and all previous efforts to negotiate a two-state solution have reached the same conclusion. It is realistic to expect that any final status agreement will only be achieved on the basis of mutually agreed changes that reflect these realities.

Today, the Annapolis push seems to have placed the US more towards the Arab side, as the Secretary of State shows her pique at Israel's building in East Jerusalem.

At the time, it seemed that the letter hardly made up for the amount of security Israel lost as a result of the retreat from Gaza. As time goes on, the letter seems to be more and more worthless, and the folly of Israel giving up tangible national assets in exchange for empty promises continues to increase.

UPDATE: Silly me. I thought that Kadima had okayed the Har Homa buildings to show how precious Jerusalem was to the government and to send a message. Now they are saying it was all a bureaucratic mistake.

Islamic apologetics in Canada

From the Vancouver Sun, in reference to the murder of Aqsa Parvez:

At the heart of Islamic logic, a logic inseparable from true faith, is the sanctity of human life. The Prophet Muhammad said in the strongest possible words, "Killing a believer is an act of disbelief." The Quran says that to kill one human being was tantamount in sin to killing all of one's human brothers and sisters.

Looking at the first quote, notice that it only applies to killing "believers". How does the Koran want to deal with unbelievers? 2:191 (Shakir translation):

And kill them wherever you find them, and drive them out from whence they drove you out, and persecution is severer than slaughter, and do not fight with them at the Sacred Mosque until they fight with you in it, but if they do fight you, then slay them; such is the recompense of the unbelievers.

This is but one of many Koranic verses strongly against those who do not believe.

What about the often quoted verse in the Koran, (taken directly from the Talmud, incidentally,) that killing one human being is tantamount to killing all of humanity? Here's the context, 5:32-36:

For this reason did We prescribe to the children of Israel that whoever slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men; and certainly Our messengers came to them with clear arguments, but even after that many of them certainly act extravagantly in the land. The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement, Except those who repent before you have them in your power; so know that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. O you who believe! be careful of (your duty to) Allah and seek means of nearness to Him and strive hard in His way that you may be successful. Surely (as for) those who disbelieve, even if they had what is in the earth, all of it, and the like of it with it, that they might ransom themselves with it from the punishment of the day of resurrection, it shall not be accepted from them, and they shall have a painful punishment.

So even the very chapter that Muslim apologists use to prove the humanity of the Koran proves the exact opposite! (And Islamic commentaries make it even more clear.)

Now, according to Shari'a, does a girl who takes off her hijab fall into a category of an unbeliever?

I am not going to pretend to be an expert in Shari'a, and I don't know how authoritative these quotes are, but cursory research reveals:

Removal of the Hijab had exactly the same effect. At one time, you were independent and lived with dignity, but now you are nothing but a slave of your evil desire and behave worse than a Kafir (infidel). By removing your Hijab (An Act of Faith), you have destroyed your faith....Imam Jafar Sadiq (as) says: Modesty is the symbol of faith and whoever has no modesty (Hijab), has no religion.

To be fair, I highly doubt that there are any fatwas around that advocate killing one's daughter for the crime of discarding her hijab. But one can imagine that many Muslims with a lifetime of exposure to these concepts could think that it is justified.

Any way you look at it, this editorial, like countless other examples of Islamic apologetics, knowingly perverts the words of the Koran for Western consumption.

This morning's peaceful Gaza news

* 34 people were injured, 5 seriously, from a grenade thrown at a funeral.
UPDATE: 4 were killed - three by the grenade, one from falling off a building. The PalArab self-death count for the year is now at 597.

* Today's kidnapping:

Unidentified gunmen on Friday morning abducted 'Umar Al-Ghool, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's advisor for national affairs from his home in Gaza City.

Al-Ghool's son, who lives in Ramallah in the central West Bank, told Ma'an that his father was abducted from his home in Tal Al-Hawa in Gaza City less than a day after he arrived there from Ramallah.

He accused Hamas of kidnapping his father, demanding they release him.

Which means that the "siege" of Gaza is hardly as total as the MSM would have us believe.

* And,

The Hamas leadership has requested political asylum from the Qatari government for 450 Hamas political and military leaders in the Gaza Strip who were involved in the Hamas takeover of the coastal region, Israeli radio reported on Friday.

The voice of Israel said that among the leaders who requested asylum were Mahmoud Az-Zahhar, Said Siyam, Salah Al-Bardaweel, Musheer Al-Masri, Fawzi Barhoum and Sami Abu Zuhri.

Palestinian sources were quoted as saying that the head of Hamas politburo in exile, Khalid Mash'al, has sent a message to the Qatari government asking for asylum for a number of Hamas leaders.

He also suggested that Hamas will hand over the major security headquarters and institutions to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas through Qatari and Egyptian mediation in exchange for negotiating with Fatah. Mash'al stipulated that a number of Hamas leaders be guaranteed political asylum in Qatar.

Sources claimed that Qatar has not accepted Hamas' request.

Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri denied the story. He told Ma'an, "This information is baseless, and we are endeavoring to bring back the Palestinian people to their homeland rather than sending them away."

UPDATE 2: The body of a murdered girl was found near Hebron. PalPress didn't publish her age; almost certainly another "honor killing." 598.

Hamas' little Hitler

From MEMRI:
Look at the mannerisms of this kid as he rails against the usual suspects - Zionists, America, Balfour. It's a midget Adolf without the mustache. (I cannot embed the video here, go to the MEMRI site to see it.)

And don't miss the girl who casually mentions genocide.

Transcript:

Boy: My beloved brothers, as you know, today the Al-Aqsa Mosque is crying out: "Where is the people of the frontline, the Palestinian people?" Yes, my dear brothers, that is the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The subject of our lesson today is Jerusalem, to where your Prophet made his nocturnal journey – the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Yes, my beloved brothers, as you know today, and as you have known yesterday and the day before, the Al-Aqsa Mosque has fallen into oppressing and malicious hands, the hands of those who know nothing but injustice. But let me tell you how the Al-Aqsa Mosque will be returned, how we shall rescue it from the shackles of the occupation, from the shackles of the Zionist entity. Will it be through conferences? No, not through conferences, but by means of force, because the Zionist entity, your enemy, the enemy of Allah, the enemy of Islam, knows nothing but injustice and the killing of Palestinians, the persevering people on the frontline. Indeed, the [mosque] will be returned only by means of force. In 1917, the Balfour Declaration was issued. Balfour decided on the cleansing of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. But look what the Zionist enemy has done, look what Israel and America have done. Look what the allies of Israel and America have done. They have dug tunnels underneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque, but the sheiks and mujahideen of the Al-Aqsa Mosque have exposed these tunnels and called upon the Palestinian people: "Look what has happened, look what has happened." These calls have gone unheeded, my beloved brothers. But is it too late? No, it is not too late. If we all unite, the Al-Aqsa Mosque will not remain in the hands of the Zionist enemy, it will not remain in the hands of your enemy, despite all their conspiracies against the Palestinian people.
[...]
Girl: To Al-Aqsa, to Al-Aqsa – we shall unite our ranks. We will wipe out the people of Zion, and will not leave a single one of them.

(h/t LGF)

Palestinian Police Phunnies XXIX

The Jerusalem Post reveals:

PA Civil Police commander Gen. Kamal al-Sheikh revealed that more than 600 Fatah-affiliated policemen helped Hamas take control of the Gaza Strip last June.
"Out of 13,000 policemen in the Gaza Strip, only 612 participated in the Hamas coup against the Palestinian Authority," Sheikh said during a tour of Bethlehem.
Downplaying the significance of the move, he noted that this constituted only 1.8 percent of the entire police force.

And the other 98.2% twiddled their thumbs - and drew their salaries.

This is the first time that a senior PA security official has spoken about the involvement of Fatah-affiliated policemen in the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip. Sheikh did not say what kind of role the rebellious policemen played during the coup, but pointed out that the PA leadership had dismissed them and was no longer paying them.
The PA, which is hoping to raise $5.6 billion over the next three years at Monday's donors conference, still hasn't made enough progress in imposing law and order in the West Bank, the PA officials conceded.

They told The Jerusalem Post that despite the lack of progress, they expected the 90 countries that were scheduled to participate in the conference to approve the PA's request.
According to the officials, the PA's US-backed security plan, which was launched in the last few weeks in Nablus and Tulkarm, had failed to achieve most of its goals, largely due to the incompetence of the PA security forces.
"The security operation has not been a big success," one official said. "We arrested many wanted criminals and members of the Islamic Hizb al-Tahrir party, but we weren't able to lay our hands on many weapons."
Another official said the security operation did not target militiamen belonging to Fatah's armed groups. "These gunmen are continuing to operate freely in the refugee camps near Nablus and Tulkarm," he told the Post. "We arrested citizens who stole olive oil three years ago or fired into the air during weddings two years ago."
In addition, the PA's efforts to reform the Fatah-controlled security forces in the West Bank continued to face major obstacles, the official said, citing a lack of discipline among the ranks of the Palestinian policemen.
"We still have many officers who are involved in various crimes and corruption," he said. "We are still far from talking about real reforms in the security establishment. In the coming days we will launch a similar security operation in Bethlehem. But the real test will be in Hebron and Jenin, as well as in the refugee camps, where Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah militiamen call the shots."
The PA has also failed to make good on its pledge to cut by half the number of policemen serving in the various branches of its security forces, a number estimated at over 70,000. The PA is reluctant to fire large numbers of policemen for fear of driving them into the open arms of Hamas and other radical groups.

So just to make things crystal clear: The PA is asking for $5.6 billion, much of which is to to continue paying "policemen" (and now they are adding policewomen, because clearly they don't have enough) who:

- don't actually do anything, or

- they are actively involved in terror,

- after they promised they would reform the security forces,

- after they fooled the US into giving them $1.3 million based on the "success" of the Nablus "crackdown,"

- after they pledged at Oslo that the number of policemen would never exceed 30,000.

And they fully expect the world to bow to their demands and throw more billions their way, because that's what the world always does.

Responsibility is apparently not a word that is in the PA's vocabulary. And why should it be? They get routinely rewarded by the Western world for inciting hate, supporting terror, lying, and breaking written agreements. Two generations of Palestinian Arabs now have no concept that there are any repercussions for acting like spoiled brats who think that the world owes them everything.

PalArab UN rep compares Jews to Nazis

Anne Bayefsky notes:

For those wondering whether the UN is going to continue to serve as a global platform for anti-Semitism—webcast around the world, free for all Internet users, and archived so that it may be accessed for a long, long time—the mystery is over. The UN Human Rights Council today broadcast uninterrupted hate speech—in the name of “human rights.” Palestinian UN representative Muhammad Abu-Koash had this to say on December 12, 2007 in the middle of the Council’s current session:

From Eye on the UN:

"The Israeli creeping geography has been countered...as the victims of Aryan purity have been transformed into the proponents of Jewish purity...

I will revert to poetry to deliver the message clearly to the Ambassador of Israel

Mr. Jail Man, do you not understand
Scars of concentration camps mark your hand
Negotiations commence today I understand
Leave our mountains, valleys,sea, air and land
Draw your lesson from France and Deutschland
Our will is strong, cease drawing lines in the sand
Washington, Mandela and Arafat stand so grand
Though called terrorists by occupiers in command
Mr. Jail man, you do not want to understand
You gave occupation new attire with Semitic brand.

Those who suffered in Europe, those who came from concentration camps, those who came from the ghettos, they should not act as our masters. They should know the meaning of suffering."

Just for some context of who this guy is, a few months ago he said: "Arafat, Castro, [Che] Guevara stand tall. . . in their worldwide influence, stature, and inspiration."

Also:

“The one who has monopoly on the violation of human rights is Israel... the darling of the High Commissioner.” — Palestinian Ambassador Mohammad Abu-Koash, Dec. 1, 2006, mocking Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who dared to cite Palestinian obligations to stop terrorism in addition to her regular criticisms of Israel.

And one year ago:

“The Holocaust is going on, and it is an Israeli holocaust against the Palestinian people.” Palestine Ambassador Mohammad Abu-Koash, Dec. 12, 2006.

He also referred to Qassam rockets as "Christmas firecrackers" on the very day that they killed an Israeli and injured two more.

Yup, Mr. Abu-Koash is a perfect representative of the Palestinian Arab people. He mocks human rights, loves dictators, pretends that everything wrong on the planet is Israel's fault and exhibits pure hate in the halls of the UN.

Palestinian Arabs celebrate Festivus

From the Jerusalem Post:

One Israeli diplomatic official, describing the atmosphere at the meeting in Jerusalem of the Israeli-Palestinian Steering Committee as "tense," said the sides came to the meeting with widely different ideas of what it was meant to accomplish.

The officials said that while Israel saw the meeting as "a festive resumption of the peace process" that would deal with procedural issues about how to move the process forward, the Palestinians saw it as a forum for airing their grievances.

Can't wait to see if they also do the Feats of Strength and the Festivus Pole.

The Eids crisis

OK, not really a crisis, but...

One of the vagaries of the Muslim lunar calendar is that the declarations of a new month (when the crescent moon is visible) often differ in different areas. So Islamic holidays sometimes are declared to be on different days by different Islamic leaders.

This month is unusual, though, in that there are three separate declarations. This is important because the tenth of the current lunar month, Dhu al-Hijjah, is the beginning of the Eid al-Adha festival, which celebrates Abraham's "sacrifice" of his son.

This year, Eid al-Adha begins next Wednesday according to Saudi Arabia, Thursday in Lebanon and Friday in Iran.

By the way, the Koran never says explicitly that Abraham sacrificed Ishmael, only that he sacrificed his son. The entire chapter never mentions Ishmael's name. It implies that Isaac was born afterwards but it is not clear. For those interested in the topic, check out Sura 37:99-113 and especially compare translations.

One last piece of trivia: Chanukah, in Arabic, is Eid al-Anwar (The Festival of Lights.)

Israel allows 8th electricity generator in Gaza this year

Another story about the "hostile entity" that you won't read in the MSM:

A new electricity generator is to be sent to the Gaza Strip, the Israeli liaison and coordination department for the Gaza Strip said in a statement on Wednesday.

The generator will enhance power capabilities for the coastal region. It will be added to seven others which have been allowed into the Gaza Strip this year in coordination with the Palestinian power authorities in Ramallah.

The Israeli liaison department has also facilitated the entry of 13 Egyptian engineers and technicians into Gaza, who will install the generator during the coming weeks.

These boots are made for walking - except in Iran

From AFP:

...The [Iranian] police last week launched what was termed a "winter" crackdown on unIslamic dressing, to follow an unusually vigorous summer drive against women whose clothing was deemed overly flimsy.
Tehran police chief Ahmad Reza Radan said women who wear high boots with their trousers tucked-in would be targeted by the moral police, as well as those who sport hats instead of headscarves and short tight winter coats.
Radan had described such fashions as an example of "Tabarroj", an Islamic term which means revealing one's beauty and bodily contours to unrelated men.
In the past years, it has become fashionable for liberal Iranian women to wear high boots over their trousers during the cold winter months.

"Wearing boots over trousers, according to Sharia (Islamic law), is tabarroj and an example of bad dressing, which will be confronted," Radan said, cited by the ISNA news agency.

The drive has been criticised by some moderates but the police have insisted the crackdown is popular with the public and necessary to improve security in society.

"I am sorry that you are concerned about the boots of a few rich women," was the response of hardline femmale MP Eshrat Shaegh, referring to the media interest in the ban.

"I am worried about women who do not have meat on their tables and no clothes on their children," she said.

AKI adds:

"If boots are not covered by pants that fall to the ankles, they show the female shape and that is therefore in contradiction with Islamic dress code," said Radan.

Iranian women can no longer leave home with their pants pushed inside their boots and they can no longer wear hats without a veil.

"A hat is not an adequate substitute for a veil or a hijab," he said. " If someone really wants to wear a hat, they can put it on the veil."

Generale Radan said decision to apply the Islamic code had come from a committee composed of the Revolutionary Guard, the judiciary, police and officials from the intelligence ministry and the ministry of culture and Islamic orientation.

That's a lot of men to spend their time discussing women's boots. Sounds like an episode of Queer Eye.

Arabs abstain on Israel-sponsored "Puppies are cute" UN resolution

After decades of being treated as a pariah, Israel finally managed to get a resolution approved by the UN:

The resolution encourages able nations of the world to develop farming technology for developing countries.

The resolution was passed by the UN General Assembly's Second Committee, dealing with development issues. There were 118 votes in favor and 29 abstentions, with no opposing votes. The resolution will be brought before the full General Assembly next week.

"For Israel, this is a very dramatic development, and an historic day at the UN," Ambassador Dan Gillerman told reporters. "It is the very first time that Israel initiates and authors and submits a resolution which has nothing to do with the conflict. It is not easy for Israel to have its resolutions and its points of view adopted," he added. "This makes Israel a much more normal and acceptable member of the UN. One of our main aims is to not be a one issue country and to bring awareness of Israel's excellence to the world."

Who can argue with helping poor countries farm?

A look at the countries that abstained from this vote is instructive:

Included in the 29 abstentions were South Africa and [all the] 19 Arab states present – though not including Muslim Afghanistan and Pakistan, who voted in favor. Iran did not take part in the vote. The abstentions came from Algeria, Bahrain, Brunei, Darussalam, Djibouti, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

So what do the Arab nations have against helping third-world farmers?

Palestinian Authority United Nations representative Riyad Mansour criticized the move, telling Reuters that Israel was "trying to score political points" and had rejected a move that would have obscured the Jewish state as the author of the resolution in favor of its presentation as a “consensus resolution.”

OK, so it is not that the Arab nations - even the ones supposedly at peace with Israel - have anything against the resolution.

They just cannot stand to agree with anything Israel says, no matter how innocuous. It is easier to abstain than to even give the appearance of being on the same side as the hated Zionists on any issue.

This is beyond politics - this is just a seething hatred for anything that Israel does; this is misoziony. The very idea of agreeing with the Jewish state on anything sticks in the throats of the Arab world. For them, emotion trumps logic, and visceral hate makes real peace impossible.

UPDATE: It's Almost Supernatural exhaustively analyzes South Africa's abstention.

Tunnel collapses in Rafah, one more terrorist dead

From PalPress (Arabic, autotranslated):

Palestinian medical sources announced today, Wednesday, killing appeared citizen Mahmoud Abdel-Hamid alive "23 years" of the inhabitants of the city of Rafah following the collapse of a tunnel on the Palestinian-Egyptian border.

The number of Palestinian Arabs who have been violently killed by their own actions this year is now at 591.

UPDATE: A child-killer named Rami Khalifa has died "in mysterious circumstances" in prison in Gaza. 592.

UPDATE 2: On Tuesday,

at approximately 10:30, several farmers found a dead body under an olive tree on the side of an agricultural road between Far’a refugee camp and the village of Sireen southeast of Jenin. The farmers saw gunshot marks as well as marks of violence on the body. A Palestinian civilian vehicle was near the body. The farmers called the Palestinian police, who examined the body. The dead body was identified as that of Mohammad Nayef El-Shaf’i (37) from Fa’ra refugee camp. He was the owner of the vehicle. The body was transferred to the forensic laboratory in Abu Dis for examination; and the police are investigating the incident.

593.