Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

More proof that Palestinian Arabs don't want a state

Since the Israeli press "leaked" a description of what the Olmert government offered them for a state, there has been a steady diet of criticism by Palestinian Arab leaders about the plan saying it is wholly unacceptable. From Erekat to Fayyad to Abbas, all agree that nothing less than 100% of the West Bank and East Jerusalem is acceptable, period, not to mention the phony "right of return."

It is useful to compare the continued stonewalling and utter refusal to compromise with another plan that was once offered, the 1947 UN Partition Plan.

In 1947, the UN drew up a plan to divide up Palestine between Arabs and Jews. The Jewish section included three disconnected sections. While the Jewish section was to include some 5500 square miles, most of it was desert. It included no major Jewish historic or biblical sites. Over 40% of its residents would be potentially hostile Arabs. It was utterly indefensible.

Why didn't the Jews at the time reject this plan? Why didn't they demand to include Jerusalem and Hebron and Bethlehem, to make the sections all contiguous, to allow as many Jews as possible to immigrate freely (as a "right of return") to the Arab state?

The answer is obvious. The Jews truly wanted a state. Even a deeply flawed, indefensible, checkerboard solution was better than none at all. The Jews knew that they were in no position to "demand" anything because this was the best they could hope for in a negotiated settlement. The point of Zionism was to have a Jewish state, a safe haven where persecuted Jews worldwide could live in freedom and dignity, and even if it wasn't to include all of their dreams it was still a worthy goal.

The contrast with Palestinian Arab nationalism could not be starker. They don't want a state for their people, they don't want an end to the "refugee" problem, they don't want to build a nation. If they did, they would have been working on it tirelessly in the 15 years since Oslo when they have been enjoying far more autonomy than Jews did in Mandate Palestine. If they wanted a state, they would be building permanent housing to replace "refugee" camps in their territories.

If they did want a state, they would be making counteroffers to Israel rather than reject everything offered outright. They would do everything they could to build even an imperfect state to help their people.

But they don't. They only understand their supposed "rights", but none of the commensurate responsibilities (nor the rights of anyone else.) They care about slogans and honor, but not about their own people. They want the money and the recognition and the headlines but they don't want to work.

Chaim Weizmann once said that the Jews should accept a state even if it was the size of a tablecloth. That is how people who truly yearn for independence act.

And what the Palestinian Arabs want, from the "extremists" to the "moderates," is not the creation of a state for Palestinian Arabs but the destruction of a state for the Jews. That desire might be dressed up as a temporary compromise for Western consumption but it is as clear as the maps they publish to this day.

Peaceful PalArab news

There are reports that Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal will be traveling to Jordan for talks; official Fatah reaction was positive but privately they are ticked off.

More explosives meant for Gaza found in the Sinai by Egypt.

Al-Jazeera is demanding that Ha'aretz apologize for saying that Al Jazeera apologized for their fawning coverage of Samir Kuntar. Al Jazeera said they violated their own code of ethics but denies apologizing for it.

So far this year, 260,000 Palestinian Arabs crossed from the territories into Jordan. 197,000 came back. The number of those coming back are expected to rise as school starts, however.

Israel opened up Kerem Shalom crossing. Israel allowed lumber to enter Gaza for the first time in a year. A Gaza cement factory re-started operations. And Islamic Jihad and other terror groups are claiming that the "calm" is only benefiting Israel and are threatening to increase their attacks. (Sorry, the last few were from yesterday and I don't have the links handy.)

UPDATE: A man was found murdered in his house in Qalqiya. The 2008 PalArab self-death count is now at 152.

Where welfare mentality and violent pathology mix

Palestinian Arabs in general, and Gazans in particular, have a strange mentality.

They firmly believe that the world owes them everything, that it should be handed to them on a silver platter, that they should not have to expend the slightest amount of effort to get anything. They "deserve" free food, medical attention, a salary independent of actual working, (plus, of course, a state or perhaps two.)

At the same time, they are taught from birth that the solution to their problems is in violence. The charter of the PLO says so explicitly, and their heroes are the people who have killed the most. They don't plaster pictures of soccer players on their walls and websites; rather they have pictures of terrorists.

Put the two pathological mentalities together and you see stories like this:

The popular committees in the refugee camps of the northern West Bank have decided to shut down the offices of UNRWA, the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees, saying that UNRWA failed to fulfill a commitment to the committees regarding the distribution of aid.

“The agreement signed between the UNRWA and the refugee camps states resuming distribution of aid portions for refugees three times a year as follows: [Families with] (1-3) members get one portion, (4-6) members get two portions and (7) members above get two portions plus 200 shekels," the committees said in a statement.

The committees said that they would shut down the offices of UNRWA directors, UNRWA Social Affairs offices, but would exclude medical facilities from the protest.

The committees warned that they would escalate beyond this initial protest if their demands are not met.

If they aren't getting all the free food and money they demand, why, they'll shut down the offices of the people who are trying to give them free food and money!

This is not the first time that PalArabs have attacked UNRWA - the one agency who is dedicated to not only helping them forever but also to perpetuate their fake "refugee" status. They were attacked and threatened last April as well, but hushed it up.

To anyone in the civilized world, the idea that people who are dependent on an organization would attack that organization and hurt themselves in the process would be considered insane. To Palestinian Arabs who have been raised with the twin pathologies of violence and entitlement, it makes perfect sense.

The world is funding Hamas

One of the major reasons that Hamas remains in power despite the international "boycott" is because the boycott is a joke.

The infrastructure of Gaza is paid for by the PA, which gets its money from the same governments that pretend to not fund Hamas. Hamas is then free to do whatever it wants without worrying about people getting too upset.

A new study by the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction (not yet available in English) shows some stunning numbers:

The PA employs 150,870 staff, of whom 78,000 employees are in the Gaza Strip, including 31,350 military personnel and 45,650 civilian staff. So more than half of the paid employees of the PA "work" in Gaza, which has roughly one third the population. Not only that, but the Gazans get paid more: right now 68.5% of the PA wages get paid to Gaza employees.

335 million shekels flow from the PA to Gaza every month, and Hamas gains tens of millions more from its own taxes - none of which go back to the PA. Outside donations give Hamas another 77 million shekels a month.

PECDAR goes on to estimate that the PA pays some $368 million dollars annually to employees in Gaza who do, literally, nothing.

When Israel still occupied Gaza, Gaza was responsible for 30% of the PA's GDP - because of the jobs that the evil Zionists provided to the Gazans. Now the number is virtually zero. Yet the percentage that the PA spends in Gaza has increased, from less than 50% in 2005 to the 68.5% now.

The reason Hamas prospers is because the world, via the PA, is funding it. Hamas is free to concentrate on weapons and smuggling because it doesn't have to worry about schools and water and all the normal civic responsibilities that every government has.

Is there any wonder that Arab nations are now balking at funding the PA?

Egypt: Hijab women get more harassment

The Sacramento Bee has a fluff piece about an Islamic booth at the California State Fair:

"Just out of curiosity – and I don't mean any disrespect," asked Cassidy, who lives in Cool, "but why do you (Muslim women) cover your heads?"
Salihah Bustamam, 25, smiled and answered that it is wrong to think that their religion subjugates women.
"It holds women in high regard," said Bustamam.
According to the WhyIslam Web site, for Muslim women who veil themselves or practice hijab, it represents an act of obedience to God. It also represents a step toward freedom from being judged by their looks rather than their intellect.

Well, this might not be quite true. From the Washington Post:

Surprisingly, some Egyptian women say that their veils don't protect against harassment..., but fuel it. A survey released this summer supports the view.

"These guys are animals. If they saw a female dog, they would harass it," Hind Sayed, a 20-year-old sidewalk vendor in Cairo's Mohandisseen district, said, staring coldly at a knot of male vendors who stood grinning a few feet from her.
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In accord with her interpretation of Islamic law, which says women should dress modestly, Sayed wore a flowing black robe and black veil. Together, they covered all but her hands and her pale face with its drawn-on, expressive eyebrows. Despite her attire, Sayed said, she daily endures suggestive comments from male customers and fellow vendors.

"I think a woman who wears hijab can be more provocative to them," Sayed said. "The more covered up you are, the more interesting you are to them."

Zuhair Mohammed, a 60-year-old shopper on the same street, said she long ago stopped wearing the traditional Islamic covering, in part for that reason.

"I feel like with the hijab, it makes them wonder, 'What are you hiding underneath?' " Mohammed said.

Mona Eltahawy, a 41-year-old Egyptian social commentator who now lives, unveiled, in the United States, said that as a Muslim woman who wore hijab for nine years and was harassed "countless times" in Egypt, she has concluded that the increase in veiling has somehow contributed to the increase in harassment.

"The more women veil the less men learn to behave as decent and civilized members of society," Eltahawy wrote in an interview via Facebook. "And the more women are harassed, the more they veil thinking it will 'protect' them."

Female travelers consider Egypt one of the worst countries in the world for harassment on the streets -- second only to Afghanistan, where the Taliban forced all women behind the veil and into seclusion in their homes.

And it's not just women's perceptions. The United States and Britain both warn female visitors in travel advisories that they may face unwanted attention, or sexual attacks, in Egypt.

When Egyptian lawmakers objected to Britain's advisory this summer, calling it a slur, Britain responded that more female British tourists were harassed and assaulted, even raped, while in Egypt than in any other country.

A new survey by the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights makes harassment on the streets appear not a risk, but a virtual certainty. According to the center, 98 percent of the foreign women and 83 percent of the Egyptian women surveyed said they had been sexually harassed in the country.

About half of the women, Egyptian and non-Egyptian, said they were harassed every day as they went about the streets. The survey polled 2,020 Egyptian men and women and 109 non-Egyptian women.

Foreign women identified Egyptian policemen and other security officials as the most frequent harassers.

Two-thirds of the Egyptian men surveyed admitted to harassing women, in actions ranging from staring openly at their bodies, shouting explicit comments, touching the women or exposing themselves.

"It makes a woman happy when I call to her. It makes her know she's attractive," 20-year-old Alla Aldin Salem said on the sidewalk in Mohandisseen, after going out of earshot of the glaring fellow vendor in hijab.

"The woman herself is the one who makes men harass her," said Fawzi Tahbet, a 50-year-old man selling kitchenware on another stretch of the sidewalk, under the shade of a tree. "If she's walking, swinging as she goes, of course it will happen."

In fact, the survey's results challenged a stereotype, according to Nehad Komsan, chairwoman of the women's rights center.

While both men and women surveyed said that short skirts and tight clothes triggered harassment, the survey found that women in hijab were the most frequent targets of unwanted comments and touching on the street.

Among Egyptian women, 72 percent of those who described incidents of harassment said they were veiled at the time.

"It surprised me," said Komsan, who wears hijab. "It doesn't matter what you wear."

Egypt's most notorious case of harassment occurred last year when two fully veiled Gulf Arab women were surrounded by dozens of men on a street and molested.

Morning links

Al-Watan (Kuwait): Lebanon should spurn Syria and embrace Israel (h/t Israellycool)

Boker Tov Boulder on one-way "gestures"

YNet on the Italian government agreeing to allow the PLO and PFLP to roam free in Italy in exchange for agreeing not to target Italians. (Essentially, the world does that anyway even today, pushing Israel to make concessions thinking that this will reduce Arab terrorism against the West.)

Arutz-7: There will finally be a ceremony during the Olympics to mark the Munich massacre. It shall be recalled that the Munich attacks were organized and funded by people today considered Israel's "moderate" peace partners.

The Egyptian Mustache Club

I don't know how I missed this MEMRI clip earlier this month. Others have already blogged about it, but it is worth mentioning for those who hadn't seen it.

One great screen shot:

And the punchline, shown with much laughter on Egyptian TV:

Brief programming note

This blog, along with many other Israel-oriented blogs and news sources, is now listed in Alltop under the Israel page.

Alltop is an attempt to put lots of relevant links about particular topics in a single page. Check it out!

Open thread for Sunday

This is the easiest regular feature I ever tried!

In training : Palestinian militants from the Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees take part in a training exercise in Beit Hanun in the Northern Gaza Strip. (AFP/Mahmud Hams)

We've seen Mahmoud Hams' propaganda before, specifically only taking photos that make terrorists look heroic and never taking pictures that make them look like terrorists. He has stated in the past that his purpose in working for AFP is to act as an unapologetic advocate of Palestinian Arabs, and AFP is happy to employ someone like that.

Do you think that AFP would ever frame a picture of US or Israeli soldiers in such a flattering light?

Abu Rish Brigades leader begs to get out of Gaza

Firas Press (autotranslated, cleaned up:)

Younis Oweidat, leader of the Ahmed Abu Rish Martyr Brigades, asked President Abbas to intervene to allow their people to enter the Palestinian territories of the West Bank after Hamas carried out various operations and attempted executions on more than one occasion, even knowing that they are wanted by the forces of Zionist occupation. [Apparently, a group of them are still in limbo between Gaza and Israel at the Erez crossing.]
He stated: "Yes, better to be behind bars in occupation jails than to return to the grip of Hamas, who sentenced me and seven of my militant brothers to death, they attacked my house...The culture of blood and murder that Hamas planted in the hearts of their sons made the blood of all the Palestinian people, especially militants, cheap. "
He ended by appealing to President Abbas as saying the immediate and rapid intervention to solve their problem, as they board the Erez crossing for more than ten days left homeless.

Isn't it great that some Palestinian Arabs prefer to be in those horrid Israeli prisons rather than being under Hamas rule?

Another update on Masab Yousef

The family of Masab Yousef, the son of a Hamas leader who converted to Christianity, has reacted to the proof that he indeed had converted (after their initial denials.)

In an interview, relative Suhayb al-Zaman says that the family is shocked, especially the father who is still in prison. He states that neighbors in Ramallah are ostracizing them and the extended family is also pressuring them.

Despite this, Suhayb says, the family has decided not to abandon Masab, and they bring in Islamic scholars of Christianity to debate with him for hours at a time over an Internet connection, saying they are redoubling their efforts to bring him back to Islam.

The family also denies that he converted while living in Ramallah.

They emphasize that they will continue to try to bring him back to Islam, so that he can be saved from going to hell.

Peaceful PalArab weekend

Hamas police violently broke up a protest by wives and children of detained Fatah members in Gaza. Reports state that Hamas threatened any media outlets from filming or reporting on the protest and Hamas' reaction.

A woman's body was found in Jericho; she was from Jerusalem and had been missing for two weeks.

Rhetoric between Egypt and Hamas is heating up, as Hamas accuses Egypt of working with Israel to keep Rafah closed.

Israel seized some weapons and ammunition from an Arab in Hebron.

Hamas fired on a 21-year old in Jabalya, injuring him.

One of the Church of the Nativity terrorists who was exiled to Gaza was abducted and apparently tortured by "unknown elements."

Al Aqsa Brigades members threatened the Fayyad government of the PA in Bethlehem.

The 2008 PalArab self-death count is now at 151.

Saudis pay $500 for Indonesian "wives"

From the Saudi Gazette:

Jakarta – ‘Tourist marriages’ have increased in Indonesia during the summer months when Saudis travel abroad.

Officials are saying during the summer months when there is an increase in Saudi tourists to a region, some men marry local women in ‘tourist marriages’ and then leave the country, abandoning them.

Faraj Al-Dawseri who heads a section at the Saudi Embassy caring for citizens said one case involved four young Saudis who married four Indonesian girls in Bandon, 220km from Jakarta.
The Saudi men alleged the marriages were unofficial because they did not acquire a permit from the Ministry of the Interior in Saudi Arabia and instead the marriages were officiated by a mosque’s Imam in the presence of the girls’ father. They alleged they did not deceive their father-in-law because they declared the marriages were only being conducted to “protect them from temptation.”

They also said they were being cautious not to father children with the women because the marriages were strictly “tourist marriages.”

Al-Dawseri said there were thousands of children in Indonesia abandoned by their Saudi fathers, Al-Watan reported. He said many of the cases go unreported because many of the victims do not approach the embassy. The embassy attempts to facilitate contact between the Saudis and the allegedly abandoned wives and children.

Al-Dawseri said many times Indonesian families have settled for payments of SR2,000 or 4 million Indonesian rupees. The increase in these marriages is associated with match makers offering their services to vacationers coming from Gulf countries in return for money.

These match makers often carry albums of the women they are promoting as wives and customers can select a ‘wife’ for SR2000, Al-Watan quoted a source as saying.

That's $534 for a "wife" who they abandon when they leave the country.

But it's OK, because they had to 'marry' them to protect themselves from temptation - from doing something worse.

Previous posts on the Saudis and their habits of "marrying" women for sex here and here. But in this case, the women don't seem to be in on the scam.

Clan clash!

A 17-year old Palestinian Arab (who would be called a "child" if killed by Israelis) was killed in a clan clash in Gaza.

Israellycool points out that he was killed by one of those harmless stones that Palestinian Arab youths love to throw at Jews during their "peaceful" demonstrations.

As in the photo on the right, described as "A Palestinian demonstrator holds stones, during clashes with Israeli border police, not seen, during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin near Ramallah, Friday, Aug. 15, 2008."

That same weekly protest is described invariably in the Palestinian Arab press as "non-violent."

The 2008 PalArab self-death count is now at 150.