Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, December 28, 2015

12/28 Link Pt1: PM Netanyahu: Israel Condemns Terror, Palestinian Authority Praises It

From Ian:

PM Netanyahu: Israel Condemns Terror, Palestinian Authority Praises It

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used the opening of Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting to again condemn acts of Jewish terrorism, but stressed that just as the scope of Jewish terrorism can in no way be compared to the much greater Palestinian terrorism, so too the reaction of Israeli society is completely different than that of the Palestinian Authority.
Netanyahu noted that in Israel there was widespread condemnation of the phenomenon of Jewish terrorism by the government, various institutions and leaders. “Here we condemn it, there they [the PA] praise it [terrorism],” he said.
“In the PA they name squares and streets after them [terrorists], and pay them salaries,” he said. “There is a huge difference between the healthy approach of Israeli society and Israeli democracy that rejects terrorism, condemns it and acts against it, and the PA which, I regret, encourages it and incites toward it.”
The prime minister said that he brought the video of Jewish extremists dancing at a wedding in Jerusalem with guns and knives, while glorifying the murder of the Dawabsha family, to a recent cabinet meeting to make clear that the group in the video was both extreme and on the fringes.
Those in the video “certainly do not represent religious Zionism,” he said. Attempts to identify religions Zionism with that phenomenon, he added, “do a very great injustice to a large public that is loyal to the state, contributes to the state, to the IDF and the most elite units in the IDF.”

JCPA: The Palestinian Authority Will Find No Friend in ISIS

The threats against Israel by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi constitute a change in this terror organization’s line. So far it has avoided such proclamations, and its official organs make almost no mention of the Palestine problem. On the contrary, when Hamas called on ISIS for help during Operation Protective Edge, the group officially rebuffed Hamas’s cry of distress and said the war against Assad was more important.
As for the PLO and the Palestinian Authority, they have not been referring to ISIS at all. The PLO wants to establish a Palestinian state, and that goal totally contravenes ISIS’s ambition to destroy the existing states and create a sharia-based caliphate in their stead.
Furthermore, at the height of the “Al-Aqsa Mosque is in danger” campaign, ISIS circulated leaflets in Jerusalem that completely ignored the “danger” to Al-Aqsa, instead concentrating on anti-Christian incitement. In later announcements it attacked the Christians, and Christians now celebrating in Bethlehem this season are being subjected to pressures not only by ISIS but also, for reasons that are not clear, by different PLO groups.

Douglas Murray: Dumb Idea of the Year Award

It is that Dumb Idea of the Year Award time again, and among the many stellar contenders, one in particular stands out.
The diplomatic convention in Great Britain is that new ambassadors present themselves at the Court of St James. There they meet representatives of the monarch and are officially recognized as representing their state in the UK. So it would be interesting to consider even just the earliest ramifications of the British Independent newspaper contributor Vadim Nikitim getting his way. This is the genius who last week bypassed all those tedious arguments over whether or not ISIS constitutes a state, and proposed not only that we treat it as such but that it is also time to grant ISIS diplomatic recognition.
Mr. Nikitim's argument was that pariah states can be brought in to the international system through such measures, as U.S. President Barack Obama presumably imagines he is doing with Iran. Nikitim invites us to consider the precedent of the USSR. And rather than realizing that the USSR collapsed because its economic system caused it to collapse, Nikitim seems to think that the Soviet Union fell apart because countries such as the US and UK recognized it diplomatically -- demonstrating that there is no better way to get the present wrong than by getting the past wrong.

Jordan considering laws to make it harder for Jews to buy land

Jordan already has laws that make it effectively impossible for non-Arabs to purchase land:

The Law on Economic Boycott and Banning Dealing with the Enemy (Article 6) states that "it is impermissible for foreign persons or corporate entities that do not hold an Arab nationality to purchase, lease, or own directly or indirectly any immovable property in the kingdom." The only exceptions require high level political authorization.

But Jordan is still nervous that Jews might want to buy land in their country, especially in Petra which they are frightened will be taken over by Jews.

Local Petra officials have been strengthening their laws against selling land specifically to stop any chance of selling land to Jews - not just Israeli Jews but any Jews. This follows national laws that were meant to loosen restrictions on foreign investment.

However, other Jordanians believe that this is not enough to counter the danger of Jews buying land. Although the buyers must reveal their nationality, they fear that Jews could go through middle-men and purchase the land that way. As a result, this columnist would prefer that there be no foreign investment in Jordanian real estate rather than allow the slightest chance that Jews could purchase land:

Israelis under these amendments can now buy land, through Jews holding foreign nationality, and the requirement that the buyer reveals any other nationality is unrealistic, because no one is able to make sure the buyer doesn't hold any other nationalities...fWhat can be said here is that the House of Representatives has a duty to answer these amendments and prevent the sale of land in Petra for non-Jordanians, because all the other guarantees of bans of sales to Israeli Jews are not convincing, and we know that there are Arab and international front-men who will come to buy the land, but no one knows who he really represents. ...We are talking frankly that the amendments (allowing foreign investment) make us uncomfortable, even if they are meant to stimulate investment.

The fear of selling land to Jews is quite explicit in these articles.

CAMERA has a nice backgrounder on both Israeli and Jordanian laws for allowing foreign purchase of real estate.

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J-Street U wants some Jews to die

I received this fundraising appeal from J-Street:

...[T]ax-deductible donations from the United States are helping build Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. This, despite the fact that every US president since Lyndon Johnson -- Republican and Democrat alike -- has opposed settlement expansion.

We know that settlements are immensely damaging to peace efforts, and ultimately endanger the prospects of a two-state solution, which is so vital for Israel’s future as a secure, democratic homeland for the Jewish people.

Yet Blau has uncovered that at least $220 million in US donations have flowed to the settlements in the past five years.

Where does this money come from?

For the past year, that's what my fellow J Street U students been trying to find out. Make a gift now to help support our work in the Jewish community.

For months, we've been meeting with American Jewish federation officials across the country, asking that -- at a minimum -- they make their funding policies and practices in Israel fully transparent. We need to understand where and why our donations are being spent -- and if any of it is going to projects across the Green Line. That way, we as donors will be better able to make informed decisions and ensure that our money is being used to support, and not undermine, Israel’s democratic and Jewish future.

J Street U’s efforts are leading many in our community to consider these vital questions. We can’t let up now -- we have to remain persistent and insistent.

As I have shown, some of the money from America that J Street and J Street U opposes goes towards ambulances, medical facilities, and rehabilitation centers as well as schools. I have spoken to victims of terror attacks in Judea and Samaria who have turned around and created innovative and creative ways to help other victims - music therapy, animal therapy, physical rehabilitation - and they specifically built them in the territories so people wouldn't have to make the trip to Jerusalem to get the help they needed. Of course, emergency medical services must be located as close as possible to where people live in order to save the most lives.

J-Street opposes all of these worthy services. They want US Jews to divest from helping out Jews whom J-Street finds distasteful.

It is one thing for J-Street to choose to support Meretz or B'Tselem or Breaking the Silence. But they are insisting that some Jews do not deserve medical and social services because of where they choose to live.

In the disgusting logic of of J-Street and J-Street U, there are two classes of Jews - those who are "righteous" in insisting that parts of historic Israel become Judenfrei and the others that John Mearsheimer calls the "New Afrikaners." Some Jews deserve support and others, if they should be in a car accident or terror attack, deserve to die rather than receive life-saving medical aid that might be paid for by some American Jews.

I agree that the disbursement of funds from Jewish Federations be transparent - and American Jews should insist that these federations do not distinguish between Jew and Jew. They should not support the J-Street lie that some Jewish lives are more valuable than others.

I believe that Jews who choose to live in their historic homeland, despite the dangers involved in doing so, are heroes and deserve our support. But whatever your feelings about the settlements, the Jews who live there deserve to live and receive life-saving services as well as social support just like any others. Demanding that these services be defunded goes way beyond political activism - it is bigotry and it is contemptible.

Call your local Federation today and tell them that you certainly hope that they do not buy the argument that some Jews don't deserve our support. Actively trying to divide the Jewish community is not acceptable behavior.

Bethlehem shop sells "peace earrings" made from projectiles fired at Israeli soldiers (UPDATE)

From the online shop at Etsy called "PeaceParcels:"

These illustrious little earrings are made from marbles thrown at Israeli soldiers in Bethlehem. They were tenderly gathered off the streets and masterfully crafted into fashionable items. Now you can help carry the weight of military oppression wherever you go.

We do not support violence in any shape or form but neither do we want the struggle here to be forgotten. This is a nonviolent way to take something off the floor and continue to remind ourselves of the unheard voice of Palestinians.

We have already sold over 30 pairs to Palestinians and international visitors in Bethlehem at Christmas markets. Join the many women who have chosen to merge their fashion choices and political persuasions into one elegant decorative piece.

They helpfully promote a photo of a woman slinging a marble, which pretty much belies their claim to "not support violence in any shape or form":

Here's a more typical photo of someone slinging one of these future earrings in Bethlehem that does not involve a young women:

Israeli soldiers have been injured by these non-violent projectiles. Here's an article about one who had to be hospitalized after being hit in the neck with a marble.

The same shop also sells Christmas tree ornaments made from spent tear gas canisters.

(h/t Craig)

UPDATE: The store owner stopped selling them, He wrote in the comments:

I decided to take down the earrings from the etsy store yesterday. I realized they don't convey the message of peace as much as I would like.
If you have any questions I'm happy to answer them. It seems a lot of assumptions and accusations are being made, and I hope you would all be fair and give me an opportunity to speak into them.

Hezbollah threatens to launch terror attacks anywhere in the world

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gave a speech on Sunday vowing to retaliate against Israel for the apparent assassination of arch-terrorist Samir Kuntar - but he said that the revenge may happen abroad.

Hezbollah's Al Manar reports:

Marking one week since Samir Al-Kuntar’s assassination, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah warned the Israeli enemy who’s hiding like rats alongside its borders that Hezbollah’s retaliation, which could be inside the Israeli entity or abroad, is inevitable.

“To us, whatever are the consequences and threats, which we don’t fear, we can’t tolerate and forgive those who shed the bloods of our fighters and brothers anywhere in the world,” Sayyed Nasrallah said, warning the Israeli to be worried inside its borders and abroad, “they are the ones who miscalculated, not us.”

Hezbollah, whose "political wing" is still considered by Europe to not be related to terror, has just seen its undisputed leader of all wings threaten to launch international terror attacks. Will that finally be enough to convince the EU that all of Hezbollah is a terror organization?

(The irony of a person who makes all his speeches from an undisclosed underground location saying that Israeli soldiers are "hiding like rats" is clearly lost on Nasrallah.)

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Salafis insult, threaten and harass Jew - inside a courtroom!

The German edition of Vice magazine has a first person account by Yonatan Shai:

In summer of 2014, the Imam Abu Bilal Ismail (Abdallah) gave a hate sermon in the popular Salafist Al-Nur mosque which made headlines and afterwards he was charged with sedition. I attended the trial against him in Berlin Amtsgericht Tiergarten.

“Oh, Allah, destroy the Zionist Jews...Count them and kill them to the very last one. Don’t spare a single one of them. Make them suffer terribly,” Abdallah said in his homily that the media service MEMRI translated into English.

I am 28 years old, a native Israeli who grew up in Herzliya, and I came to Germany to use my knowledge of German, which I had acquired in the master's program, for work. As a devout Jew I wear a kippah every day. ..

Unfortunately, on the streets of Neukölln and Kreuzberg also because of the kippah and because I am thus recognizable as a Jew, I have been physically assaulted.

Once I was told by an Arab immigrant blocking my passage on an escalator on the ground "I will allow fucking Jews" to pass. This resulted in a small "slugfest".

Two months ago I was insulted and spat upon by four Arab refugees in the subway. Nobody intervened.

So I know what risks I take in Berlin today with a kippah on my head. Still, it's natural for me, to wear one every day, especially during a court case against a glowering anti-Semite.

I sat in the visitors' section. After a few minutes I saw four bearded men enter the room. When they saw my kippah, they tok their places right behind me. I had a bad feeling and instinctively slid slightly to the left. In the next few minutes the room fills with more and more bearded Muslims.

Intuitively, I know that the four behind me are staring at me and I turn around. Prompt reaction: One of the young men, wearing a blue T-shirt, whispered to me with a grin in Arabic: "Hazir Yahudi." Jewish pig.

In my mind, alarm bells: did he really just say that to me?

I think to myself: OK, just ignore it. But I cant stop myself as I hiss back: "Shut up, you terrorist!"

The Salafists then break into laughter and talk in Arabic about my anger.

Then: I hear the words Yahudi (Jew), katal (kill) and bahutz (outdoors) being whispered. My throat constricted. "What shall I do now?" I wonder.

I'm alone. In a room full of Salafists who insult me. I feel massively threatened, so I decide to get up and tell the judge's bench, what happened here right before her eyes.

I say: "These men have insulted me as a Jewish pig and threatened me. It's a shame to let the process continue under these circumstances." The chambers are shocked. The security guard asks for calm but they refuse to leave the room.

My thoughts race: Should I just go? No, I can not just leave the field to them!

It is 13.00 clock. The judge read out the hate speech of the Imam in German. ...Antisemitic stereotypes are provided as examples. Jews were "criminals" "murderers of the prophets", "killing children", "spreading corruption, fear and terror", "operate world conspiracy", "support fornication".

The defense attorney argued that the Imam's sermon should be understood only as a criticism of Israel.

As I sit and write down my notes, I notice that one of the men behind me trying to decipher my transcript. I urge him to keep his distance because he throws me the words Kus-Emek and Kus-ochten to me. These Arabic words are basically obscene insults against one's family. Something like "Your mother's a cunt".

And then a kick to the bench on which I sit. I turn around and look into their eyes. Another kick, this time stronger.

This is the straw that breaks the camel's back.

I can not stand it any more, I grab my stuff as fast as I can, and rush out of the room. Away from the Salafists, to the police who are in front of the hall. I ask if I can get a seat in the main hall, or at least a seat between the judicial staff and the attending journalists, so that I can attend the trial. I am told "If you are scared, go to the police." I am denied an escort and a protected seat, therefore I move away and miss the verdict.

Imam Ismail Abdullah was sentenced to a fine of only 1,000 euros for sedition.

The judge ended the session by saying: "Ten percent of the sermon was calling for hatred and discord, which is enough to damage the coexistence between the Muslim and non-Muslim population in Germany."

The hate preachers have lost the lawsuit.

What scares me is the feeling that the Salafists have really won. They have driven me out and no one intervened. I wonder again why I as a Jew can not do the same things in security as a non-Jew.

(h/t Gastwirt)

12/27 Links: The only country ISIS fears in the ME is Israel; Police on horseback eliminate terrorist

From Ian:

'The only country ISIS fears in the Middle East is Israel'

A German journalist who spent 10 days with Islamic State says that the radical jihadist group that has captured wide swaths of Syria and Iraq is deterred by only one Middle Eastern country – Israel.
In an interview with the British Jewish News, Jurgen Todenhofer recalls his brief time behind enemy lines during which he spoke with ISIS fighters.
“The only country ISIS fears is Israel,” Todenhofer, a former member of the German parliament, told Jewish News. “They told me they know the Israeli army is too strong for them.”
The writer said that ISIS wants to lure British and American forces into Syria and Iraq, areas where it thinks it has an advantage.
“They think they can defeat US and UK ground troops, who they say they have no experience in city guerrilla or terrorist strategies,” he told Jewish News. “But they know the Israelis are very tough as far as fighting against guerrillas and terrorists.”
Todenhofer said that ISIS was “preparing the largest religious cleansing in history” and that he was “pessimistic” that the threat it poses could be neutralized. He added that the Paris attacks was just the first of “a storm” that is coming to Western cities.
“They are not scared of the British and the Americans, they are scared of the Israelis and told me the Israeli army is the real danger. We can’t defeat them with our current strategy. These people [the IDF] can fight a guerrilla war."

Analysis: The truth behind ISIS leader's threats against Israel and Jews

The Iraqi Army is on the threshold of liberating the key city if Ramadi, which is a strategic crossroads, and sooner or later, it will turn its attack on the biggest city that ISIS holds - Mosul.
The leaders of ISIS, with Baghdadi foremost among them, are on the radar of western intelligence agencies and Russia, and are forced each night to shuttle themselves from one hiding place to another. In such a situation of constant threat, it is natural that their priorities shift to personal survival instead of strategic military planning.
Regardless of this precarious position, the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, as well as the group's "Sinai Province" affiliate, are facing criticism and being mocked in the Arab world because they fight Arab regimes and their Muslim brothers, including those from their own Sunni group, and have forgotten the Palestinian struggle and the Jews in Palestine.
The release of the new recording shows that, despite their brutality, Baghdadi and his helpers are listening to the criticism. The comments were more along the lines of propaganda and boasting, but they must not be taken lightly. ISIS has a presence near Israel's borders in Sinai and the Golan Heights and can attempt to attack from both directions by launching missiles, setting landmines, or even trying to infiltrate into Israeli territory.
However, ISIS also knows that if it makes such an attempt, at least from Syria, the Israel Air Force will respond with greater force than that used in the surgical strikes carried out by the US and the other members of the coalition. Therefore, there is no need to fear: Israel is still a low priority for the Islamic State.

The Real Threat to Palestinian Christians: Radical Islam

The Christians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are no different from their brothers in Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Libya, who face a ruthless campaign of ethnic cleansing at the hands Islamist groups. Yet Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders want the world to blame only Israel for the predicament of Christians.
The PA's decision to cancel Christmas celebrations had nothing to do with Israel or the "intifada." It came after threats by Muslim extremists to target Christians and their holy sites.
On Christmas Day, Muslim Palestinians hurled stones at the car taking the head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land to Bethlehem. It would not surprise anyone if next year the PA decides to cancel Christmas celebrations for "security reasons."
If, in the media and the international community, this strategy of turning a blind eye to the Muslim persecution of Christians continues, next year's Christmas in Bethlehem is sure to be an even less happy one.

In a recent piece for Vocal Europe, Associate Professor of Political Science from DePaul University, Erik Tillman, worries a bit about the possible rise of the "radical-right" due to the immigration crisis. But he does not worry overly much and for very good reason. He writes:

Their message does not appeal to the majority of European voters, even when broader political and social conditions are favorable. Thus, fearful predictions about the ‘specter’ of the radical right hanging over Europe are wide of the mark.

If there is one place on the planet least likely to enamor themselves of nativist, radical-right political trends it is western Europe which, given its bloody and racist history, has no desire for conflict or war and, despite the immigration crisis, remains committed to the progressive principles of social justice and universal human rights. In fact, the Swedish Greens' deputy prime minister, Åsa Romson, literally cried before the cameras upon announcing a tightening up of the Swedish borders although, as it turns out, it is questionable the degree to which such actual tightening-up was undertaken.

I would like, however, to challenge this statement by Professor Tillman:

the refugee crisis is helping to push those voters attracted to the radical right—individuals who value security and social cohesion over individual autonomy and universal rights—to vote for those parties.

While it is true that right-leaning European voters favor security and social cohesion over human rights, it is not the least bit clear that they favor - or the degree to which they favor - such values over individual autonomy.

As for social justice and universal human rights, it might be wise for Europeans to consider the political leanings of the people streaming onto the continent and how those people are likely to effect European politics as they gain their measure of political power going forward.

What Europe will look like in the future, from a social-political perspective, will depend upon the political values of its citizenry. To the extent that those values represent liberal European values then the continent will be liberal. To the extent that those values do not represent liberal European values then the continent will be other than liberal.

One thing that we know with certainty is that the great majority of Middle Eastern immigrants into Europe do not hold liberal values, i.e., the values of ethnic equality of rights, gender equality of rights, free speech, freedom of religion, and Gay rights. On the contrary, the young men streaming into Europe come from parts of the world notorious for holding the most reactionary right-wing, racist politics imaginable.

The tendencies within Arab and North African cultures is to oppress women and free thinkers, while seeking to murder Jewish people, Gay people, apostates, and anyone who says anything unpleasant about Muhammad.

Jews, in particular, are getting more than a little nervous on the European continent and for very good reason.

On December 22 of this year the Times of Israel posted an article by Josefin Dolsten under the headline, Facing death chants and hate crimes, Sweden’s Jews live in a climate of fear:

On a chilly fall day, passersby on a central street in Sweden’s third largest city, Malmö, were greeted with chants in Arabic urging the killing of Jews...

These types of incidents, where anti-Israel rhetoric turns violently anti-Semitic, have created a climate of fear for Sweden’s small Jewish community, which numbers 15,000. Hate crimes against Jews are on the rise, with 2014 seeing a 38 percent increase in reported anti-Semitic incidents from the previous year, according to a report by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention.

“Right now, a lot of Jews in Sweden are scared. Parents are scared to drop off their kids at the Jewish preschool,” says Johanna Schreiber, a prominent Jewish journalist who lives in the country’s capital, Stockholm. “People of all ages are scared of going to synagogue, there are many people who are taking off their Stars of David because they are too scared to wear it.”

The inclination among Swedes and Germans, if not western Europeans, more generally, to welcome refugees of war into their countries is commendable, but it needs to be done on a moderated basis with eyes wide open.

Given the sheer numbers of young, religiously-conservative, Arab-Muslim men flowing onto the contintent, one must wonder how this will change the face of Europe in the decades to come. What I have argued is that introducing millions of religiously-inclined, conservative Arab-Muslim men into Europe will change the political and ideological nature of the continent and will drive out what little remains of its Jewish population.

It will also erode the liberal democratic nature of European societies... the very sensibility that opened the doors of Europe to begin with.

Michael Lumish is a blogger at the Israel Thrives blog as well as a regular contributor/blogger at Times of Israel and Jews Down Under.

EU explains that Israeli "occupation" is far different than all others

EoZ reader "Gastwirt" emailed German members of the EU Parliament with these questions (translated from German):

I have a few short questions regarding the labeling of products from non EU countries.
1 .Are products from Tibet, Nagorno-Karabakh, the Kashmir, the Western Sahara or Northern Cyprus being sold within the EU?
2. If so, are the products ladled in a manner allowing the consumer to recognize that they are not from China, Armenia and so on but from occupied and/or disputed territories?
3. If not, why is there no clear designation of origin for such products?
4. Are you for or against a clear designation of origin for products from the occupied/disputed territories listed under 1.?

He has only received one reply so far, from Dr. Dietmar Kostar. Kostar's reply shows the EU's antisemitism in creating specific rules only for the Jewish state.

Here is what he wrote:

Dear Mr …

Our research in the EU Parliament came up with the following:

Due to the differences between the countries you mentioned, they are not suitable as a uniform example for a designation of origin of products from occupied territories. Each of the cases is quite specific. The EU pays attention to comply with international law in each case.

There are no guidelines for designation of origin for the regions you named. Just last week the European Court of Justice ruled that the agriculture and fisheries accords with Morocco cannot be applied to the Western Sahara. The EU always pays attention to the UN position that the benefits of such accords need to be distributed and applied justly.

The S&D faction (SPD deputies-the Socialist Group in the European Parliament) of which Dr Köster is a member favors a binding and enforceable product and resource identification and traceability. This also applies to all third countries in the same manner and thus to the occupied territories too.

I hope that this email helps contribute to the clarification of this difficult issue.

Essentially, the answer is that Israel is different in some unspecified manner and therefore only Israel must be singled out for special labeling requirements. It is too complex to explain in a simple email, but trust us, there are big differences.

What @UNRWA doesn't want the EU to know

On September 11, UNRWA's Chris Gunness asked the UN's real refugee agency this question:

Do any colleagues in #UNHCR @LDUNHCR @melissarfleming or peeps know how many #Palestinians r among those arriving in Europe & elsewhere ? RT
— Chris Gunness (@ChrisGunness) September 11, 2015

UNRWA was trying to formulate a new strategy to gain funds, namely an argument that funding UNRWA would reduce the number of Syrian refugees to Europe. It felt that Europeans, frightened of the influx of refugees, would hang onto any shred of hope that they can significantly reduce their numbers by throwing money at UNRWA.

Gunness never got that answer publicly. But he says that the argument has resonated and UNRWA has received funds from its donors that possibly could have helped other Syrian refugees:

“It costs seven times more to deal with Palestinian refugees once they get to Europe and beyond than for UNRWA to deliver services to them in the region – which is where they would prefer to be. We are seeing a growing acceptance of this argument among our larger donors."

Well, I found the answer to Gunness' question. And it is no wonder he hasn't publicized it.

According to the Action Group of Palestinians in Syria, only 36,000 people of Palestinian ancestry have reached Europe over the past four years. The BBC says that between one and 1.5 million migrants have arrived in Europe in 2015 alone. There were an additional 626,000 applications for asylum in Europe in 2014. I don't have the numbers for 2012 or 2013.

Which means that the most generous estimate of "Palestinians" among migrants to Europe is about 2%.

Throwing money at UNRWA, even if you accept the flawed argument that Palestinians would stay in the Middle East because of UNRWA services, will barely affect the numbers of refugees coming to Europe.

UNRWA knows this very well, but it wants to justify its existence as a separate agency to UNHCR, which actually tries to solve refugee problems and deserves the vast majority of funding.

One more thing: UNRWA worked together with the American University of Beirut on a report on people of Palestinian ancestry in Lebanon and how they are being treated in Lebanon. The AUB press release includes this:

The report analyzes the vulnerability assessment data carried out and comes at a time when this data on this subgroup is crucial. The Palestinian refugees from Syria are a protracted refugee population who do not have access to re-settlement programs or protection offered by UNHCR. As such, and according to the report, without continuing international support, the social and economic conditions of this group will only deteriorate.

Because UNRWA exists, these people cannot expect a real solution to their problems.

The actual report, with UNRWA's name on it, does not mention this fact. UNHCR is not mentioned in the report at all.

UNRWA is trying to sell itself as a solution to refugee problems when even its own research partners realize that UNRWA is only working to perpetuate and forever increase the number of "refugees."

Naked, mentally disabled Gazan gets shot by Egyptian security (video) (update)

A troubled 27-year old Gazan named Ishaq Hassan went to the beach on the Rafah border with Egypt, took off his clothes and waded to Egyptian territory.

Where he was promptly shot, and apparently killed.

The video was shown on Al Jazeera and is causing a minor uproar, with Hamas' interior minister demanding an explanation from Egyptian authorities as to why they shot someone who was clearly not armed in broad daylight.

UPDATE: From Arutz-7:

The family of Avraham (Avera) Mengistu, a mentally ill Israeli who crossed into Gaza back in September 2014 and has been held by Hamas ever since, condemned the terrorist group for its hypocrisy on Saturday.

The criticism comes after Hamas issued harsh criticism against the Egyptian military, which was caught on camera gunning down a naked mentally ill Gazan man who waded into the sea and crossed into Egyptian territory earlier in the day.

"It is infuriating and shocking that the terrorist organization that is holding a mentally ill man, instead of returning him home as expected, dares to cry that 'this is an act worthy of condemnation and opposes the laws and humanitarian agreements,' and demands to put those responsible on trial," said Mengistu's family in a statement on Saturday night.

"This is the worst kind of hypocrisy."

Mengistu's family noted he has been held for a full year and three months by Hamas, after crossing into Gaza under the same circumstances of mental illness as the Gazan man who entered Egyptian territory on Saturday.

"Instead of returning Avera to his family as expected from any person or governmental body, Hamas holds him in their hands and is not prepared to give any information on his condition," added the family.

"Holding Avera Mengistu in Gaza also opposes the laws and humanitarian agreements, and those holding Avera also need to be put on trial."

(h/t Petra)