Hamas, Clueless Europeans and How to Get a State

...As someone born and raised a Muslim in the Middle East, and still living there, I can assure Europeans officials that if they think the recognition of Hamas and Palestinian statehood would encourage Hamas to change its charter and abandon its terrorists attacks, they could not be more wrong. Why then should Hamas change its charter or tactics, or commit itself to a peaceful resolution, when its current terror tactics seem to be working so magnificently?

Uzay Bulut..
Gatestone Institute..
24 May '15..

This month, the Vatican signed the first treaty with "the state of Palestine," which it had already recognized in 2012.

The Vatican is not the only European state to have recognized the Hamas and Abbas government as an independent state. The Vatican is just the latest member of a trend that speaks volumes about how alarmingly clueless European states are about the conflict in the region and how blind they have become to see who actually causes terrorism and killings there.

Sadly, last year, Europe showed that terrorism and threats to commit genocide might just be the best way to acquire national independence.

In October 2014, the Britain's House of Commons voted in favor of symbolic motion that stands as initial stage of UK recognition of a "Palestinian state."

Then Sweden's government became the first major European country officially to recognize the state of "Palestine."

Shortly after that, the lower house of Spain's parliament voted overwhelmingly to recognize "Palestine" as a state, and then the Portuguese parliament did the same.

Into the bargain, call it a bonus, Finland and Denmark (in Copenhagen, before it was hit with a terror attack -- like those with which Israel has been contending for decades -- warned Israel of EU sanctions. Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja said Israel could face EU sanctions over its actions in Palestinian areas.

In September, Denmark's Foreign Minister, Martin Lidegaard, said that if Israel does not commit to end its "blockade" of Gaza and stop "illegal settlements," then tougher steps should be adopted. "If nothing happens in the peace talks this time," he said, "and if we don't see a new pattern of response from Israel's side, then we will need to discuss the possibility of taking new steps, including changes to our trade relations with Israel." He did not, of course, address the question: If your neighbor is trying to import weapons while threatening to kill you, what are you supposed to do about that? He also did not address the similar blockade of Gaza by Egypt, which faces the same problem.

Finally, as the ultimate prize, on December 17, 2014, the General Court of the European Union, the second-highest court in the bloc, declared that it had removed Hamas from the list of terrorist organizations: "Hamas should no longer be included on an influential list of international terrorist organizations."

Have these parliaments and courts not read Hamas's charter, especially in its Article 7, which openly calls for genocide against the Jews, not only in Israel, but all over the world? Have the not heard the saying in much of the Arab world: "First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people" -- namely, Europe's Christians?[1] Have they not seen how Islamic extremists have been targeting Christians and others not only in the Middle East but right there among them in the West?

Is this really the spirit of pluralism, humanism and tolerance these "good," "moral" European governments and the Vatican support?

Dear Mr. Abbas: Here are 18 Concrete Steps To Transform Yourself Into an Angel of Peace

...On Saturday, May 16, Pope Francis gave Mr. Abbas a medallion representing the angel of peace “destroying the bad spirit of war,” and according to some (albeit conflicting) reports, the Pope urged Abbas: “May you be an angel of peace.” ZOA National President Morton Klein noted: “Mahmoud Abbas’ lifelong, continuing instigation of terror against Israelis, Jews and Christians would need to dramatically change in order for Abbas to become an ‘angel of peace,’ but I join the Pope in urging Abbas to do so.” ....ZOA is listing below a few of the many concrete steps that Abbas would need to take to make the colossal transformation from promoter of terrorism to man of peace:

ZOA Staff..
20 May '15..

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) urges Mahmoud Abbas a/k/a Abu Mazen to heed Pope Francis’ advice to become an angel of peace. Abbas obtained his PhD in Holocaust denial, financed the brutal massacre of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics, co-founded the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) terror group, and has continued to promote terror in his position as illegitimate President of the Fatah-Hamas Palestinian Authority terrorist Unity government. (Abbas’ elected term of office expired five years ago.) On Saturday, May 16, Pope Francis gave Mr. Abbas a medallion representing the angel of peace “destroying the bad spirit of war,” and according to some (albeit conflicting) reports, the Pope urged Abbas: “May you be an angel of peace.” ZOA National President Morton Klein noted:

“Mahmoud Abbas’ lifelong, continuing instigation of terror against Israelis, Jews and Christians would need to dramatically change in order for Abbas to become an ‘angel of peace,’ but I join the Pope in urging Abbas to do so.”

ZOA is listing below a few of the many concrete steps that Abbas would need to take to make the colossal transformation from promoter of terrorism to man of peace:

1. End the Fatah unity deal with the Hamas and remove all Hamas officials from the Palestinian Authority (PA) government. (Hamas is a U.S. State Department designated terrorist organization, whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel and the murder of every Jew.)

2. Remove the PFLP (another U.S. State Department designated terrorist organization) from the Palestinian Authority government.

3. Stop rewarding Arab murderers of Jews, and the murderers’ families, with lifetime pension payments.

4. Stop honoring and calling vicious Arab Palestinian terrorists who murdered innocent Jewish civilians “martyrs” and “heroic brothers.”

5. Rescind the PA’s highest award, the “Star of Honor” recently given by Abbas to PLO terrorist Khalid Al-Wazir a/k/a Abu Jihad, who planned numerous terrorist attacks in which at least 125 Israelis were murdered, including the 1975 terrorist assault on Tel Aviv’s Savoy Hotel, and the 1978 coastal road massacre in which Fatah terrorists hijacked an Israeli civilian bus and slaughtered 37 passengers, including a dozen children. (Abbas should also rescind the numerous honors he bestowed upon this barbarous massacre’s leader, Dalal Al-Mughrabi, and upon other perpetrators of heinous terrorist acts.)

6. Recognize Israel as the Jewish State.

7. Stop deliberately hiring previously convicted terrorists as members of the PA “security” forces.

Gaza Strip missile fire and other inconsequential things ignored by the BBC

...There is, of course, nothing novel about the BBC ignoring missile attacks on Israeli civilians by Gaza Strip-based terrorist organisations, but the fact that as of the swearing-in of the new PA unity government at the beginning of June, Mahmoud Abbas and the PUG are now officially responsible for the prevention of such terror attacks is relevant and essential information with which BBC audiences have not yet been provided.

Hadar Sela..
BBC Watch..
10 June '14..

The BBC News website’s coverage of the June 8th visit by Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas to the Vatican for a joint prayer meeting with the Pope included a written report titled “Pope Francis peace plea at Israel-Palestinian prayer meeting” (changes to which can be seen here) and a filmed report by Alan Johnston titled “Pope hosts Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas at Vatican“.Vatican filmed

Both those vapid reports focus primarily on the ceremony of the emblematic event but do little to clarify its lack of consequence to readers and viewers beyond the following inscrutable one-liner appearing in Alan Johnston’s insert of analysis in the written report and in the filmed version.

“But those most familiar with the harsh realities of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute are likely to look on with some considerable scepticism.”

Parts of speeches made by the Pope and his guests are quoted in both reports and readers are informed that the guests “were driven together to the Vatican gardens”, that “[t]he Pope then sat between the two presidents as a chamber orchestra played” and that “[t]he three men then shook hands and planted an olive tree”. They are also told, correctly, that:

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One giant serving of Nakba propaganda, inaccuracies and distortions for Pope Francis

...But beyond specific inaccuracies and outright misrepresentations it is no less important to address the fundamental problems with the Palestinian use of the nakba as a major propaganda tool designed to delegitimize Israel.

Petra Marquadt-Bigman..
The Warped Mirror..
08 June '14..

As far as the Palestinians are concerned, the recent visit of Pope Francis to the Holy Land was a visit to “Palestine” that provided just another opportunity to present Israel’s creation as a “catastrophe” or “nakba” for Palestinians in general, and Palestinian Christians in particular.

The document promoted for this purpose by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Negotiations Affairs Department on Twitter has already been shown by blogger Elder of Ziyon to be “filled with lies.” One could add much more to the list of inaccuracies and distortions highlighted by Elder. To give just one example, consider this presentation of the “nakba” in Jaffa:

“Jaffa, after resisting days of siege and bombardment by terrorist organizations such as the Irgun, fell on May 14 th. From its 66,500 Palestinian inhabitants (including 16,000 Christians), less than 5,000 were able to stay, including less than 2,000 Christians.”

First it is noteworthy that Jewish development had attracted large numbers of Arab migrants in search of work to cities like Jaffa; indeed, it is well documented that due to “the substantial 1880-1947 Arab immigration […] the Arab population of Jaffa, Haifa and Ramla grew 17, 12 and 5 times respectively.” Secondly, the claim that “less than 5,000 [of Jaffa’s Arabs] were able to stay” is undermined by the testimony of one of Jaffa’s Arab residents, who described the exodus as motivated by the desire to avoid the fighting when the widespread “belief that the Jews were generally cowards” started to seem questionable. Thirdly, if we assume the PLO’s numbers are correct, it is interesting to note that in terms of the proportions of Jaffa’s Arab population, noticeably fewer Christians than Muslims fled the fighting.* In this context one could also point out that the current enthusiasm of the PLO for Palestinian Christians seems somewhat opportunistic given the fact that the draft constitution of Palestine defines Islam as “the official religion in Palestine” and stipulates that the “principles of Islamic Shari’a shall be the main source of legislation.”

But beyond specific inaccuracies and outright misrepresentations it is no less important to address the fundamental problems with the Palestinian use of the nakba as a major propaganda tool designed to delegitimize Israel. As Ben-Dror Yemini argues in an excellent new column on this subject, the popular notion that supporting the Palestinian “nakba” narrative is somehow conducive to peace and reconciliation is utterly misguided: “Reconciliation is not achieved through propagandist lies that turn the birth of the State of Israel into a crime. Reconciliation is only achieved when the truth wins out.”

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Mistaken and Misleading Middle East Symbolism

...Any prayer service of act of advocacy on behalf of Middle East peace that ignores this key question is part of the problem, not the solution. While we respect Pope Francis, like his misguided recent trip to the Middle East that bogged him down in dangerous acts of moral equivalency between terrorists and the victims of terror at Israel’s security barrier, this event was a mistake.

Jonathan S. Tobin..
Commentary Magazine..
08 June '12..

On Sunday, Pope Francis made good on his pledge to convene a summit of Israeli and Palestinian leaders for a prayer service in Rome. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was there along with Israel’s President Shimon Peres. Along with Francis, both made speeches calling for peace and listened as clergy from the three major faiths spoke of symbolic acts of reconciliation that were, as a number of commentators noted, supposed to show that at the very least, religion can be a uniting factor rather than the engine that drives separation and hostility. Even though no one is pretending that a few speeches or prayers in Rome will change the facts of a stalemate between the two sides in the peace talks, the gesture will reinforce the pope’s reputation as a man intent on healing the world.

Given the pope’s evident good will, it’s hard to argue with the idea that his summit will do no harm and might cause the two sides to think about working harder for peace. But this piece of conventional wisdom is misleading. Though no one should question the pope’s intentions, the event at the Vatican is more than empty symbolism. This piece of grandstanding on the part of the church will not only did nothing to advance the cause of peace that was torpedoed by the Palestinian unity pact that brought the terrorists of Hamas into the PA along with Abbas’ Fatah. By lending the moral authority of a man who is rightly respected around the world for his probity and earnest desire to help others to a stunt that treats the partner of Islamist terrorists as a peacemaker, the event undermines any effort to pressure the PA to make a clear choice between peace with Israel or one with Hamas.

In fairness to the pope, his foolish even-handed approach differs little from that of the Obama administration which has decided to continue to send aid to the PA despite the involvement of the Hamas terrorists in its administration following the signing of the unity pact. Together with the European Union, the United States has effectively given its stamp of approval to a PA government that is making peace impossible. Palestinian unity has not brought Hamas into a government bent on creating an agreement based on coexistence and an end to violence. Rather, it signifies the joint position of the two main Palestinian factions that proclaims their refusal to ever recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state no matter where its borders would be drawn.

Seen in that context, the ceremonial symbolism in Rome is not just a distraction from the reality of a PA that refused Israeli offers of independence and peace three times between 2000 and 2008 and also refused to negotiate seriously in the last year of American-sponsored talks that amounts to a fourth such refusal. So long as the world refuses to place the same kind of brutal pressure on the Palestinians to give up their war on Zionism and accept a two-state solution that it puts on Israel to withdraw from the West Bank, peace will remain impossible for the foreseeable future.

Greetings and Welcome to the Holy Land, Pope Francis

In addition to erasing Christianity from the Holy Land, the Mufti also calls for extermination of Jews as a divine mandate. Not exactly a peaceful agenda. Still, the Mufti holds a senior leadership spot in the PA hierarchy. But he may be a bit of a challenge for Pope Francis.

Leo Rennert..
American Thinker..
21 May '14..

There is an interesting and quite revealing meeting on Pope Francis’s itinerary for his two-day visit to the Holy Land. The pontiff is due to shake hands and exchange remarks with the top Muslim leader of the Palestinian Authority, the Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Hussein.

The Mufti, whether known or unbeknownst to the Vatican, teaches that Jesus was a Palestinian preacher of Islam. He also has blessed suicide bombers as “noble martyrs.”

With regard to the history of Jerusalem, the Mufti firmly asserts that it never harbored a Jewish Temple. As for marital advice, the Mufti reminds wives that they are subservient to their husbands – at day and night.

In addition to erasing Christianity from the Holy Land, the Mufti also calls for extermination of Jews as a divine mandate. Not exactly a peaceful agenda.

Still, the Mufti holds a senior leadership spot in the PA hierarchy.

But he may be a bit of a challenge for Pope Francis.

Link: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/05/welcome_to_the_holy_land_pope_francis.html

Leo Rennert is a former White House correspondent and Washington bureau chief of McClatchy Newspapers.

Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Check-it out!
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