Mahmoud Abbas – The Twilight Era

 By Baruch Yedid/TPS • 7 September 2020

The man who came to power after Yasser Arafat’s death and determined the strategy of the “political intifada” and rejected the armed struggle in Israel is about to leave the stage, tomorrow or the day after.

Mahmoud Abbas’ strategy is known in Ramallah as the “waiting policy.” This term is used as criticism and to ridicule Abbas who preferred to wait outside the arena rather than be an active player.

This strategy has taken a very heavy toll on the Palestinians.

1.     PLO offices in Washington have closed.

2.     American budgets for the Palestinian Authority have been cancelled.

3.     UNRWA’s budgets are almost gone.

4.     The United States Embassy in Israel was moved to Jerusalem.

5.     The economic conference in Bahrain was held despite the absence of the Palestinians.

6.     The US-formulated Deal of the Century diplomatic plan was published.

7.     A peace agreement was signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

8.     The Palestinians are embroiled in a conflict with the Arab League.

9.     Saudi Arabia authorizes Israel flights through its airspace.

10. Bahrain signed an agreement with Israel.

11. Sudan likely to sign an agreement.

And if all these “disasters” are not enough, then Abbas is also responsible for the disintegration of the Palestinian arena.

12. During his shift, the Gaza Strip was torn apart and became an independent entity.

13. During his shift, Hamas leader Ismail Haniya became a Palestinian statesman conducting political campaigns.

14. During his shift, Fatah disbanded into three camps.

Corruption has increased dramatically

15. The separation between the three powers ended, and Abbas became a dictator who is the administration and the legislature, and he dissolved the Legislative Council.

16. The judicial system has become a corrupt authority.

17. Abbas controlled the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance.

18. The Palestinian investment fund became a playground for him and his children, and the fund’s size was reduced by $600 million. Abbas received the fund with a billion and four hundred million dollars, and now its capital is $800 million dollars.

19. He destroyed the PLO and appointed whoever he wanted on the Central Council and its Executive Committee

This is Abbas’ legacy and this is how Palestinian historians will write it.

 

Consequences of PA Suspending Security Cooperation for Palestinians

 

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/west-bank-loss-contact-israel-affecting-palestinians-200829154958608.html

This Al Jazeera video repeats the the usual mantras against Israel

but it seems the decision by the PA is causing serious problems

for the man in the street.

The Emirati-Israeli Agreement: Breaking the Barriers of Illusion

 Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, August 14

Put simply and succinctly, the United Arab Emirates achieved a major political, psychological and security breakthrough in the Middle East with the announcement of its historic agreement to normalize ties with Israel. This agreement not only protected the Palestinians’ right to establish their own independent and sovereign state, but also preserved the sanctity of all Muslim sites in Israel.

Above all, it strengthened the moderate Arab world and united it against the Muslim Brotherhood, the mullahs and the Arab nationalists who have been rearing their heads in the Middle East. The UAE reaped a tangible gain for the Palestinian cause, not by words but by deeds: It brought to an immediate and unequivocal end the Israeli encroachment of West Bank territory, an achievement explicitly outlined in the tripartite statement released by the UAE, the US and Israel. We all know what to expect next.

The well-oiled propaganda machines in Turkey, Iran and Qatar, alongside radical groups like al-Qaida, Islamic State and the Houthis, will all rush to attack the emirates. They will describe the UAE as a “traitor” and as “weak.” But the truth is far from that. Egyptian president Anwar Sadat was vehemently attacked after signing a peace treaty with Israel. But the fact of the matter remains that in historic perspective, he liberated Egyptian lands and prevented a bleak future for his country. He was a true hero of war and peace, and Egypt is still reaping the fruits of the peace he created.

The great king of Jordan, Hussein bin Talal, was also attacked after reaching an agreement with the Israelis but he refused to submit to these accusations. This led his country to the great Wadi Araba Treaty, which ensured Jordan’s territorial integrity and water rights with Israel. Therefore – and because he is a realistic and responsible Arab leader – Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi took the initiative to commend this development.

Most ironically, those very countries that responded with criticism – Turkey and Qatar – are also those maintaining the most extensive covert trade and tourism ties with Israel. Whether one supports it or not, the Emirati-Israeli agreement will not come at the expense of the Palestinians, but rather in their favor. Like it or not, Israel is one of the countries of the region.

Like it or not, most of the harm to Arabs has been carried out by the hands of Iran and Turkey. According to a joint Emirati, American and Israeli statement, this historic diplomatic achievement will enhance peace in the Middle East and preserve the two-state solution on the ground, not in imagination. This is a historic agreement that brings back memories of great leaders who dared take risks to bring about peace. – Mishary Al-Dayidi (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)

Cutting your Nose to Spite your Face

PA Denies Sick Palestinians Treatment to Pay Benefits to Terrorists

http://www.thetower.org/7413-pa-denies-sick-palestinians-treatment-to-pay-full-benefits-to-terrorists/

The Palestinian Authority has decided to penalize Palestinian civilians in need of medical assistance to avoid cutting salaries of Palestinian terrorists and their families under the so-called “pay-to-slay” scheme, which led the United States and Israel to cut aid until the PA stops inciting terror.

Explaining the decision, PA Ministry of Health Spokesman Osama Al-Najjar said: “The decision is political par excellence and comes in response to Israel deducting sums from the money that it collects for us.”

Israel’s Diplomatic-Security Cabinet decided in February to implement a major slash in the tax revenues that Israel collects on behalf of the PA, with the amount the PA pays to terrorists and their families to be deducted from the aid Israel hands over to the Palestinian leadership. The PA paid out some 502 million shekels ($138 million) to living terrorists in 2018, according to recent Israeli media reports.

The PA is using those cuts as an excuse to no longer permit Palestinians to travel for medical treatment in Israel — which costs the PA $100 million a year — while still paying in full the salaries to both imprisoned and released terrorists, as well as the allowances to wounded terrorists and the families of dead terrorists.

The decision comes on the heels of the PA’s decision to cut the salaries of civil servants, 40 percent of which earn less than 2,000 shekels per month (about $535). It demonstrates the reality that under the so-called “pay-to-slay” scheme, Palestinians terrorists who have been in prison for a cumulative period of three years earn higher salaries than 40 percent of the PA’s law-abiding public employees.

Additionally, in February, in response to the Israeli law, the PA said that it would not accept tax payments from Israel. PA President Mahmoud Abbas said at the time, “I tell you honestly that if we only had 20 or 30 million shekels, which is what is paid [monthly] to families of martyrs, we will give them to the families of martyrs. I mean if the [Palestinian] Authority doesn’t have anything other than that [amount], I will pay it to the families of martyrs and prisoners and wounded persons. This needs to be understood.”

Last year, PA President Mahmoud Abbas swore he would make paying terrorists a top priority. “By Allah, even if we have only a penny left it will only be spent on the families of the martyrs and prisoners and only afterward will it be spent on the rest of the people,” Abbas vowed.

Why did Abbas suddenly dissolve the PA parliament?

This a condensed version from Palestinian Media Watch

After 12 years, during which the Palestinian Parliament (Legislative Council, PLC) has not met, Mahmoud Abbas suddenly announced yesterday, that the Palestinian Constitutional Court had dissolved the PA parliament:

Abbas: "The [PA] Parliament (Legislative Council), which has not been active for 12 years... The topic reached the constitutional court, and it issued a decision to dissolve the parliament and call for elections for the parliament within six months." 

[Official PA TV, Dec. 22, 2018]

Why would Abbas suddenly do something that he has not done for 12 years?

In the last PA elections held in 2006, Hamas won a clear majority of Parliamentary seats in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. With Hamas holding the absolute majority, it was convenient for Abbas that the Parliament never met. Abbas and Fatah ruled the PA directly through government decisions and regulations. Abbas justified the freezing of the Palestinian Parliament due to the Civil War which led to Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip in 2007.

Abbas' change of heart is not because he is suddenly interested in democracy. Rather Abbas is recognizing that at 83 years old he must consider what will happen the day he leaves office. Under PA law should the president leave office without a successor, the Speaker of the Parliament takes over as President of the Palestinian Authority for two months after which presidential elections are held. The current Speaker of the Palestinian Parliament is Aziz Al-Dweik from Hamas.

So under PA law Hamas would rule the PA, should Abbas leave his position.

Significantly, a large majority of Palestinians support implementing PA law and having Al-Dweik lead the PA should the position of president be empty. A July 2018 poll by Khalil Shakaki's Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), found that 60% of Palestinians agreed that "in the case of Abbas' absence, the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Aziz Al-Dweik from Hamas, must become president for two months in implementation of the Basic Law."

Although Abbas has refrained from explaining his decision to disband the parliament, the rationale underlying the move would appear to be his fear that Hamas would legally take control of the PA, even without new elections. While the PA Basic Law does limit the interim presidency to two months there is no guarantee that Hamas once ruling the PA would allow for new elections.

Hamas could use a number of justifications, citing the fact that Mahmoud Abbas himself has been president of the PA for 13 years without calling elections even though the presidency under PA law is limited to 4 years. If Abbas could breach PA law and remain president for such an extended period of time, there is no reason to believe that a Hamas president would rush to relinquish his powers simply because of PA law.

The potential result could be, that having legally taken control, Hamas would have no incentive to call a general PA election and they could extend their rule indefinitely as did Mahmoud Abbas.

Nikki Haley delivers BOLD And FEARLESS remarks at UN Security Council meeting

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley delivers

her final remarks at UN Security Council meeting.

New Palestinian "Concern" for International Conventions

Bassam Tawil  October 30, 2018 

Full article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13196/palestinians-prisoners-rights

While Hamas has been violating international laws by denying visits or any communication with the Israelis it holds captive, Palestinian terrorists in Israeli prisons continue to enjoy basic rights, including meeting with an attorney, receiving medical treatment, religious rights, basic living conditions (such as hot water, showers and sanitation), proper ventilation and electric infrastructure.

The families of the Palestinian terrorists held in Israeli prisons know where their sons are. They also know that their sons receive proper medical treatment and while away their days reading, exercising and watching TV. But the Israelis held by Hamas can only dream of seeing daylight as they languish in captivity.

Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that rules the Gaza Strip, does not like a bill making its way  through Israel's Knesset that would prevent visits by family members of terrorists in Israeli prisons. The bill, sponsored by MK Oren Hazan (Likud), would prevent such visits to terrorists who are members of groups that hold Israeli prisoners and deny them visits.     

The proposed Israeli law is a temporary measure, aimed at forcing Hamas to release information about the Israelis held in the Gaza Strip. There would be no need for the law were Hamas prepared to honor international and humanitarian conventions and allow visits by the Red Cross and other international agencies to the Israelis it is holding.

In response, Hamas denounced Israel's proposed law as "racist," and said in a statement that it was a "flagrant violation of all laws and humanitarian conventions." Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem claimed that the bill was "part of Israel's policy to impose restrictions on the prisoners."

Suddenly, Hamas is concerned about "international law and humanitarian conventions"? Not quite. There is a catch. Hamas is only concerned about them when Palestinian terrorists are involved. As for the rights of Israelis held by Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group apparently still believes they are not entitled to any rights.

25 years after Oslo, the US. Pressures Palestinians to give up a Lost War

by Ziva Dahl  September 6, 2018

https://www.jpost.com/opinion/25-years-after-oslo-the-us-pressures-palestinians-to-give-up-a-lost-war-566739

September 13, 2018 marks the 25th anniversary of the first of two Oslo Accords, which the late Charles Krauthammer referred to as “one of the great miscalculations in diplomatic history.”

Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat signed the initial 1993 accord on the White House lawn. A second accord followed in 1995. In exchange for Arafat’s signed pledge to renounce terrorism and other violence, remove the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Covenant statement denying Israel’s right to exist, and to work toward a two-state settlement, Israel would withdraw from areas with dense Palestinian population and allow a Palestinian Authority to govern 95% of its population. 

Oslo represented an act of appeasement by the Jewish state. Sick of war and hungry for peace, Israeli leaders deluded themselves into believing that PLO chairman Arafat had accepted Israel’s existence.

Israel fell for a grand deception. The Palestinians never changed their covenant, continued their terrorist activities, established a kleptocracy and, at Camp David in 2000, rejected a magnanimous Israeli two-state peace plan – an act that President Clinton called a “colossal mistake.” Arafat began a war of terror that killed more than 1,100 Israelis (78% civilians) and wounded 8,000. In 2008, Arafat’s successor, Mahmoud Abbas, refused an offer that was even more generous.

More than a decade after Oslo, Israelis gradually concluded that you can’t make peace with an enemy determined to replace you with a 22nd Arab state. They realized that Oslo was part of the PLO’s “phased plan” to establish political control over territory Israel gave them and use that base to continue the “armed struggle” until it had “liberated” all of Israel from the Jews.

Oslo exacted a painful price, effectively allowing the PLO to transform Judea, Samaria and Gaza into terrorist hotbeds.  The PLO achieved international credibility. They created a propaganda machine to defame and delegitimize Israel, added “occupied Palestine” to the world’s lexicon and won the support of the Left. The PLO radicalized the Palestinians and Israel’s Arab minority, openly glorifying brutality and terrorism with religious zeal.

Palestinian culture views Israeli compromises, peace offers and “painful concessions” as signs of weakness and vulnerability. Oslo made a bad situation worse, strengthening the Palestinians’ resolve to vanquish the Jewish state.

President Trump’s predecessors rewarded the Palestinians for bad behavior and inadvertently fueled their will to fight on. Trump has warned the Palestinians that the US will no longer acquiesce to Palestinian intransigence and that violence will cost them dearly. 

Tump’s administration rejects the Palestinian claim to the right of return to Israel of the five million descendants of the original Palestinian refugees, withholding its $400 million funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), with the goal of shuttering that anti-Israel organization that supports Palestinian irredentism (a political or popular movement that seeks to claim/reclaim and occupy a land that the movement's members consider to be a "lost" territory from their nation's past) and terrorism. 

President Trump previously signed the Taylor Force Act, freezing budgetary aid to the PA until it halts its program to pay for terrorism against Israelis, and recently announced a cut of more than $200 million in aid to the Palestinians.

The Saudis are also applying pressure on the Palestinians. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman suggested that the Palestinians accept Trump’s “proposals” or “shut up.”

Trump is playing hardball. So far he hasn’t fallen into the Oslo trap. He’s attempting to demoralize the Palestinians to destroy their will to fight a lost war. This will take much more time and effort, continued pressure by the US and Israel, and new Palestinian leadership.

How Palestinians Violate International Law

Written by Amb. Alan Baker, June 17, 2018

§  After the UN General Assembly on June 14, 2018, voted to condemn Israel for its handling of the Gaza border fence violence, it is all the more curious to observe the deliberate disregard of the serious and flagrant international humanitarian, environmental, and ecological crimes committed by Hamas and the Palestinians.

§  Since the Palestinian Authority is utilizing the events in Gaza to conduct its own political and legal campaign against Israel in international bodies, this renders the Palestinian leadership an accessory to Hamas in the commission of these crimes.

§  By initiating, encouraging, and supporting mass pollution of the border area through the organized stockpiling and burning of tires, the Palestinian leadership is responsible for repeatedly creating caustic clouds of carbon pollution. This act is damaging to the health of the Palestinian civilian demonstrators themselves, as well as the residents of Israeli communities in the vicinity of the border.

§  Incendiary kites and balloons have ignited vast swathes of agricultural land in Israel, destroyed crops, and endangered Israeli residents. The International Criminal Court Statute defines as a war crime “extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.”

§  From the viewpoint of international humanitarian law and accepted norms of humanity, placing Palestinian civilians, and especially women and children, at the forefront of violent demonstrations and attacks on the border fence as human shields to conceal the presence of Hamas terrorists is a violation of several international treaties protecting children and prohibiting their involvement in warfare.

§  Weaponizing kites and balloons by attaching explosive devices with the intention that they will explode upon landing or when found by Israeli civilians is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, notably the 1997 Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings. Moreover, the 2001 Conventional Weapons Convention prohibits the use of incendiary weapons.

§  From the viewpoint of international humanitarian law and accepted norms of humanity, placing Palestinian civilians, and especially women and children, at the forefront of violent demonstrations and attacks on the border fence as human shields to conceal the presence of Hamas terrorists is a violation of several international treaties protecting children and prohibiting their involvement in warfare.

§  The Palestinian leadership must be made to understand that its fixation with joining international treaties is not unidirectional. It involves solemn responsibilities to abide by the obligations included in such treaties. The international community must hold the Palestinian leadership to their commitments and not ignore their violations of the most fundamental norms and principles of international law.

For full article go to  http://jcpa.org/article/the-many-ways-the-palestinians-violate-international-law/  

Palestinians: A Story Not Heard in the West

by Bassam Tawil  June 5, 2018 

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12422/palestinians-gaza-human-rights

A Palestinian mother of five just spent 23 days in prison. During her incarceration, she was held in unspeakable conditions and denied family visitations. She was also prohibited from consulting a lawyer.

This is a story that no one has heard in the West.

Why? Because the Palestinian woman, Samah Abu Ghayyath, was detained not by Israel, but by Hamas, the Palestinian terror group that rules the Gaza Strip.

Abu Ghayyath would have been "fortunate" if she had been arrested by Israel. Then, the case would have reached the pages of major media outlets around the world and "pro-Palestinian" activists would have staged demonstrations and online campaigns to support her and denounce Israel.

By contrast, for instance, consider the example of Ahed Tamimi, a Palestinian teenage girl from a village near Ramallah in the West Bank. In December 2017, Tamimi was detained by Israeli authorities for physically assaulting an Israeli soldier. After agreeing to a plea bargain, she was sentenced to 8 months in prison.

Tamimi has since become a symbol of the Palestinian "struggle" against Israel. She is glorified by many in the mainstream media in the West and advocates of Palestinian human rights around the world, who have turned her into an icon.

Abu Ghayyath, however, the woman from the Gaza Strip, has been less fortunate than the golden girl from the West Bank.

Unlike Tamimi, the arrest of the mother of five in early May by Hamas did not spark an international outcry. Western journalists and human rights organizations did not endorse Abu Ghayyath, as they were quick to do with Tamimi, a girl who hit an Israeli soldier.

Had Abu Ghayyath been arrested by Israel, her name would have appeared on the front pages of The New York Times and in the broadcasts of the BBC and CNN. The only ones who picked up her ordeal and demanded her release, however, were a few Palestinian women's groups and, of course, her family.

Predictably, only a handful of Palestinians -- and no Westerners -- dared to denounce Hamas for arresting the woman.

Abu Ghayyath still has not been formally charged with committing any crime. Hamas will not say why she was held in detention for 23 days. She herself appears to be too afraid to talk about the hard days she spent under interrogation in Hamas prison. In addition, her personal computer and mobile phone were confiscated.

This is yet another reminder of the dangerous double standard of the international community. Where all those who claim to be "pro-Palestinian" and are spewing hatred against Israel and Jews at college campuses in the US and Canada? If they really want to help the Palestinians, let them stand up and shout about the rights of women and gays living under Hamas's repressive regime, and journalists who are being harassed and arrested by Mahmoud Abbas's security forces.

Yelling lies about Israel and Jews does not make one "pro-Palestinian." It only makes one an Israel-hater. Hating Israel does not improve human rights conditions for Palestinians living under Hamas and Fatah. Instead, it serves as a distraction and even facilitates Fatah and Hamas in suppressing public freedoms and human rights.

Arab Muslim Woman Defends Israel

Mrs. Dema Taya, touring America with "Arabs

Breaking the Silence" contradicts anti-Israel antagonists: 'Muslim women's lives in Israel are

modern and good- and that's a reason why the Muslim world lies to destroy Israeli culture of freedom and self-determination.

Gaza Riots: Really About the Embassy?

 Bassam Tawil  •  May 18, 2018 

• Throughout history, the excuses to attack Israel keep changing.
• For 8 years under the Obama administration, the Palestinians had portrayed themselves, and been treated as, the deserving underdog -- the "good guys." Now, a foreign government is actually holding the Palestinians accountable and calling them out for activities they had taken for granted, such as incitement to riot and murder, or funding terrorists and their families. The Palestinians do not like it one bit.
• The Palestinians hate the Trump administration not because of the decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, but because it speaks truth to them and exposes their perfidy and malice. They hate the Trump administration because they see it as an obstacle on their way to eliminating Israel.
• What happened at the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip was an act of aggression by Hamas on Israeli sovereignty. It was an act of war. Even the terrorists did not say that they were protesting the embassy relocation. The terrorists and the rest of the Palestinian demonstrators were chanting "Death to Israel" and "Death to America." They were chanting that their goal is to replace Israel with an Islamic state.

The idea that Hamas is concerned about the US embassy move is a sick joke. All one needs to do is to listen carefully to what Hamas is saying, namely that its struggle is to "liberate all of Palestine, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River." Hamas is saying that the protests it has been orchestrating are aimed at enabling millions of Palestinians to flood Israel and turn it into an Islamic state.

There is no Religious nor Historical Palestinian Claim for Jerusalem

(Guest posting from Peter Baum, member of TbT - Truth be Told)

The Palestinian and Islamic claim to Jerusalem is a false claim - it is nothing more than a land grab . Below are the facts .

1. Jerusalem is NEVER mentioned in the Koran. It is mentioned 669 times in the Old Testament and if one considers the use of the word Zion which sometimes means Jerusalem, then add another 154 to the 669. 

2. Jerusalem is always said in Jewish prayers, grace after meals, the Passover Festival ending etc. etc. It has no such significance in Islam.

3. Muslims actually turn their backs to Jerusalem when they pray - a sign of contempt. This as a result of the failed attempt by the prophet Mohammed to force Jews to convert to Islam. Many pretended to convert ( in order to stop paying taxes as it was not permitted for Muslims to tax other Muslims ) but maintained their  Judaism. Thus the Quib’la ( direction of prayer) which for some 9 months instructed Muslims to face Jerusalem was scornfully overturned ( Sura 2.14 ).

5. The world at large has been brainwashed to believe that irrespective of the 3 points above, Jerusalem is considered to be Islam’s third holiest city citing a connection that historically could not have happened. In the Koran ( Sura 17.1), The Night Journey the prophet Mohammed ascended to Heaven supposedly from The Sacred Mosque ( Mecca )to The Furthest Mosque. Lies and successfully spewing propaganda now assume that The Furthest Mosque is the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. This is impossible!! The historic timeline is that Mohammed died in 632 CE and the Al Aqsa Mosque was built between 705 and 715 CE. Therefore whatever Mosque the alleged night journey assumed was The Furthest Mosque it was certainly not The Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem for that Mosque did not exist during the prophets lifetime.

6. Jerusalem was NEVER an Arab capital even during Islamic control over the City. Indeed there are numerous accounts from writers and biographers from the 7th to the 19th century ( Bishop Arculf, Thomas Shaw, Count Constantine, Flaubert, Melville,
Thackeray, Twain and others ) who all scribed about the absolute dilapidated condition of Jerusalem under Islamic control. Historically Islam allowed Jerusalem to deteriorate during every period when it was the controlling religion.

7. Jerusalem was NEVER mentioned in the PLO Charter of 1964. How is it so important to Palestinians now ?

8.The Arab word for Jerusalem is ‘Al Quds ‘ which is an abbreviation of ‘ Bayt al MAQDES’ translated means The Holy House. Both of these descriptions are a direct bastardised version of the original and still current Hebrew ‘ Beyt ha - MIKDASH ‘ - translated meaning The Holy Temple. But Islam has never had a Temple , only the Jews had one. Thus the Arabic name for Jerusalem has no connection to Mohammed’s heavenly ascendency but refers to the Jewish Temple.
7. Under Jordanian OCCUPATION ( capitals intended) between 1948 and 1967 not one Arab Head of State visited Jerusalem and

9.the Hashemites made a concerted effort to reduce the importance of Jerusalem both religiously and administratively. All Government Offices except for the Ministry of Tourism were closed and relocated to Amman - these included the Arab High Commission, the Supreme Muslim Council, the Treasury of the Waqf and Religious Endowment bureaus.

10. Even during Islamic / Arab control Jerusalem was never a City of Religious or administrative importance and was NEVER made a Capital. 

11. Jerusalem was made holy by the Jewish King David and has never been the capital of any other nation other than the nation of Judaism. It was historically the capital of Judah for over 1000 years, 2500 years before Islam was invented.

12. There are many instances of Palestinians defiling carpets, furniture, belongings etc. in the Temple Mount . Irrespective of ones religion, places of worship are treated with respect- unless of course you are Muslim and have no respect or connection to the place of worship.

13. Paradoxically there are numerous Suras in the Koran that the land of Israel was given by Allah to the Jews - 5.20 -21 and 17:100 - 104 are just two of many. 59:2 and between 2.40 / 47/ 63 / 65 / 83/ 85/ 87 are others.

Those Muslims claiming Jerusalem, the historic capital of Israel for Islam and / or Palestinians are actually in contempt of the Koran.

It may be worth noting that the only time in the last 3000 years that Jerusalem was ‘ Jew free ‘ was when TransJordan invaded in 1948 and ethnically cleansed East Jerusalem & Judea / Samaria of all Jews renaming it the West Bank and from here grew the MYTH of Arab East Jerusalem. During this period of Arab Nazi type OCCUPATION, Jerusalem was defiled and gravestones used for paving.

One can analyse from the FACTS above that any Islamic or Palestinian claim to Jerusalem is a myth.

We can study how the Islamic world has ethnically cleansed Christians and Jews from lands where both religions had inhabited since time immemorial. And their churches and synagogues destroyed. Similar is now happening in Muslim countries to mosques by Muslims depending on which brand of Islam is in control. 

The claim to Jerusalem by Palestinians is a false claim and is just the start of a land grab with the purpose of controlling the whole of the Middle East . 

Unfortunately Israel and her supporters have been overwhelmed by an opposition only too willing to exploit myths and propagate hate through myths to a silent, uninformed majority who through inertia, ignorance and bigotry have promoted such propaganda to Israel’s detriment.

Lies, Lies and More Lies

The following is from a friend of mine which reflects wide ranging support.

Abbas, the Palestinian leader, the guy with whom we are to make peace, addressed the Security Council about a month ago. As one reads the comments on his speech and the quotes from it, the extent of the lies spread by the Palestinians, with Abbas at the helm, once again boggle the mind.

Although Israel is of course, like any other country, has its faults, the entire picture and even every negative fact about Israel spread by Abbas and his mates, is just one huge lie . The extent of the lies is just beyond the comprehension of the western mind. Forget about the "inaccuracies" sprouted by well-known politicians  here - they're not in the same league as he is. They sometimes tell the truth! This is a unique phenomenon.

Just to touch on one example from his speech - the most impressive (by a hair's breadth) for me. He claimed that " Palestinians youths are raised in “an environment of tolerance, coexistence of civilizations and nondiscrimination". This is like stating adamantly that ISIS teaches its followers  - guess what? - "tolerance, coexistence of civilizations and nondiscrimination". We regularly see quotes from their schoolbooks in which maths is taught using sums about how many Israelis a Palestinian kills in various circumstances and how many martyrs go to heaven because of killing an Israeli and on and on, plus the young kids' holiday camps where they learn how to do it, and of course to hate Jews and Israelis so that their greatest feat will be to become a martyr as above.... and so on. Beyond comprehension? Well, it worked under the Nazis and it's working for the Palestinian youth. New heights in the art of lying....

While many pretend that these are the facts while knowing the opposite, there are also many who in good faith, and wanting to do good for the underdog, lap it up and set out to correct the horrors imposed by Israel on the Palestinians (although they don't seem to care much about all the wrongs being done elsewhere in the world against minorities all over, but we won't flog that dead horse here again).

When and if you look through the editorial from our local paper, you'll see lies, including the above-quoted, which are so preposterous any normal human being would be too embarrassed to come out with them, and any normal human being would chuck him out and say "come on, cut out the bullshit - who do you think we are, total idiots?"  But nobody says it. Maybe I'M on the wrong planet.

I confess to getting a bit frustrated sometimes....

Newsflash: Jerusalem Not on Fire!

by Bassam Tawil  December 10, 2017

Full article at https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11523/jerusalem-not-on-fire

The Palestinians declared a three-day-long "rage" spree over US President Donald Trump's announcement recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Thus far, however, it seems that the real anger is showing up in the international media, not on the Palestinian street.

Question: How many foreign journalists does it take to cover the Palestinian reaction to Trump's announcement? Answer: As many as the Israel-Palestinian-conflict-obsessed-West can manage to send.

The massive presence of the international media in Jerusalem and the West Bank has taken even the Palestinians by surprise. Since Trump's announcement on December 6, dozens of additional journalists and camera crews have converged on Israel to cover "the big story."

Some of these reporters, including those working for American networks, have been flown in from their working posts in London, Paris, Cairo and New York to cover what many of them are already calling the "New Palestinian Intifada." But is it really a new intifada, or is it simply wishful thinking on the part of the swarm of Palestinian and foreign reporters?

In the past few days, we have seen wild exaggeration in the media as to what is really happening in and around the Old City of Jerusalem. What is evident, however, is that the number of journalists and photographers covering the protests in the city has thus far exceeded the number of Palestinian protesters.

Let us start with Friday, December 8, the final day of the announced Palestinian "rage." The Palestinian Authority, Hamas and other Palestinian groups told us to expect mass rallies and protests after Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. So did the reporters.

By early morning, at least six television production trucks were stationed in the small parking lot outside the Damascus Gate, the main entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem. The trucks belonged to various television stations were presumably brought there to film live broadcasts of the anticipated mass protests. Another 70-80 journalists and photographers were waiting, some impatiently, for the Muslim worshippers to finish their prayers and start their protests against President Trump's announcement.

What we got in the end was a small and peaceful protest of some 40 Palestinians, who chanted slogans against Israel, the US and Arab leaders -- including Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, who was dubbed a "traitor" and "Israeli spy."

Björn Stritzel, an honest and brave German journalist, tweeted from the scene: "More journalists than protesters after Friday prayers."

The media frenzy was echoed by several other reporters. "Three days of 'rage' have passed since Trump's Jerusalem declaration and Armageddon hasn't arrived," remarked journalist Oren Kessler. "One is loath to make predictions of continued calm in the region, but thus far the doomsday prophecies have not materialized."

French journalist Piotr Smolar, who also waited for the "big" protest, wrote: "Dozens and dozens of journalists at Damascus gate, where nothing has happened until now."

Joe Dyke, a reporter with Agence France Press (AFP), tweeted  a photo showing more journalists than protesters at Damascus Gate. He wrote: "Small Palestinian protest at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem broken up by the Israeli police. They seemed to object to a picture of Trump as a toilet."

Dyke later reported that he had "just walked through Jerusalem's Old City and the situation is very calm. More police on streets but no issues as yet. Tourists milling about."

Here is how the journalist Seth Frantzman of The Jerusalem Post, who was at the scene, described the situation: "There are more people with cameras here than anyone clashing (with police) at the moment."

Frantzman later had this to say about the "clash": "There are as many media and onlookers taking photos here as there are youth and police waiting for the clashes."

Protests against Israel and the US are not uncommon on the streets of Ramallah, Hebron and Bethlehem. But for the "war correspondents," there is nothing more exciting than standing behind burning tires and stone throwers and reporting from the heart of the "clashes." Such scenes make the journalists look as if they are in the middle of a battlefield and are risking their lives to bring the story home to their viewers. They might even receive an award for their "courageous" reporting from danger zones!

That is what happens when you are afraid to go to Yemen, Libya, Syria or Iraq to cover the real bloodshed.

Newsflash for the journalists: There's nothing new on the Palestinian street. Palestinian threats of violence and walking out of any "peace process" is old, old news. Jerusalem is not on fire. Jerusalem is tense, and has long been so, because the Palestinians have not yet managed to come to terms with Israel's right to exist. That is the real story. The Palestinians rage and rage and rage for only one reason: because Israel exists. Put that in a story and publish it.

Bassam Tawil is a Muslim based in the Middle East.