‘There is no “Palestine” in the Koran. Allah gave Israel to the Jews’

Posted on 8/15/2014 by Eliyokim Cohen

Sheikh Ahmad Adwan, who introduces himself as a Muslim scholar who lives in Jordan, said on his personal Facebook page that there is no such thing as “Palestine” in the Koran. Allah has assigned the Holy Land to the Children of Israel until the Day of Judgment (Koran, Sura 5 – “The Sura of the Table”, Verse 21), and “We made the Children of Israel the inheritors (of the land)” (Koran, Sura 26 – “The Sura of the Poets”, Verse 59).

“I say to those who distort their Lord’s book, the Koran: From where did you bring the name Palestine, you liars, you accursed, when Allah has already named it “The Holy Land” and bequeathed it to the Children of Israel until the Day of Judgment. There is no such thing as ‘Palestine’ in the Koran. Your demand for the Land of Israel is a falsehood and it constitutes an attack on the Koran, on the Jews and their land. Therefore you won’t succeed, and Allah will fail you and humiliate you, because Allah is the one who will protect them (i.e. the Jews).”

The sheikh added: “The Palestinians are the killers of children, the elderly and women. They attack the Jews and then they use those (children, the elderly and women) as human shields and hide behind them, without mercy for their children as if they weren’t their own children, in order to tell the public opinion that the Jews intended to kill them. This is exactly what I saw with my own two eyes in the 70’s, when they attacked the Jordanian army, which sheltered and protected them. Instead of thanking it (the Jordanian army), they brought their children forward to (face) the Jordanian army, in order to make the world believe that the army kills their children. This is their habit and custom, their viciousness, their having hearts of stones towards their children, and their lying to public opinion, in order to get its support.”

It is worth mentioning, that the above mentioned sheikh visited Israel and met Jewish religious scholars. The “Israel in Arabic” site conducted an interview with him, in which he said that the reason for his openness towards the Jewish people “comes from my acknowledgment of their sovereignty on their land and my belief in the Koran, which told us and emphasized this in many places, like His (Allah’s) saying ”Oh People (i.e the Children of Israel), enter the Holy Land which Allah has assigned unto you” (Koran, Sura 5 – “The Sura of the Table”, Verse 21), and His saying “We made the Children of Israel the inheritors (of the land)” (Koran, Sura 26 – “The Sura of the Poets”, Verse 59) and many other verses.

He (Adwan) added: “(The Jews) are peaceful people who love peace, who are not hostile and are not aggressors, but if they are attacked, they defend themselves while causing as little damage to the attackers as possible. It is an honor for them that Allah has chosen them over the worlds – meaning over the people and the Jinns until the Day of Judgment. I made the reasons for Allah’s choice clear in my books and pamphlets. When Allah chose them, He didn’t do so out of politeness, and He wasn’t unjust other peoples, it is just that they (the Jews) deserved this.”

Israel’s Eastern Front, the Coming Storm

By MUDAR ZAHRAN 07/24/2013  (The writer is a Palestinian- Jordanian residing in the UK.)

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/Israels-eastern-front-the-coming-storm-320937

Amid uncertainty on Israel-Jordan border, one thing will be certain if and when the king falls: Jordan’s next ruler will be a Palestinian.

Israel has enjoyed calm borders with Jordan for over four decades. While Israel’s military superiority and alert borders guards are the main reasons for that, still, the Hashemite regime in Amman has managed to keep anti-Israel forces at bay, an advantage for which Israel has given much in return to Jordan’s king and his late father.

But will this arrangement remain the same with the tsunami of the Arab Spring? The facts on the ground suggest Jordan is anything but stable. Upon the king’s return from his recent visit to the US, tribal fights broke out in Ma’an, Jordan’s largest governorate in the area. Four people were killed in cold blood on the campus of Ma’an’s university and all hell broke loose. Now Ma’an residents are claiming “independence from the Hashemite regime”; videos leaked on YouTube and even appearing in Jordanian media show raging gun battles between Jordan’s army and tribal Jordanians in the south. The last police post was declared “liberated” by Ma’an’s locals on June 24.

Despite public calls “daring” the king to visit Ma’an to solve the matter, Abdullah visited Kerak, another troubled southern city in Jordan, 160 km. from Ma’an, two weeks ago.

Abdullah spoke in Kerak’s university, Mutah, where regular gun battles between students recently claimed the life of a sophomore.

In his speech, Abdullah said there were “those who try to claim that Jordan is going through unrest because of the tribes. That is not true! The tribes have always been a foundation of security.” Four days after his speech, gun battles broke out again on the very same campus.

At the same time protests right at the gates of his private palace became regular events, with people calling for him to step down.

The king’s troubles did not stop there. On June 22, Gazan Palestinian Muhammad Assaf won the Arab Idol reality television competition.

Jordan’s Palestinian majority took to the streets for days in massive numbers, waving Palestinian flags and kaffiyehs right under the noses of Jordanian police.

In the past, merely wearing a Palestinian kaffiyeh in Jordan could get you harassed by the police, and hanging a Palestinian flag on your car would get you imprisoned by the fearsome intelligence department.

Young Palestinian men were moreover seen all over Amman shooting their M-16 rifles in celebration. While it is common knowledge that Palestinians in Jordan have weapons just like their brothers on the other side of the river, they never showed them off before, nor were they ever able to show off their oppressed character right in the Hashemite regime’s face.

In short: the king’s formerly loyal “East Bankers” now want him out, and the Hashemite-despising Palestinians are not afraid to move against the king openly.

This means the king’s days might, indeed, be numbered.

Speaking to a crowd in London almost a year ago, Arabist and political thinker Murdachi Kedar said: “Those buying an insurance policy on the Jordanian regime’s survival should reconsider their options.” Even more, he predicted Jordan’s south would break away from the state.

Apparently, Kedar’s prophecy for Jordan seems to be fulfilling itself. But what would that mean for Israel’s longest borders? If Jordan falls into Islamists’ hands it will turn into either another Hamas or at best another Egypt.

Nonetheless, the Islamists in Jordan have had a long partnership with the Hashemite regime, and the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood has been openly refusing public calls to topple the king.

Additionally, The Independent, the Associated Press and Al Jazeera all reported Jordan’s secular citizens were the ones leading the protests against the king; nonetheless, they are not financed as are the Islamists, and they are almost totally ignored by the Western media.

If the king falls, the Islamists opposing the revolution now will hijack it and put a president in Amman.

Unless something changes and secular population gets the support it needs.

The response among those concerned about peace in the Middle East does not seem to match the level of the threat an Islamist takeover of Jordan poses.

Some choose to maintain verbal support for the king, saying that “Jordan is just clam and the king is stable.”

They are basically ignoring the facts.

In an interview with The Atlantic’s Jeffery Goldberg, Abdullah admitted he thought of stepping down back in 2010, before there was an Arab Spring. What would the king do if Jordanians do actually take to the street like the Egyptians and Tunisians did? There is another camp, nonetheless, one that agrees that there is not much to be done to save the king, and that instead he should be replaced by a pro-peace secular Palestinian leader.

Wondering if that were even possible, I spoke to Palestinian-Jordanian writer and former Washington Institute fellow Samer Libdeh, who lives in Amman.

He said “Jordan is like a soft mould, it’s not like Egypt where Islamists had influence before Mubarak fell. Jordan is easy to direct anywhere its next leader will take it – if he is secular, Jordan will turn secular, if he is an Islamist, Jordan will turn into another Afghanistan, so it’s basically what the outside world wants to make out of it, and its future will depend on which country will invest more money or send its media reporters to cover the events to come.”

Amid uncertainty on Israel’s eastern front, one thing will be certain if and when the king falls: Jordan’s next ruler will be a Palestinian.

Those who care for peace and Israel’s eastern borders should try to prepare for the coming storm and ride the freedom train to help put the right engineer in the front carriage.

The clock is ticking.

Do You Understand our Neighborhood?

One of our readers Stuart L. Fischman, DMD provided this article which poses a question most Israelis have on their lips:-

Thomas Friedman writing in “ New York Times” stated:


“...there is an unspoken question in the mind of virtually every Israeli that you need to answer correctly: ‘Do you understand what neighborhood I’m living in?’ If Israelis smell that you don’t, their ears will close to you. It is one reason the Europeans in general, and the European Left in particular, have so little influence here”.


“The central political divide in Israel today is over the follow-up to this core question: If you appreciate that Israel lives in a neighborhood where there is no mercy for the weak, how should we expect Israel to act?”


Every time Israel tries to give up land for peace it ends up being attacked by Palestinian missiles and criticized by the international community. This happened following the withdrawal from Gaza, when Hamas made targets of civilians throughout Israel. It happened when Israel left the “buffer” in South Lebanon and Hezbollah, armed by Iran, aimed rockets at schools and hospitals in the north.


The neighborhood is certainly not hospitable and is predictably unstable. A look at the map reveals what our neighbors are like. Lebanon has not had an elected government since the assassination of Hariri and the southern border is fully re-supplied with Iranian missiles, under the “watchful eye” of the UN observers “enforcing” Security Council resolution 1701. Recall that Israel was encouraged to negotiate a withdrawal from the Golan Heights with the “moderate” Assad government of Syria. Jordan is ruled by a Hashemite monarchy, but has a Palestinian population majority, and is economically weak. King Abdullah II is not the clone of his father, King Hussein. Egypt is currently ruled by a new Pharaoh who has reluctantly accepted the peace treaty with Israel. The porous Sinai border is now being protected by a security barrier to deter smuggling of weapons, drugs and illegal immigrants into Israel. Gaza—I’ll let the “Pillars of

Defense” operations speak to that!


Prime Minister Netanyahu told members of the foreign media that when the Hamas leaders openly called for Israel’s destruction the only thing he heard was a deafening silence.


“Where was the outrage?” he asked.

“Where were the UN resolutions? Where was President Abbas?

“Why weren’t the Palestinians summoned to European and other capitals to explain why the PA president not only refused to condemn this but declared his intention to unite with Hamas?

“We cannot accept that when Jews build homes in their ancient capital of Jerusalem the

international community has no problem finding its voice, but when Palestinian leaders openly call for the destruction of Israel, the one and only Jewish state, the world is silent.”


The West doesn’t understand what is going on here—what this neighborhood is like. President Obama and the European Union, having failed to see that the Arab Spring could turn into a bitter winter, are now in the strange position of apparently supporting a dictatorial Egyptian regime led by the Muslim Brotherhood, at the expense of the opposition which is seeking democracy and religious freedom. Opposition politician Mohamed ElBaradei stated, “Adoption of a divisive draft constitution that violates universal values and freedoms is a sure way to institutionalize instability and turmoil”.


And the West is in a quandary over Syria, wanting to rid it of mass-murderer Bashar Assad, while trying not to hear the calls for jihad being yelled by many of his opponents – “calls so bloodcurdling you don’t need to be fluent in Arabic to understand them”, as Liat Collins observed in the Jerusalem Post.


The emergence of the Syrian National Coalition and the associated Joint Military Council means that the West and its allies are now backing a Muslim Brotherhood dominated coalition as the replacement for the Assad regime. The leader of this coalition is Ahmed Mouaz al-Khatib who is closely associated with the Damascus branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. He has a long history of anti-Semitic, anti-Western and anti-Shi’a remarks (he praised Saddam Hussein, for example, for “terrifying the Jews” and wrote an article asking if Facebook was an “American-Israeli intelligence website”). The Brotherhood is by far the best-organized single body within the coalition.


Could things have been different? As with Egypt, perhaps, if the West had perceived the risks and opportunities clearly at the start. This might have triggered a vigorous policy of support for non- Islamist opposition and fighting elements, which were there. The result is that the force now facing the retreating Assad regime is split between differing brands of Sunni Arab Islamism – some aligned with the West, some directly opposing it, but all holding fast to fundamentally anti- Western ideologies.


It is always appropriate close on an optimistic note. Israel is a strong country. We are a true democracy with a strong economy. Our life expectancy for both Jews and Moslems is among the highest in the world. There is much to be proud of.

And More!!!

If Israel fires a rocket at the weapons smuggling tunnels, it get widespread coverage in the media. I wonder how much of this report will make the world's media?

On Monday morning (Aug 2), explosions were reported in the southern port city of Eilat. No damage or injuries were reported but the explosions were heard throughout the popular resort city.

The Israel Army (IDF) and Israel Police are currently searching the area to assess the situation and examine the source of these explosions, and the Spokesman for the Israel Police has confirmed that the explosions were caused by rockets fired to the area.

A press release issued by the IDF Spokesperson moments after receiving initial reports of the explosions states that the IDF maintains ongoing contact with the Jordanian and Egyptian militaries. Jordanian press is reporting that a rocket landed in Aqaba, injuring several people, but those reports have not yet been confirmed by Israeli security sources.

While attacks to this area are rare, they are not unheard of. Earlier this year, on two separate occasions in April, three rockets were fired at the Eilat beach and an additional Katyusha rocket detonated in Aqaba.

Last Friday (July 30) a Grad rocker exploded in the city of Ashqelon, causing damage, and on Saturday (July 31) a Kassam rocket was fired towards the area of the Negev Regional Council. In response the Israeli Air Force targeted a weapons manufacturing facility and weapons smuggling tunnels in the Gaza Strip.

Global Recession and Its Affect on Women - an International Conference in Haifa

I was privileged to be able to attend the official opening of the 26th Bi-Annual International Conference for Women Leaders and Experts who met here in Haifa this week to discuss the “Global financial crisis and its implications for women”.

This conference was held under the auspices of Mashav, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation and UN-OSAGI, the office of the special advisor to the Secretary General on gender issues and the advancement of women.

The gathering included Ambassadors, political leaders and many guests from countries plus representatives from a number of UN organizations such as UNISEF, UNIDOR and others.

From Africa - Ghana, Benin, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, Liberia,
South Africa, Uganda.

From Europe - Latvia, Ireland, Afghanistan, France, Luxemburg, Holland.

From Central and South America – Mexico, Panama, Peru, Chile, Costa Rica, Argentina, Equador, Guatemala, Jamaica.

From Asia - The Philippines, India, Malaysia.

From North America – USA and Canada

From Middle East – Turkey, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and of course Israel amongst whom were representatives from the Bahai, the Arab sector and Rotary.

Following the welcoming speech by the director of Mashav, Gila Gamliel of the Israeli Knesset and who is the first Deputy Minister to be appointed with responsibility for Women’s Affairs in the government spoke about the laws being enacted and those proposed to enhance the status of women in Israel.

She pointed out the advancements made in Israel with a significantly high percentage at work and in senior positions but that more work needed to be done. For example while 51% of the student population are women, only 11% are in senior positions in industry.

Ambassador Haim Navon, the head of Mashav welcomed the guests on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He related something of the history of Mashav from its inception. He told of the desire of the State of Israel to help underdeveloped countries just as Israel had been helped during its early founding years.

A further introductory speech was given by Rachel Mayanja of Uganda, the new Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, to be followed by the keynote speech by Prof. Jomo Kwame Sundaram of Malaysia, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).

He opened by pointing out two special characteristics of the event. One, being the 26th conference, it became the longest runniing such event. No other UN event had reached a history of 52 years. The second feature, quite unique was that there were for the first time at such a conference 2 assistant Director Generals for the UN at the same event.

In the main part of the presentation, Prof Sundaram spoke about the rapid increase in the numbers worldwide who had slipped into poverty. From last year’s 900 million, it had increased to 1.4 billion of which 70% were women. It is expected that a further 200 million will be added to the figure before the end of the year. Unemployment is expected to rise by an additional 51 million by the end of the year.

One feature of this crisis, Sundaram continued, is the status of emigrant workers. They traditionally remit their salaries to their families but in this crisis many have been the first to lose their jobs and consequently their country of origin has suffered in double measure.

In general, government spending on social issues has been reduced by 11% creating more problems. Additionally, in attempts to stop the downturn $20 trillion had been injected into the economies of the G20 countries compared with barely $20 million for the underdeveloped countries.

In the previous recessions, recovery in the job market took between 2-4 years, however, there is great uncertainty in the length of job recovery from this recession.

Turning to income levels of women, Prof Sundaram pointed out that women’s salaries in the USA and UK were approx 60-63% of men’s salaries whereas in the Midddle East and Africa (not including Israel) it was barely 35%.

Women have been the hardest hit in this economic downturn and it is to be hoped that the working sessions over the course of the next 4 days can come up with ideas for solving some if not all of these problems.

The "Big Lie" mutates further

"A grave injustice is being committed against the Palestinian people -- perhaps among the greatest in their history. Thousands are being systematically robbed of their citizenship, made stateless once more by a hard-hearted government that pays lip service to peace and the two-state solution, but which seems determined to undermine both". Thus commences an article published in the American Thinker recently, http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/07/palestinian_rights_a_warning.html

Are we "bashing Isarael again? No -- the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which has had a long and uneasy relationship with its Palestinian majority. Now, it is cynically claiming that it has the Palestinians' best interests at heart, the regime of King Abdullah II has begun removing the citizenship of Palestinians with roots in the West Bank. There have been no discussion with the Palestinians involved.

Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads:
(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

And the world once again, has been silent; that includes the world's leading human rights organizations. The front page of Amnesty International's website features an appeal for Israel to cooperate with the UN's "independent" fact-finding mission on Gaza, but nothing on Jordan. Human Rights Watch, which recently bashed Israel for the benefit of donors in Saudi Arabia, has yet to react.

Hypocracy continues, the morality of the world degenerates further. The "Big Lie" continues to be propagated in mutated forms.

The True Face of Human Rights in Israel

For several years, the Rapporteur to the UN Commission on Human Rights (now the UN Human Rights Council) and human rights groups have criticized the Israeli government and health care system for denying access to Gazans seeking to receive permits for care in hospitals in Israel, the PA and Jordan.


Yet the data shows that the number of patients receiving permits for referrals to hospitals in Israel - or the PA or Jordan - increased by 45 percent from 4,932 in 2006 to 7,176 in 2007, and continued to increase in the first six months of 2008 These trends occurred despite a decline in entry approval rates, mostly because of security reasons.

The facts are that Israel has provided ever increasing numbers of approvals of permits since the Hamas takeover of Gaza, despite increasing rocket attacks on Israel's civilian population, including mortar and terror attacks directed at the Erez crossing used by patients.

At the same time, there have been at least 20 incidents where Palestinians used medical missions to attempt terror attacks.

A full report can be read at http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DRIT=2&DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&FID=283&PID=0&IID=2649&TTL=Israeli_Approvals_for_Medical_Entry_in_the_Shadow_of_Terror_Attacks_at_the_Erez_Crossing

Haifa in the Forefront of Regional Cooperation

in Viruses, rabid animals and bacterial infections do not recognize political borders. Now yet again representatives from Israel, Jordan and the the Palestinian Authority will monitor infectious diseases with a system developed at the IBM lab in Haifa in a unique collaboration for "no-boundaries" public health information sharing.

The resulting ability to easily share secure health information will improve the quality of patient care, public health and safety, according to IBM. See full article at
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1214492526884&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

IBM claim that this project has "solidified overall cooperation amongst the participating countries."

Once again Haifa is in the forefront of tomorrow's technologies and sharing everything with its regional partners. However, like most positive news about Israel, editors of the TV and the press never pick up on these stories.

With other joint projects concerned with water at the Haifa Technion regional interests take precedence over the politcal ones.

Catastophe for Who?

Like most people I know, there is incredible skepticism whenever we hear that in the conflict with the Hizbollah or the Palestinians, “don’t worry, UNFIL or some other international organization will “monitor” what’s going on in order to maintain the peace, the cease fire, hudna or whatever".

This week again, the integrity of UNIFIL has been brought into question because of the airy fairy way its role has been defined. Under its rules of engagement, UNIFIL is controlling the Lebanese countryside but is not allowed in the villages without approval of the Lebanese army. So guess what? Hizbullah is no longer operating in the open areas, but rather inside the villages.

Comments as to the ineffectiveness of UNIFIL also come from anti-Hizbullah Shi'ite mufti of Tyre, Ali al-Amin, blasted UNIFIL in an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Saturday.

"Peace mission?" he said of UNIFIL. "You must be kidding. I will tell you what UNIFIL troops in southern Lebanon are. They are tourists, simple, faint-hearted and ignorant tourists’. He went on to say that UNIFIL "should be helping the Lebanese army guarantee democracy, but it is a mere illusion. The events of the last few days have strengthened Hizbullah even more.

"Everyone knows that the national army is too weak to take Hizbullah on, and UNIFIL forces pretend not to see anything. Hizbullah has built its own cable telephone system and is getting re-armed right outside their [UNIFIL's] bases. Can they really do nothing to stop it, can they not report it?"

Another issue in the PR war is the ongoing matter of Arabs who became refugees in 1948. The constant claim that they were expelled is being disclaimed not just by the Israelis but now also by more and more Palestinian and Arab journalists.

According to a senior Palestinian journalist writing in a Palestinian daily. The plan to leave Israel was initiated by the Arab states fighting Israel, who promised the people they would be able to return to their homes in a few days once Israel was defeated. The article in Al-Ayyam concludes that these Arab states are responsible for the Arab refugee problem.

In a report by Palestinian Media Watch www.pmw.org.il , it is noted that “a backbone of Palestinian English-language propaganda is the myth that Israel expelled hundreds of thousands of Arabs from Israel and created Arab refugees. But in recent years, PMW has documented an increasing willingness among Palestinians to openly blame the Arab states and not Israel.”

1. Jawad Al Bashiti, Palestinian journalist in Jordan, writing in Al-Ayyam, May 13, 2008 "Remind me of one real cause from all the factors that have caused the "Palestinian Catastrophe" [the establishment of Israel and the creation of refugee problem], and I will remind you that it still exists... The reasons for the Palestinian Catastrophe are the same reasons that have produced and are still producing our Catastrophes today.

During the Little Catastrophe, meaning the Palestinian Catastrophe the following happened: the first war between Arabs and Israel had started and the "Arab Salvation Army" came and told the Palestinians: 'We have come to you in order to liquidate the Zionists and their state. Leave your houses and villages, you will return to them in a few days safely. Leave them so we can fulfill our mission (destroy Israel) in the best way and so you won't be hurt.' It became clear already then, when it was too late, that the support of the Arab states (against Israel) was a big illusion. Arabs fought as if intending to cause the "Palestinian Catastrophe". [Al-Ayyam, May 13 2008]

2. Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Palestinian Journalist in PA official daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, December 13, 2006"...The leaders and the elites promised us at the beginning of the "Catastrophe" in 1948, that the duration of the exile will not be long, and that it will not last more than a few days or months, and afterwards the refugees will return to their homes, which most of them did not leave only until they put their trust in those "Arkuvian" promises made by the leaders and the political elites. Afterwards, days passed, months, years and decades, and the promises were lost with the strain of the succession of events..." [Term "Arkuvian," is after Arkuv - a figure from Arab tradition - who was known for breaking his promises and for his lies."] " [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, December 13, 2006]

3. Asmaa Jabir Balasimah, Woman who fled Israel in 1948, Al-Ayyam, May 16, 2006
"We heard sounds of explosions and of gunfire at the beginning of the summer in the year of the "Catastrophe" [1948]. They told us: The Jews attacked our region and it is better to evacuate the village and return, after the battle is over. And indeed there were among us [who fled Israel] those who left a fire burning under the pot, those who left their flock [of sheep] and those who left their money and gold behind, based on the assumption that we would return after a few hours." [Al-Ayyam, May 16, 2006]

4. Son of man who fled in 1948, PA TV 1999
An Arab viewer called Palestinian Authority TV and quoted his father, saying that in 1948 the Arab District Officer ordered all Arabs to leave Palestine or be labeled traitors. In response, Arab MK Ibrahim Sarsur, then Head of the Islamic Movement in Israel, cursed those leaders, thus acknowledging Israel's historical record.

"Mr. Ibrahim [Sarsur]. I address you as a Muslim. My father and grandfather told me that during the "Catastrophe" [in 1948], our district officer issued an order that whoever stays in Palestine and in Majdel [near Ashkelon - Southern Israel] is a traitor, he is a traitor."

Response from Ibrahim Sarsur, now MK, then Head of the Islamic Movement in Israel: "The one who gave the order forbidding them to stay there bears guilt for this, in this life and the Afterlife throughout history until Resurrection Day." [PA TV April 30, 1999]

5. Fuad Abu Higla, senior Palestinian, Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah, March 19, 2001
Fuad Abu Higla, then a regular columnist in the official PA daily Al Hayat Al Jadida, wrote an article before an Arab Summit, which criticized the Arab leaders. One of the failures he cited, in the name of a prisoner, was that an earlier generation of Arab leaders "forced" them to leave Israel in 1948, again placing the blame for the flight on the Arab leaders.

"I have received a letter from a prisoner in Acre prison, to the Arab summit: To the [Arab and Muslim] Kings and Presidents, poverty is killing us, the symptoms are exhausting us and the souls are leaving our body, yet you are still searching for the way to provide aid, like one who is looking for a needle in a haystack or like the armies of your predecessors in the year of 1948, who forced us to leave [Israel], on the pretext of clearing the battlefields of civilians...
So what will your summit do now?" [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 19, 2001]

Conclusion

It is clear from these statements that there is general acknowledgement among Palestinians that Arab leaders bear responsibility for the mass flight of Arabs from Israel in 1948, and were the cause of the "refugee" problem. Furthermore, the fact that this information has been validated by public figures and refugees in the Palestinian Authority media itself confirms that this responsibility is well-known - even though for propaganda purposes its leaders continue to blame Israel publicly for "the expulsion."

Current quotes (not from years ago)

a) “The PLO... has not changed its platform even one iota... to drive them [Jews] out of all of Palestine," - PLO ambassador to Lebanon told NBN TV in an interview

b) Muslims would soon overtake "Rome", which he charged had "planted the brothers of apes and pigs in Palestine in order to prevent the reawakening of Islam.” - Hamas MP

c) "In light of the weakness of the Arab nation and the lack of values, and in light of the American control over the world, the PLO proceeds through phases, without changing its strategy. Let me tell you, when the ideology of Israel collapses, and we take, at least, Jerusalem, the Israeli ideology will collapse in its entirety, and we will begin to progress with our own ideology, Allah willing, and drive them out of all of Palestine," - Abbas Zaki, the PLO ambassador in Beirut.

d) "The capital [Rome] of the Catholics, or the Crusader capital, which has declared its hostility to Islam, and which has planted the brothers of apes and pigs in Palestine in order to prevent the reawakening of Islam... is just like Constantinople," - Hamas parliamentarian Yunis al-Astal told worshipers in a televised sermon

e) “Rome will be an advanced post for the Islamic conquests which will spread through Europe in its entirety, and then will turn to the two Americas, and even Eastern Europe." - Yunis al-Astal

f) "I believe that our children or our grandchildren will inherit our jihad and our sacrifices, and Allah willing, the commanders of the conquest will come from among them. Today, we instill these good tidings in their souls, and by means of the mosques and the Koran books, and the history of our prophet, his companions, and the great leaders, we prepare them for the mission of saving humanity from the hellfire on the brink of which they stand," - Yunis al-Astal

Do we really understand the words that are used? And we closing our eyes and ears to what is going on around us? Are we not crazy to negotiate?

We have “peace treaties” with Jordan and Egypt at governmental level but certainly not with the man in the street. The average Palestinian man in the street, according to opinion polls, doesn’t seem to accept any type of peace with Israel and is for the continuation of violence but then with constant incitement via the media and through official channels, should we expect anything else?

Where are the future water supplies coming from?

The International Water Technologies and Environmental Control exhibition - WATEC 2007 - was full of innovative ideas for the desert regions of the Middle East held in Tel Aviv recently, aiming to find solutions for the world's desperate need for new sources of fresh water.

The exhibition, which featured over 2,000 visitors from 80 countries worldwide, dealt extensively with Israeli-developed water technology in fields as diverse as desalination, waste recycling for agricultural purposes, security from pollution and water terrorism, and the joint Israeli-Jordanian Red Sea-Dead Sea Conduit (RSDSC) project.

With the Israeli water management expertise leading the way, hundreds of overseas visitors came to survey the latest developments on display. Visitors from the governments of China, Italy, France, Austria and Germany were on hand to discuss partnerships with Israel aimed at alleviating the planet's water resource problems.

Abounding with lasers, filters, pipes and other gadgets, the exhibition room was a revelation into the multi faceted dynamics of water technology. In one of the largest displays, representatives from Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research mingled with exhibition-goers to talk about the 11 bilateral cooperation projects currently operating between Israel and Germany.

The SMART Project – a cooperative venture between research institutions, private sector companies and government organizations in Germany, Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan – aims to boost the availability of groundwater in the Lower Jordan Rift Valley.

Amongst other devices shown were:-

- a device for purifying wastewater, rendering it fit for agricultural irrigation by using bacteriological treatment. Israel currently recycles 75% of its wastewater.

- a company offering to provide water security against accidental as well as intentional chemical and biological pollution, also known as water terrorism.

- and one of 20 Israeli startups who exhibited, introduced its personal purification device- a compact 100-gram water filter that fits onto the top of most standard narrow-neck bottles, and allows its user to drink from almost any groundwater source.

Looks like after the success of the high tech industry, followed by the biomedic field, water is going to be the next “Silicon Valley” industry

Oh my Gosh, it's Abu Gosh

What a beautiful setting for a wedding!! The Arab village of Abu Gosh http://www.gemsinisrael.com/e_article000003341.htm was established in 1520. It is named after the Abu Gosh family and almost all the villagers are their descendents. Originally, the people were probably Caucasians who came from the mountains of the Caucasus. The villagers are well known for the friendly, close relationship they have with their neighboring Jewish inhabitants. For many generations the village has provided a stopover for pilgrims and travelers on their way to Jerusalem, and it was at this site they paid a toll fee for their transit.

Our coach full of guests left Haifa (strangely, I don't ever remember wedding hosts providing coaches to transport their guests to a wedding in the UK) with everyone in good spirits. It gave us an opportunnity to talk to friends that we don't get to see too often.

The setting of the wedding was like that from a film set and around 350 guests mingled on the terraces, eating, talking and some dancing.

Towards the end of the evening, our daughter from Jerusalem arrived with a couple of grandchildren that we took back to Haifa for a bit of spoiling.

Today it was reported that the first commercial shipment of goods since the Hamas takeover had passed into Gaza http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1182951030198&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull. With mortar attacks on the various crossing points and the damaged caused in the Hamas takeover, one has to wonder just what Hamas expect to achieve for the Palestinian population at large, yes they are suffering .

One further intetesting story concerning academia today. It was reported that a Jordanian woman became the first Jordanian to be awarded her masters degree in desalination tecniques. Where? At Ben Gurion University!! She is the first of seven Jordanians finishing her studies there as part of her degree. Next year it is planned that 5 Jordanians and a Palestinian will begin their MA studies. May this type of information should be shouted from the rooftops in the British Universities