Healthcare for Palestinians

From the Director of International Public Relations - Emek Medical Center, Afula

It borders on the incomprehensible how the western, educated, cultured, democratic and ‘balanced’ world focuses its media-generated wrath against Israel.  Better to remember that no country on this earth is beyond constructive criticism, especially western super-power societies with dubious histories of their own.  But – let’s not go there.

As is our trademark, I want to share with you something positive so as to offer you a choice on what to focus … something positive and uplifting, instead of depressing negativity.     

Nivin was born in Ramallah (in the Palestinian Authority), married and now lives with her husband in East Jerusalem.  Her battle with breast cancer brought her into the sphere of Sonja Dinner, a Swiss-based international philanthropist who cares deeply about the plight of women in Arab societies.  Sonja is providing invaluable support for the creation of Emek’s Comprehensive Breast Care Center and decided to step out of the box and bring Nivin to Emek for a sensitive and necessary surgical procedure. 

Get the picture?  A Muslim Arab woman living in a society where such things are not even openly discussed, from an area that could be the flashpoint for another war, traveling through checkpoints with her Palestinian Muslim husband to Israel’s Emek Medical Center – the mecca of coexistence through medicine – to be treated by a team of Jewish & Arab Israeli physicians for a disease that women in her society suffer from in silence.

Nivin, her husband and Sonja met with Emek’s Professor Dan Hershko (Head of Surgery ‘B”) and Dr. Azziz Shoufani (Head of Plastic Surgery).  She was examined and later operated on in what proved to be a highly successful procedure.  With Sonja’s help and encouragement, Nivin is now a role model for other women in her society and is helping to break through Arab taboos surrounding this deadly disease.                  

  

Sonja Dinner (left) with Nivin in her East Jerusalem home

Expert medical attention (unavailable in the Palestinian healthcare network) was called for and they came to Israel, to Emek.  Another in a long line of Palestinians who have been saved here.

I’m proud to be living in a country where offering such help is the norm.  I’m even more proud of Emek’s humanitarian professionals who, through their fingers and hands flow the magic of healing and ultimate reconciliation. 

It is unsensational acts such as these that represent real hope.  Do you understand that?  

Palestinians and the "Death Boats" Scandal

Khaled Abu Toameh  September 27, 2014  

Full article http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4734/palestinians-and-the-death-boats-scandal

Summary

As the past few weeks have, shown, hundreds, if not thousands, of Palestinians would rather risk their lives at sea than live under Palestinian governments and leaders whose only goal is to enrich their bank accounts.

Instead of creating job opportunities for young men and women, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have spent the past seven years fighting over money and power. They are now busy planning how to lay their hands on the millions of dollars that are supposed to go to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. Hamas wants to use the Palestinian Authority as a tool through which the international community channels funds to he Gaza Strip — a move that would  ultimately empower Hamas to tighten its grip over the Palestinian population there.

They said that Hamas officials are providing the emigrants with forged visas and travel documents to to enable them to enter Europe.

=======================

Over the past few weeks, dozens of Palestinian immigrants from the Gaza Strip have been killed or injured while trying to reach Europe by sea.

At least 500 Palestinians have gone missing after the boats carrying them sank in the sea. Some reports have suggested that rival gangs deliberately sunk the boats. The gangs are fighting for the cash the Palestinians are prepared to pay to leave the Gaza Strip. Palestinians refer to the situation as their "Death Boats" scandal.

The Palestinian immigrants are said to have paid thousands of dollars to Hamas officials and Egyptian smugglers to facilitate the exodus from the Gaza Strip. Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki claimed that each Palestinian paid $1,000 to Hamas personnel at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. Others are believed to have paid $5,000 each to leave the Gaza Strip.

Malki said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have fallen victim to Hamas and Egyptian gangsters who managed to lure them with false promises.

According to various reports, some 13,000 Palestinians have already fled the Gaza Strip to Europe with the help of the gangsters. Most left through Hamas's smuggling tunnels or by bribing its security officials at the Rafah terminal. Another 25,000 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip have applied to various European countries for immigration.

Although Hamas has denied any connection to the mass exodus, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip revealed that the Islamist movement had set up special offices to register those wishing to start a new life in Europe. They said that Hamas officials are providing the emigrants with forged visas and travel documents to enable them to enter Europe.

A Palestinian journalist in Gaza City said that at one of the mosques in the southern Gaza Strip, a leading Hamas preacher told worshippers: "Those who are not happy can always emigrate to Europe. We do not force anyone to stay here."

Most of the immigrants left the Gaza Strip through a two-kilometer tunnel belonging to a senior Hamas operative. Survivors told a Palestinian Authority Commission of Inquiry that when they reached the Egyptian side of the border, Egyptian gangsters intercepted them and robbed them of their money.

"Hamas gangsters worked in cooperation with gangsters on the Egyptian side of the border," said a senior Palestinian Authority official involved with the inquiry commission. "They operated like a real mafia, exploiting the predicament of the people, especially young men who were hoping to find jobs and better lives in Italy and other European countries."

Palestinians say that the emigration began long before the last military confrontation between Hamas and Israel. But the trend has witnessed a dramatic increase since the end of the fighting in late August.

"Hamas has failed to help the Palestinians ever since it came to power in 2007," said Ahmed Bader, whose son managed to leave the Gaza Strip through a tunnel one week after the end of the fighting. "There is nothing for the young people to do in the Gaza Strip: no jobs, no entertainment and no security. Young men who graduate from universities cannot find work if they are not members of Hamas."

Both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority bear responsibility for the tragedy of the Palestinian immigrants. The two rival parties have failed to improve the living conditions of their people in the Gaza Strip.  Instead of creating job opportunities for young men and women, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have spent the past seven years fighting over money and power.

Hamas says that Palestinians are fleeing the Gaza Strip because their leader (Mahmoud Abbas) is a helpless 80-year-old man "who suffers from half the diseases of the universe." The Palestinian Authority, for its part, says that the Palestinians are fleeing the "hell of Hamas.". Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are trading allegations and abuses while their people are being exploited emotionally and financially, then robbed, drowned and fed to sharks.

Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are now busy planning how to lay their hands on the millions of dollars that are supposed to go to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

At last week's "reconciliation" talks between the two sides in Cairo, they completely ignored the tragedy of the Palestinian immigrants. Once again, Hamas and Fatah officials exchanged kisses and hugs as they announced yet another agreement to implement a previous agreement. 

In fact, this is what Hamas and Fatah have been doing since 2006 – signing one reconciliation agreement after the other without tangible results. Needless to say, so far none of these agreements has been implemented. Skeptics say the most recent agreement between Hamas and Fatah is also likely to remain ink on paper due to the wide gap between the two parties.

Hamas appears to be willing to bring the Palestinian Authority back to the Gaza Strip not because it has changed its ideology. Rather, Hamas wants to use the Palestinian Authority as a tool through which the international community channels funds to the Gaza Strip – a move that would ultimately empower Hamas to tighten its grip over the Palestinian population there.

But many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have obviously lost their confidence in both Abbas and Hamas. As the past few weeks have shown, hundreds, if not thousands, of Palestinians would rather risk their lives at sea than live under Palestinian governments and leaders whose only goal is to enrich their bank accounts.

Western Progressives Successfully Prevent Israel's SodaStream From Employing Palestinian Workers

GUEST POST WRITTEN BY Abraham Miller

Mr. Miller is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Cincinnati.

The full article is available online at: http://onforb.es/1lzxovf

The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel appears to have won a Pyrrhic victory over SodaStream, resulting in 900 Palestinian workers, who received Israeli wages and benefits, being thrown out of their jobs. SodaStream is putting a good face on the “potential” closing, saying it is not submitting to the terror-aligned BDS campaign. But two hundred Palestinian workers have already been let go, and to many observers in Israel, the handwriting is on the wall.

In the front ranks of the campaign against SodaStream has been the

sanctimonious Oxfam, which proudly reminds us that it does not support BDS, but it is for boycotting SodaStream.

Now the left can celebrate sending 900 Palestinians into poverty, people who made four times the going rate for wages in the Palestinian Territories—that is if they could have found jobs in an economy with 40% unemployment. In the Berkeley hills, the peace and justice crew and the gaggle of assorted leftists are opening fine bottles of California wine, looking out over their million-dollar views, and clinking crystal glasses in celebration. Meanwhile some of these 900 former factory workers will find their way into the territories’ sole thriving industry, terrorism.

The leftist retort is that the settlements are illegal and they impoverish the Palestinians. Like most things that come from the left, the legality or illegality of the settlements is far and away more complex than stated, especially in the SodaStream case, which operates in Area C, an area legally under joint Israeli/Palestinian administration.

The factory was a glimmer of hope where hope is a rare commodity. It was a cooperative venture between Palestinians and Israelis, a reminder of what could and should be. Economic integration between Arabs and Israelis is the road to both peace and prosperity, just as it was in medieval Wales, where the market place brought Welshmen and Englishmen together in a common, vital interaction that assuaged their differences and over centuries transformed them into one people.

Even Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has spoken against BDS as

hurting the Palestinians. But the left knows better. For them, ideological purity is more valuable than alleviating the socio-economic conditions of the Palestinians. Oxfam cherishes its work in alleviating hunger, while in the Palestinian territories, it has just condemned 900 people and their families to the economic conditions it works to prevent.

Well done, BDS. You have helped extinguish that ray of hope that might lead to peace.

Hamas Doctrine: No recognition of Israel

Ken Stein August 3, 2014, 4:05 am

For the full article read  http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/315204/   
Hamas on opposing agreements, negotiations, or recognition of Israel

Anyone who believes that Hamas’ current fundamental beliefs are flexible enough to recognize Israel or that the organization will ultimately give up arms as a long-term political concession is simply naïve.  As it has in the past, Hamas may accept a tahdi’a or calming down of tensions, or even a temporary truce or hudna, but for it to accept Israel as a reality is totally contrary to its ideological outlook.  Discussions about cease-fires and who broke any number of them masks Hamas’s stated intentions.  “Removing occupation” for Hamas currently means Israel’s destruction, not merely withdrawal from Gaza or the West Bank or Jerusalem.

Since its inception in 1988, Hamas has been crystal clear about its opposition to Zionism and Israel. It opposes any kind of negotiations or agreements that recognize Israel’s reality.  Hamas seeks support from virtually any external source that will provide it arms, training, and funding. The first of these collection of comments, like subsequent ones is remarkable for the consistency in views expressed by Hamas leaders who remain  true to the contents stipulated in Hamas’s August 1988 Charter. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/Hamas.asp

Hamas on opposing agreements, negotiations, or recognition of Israel – 

 October 1992: “…I agree with you that there is a dangerous plot under way that threatens the entire region; that is, the plot to have the Arab, Islamic fold accept the Zionists.  If, God forbid, this materializes and Arab-Israeli relations improve, as we mentioned earlier, it would engulf all aspects including the political, cultural and social spheres.  In this way Israel would be able to attain its strategic objectives of a Greater Israel without fighting.

True peace can only be attained by returning the Palestinians to their homeland and returning the Zionist aggressors to the countries from where they have come.” Ibrahim Ghawshah, Head of Hamas in Gaza, Keyhan (Tehran), October 31, 1992.

March 1994: “Hamas believes that the new situation will be more dangerous for the Palestinians than the occupation, but through justification of the occupation through these Agreements this will create many problems for the Palestinians. What will become of the millions of Palestinians abroad and of the hundreds of thousands of deportees? What will become of our rights over Palestine? Arafat and his colleagues must answer all these questions. Hamas will continue to resist the Israelis’ presence by all means.

This is no peace process. It is an agreement between the PLO and Israel. The occupation will be more legal from the international viewpoint. Israel will be the dominant force and the center of authority in Tel Aviv, and will give us Palestinians the right to self-control. That is what autonomy means; the same as the Kurds in Iraq. The central government – the master of the land – will give self-determination to a minority national group. With the signing of this Agreement, Arafat is saying that Israel is the master of all Palestine and that it is giving us the opportunity to set up an autonomous entity. This is the most dangerous point in the Agreement signed in the so-called peace talks.” Mahmud al-Zahhar, Hamas Gaza leader, La Vanguardia (Barcelona), March 6, 1994.

September 1994: “Arafat cannot let the ill-fated Oslo Agreement’s anniversary pass without furnishing fresh evidence of his breaking ranks with our Palestinian people to join our criminal Zionist enemy’s camp at the expense of their rights and aspirations. On the first annual anniversary of the demeaning 13 September 1993 Oslo Accord, the second signing marks a new link in the chain of concessions and capitulation that builds on the giveaways yielded to the enemy in Oslo, Washington, Paris, and Cairo.  Our guileful enemy…persists in humiliating the flimsy Arafat authority and robbing it of the basic trappings of sovereignty so Arafat and his authority may remain a cheap tool to advance the Zionist objective of controlling the Arab region.

Hamas condemns the signing of the Oslo Declaration and reiterates its rejection of all the homeland-selling agreements signed with the occupying enemy. None of these agreements has any binding force on our Palestinian people or represents them in any way.” Hamas publication, al-Majd (Amman), September 19, 1994.

April 1995: “Arafat now stands at a historic, national, and religious turning point. He either continues to carry out the instructions and dictates of the Zionists – represented by Rabin, Peres, and Christopher – or returns to the moment of truth, sides with his own people, and frees himself from these pressures.  Hamas does not seek authority and does not want a piece of the pie or any position. It wants to continue its historic jihad by keeping the torch of jihad and intifadah lit continuously. Hence, wise men and honest people are called on to intervene immediately to convince the Palestinian Authority to clear the road for those mujahidin to continue their long march.” Ibrahim Ghawshah, text from Amman Al-Dustur in Arabic, April 11, 1995, p. 29; quoted in Daily Report, FBIS-NESA, April 13, 1995, p. 4.

March 1996: “First, we are not concerned with the peace process. Hamas, the opposition factions, and the majority of the Palestinian people oppose this process in its current form. This process ignores all the sacrifices of the Palestinian people, relinquishes all inalienable Palestinian rights for which we have long struggled, and perpetuates the existence of the Zionist enemy on our land and soil.

We are not dropping armed action from our options, but we were eager not to shed Palestinian blood and not to fan the flames of a civil war among the Palestinians in the self-rule areas.

Military and martyrdom action is a natural thing in our strategy and plan to liberate our land. I repeat that the peace process, the Israeli concept of it, does not concern us. The proposed peace seeks to impose hegemony over a weak, surrendered party. Perhaps Hamas would understand the peace process, but the current settlement conflicts with the most basic idea of justice.” Mustafa al-Liddawi, Hamas representative in Beirut, text from Beirut al-Nahar, March 9, 1996, p. 7; quoted in Daily Report, FBIS-NESA, March 13, 1996, pp. 23-24.

October 1996: “Our daily life is becoming increasingly worse. I have always argued that our people gained nothing through the Oslo Agreements. Before, at least our people were united, whereas now they have been divided between PLO followers, those who believe in the Islamic movements and opposition, and a third neutral group hoping to feather their nest with the illusion of peace. The National Authority’s corruption undermines all economic and social plans. Gaza is full of policemen and “mukhabarts” (secret agents). Everything is in [President] Arafat’s hands.” Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahhar, Hamas leader, as quoted in Barcelona La Vanguardia in Spanish, October 10, 1996; quoted in Daily Report, FBIS-NESA, October 10, 1996.

 February 1999: “First, the suspension of the Wye River Agreement was the result of Israeli differences over the implementation of the Agreement. It has also been due to the expansion of the circle of extremism inside the Zionist entity and facilitated the rejection of an agreement such as the Wye River Agreement, which benefits, and was essentially tailored in accordance with, Israeli interests.  In spite of this Zionist procrastination, the PA merely waits and watches and this certainly confirms its incapacity and that it is captive and forcibly linked to the internal Israeli political bandwagon and to US pressures. Third, regardless of which political side wins in Israel – whether the Likud, Labor, or so-called centrists – extremism would prevail.

Furthermore, the stands of the main parties on the major final status issues such as Jerusalem, the settlements, borders, refugees, and other difficult and complicated issues are similar to great extent. Thus, we conclude that it would be a kind of delusion to pin any optimism or hopes on the outcome of the Israeli elections. Instead of wasting another year of fumbling and waiting, therefore, the PA should look for new options, reconsider its rash positions on negotiations, and be biased in favor of our people and their aspirations and options.”

April 2006: “Hamas has serious reservations about the [Arab] initiative since it involves acceptance of two states, Palestine and Israel. Hamas rejects this because it means recognition of Israel.” Hamas Political Bureau Head Mousa Abu Marzouq, al-Ayyam, September 18, 2006.

May 2008: “Now more than ever I tell you – we will never recognize Israel… We will form the Palestinian state on all of Palestine’s territories and the sun of liberty will burn the Zionists. To them I say – you will lose. You will leave and we will keep hounding you. The blood of our slain sons will haunt you forever.” Remarks by Mahmoud al-Zahhar Senior Hamas leader,  May 14, 2008.

August 2010: “Independent decision-making is defended by the gun. It is formed in the battlefield, and it reflects the will of the people. As for the negotiations, they will make you subservient to the American decisions, and to Israeli pressure and threats. …There is no legitimacy to Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, whether direct or indirect. Those negotiations derive their coerced legitimacy from the Americans and the Israeli pressure. As for the Arab endorsement [of direct negotiations] it is worthless. The Arab endorsement does not bestow legitimacy upon these negotiations, because this endorsement was imposed upon the Arabs, but that does not stem from their free will.” Hamas Leader Khaled Meshal, Al-Jazeera TV, August 2, 2010; taken from MEMRI.

May 2014: “Hamas will never recognize Israel. This is a red line that cannot be crossed. We would have spared ourselves seven years of misery under the siege and two wars in 2008 and 2012 had we wanted to recognize Israel. …The al-Qassam Brigades’ weaponry is of national importance to confront the occupation. Hamas’ position in this regard is clear, and it will not allow any tampering with the brigades’ armament, under any circumstances, because it is a strategic asset for all Palestinians. In contrast, the Quartet negotiations require that violence be renounced, which, in effect, means that the al-Qassam weapons must be decommissioned. But this is unacceptable, and Hamas will reject it outright.” Remarks by Mousa Abu Marzouq,Deputy Chairman of Hamas’ Political Bureau, as posted by Adnan Abu Amer, May 5, 2014.

Note on sources:  This collection of remarks made by Hamas officials, their representatives, or spokesmen was taken from a variety of sources. Going back to the 1990s, some of the material here was translated from various languages by the US Department of Commerce’s Foreign Broadcast Information Service. Other items were collected from authoritative Arab sources; others were read on the internet.  Obviously, this list of remarks is not exhaustive, but it is representative. They are all indicative of the uncompromising beliefs and fierce ideology held by Hamas adherents.

Israel’s response to OHCHR press briefing

(Communicated by the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva)

14 July 2014

I have read the OHCHR press briefing from Friday, 11 July 2014, and I reject it outright.

I read it with a magnifying glass, looking for any combination of the words "Hamas" and "condemn". I have failed to find it. In the efforts to safeguard the human rights of Israelis, the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights and her Office have failed dismally.

The clarity of her message to Israel is in sharp contrast to the opaqueness of her message to Hamas. She has put to shame George Orwell’s doublespeak. She refused, over and over, to acknowledge the fact that Hamas is committing a double war crime: targeting Israeli civilians while hiding behind Palestinian civilians. Israel, on the other hand, is taking measures to avoid harming innocent civilians and to minimize casualties. Hamas exploits Israel’s policy by instructing its population to act as human shields for its arsenal of deadly missiles and for its leaders and terrorists.

I react with total disbelief to the High Commissioner of Human Rights’ call made to "leaders on all sides" to "abandon their poisonous rhetoric". Israel acted with utmost restraint when rockets started to rain on its cities and villages following the abduction and killing of Eyal, Gil-ad and Naftali, on June 12. Furthermore, Israeli leaders have condemned the murder of Muhammad Abu Khder and the suspects to the murder have already been arrested and await trial.

And Hamas? Where is Hamas’ condemnation of the perpetrators? Am I deaf? I cannot hear strong voices of empathy and condolences to the families of the youths, or condemnation of the deed itself. I believe I have perfect hearing, yet I hear nothing. I only hear Hamas celebrating the landing of missiles on the homes of Israeli civilians.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is misguided. The High Commissioner has lost her bearings. Focusing her criticism on Israel is wrong, biased, unjustifiable and, ultimately, unhelpful. If she actually wanted to be helpful in this situation, she would have condemned Hamas in the strongest manner.

So, once again, let me make the realities on the ground crystal clear:

Hamas – an internationally recognized terrorist organization – deliberately embeds its military operations deep in residential areas, and exploits its own civilian population as human shields. These actions are war crimes. Many of Hamas' commanders use their own homes for military purposes – including weapons storage, command and control centers and military communications. In videos uploaded to the IDF's YouTube channel, secondary explosions can be seen following IDF attacks on some of these houses – clearly indicating their military use. Under international law, when the exploitation of residential houses makes an effective contribution to Hamas' military actions, these buildings clearly become legitimate military targets. 

When attacking these lawful targets, the IDF makes every effort to ensure such attacks are proportionate and to minimize any unavoidable civilian harm. The IDF has no desire to harm civilians, and is acting solely to weaken Hamas terrorist infrastructure and safeguard our civilians.  

The IDF conducts its operations in full accordance with international law. IDF commanders are trained in international law and legal advisors are embedded at the highest level of the chain of command. The IDF employs a range of tools – including distributing flyers, personalized phone calls and text messages – to warn people in the vicinity of an impending attack. 

Instead of raising doubts regarding Israel's commitment to the rule of law, the High Commissioner and her Office should be questioning why Hamas deliberately embeds its military operations in residential homes and civilian areas. A terrorist organization that uses its civilian population as human shields, and deliberately fires at the Israeli civilian population, is conducting war crimes – and should be denounced for doing so.

I believe the High Commissioner’s concerns for the implementation of Israel’s ‘Operation Protective Edge’ have been fully answered. Her responsibility now is to condemn Hamas and to call on President Abbas to dissolve the Fatah-Hamas “unity government” pact, as well as to support Israel’s right to defend itself.

This is the only way to achieve peace in our region.

Theater of the Absurd??

A letter I received recently is trying to gather support for a “Haaretz” (Israeli newspaper) Peace conference to be held shortly.

The letter states:

“In an effort to promote a broad and effective, "peace coalition" that can bring an end to the “Theater of the Absurd” produced by the Government of Israel, we a group of friends from different professional backgrounds have contacted and continue to contact leading people in the Peace Camp .

WE are realists. We know that try as we may, our small initiative has minimal impact. Accordingly, we focus our attentions on people who can use their reputation , political clout and organisations to make a change . Someone has to listen to them and we need to back them in their efforts.

We ask for an immediate freeze in settlement building and the advancement of a two state solution

One has to ask:-

If the writers are realists, how come they don't realise that the basic Palestinian aim is not peace? Yes, they want a peace, but a peace without Israel and a Palestine without Jews.

Who says so? They, the Palestinians do. Continually and emphatically.

Why aren't the letter writers, who claim to be realists, listening to the Palestinians, both Hamas and Fatah?

Have the letter writers taken note of the Hamas Charter and the PNC covenant? Have they actually read them clause by clause?

Surely Israel has to pay some attention to what the Palestinians (and their allies) broadcast in their media, what they teach their children, and the campaigns to demonise Israel that are being carried out throughout their society and the entire world.

It would be wise man who could suggest there was something Israel could do that would satisfy the Palestinians and the wider Muslim and Arab world and bring about a real and lasting peace. But it is hard to think what that might be.

Any peace initiatives will be wasted as long as the Palestinians stick to their long term plan of eventually getting the land from the Jordan to the Mediterranean. They are preparing the ground very nicely by demonising Israel with BDS campaigns and the like until the words Nazi, apartheid, etc. are synonymous with the Jewish state and Zionism is a dirty a word as the word “Jew” used to be.

Palestinians and their supporters are preparing public opinion worldwide to accept that Israel must go. And they aren't making a bad job of it. At the moment we haven't reached that point, but there is a real danger that we will.

Meanwhile we must actively promote our own case and our own cause, and not keep telling the world that it's Israel’s fault that there isn't peace here.

Looking at what is going on around us, with ISIS making gains, already with a presence in Gaza and a possible threat to Jordan, what odds would anyone give Abbas if he came to an agreement with Israel.

The Middle East in practically on fire, dangerous and turbulent and Israel must keep all its security options open. The main danger in the area doesn't come from building blocks of flats.

FROM SCHOOLGIRLS IN NIGERIA, TO SCHOOLBOYS IN ISRAEL

The perverse thinking of the Palestinian terrorists who have kidnapped 3 Israeli school kids is just another result of the continuous hate indoctrination of Palestinian society sanctioned by the PA and Hamas.

Let’s be clear :-

FROM SCHOOLGIRLS IN NIGERIA, TO SCHOOLBOYS IN ISRAEL,

CHILDREN ARE TODAY’S PREY FOR ISLAMIC PREDATORS

 If you have access to facebook, twitter or other social media please go to #bringbackourboys , click on “like” and leave a message of support. Also available on twitter https://twitter.com/BringBackIL

These messages should be brought to the attention of as many people as possible, not forgetting government representatives and local media.

The Prime Minister said tonight

"The IDF, ISA and all the security services are currently engaged in intensive operations in order to locate the missing youths. I thank them for this activity; they are working 'round the clock. Naturally, I cannot share everything we know, not at this time; however, I can say this: Our young people have been abducted by a terrorist organization. This is absolutely clear; there is no doubt about this. They were abducted by a terrorist organization."

  





PA Arrests BDS Activists in Ramallah

By: Aryeh Savir, Tazpit News Agency

Published: June 9th, 2014

In an unprecedented incident, the Palestinian Authority has arrested four anti-Israel BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) activists in Ramallah about two weeks ago.

The four, Zeid Shuaibi, Abdel Jawad Hamayel, Fadi Quran and Fajr Harb, were arrested on charges of “provoking riots and the breach of public tranquility.” The four demonstrated against an Indian dance group performing in Ramallah that performed in Tel Aviv as well. The protesters accused the Indian dancers of violating their campaign for boycotting Israel, claiming that their appearance in Tel Aviv was a form of “normalization” with Israel. The incident seriously embarrassed the Palestinian Authority leadership and resulted in a decision to prosecute the four BDS activists. The four appeared in court on May 28th to face the charges against them. However, the trial was postponed until July 14th because state witnesses, policemen, failed to appear in court.

Amnesty International has already called on the PA to drop the charges and has stated it will investigate alleged police violence. “The reported treatment of the four men once in custody has undermined their right to a fair trial and raises concerns that they are being punished for their political protest,” the statement read.

Omar Barghouti, one of the leaders of the BDS movement, said that the PA should be put on trial for bringing the four men to court. “If the four men are brought before a court, then we should prosecute the Palestinian Authority for serving the Israeli occupation’s project,” he said. “The decision to prosecute the four men was taken in collusion with the fierce Israeli campaign against the BDS.”

Khaled Abu Toameh, writing for Gatestone, writes that the BDS movement is seen by the PA as trouble-makers and law-breakers. For some PA officials, BDS is a movement that acts against the true interests of the Palestinians. They say that the actions of those promoting BDS make the Palestinians appear as if they are not interested in peace and coexistence with Israel. BDS activists in Ramallah have succeeded in preventing several planned meetings between Israelis and Palestinians in Ramallah and east Jerusalem. The Palestinian Authority is also worried that BDS is harming the Palestinians’ relations with other countries. The disturbance of the Indian dance troupe’s performance is an example. Toameh believes that The PA move against the BDS activists shows that it considers the movement a threat to Palestinian interests.

Gilad Zwick, an analyst at MIDA, explains that the Palestinians are well aware of the extent of the damage the BDS can cause them financially if the boycotters’ ambitions are fully realized.

There are 14 Israeli industrial and agricultural parks in Judea and Samaria, including 788 factories and businesses, employing some 11,000 Palestinian workers, alongside 6,000 Israeli workers. Furthermore, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, workers in industrial zones in Judea and Samaria are paid twice and three times the average Palestinian salary and also receive full social benefits as prescribed by Israeli law. In addition, Palestinian businessmen prefer the Israeli economy’s stability and comparative freedom over the corrupt PA’s economy. Thus, according to research conducted at Al–Quds University, the Palestinian volume of investments in the Israeli economy is two times higher than in the Palestinian economy. Approximately 16,000 Palestinian businessmen with entry visas into Israel choose to invest their money there. Therefore, the struggle to boycott Israel further gravely undermines the Palestinian economy, which is dependent on its Israeli neighbour. Israelis can transfer their factories elsewhere, but Palestinians will remain with nothing.

 

An Alice in Wonderland World

"You know what Mahmoud Abbas says behind closed doors? He says: 'Guys, let me [continue] saying what I say to the media. Those words are meant for the Americans and the occupation (i.e., Israel), not for you [Hamas]. What's important is what we agree on among ourselves. In other words, when I go out [publicly] and say that the government is my [Abbas] government and it recognizes 'Israel' and so on, fine - these words are meant to trick the Americans. But we agree that the government has nothing to do with politics [i.e., foreign relations]. The same thing happened in 2006,' he [Abbas] said: 'Don't harp on everything I tell the media, forget about the statements in the media.'

Ihab al-Ghussein's Facebook page, 8/6/2014

(Was Hamas government spokesman until the advent of the new unity

government with Fatah)

Gaza-based terror group Hamas is planning to encourage attacks against Israel as well as sap support in the West Bank from the Palestinian Authority (PA) by exploiting the Islamist “Dawa” social and cultural movement, a security source told a local newspaper this week.

The PA had actively sought to stymie Hamas inroads in areas under it’s control, prior to the recent unity agreement between the two former rivals, but since then, all bets are off, Israeli security officials caution.

“In the long run, Hamas intends to create an alternative civilian infrastructure that will enable the replacement of the PA’s secular government with an Islamic government whose ideology will be similar to that of Hamas,” according to the Israel Security Agency (ISA) – aka the Shabak.

“The Dawa network – Hamas’ socio-economic infrastructure – is a central element in Hamas’ activity and a principal method employed to achieve its goals,” according to the ISA, who contend that “Hamas’ Dawa activity appears to bequeath Islamic education and values to the Palestinians in order to make them more religious.”

“Hamas’ goal is to expand and strengthen its status among the Palestinians, bring them closer to its ideology, including the notion of Jihad against Israel, and even recruiting on its behalf supporters and partakers in terrorist activities,” according to the ISA.

But of course, the Americans and the EU are bending backwards to an extreme extent to persuade themselves that the Palestinians are ready for peace (or rather we should say "piece", then the next "piece" etc)

The video shows the support that Hamas are encouraging in the West Bank to the detriment of the PA as Hamas aims to boost West Bank support, terror via charity groups’

Israel has little to fear from the International Criminal Court

The ICC’s former chief prosecutor says the Palestinians wouldn’t have much of a case against Israel.

http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/jerusalem-babylon/1.591596

Anshel Pfeffer | May 20, 2014 

In the dysfunctional state of Israeli-Palestinian relations, the “nuclear option” for the Palestinians would be joining the International Criminal Court as a member state and exercising that membership to launch war crimes investigations against Israel. At least, that’s the view of many in Israel, which, like the United States, is not a member of the ICC.

But to judge by comments made by the ICC’s former chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo — who, even two years after leaving his post in The Hague, remains the controversial court’s most persuasive advocate — Israel has little to worry about. 

Last week, on his first visit to Israel, Moreno-Ocampo was full of praise for the local legal system and eager to point out that joining the ICC could backfire for the Palestinians. “Being here in Israel is not liking talking about international justice in Boston or Sweden,” said Moreno-Ocampo, who was here as a guest of the Fried-Gal Transitional Justice Initiative at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s law school. “The issues here are not academic.”

But he isn’t at all sure that if the Palestinian Authority were to join the ICC — or if Israel were to join, for that matter — the international court would actually play an active role in the conflict.

The ICC’s job is to investigate and prosecute only in cases in which the local legal system is not performing. “In a dictatorship they can make you disappear and kill you,” said Moreno-Ocampo. “But here, even if the situation is awful, you cannot disappear; you have the rule of law.”

He is wary of being yet another foreigner who “comes here and says I can solve your problems.” Saying Israel has “great lawyers here,” the former chief prosecutor said if Israel’s Supreme Court could find a way to win the Palestinians’ trust, perhaps it could adjudicate claims the Palestinians want to bring before the ICC. For the ICC to rule on Israel’s activities, he said, “the Palestinians have to prove that the [Israeli court’s] decision was to shield the defendants. They would have to prove that it wasn’t a fair proceeding.”

Moreno-Ocampo rejected a Palestinian request that the ICC launch a war crimes investigation against Israel after its May 2010 raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla, which ended in the deaths of nine Turkish nationals. “I told them that I can’t offer you success because you are not considered a state,” the former chief prosecutor recalled. “First go to the United Nations and when they recognize you, come back.”

The Palestinian Authority did go to the United Nations, and its status has since been upgraded to non-member observer state, making it eligible to join the court. All the same, Moreno-Ocampo said ICC membership could be a double-edged sword for the Palestinians, since it would also open them up to investigation for alleged war crimes, such as rocket fire and bombings targeting Israeli civilians.

“The ICC could help the Palestinians, but it could also increase the conflict,” said Moreno-Ocampo. “And the Palestinians should ask themselves how they would do it, because if you want to include everything since 2002 [when the ICC was established], that could include things done by the Palestinians. Another alternative is to start from 2015, not investigate past events and now that Hamas is part of the government, that would prevent them from committing more crimes.” 

Moreno-Ocampo’s warnings may seem strange to those who see the ICC as an interventionist organization of busybodies, but he doesn’t see the international court as an institution that should necessarily be conducting many global investigations.

The former chief prosecutor is certain the ICC’s impact will be felt over decades, not necessarily because of the cases that actually go through the court but because it is drawing a line between war crimes that can only be prosecuted by an international forum and cases that will be increasingly dealt with by the countries where the war crimes took place.

“Law enforcement is national, but acts of terror need global investigations,” said Moreno-Ocampo. “We’re living in a new age when people under 25 from Argentina, Italy and Russia are communicating around the world with each other and are very similar. This is the global community which will demand common standards.” The best outcome of for the ICC, he said, is that “there will be zero cases. That is the best because it means we are having an effect. The law is not for judges; it’s for people.”

The success of the ICC, maintains Moreno-Ocampo, should not be measured by the number of its successful prosecutions, but by the change its very existence is making in the way governments investigate their own security forces. He is certain that even the Israel Defense Forces “changed its orders just because of the ICC.”  

Abbas to Kerry: Please Beg Me More!

Khaled Abu Toameh  April 4, 2014 

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4248/abbas-kerry-beg

Abbas is convinced that it is only a matter of time before U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry rushes back to the region in yet anther desperate effort to "salvage the peace process."
In recent weeks, according to Palestinian officials, Kerry has literally been "begging" Abbas to agree to an extension of the peace talks after the end of April.

Abbas and the Palestinian Authority leadership have concluded that the Obama Administration is prepared to do almost anything to show some kind of "victory" in the peace process between Palestinians and Israelis. Palestinian demands therefore have continued to increase almost every day.

Palestinian Authority [PA] leader Mahmoud Abbas is now waiting to see what the U.S. Administration will offer him in return for refraining from pursuing his bid to join various international treaties and institutions.

In recent weeks, according to Palestinian officials, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has literally been "begging" Abbas to agree to the extension of the peace talks after the end of April.

Hours after Abbas signed the applications for joining a number of international bodies and treaties, he received an urgent phone call from Kerry asking him to refrain from further moves that could "derail" the peace process.

Abbas is convinced that it is only a matter of time before Kerry rushes back to the region in yet another desperate effort to "salvage the peace process."

On Wednesday night, Abbas and the PA leadership received the first sign that the U.S. Administration was nervous and confused following the PA's surprise decision to join 15 international organizations and treaties.

Kerry's envoy, Martin Indyk, invited Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat and Israeli Justice Minister Tsipi Livni to an emergency meeting in Jerusalem to find ways of preventing the "collapse" of the peace talks in the wake of Abbas's decision to apply for the memberships.
The meeting lasted for several hours and, according to Palestinian sources in Ramallah, Indyk and Livni "reprimanded" Erekat for surprising Israel and the U.S. Administration with the new decision.

So far, however, Abbas does not seem to be satisfied with what his emissary, Erekat, heard from Indyk and Livni. Abbas is therefore expected to step up pressure on the two parties in the coming days and weeks, if he can, in the hope of extracting as many concessions as possible.Abbas dispatched Erekat to the meeting to see what the Americans and Israelis are prepared to offer him in return for suspending this bid.

Abbas and the Palestinian Authority leadership have concluded that the Obama Administration is prepared to do almost anything to show some kind of a "victory" in the peace process between Palestinians and Israelis. Palestinian demands have therefore continued to increase almost every day.

Realizing how desperate Kerry is to achieve an extension of the talks, Abbas decided that this was the right time to set new conditions, such as the release of jailed Fatah militia leader Marwan Barghouti and Ahmed Sa'adat, Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Barghouti is in prison for his role in terrorist attacks against Israelis during the second intifada. Sa'adat is serving a lengthy prison term for his role in the assassination of Israel's Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi.

As Kerry increased his pressure on the Palestinians to agree to an extension, Abbas added two more conditions: the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and a complete cessation of construction in settlements and east Jerusalem neighborhoods.

Abbas has also made it clear that his decision to join international organizations and treaties does not mean that he is interested in a "clash" with the U.S. Administration.

Abbas is right. Of course he does not want a "clash" with President Barack Obama and Kerry. Rather, Abbas wants the two men to continue begging him not to walk out of the peace process and turn their entire Middle East policy into another blunder. He wants them to exert pressure on the Israeli government to accept both his old and new demands.


Abbas apparently thinks he is moving in the right direction, and that Obama and Kerry have no choice but to accept his demands and intensify U.S. pressure on Israel. Abbas does not want totally to walk out of the peace talks at this stage. He feels that he can still extract further concessions from the Israelis and Americans, and that his decision to join 15 international organizations and treaties has left the U.S. Administration in a state of panic that the peace talks might fail. Now he is waiting to see what price Obama and Kerry are willing to pay to avoid that scenario.

Breakdown in Negotiations

With the pending breakdown of U.S.-brokered peace negotiations and increasing PA belligerence, Israel has cancelled the agreement to release terrorists as scheduled on Saturday, March29th.

Atara Beck, staff writer, United with Israel

Israel has cancelled the scheduled release of 26 terrorists from prison on Saturday night.

“The Israeli government has informed us through the American mediator that it will not abide with its commitment to release the fourth batch of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for tomorrow,” senior PA official Jibril Rajoub told AFP news service on Friday.

“Israel has refused to commit to the names that were agreed upon of prisoners held by Israel since before the 1993 Oslo agreements,” he said.

A committee or five ministers, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was to decide which prisoners should be freed. Their names would have had to be made public at least 48 hours prior to the release, not including the Jewish Sabbath, in order to provide time for appeals to the High Court of Justice.

The originally scheduled release would have been the fourth and final stage in the freeing of 104 terrorists as a gesture to encourage peace negotiations.

Over the past several months, thousands of families of victims have been protesting the deal to release terrorists, many of whom have resumed violence against civilians following their release.

PA Central Committee Member Tawfiq Tirawi, as documented by Palestinian Media Watch, stated this week on official PA TV that the negotiations are merely “one of the methods of struggle. But the rifle is here, and it can burst forth at any moment.”

With the lack of progress made in the negotiations or any meaningful concessions on the Palestinian side. a growing number of Israeli government ministers have joined the call to cancel Saturday’s prisoner release. Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon has threatened to resign if the terrorists are set free.

Abbas, while adamant in his refusal to recognize the Jewish state – with the support of the Arab League – has been demanding a construction freeze in Judea and Samaria and the freeing of terrorists as a precondition for merely continuing the talks.

The PA head has been receiving the released prisoners with blood on their hands as heroes.