European Donors to UNRWA are shown a 1 January Video of Fatah Armed Demonstration in UNRWA Camp

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April 12, 2022

Paris – The Wiesenthal Centre has forwarded the content of a report from the Bedein Center for Near East Policy Research, to the European Commission and to Foreign Ministers of major donor countries to the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), including, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.

In this report, the Bedein Center explains it has had six meetings with the office of the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, regarding “the fate of 5.3 million Palestinian refugee descendants”… “UN Secretary-General Staff made clear that donor nations to UNRWA are to be responsible for any indiscretions which occur in UNRWA.”

On 1 January, the Bedein Center filmed the celebrations of “Fatah Day” in the UNRWA refugee camp of Deheishe, where a procession of heavily armed militants was taking place. See link on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/662065506

Screengrab from the 2-minute video… excerpt of the interview of a child.

The Bedein Center has addressed a question to the Consulates and other representatives in Ramallah of the funding states: “…whether your country will take action to ask UNRWA to disarm Deheishe, in order to save lives of men, women and children, who live in the cramped conditions of a refugee camp?”

Wiesenthal Centre officials – Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate dean and Director for Global Social Action, and Dr. Shimon Samuels, Director for International Relations – have raised these questions with the above country officials and the European Commission.

For further information contact Dr. Shimon Samuels at csweurope@gmail.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).

He returned to Jaffa and died

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April 12, 2022

The story of Raad Hazem’s recent attack killing three Israelis serves as a perfect microcosm of our lives as Palestinians and our history living under occupation. Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Jenin refugee camp, Dizengoff Street, are all names raised in the course of the story, and these are not just the names of geographical places. In fact, when we look deeply into Raad’s story we find it is the story of all Palestinians.

Raad, which is Arabic for “thunder”, was born in Jenin refugee camp, one of the 19 Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank, run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The camp was established in 1953 within the boundaries of the Jenin municipality, and most of its residents are from the Carmel area in Haifa and the Carmel Mountains. These residents and their descendants were displaced during the 1948 war known as the Nakba.

Raad lived in the camp and experienced many scourges over and over again, the source of which was always the occupation. The most painful of these was when he was seven years old in 2002 when Jenin camp was invaded and completely destroyed by the occupation. From April 3-17, 2002, twenty years ago, the occupation government and its army launched a massive attack on the Jenin refugee camp, resulting in at least dozens of casualties and 13,000 homeless as well as massive damage to homes and infrastructure. According to a United Nations report, the occupation army killed at least 52 Palestinians in the attack, and in return the Palestinian resistance was able to kill 23 soldiers of the occupation army.

Raad was a child at the time. He lived and saw the massacre in front of him in all its details. He saw how sixty Merkava tanks entered the camp. He saw armored bulldozers destroying homes and buildings in order to open and widen the camp’s corridors in order for the tanks to enter the camp.

Raad saw how the buildings were leveled to the ground, he witnessed the displacement of families, he saw dozens of martyred children of his generation under the rubble, and he watched his house being flattened and destroyed by the bulldozer.

Two months later, on June 23, 2002, the occupation government began building the apartheid wall. Raad grew up as the wall grew before his eyes. Raad grew up with the army’s incursions into his neighborhood and his house. Raad grew up and saw the arrest of his father. Raad grew up with his father handcuffed in a small cell in one of the occupation prisons, and handcuffed in a large prison behind this apartheid wall. Raad grew up deprived of freedom of movement, suffering at military checkpoints from long waits and humiliating searches. The occupation army forced him to take off his clothes, soldiers searched him naked in public, forced him to walk long distances, and prevented him from reaching his university. Raad is now grown up and the apartheid wall now surrounds him, and barriers always remind him that there is an occupation that deprives him of his most basic human rights.

Raad studied computer science and specialized in it, and yet at the age of 29 nothing had changed in his life. The occupation continues, the apartheid wall is expanding more and more, and he is imprisoned behind it. He grew up and remained deprived of seeing the sea, or knowing the meaning of freedom and returning to his original homeland.

On April 7, 2022, this handsome brown young man crossed through a hole in the apartheid wall, and he crossed into the territory occupied in 1948, where the occupation established its alleged state. The creation of this state was possible only after ethnically cleansing and demolishing hundreds of villages, displacing hundreds of thousands under coercive conditions, and massacring scores of innocent people.

The apartheid wall had separated Raad from his original city, Shefa-Amr, the city in which his father and grandfather were born. Even though the city is only a one-hour drive from Jenin refugee camp, Raad and his family have been prevented by the occupation from returning to it, or even visiting it.

Raad arrived in Jaffa, which the occupation and the world call “Tel Aviv.” He saw the sea for the first time in his life. He walked between its streets and its villages. “Tel Aviv” was built on the ruins of seven villages that surrounded Jaffa, the largest of them is the village of Mu’nis. The village and its people were besieged for weeks by the Zionist gangs, some of its residents were killed and the rest were forcibly displaced. The occupation built on its ruins and on the remains of its residents, Tel Aviv University.

Raad continued his journey in Jaffa, walking through villages and in their neighborhoods whose names had been erased under the city. He walks saying: Here is the Saqia, here is Al-Jamasin, here is Abu Kabir, here is Salameh, here is Sumail, here is Sheikh Munis, here is Al-Manshiya, here is Saruna, here is Al-Safiriya, here is Abbasieh, here is Arab Al-Sawalmeh, here is Fajjah, here is Kafr Anah, here is Al-Hamidiyah, here is Yazur, here is Khayriah, here is Pyyar El Adas, here is Arsouf, here is Haram. Here is Jaffa. Jaffa was inhabited by more than 100,000 Palestinian people including Raad’s ancestors who were displaced towards the sea. Some of them survived, and many of them drowned. Some of them were massacred in their homes and were killed by the Zionist gangs at that time. As for their homes, they were inhabited by Jewish immigrants, those Jews who came to Palestine fleeing European countries, during the First and Second World Wars, and those escaping the Nazis and the evil treatment they were subjected to by the Europeans.

Raad knew well that within these villages and neighborhoods there was one neighborhood located north of Jaffa, whose name is now “Tel Aviv”. This area was where the first Zionist settlement was built on April 11, 1909, 39 years before the Nakba and five years after Herzl’s death. This is Jaffa, and this is the Tel Aviv neighborhood; at first it was just rented houses, on Palestinian lands, then the neighborhood turned into a street that includes a larger number of houses, with a Jewish majority, then the streets increased and turned into a neighborhood that became a mini-city for the immigrant Jews. They called it “Tel Aviv”. With the days immigration to it increased, until the year of the Nakba came, and the Zionist gangs invaded the city of Jaffa and destroyed all the villages and neighborhoods around it. This is how Tel Aviv, which we see today and the whole world sees, was built. This is the reality of Tel Aviv in 2022. Tel Aviv has buried hundreds of Palestinian bodies under its skyscrapers.

Thus, according to the hypocrisy of the world, thunder came from the “terrorist” Jenin camp to the innocent, white “Dizengoff” Street. In Jenin and in the camp there is no white skin and no blue eyes for the world to see, even though it has been invaded by the occupation for 74 years. In Jaffa, there are no blue eyes to convince the world of the justice of its cause, which began in 1948, even though the blood of its people was spilled at the hands of occupiers who invaded it long before Russia invaded Kyiv. There are no blue eyes, no white skin and light hair in Palestine for the blond Western conscience to see what has happened, and what is happening.

Raad chose to see Jaffa free, even if just for a few hours. Jaffa, which lived through an occupation like the occupation of Ukraine, but the difference is that the occupation of Jaffa took place when scenes were depicted in black and white, while Russia’s occupation of Ukraine is today in color.

Thunder lived his freedom for one day in Jaffa and died.

This is Raad who lived in the camp and returned to Jaffa and died.

Source: https://mondoweiss.net/2022/04/he-returned-to-jaffa-and-died/

Joseph’s Tomb

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April 12, 2022

Inconvenient revelations

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Michael Kuttner

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April 8, 2022

Very often there are news items that upset conventional thinking and as a consequence, they sink without trace.

On the other hand, inconvenient revelations can also result in a re-evaluation of the subjects involved.

Three unrelated news reports this past week demonstrate how unexpected facts can have an impact nationally and internationally.

One could call them “down under” connections because all three have something to do with New Zealand and Israel.

After fifty-three years of diplomatic relations, Singapore is opening an Embassy in Israel. Realizing that a physical presence on the ground is more conducive to productive diplomacy the Singaporean Government also desires to take advantage of the enormous opportunities offered by Israeli technological innovations. It also sends a message that having a presence in Israel facilitates inter Governmental and trade opportunities.

Contrast this move with New Zealand’s reluctance and refusal to open an Embassy preferring instead to have a remote diplomatic representative situated in Turkey.

New Zealand only gave de jure recognition of Israel on 28 July 1950, i.e. two full years after the country was re-established. One could speculate as to why it took so long to finally acknowledge the fact that Jewish sovereignty had been successfully restored but it certainly set the pattern for the future.

Seventy-two years and umpteen anti-Israel UN resolutions later we are still waiting for a New Zealand Government to open a presence here. God forbid that a diplomatic mission should be established in Israel’s capital, as is the usual protocol in every other country, but at least a Tel Aviv situated Embassy would demonstrate that NZ takes its relationships with us seriously.

Realistically, there is no prospect of any change and we will have to reconcile ourselves to that sad reality as well as a continuing scenario of New Zealand voting at the UN against Israel with the immoral majority of hypocritical nations.

The second news item which caught my attention was the result of an international survey rating the world’s happiest nations for 2022.

When one reads newspapers and online news sites it is easy and quite logical to dismiss any notion that Israel should feature anywhere but towards the bottom of the list. After all, the overwhelming impression the generally ill-informed public is likely to gain from the endless cycle of negative news about Israel is one of mayhem, violence, acrimony and dissension. Accused of libels of apartheid and colonial settlement, it is unsurprising that the impression is made of a country continually embroiled in social upheavals, non-democratic norms and a society seething with discontent and bitter feuds.

It therefore must have come as a shattering bolt from the blue when the list of happiest nations was released for publication because lo and behold, miracle of miracles, Israel was in ninth spot, in fact, one above New Zealand which came in at number ten and ahead of Australia which gained twelfth place.

No doubt this totally unexpected result which shattered all the usual delusions and lies peddled by the media explains why in the headlines of many of the news outlets the list stopped at number eight, thus avoiding the inconvenient facts. One had to go to the small print in the main report in order to discover that Israel was the ninth happiest country in the world. As most only read the headlines the real truth lies buried.

The happiest country is apparently Finland, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Israel and New Zealand. Canada is 15, USA is 16 and the UK 17.

What criteria were used to determine the rankings?

Health, life expectancy, GDP per capita, social support in times of trouble, low corruption, high social trust, generosity in a community where people look after each other and freedom to make life decisions were all a factor.

Needless to say, the news that Israel made the top ten, sunk without a trace no doubt because it does not fit in with the politically correct narrative so beloved by commentators, self loathers and associated radical groups.

The third revelation to hit the headlines was the result of a 2021 survey about antisemitism in New Zealand. It revealed an appalling ignorance of the Shoah and an alarming acquiescence concerning commonly held conspiracy theories about Jews.

Shocking as these attitudes may seem to most I must admit that it did not come as any great surprise to me. Over 50 years ago I was very involved in New Zealand with interfaith and Jewish/Israel outreach activities and one of the most salient things which stuck in my mind was the high level of ignorance prevalent amongst the general population. Social media had not yet become the source of most disinformation and conspiracy theories about Jews and Israel but despite this, there still was a huge black hole as far as these subjects were concerned.

Shoah education was non-existent in high schools, the vast majority of Church groups I addressed were woefully deficient in any meaningful understanding of Judaism and Jewish history and except for Evangelicals, there was a total lack of knowledge as to the connection between Israel and Jews. Among many of the latter, the sole reason for encouraging Jews to be in Israel was to facilitate our mass conversion.

I met some very sincere individuals who tried their best to disseminate the truth but it was hard going for them to influence ingrained prejudices and the rising tide of anti-Israel pc policies especially as sponsored by the World Council of Churches.

Fast forward half a century and very few things have changed.

Education of the Shoah is still not a compulsory part of the high school curriculum, Christians are a diminishing section of the population and thanks to social media, the internet and other sources of incitement the number of those who are influenced to believe the worst about Jews has grown.

There is no doubt that education is a vital tool in the battle against hate. Local Holocaust groups are doing a valiant job in this respect but unless and until the NZ Government turns rhetoric into action there will be no chance that any change will materialize. As well as Shoah education they must, as a matter of urgency, adopt the IHRA declaration on hate against Jews and Israel. Failure to do so merely exposes their mealy-mouthed double standards and contributes to the accelerating dangerous perceptions of Jews and Israel among the general population.

It has been suggested that “getting to know each other and doing things together” is the best way to fight the racist hate against us. While this sounds good in theory and can work among a few who are willing to learn, in practice, it has limited impact. The outreach to indigenous groups is important and hopefully successful but one has to wonder whether it will counter the massive influence that radicalized hate groups are already making in that area.

Taking into account those Jews who are not affiliated and do not take any part in organized religious, Communal and Zionist organizations the number remaining is somewhat diminished. Subtract those whose knowledge of Judaism and Israel is minimal and the number who can interact in a positive manner with the misinformed decreases even more. Subtract further anyone who feels inhibited to flaunt their Jewish connection and you end up with an even smaller smattering of defenders of Jews and Israel.

We should by all means try to galvanize and involve as many as possible but at the end of the day, one has to be realistic.

Then, again, we also need to learn from the recent past.

The avalanche of hate and incitement combined with apathetic ignorance, unfortunately, mitigates against success in convincing increasing numbers of all age groups and ethnicities exposed to it that neither Jews nor Israel are the evil forces so portrayed.

I recall my late parents telling me how lifelong non-Jewish friends in pre-war Germany with whom they mixed and socialized suddenly, from one day to the next, cut off all contact with them. Despite “knowing each other and doing things together” they swallowed the slanders being trotted out by the politicians and media.

With the right amount and constant drip-feed of poisonous lies, who can guarantee that even in benign societies it can be a case of “never again?”

This latest report should be a wake-up call for NZ Jews and indeed all those who realize the dangers which loom ahead.

Recent terrorist attacks in Israel undermine ‘prospects for peace’: Guterres

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April 8, 2022

“Such acts of violence can never be justified and must be condemned by all,” he said in a statement issued through his Spokesperson.

Secretary-General @antonioguterres condemns the recent terrorist attacks in Israel, which claimed the lives of at least 11 Israeli citizens. In the spirit of the upcoming religious holy days, he calls for an immediate end to violence: https://t.co/1sZWz28I4r

— UN Spokesperson (@UN_Spokesperson) March 30, 2022

Tuesday’s terrorist assault on the street in Bnei Brak, a small ultra-Orthodox city on the eastern outskirts of Tel Aviv, was the third such attack in Israel in a week.

Five people were reportedly shot dead in the suburban attack, three Israelis, and two Ukrainian citizens.

Broad condemnation
Amateur video broadcast on Israeli TV stations showed a man dressed in black brandishing a rifle. According to news reports, the Palestinian gunman was a resident of Ya’bad, in the northern West Bank, who was believed to have been working at a local building site.

He was later shot dead by Israeli police, but not before fatally wounding one of the officers who confronted him.

Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, said the country was facing a new wave of terrorism. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also condemned the attack.

Spate of attacks
The attack marked one of the bloodiest weeks in Israel in recent years, ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, beginning next weekend.

Two previous attacks just days earlier, saw an Israeli Arab drive his car into a cyclist, killing him. The attacker, who reportedly had planned to join terrorist group ISIL – then stabbed three people to death outside a shopping centre.

Five days later, two Israeli Arabs killed two police officers in Hadera, after opening fire on them at a bus stop. ISIL reportedly said that it was behind the assault.

“In the spirit of the upcoming religious holy days, the Secretary-General calls for an immediate end to violence, which only serves to undermine the prospects for peace,” the Spokesperson’s statement said.

The UN chief also extended his “heartfelt condolences” to the families of the victims and wishes a prompt recovery to those injured.

What Motivates an Arab to Murder a Jew

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April 8, 2022

What would cause an Arab to grab an automatic weapon, kill random bystanders, and flee like a jackal into the night?

Look no further than the law enacted by the nascent Palestinian Authority which in 2015 legislatesd a “salary for life” for anyone who kills a Jew, and a salary for life for the family of the killer, if the killer dies while committing an act of murder.

That law can be found at the site of the respected Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs:

Incentivizing Terrorism: Palestinian Authority Allocations to Terrorists and their Families

Despite the universal condemnation of PAY FOR SLAY, no nation, including Israel, have yet demanded that the PA repeal this unprecedented statute which promotes premeditated murder

Instead, the priority for Israel and the West is a stable economy for the Palestinian Authority, where businesses in Israel can also profit.

Therefore, Israel approves of an arrangement which leaves PAY FOR SLAY in place.

Instead of becoming a nation of prophets, Israel deteriorates into a nation of profits.

On the eve of the Passover holiday, the time has come to free the people of israel from the bondage of slavery to wealth at any cost

The first people to mobilize against this system are those whose loved ones were murdered, who witness in pain as the PA grants a monthly fee to those who indeed murdered their loved ones.

The time has come to demand that the PA repeal PAY TO SLAY, or threaten the PA with economic collapse. Some companies people in Israel would also collapse. To save lives, it is worth it.

The Condemnation of Terror by Mansour Abbas: Is It Real?

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April 7, 2022

Muhammad Majadla, head of Nas Radio’s news department, Channel 12 commentator, and weekly columnist for Globes, said that “today [April 3, 2022] Ra’am is planning an important speech, they say, by Mansour Abbas in Hebrew and Arabic. On the second evening of Ramadan.”¹

A few hours later Majadla reported: “The speech by the Ra’am chairman will not be broadcast this evening, even though it was already filmed, because of internal disagreements about the content. As I understand it, the Islamic Movement thinks Mansour got a bit carried away in some of his statements about the terror wave, and they are fearful of criticism in the Arab public.”²

Member of Knesset Mansour Abbas, who serves as chairman of the United Arab List (Ra’am party) and deputy head of the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement, voiced condemnations of the terror attacks during the second half of March, as follows:

March 22: “Ra’am condemns the criminal attack in Be’er Sheva, and sends its condolences to the victims’ families while wishing a full recovery to the wounded. The Arab citizens of the country are law-abiding and deplore anyone who uses violence against other citizens. Ra’am calls on all citizens to maintain the common and delicate fabric of life, show responsibility, and promote a tolerant discourse in this difficult hour.”³
March 27: “I condemn the despicable crime in Hadera. This is vile Daesh terror that does not represent the Arab society in Israel, which seeks to uphold the rule of law and the values of respect for the sanctity of human life, ordinary Arab and Jewish life, and the values of peace and tolerance. My condolences to the families of the victims, and I wish a speedy recovery to the wounded.”⁴
March 29: “In Bnei Brak today a terrible and deplorable crime of terror was perpetrated against innocent civilians. I take part in the sorrow of the families and wish a full recovery to the wounded. All of us stand together against a murderous wave of terror, all of us without distinction. The streets of Israel’s cities are full of Arab and Jewish citizens, and those who engage in a despicable killing spree do not distinguish and do not differentiate between blood and blood.”⁵

Abbas repeated his message condemning the terror attacks in interviews with the Israeli media.

At the same time, his condemnations of terror in Ra’am’s name were not posted on the official Facebook pages of Ra’am;⁶the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement,⁷ which Ra’am represents in the Knesset; or of the Islamic Movement’s Institute for Religious Law and Islamic Studies.⁸

Nor did the Islamic Movement’s leader Safwat Freij⁹ or its former leader Hamed Abu Dabas¹⁰ issue any condemnations of the terror.

Ra’am Knesset members Walid Taha¹¹ and Ayman Khatib¹² did not disseminate Abbas’ condemnation of the terror in Ra’am’s name, and Ra’am Knesset member Mazen Ghnaim issued only his March 22 condemnation of the Be’er Sheva attack.¹³

Analysis and Assessment

In Israeli political circles there is disagreement about the sincerity of Mansour Abbas’ recent condemnations of terror.

Some see them as reflecting a moderate and courageous line of Ra’am and the Islamic Movement, while others view them as no more than a propaganda exercise.

The condemnations do not jibe with Ra’am’s and the Islamic Movement’s consistent support for the security prisoners, most of whom are convicted terrorists. They portray them as freedom fighters and heroes, and the Islamic Movement funnels aid to them through its charity organization.

The fact that the condemnations were voiced almost exclusively by Abbas probably points to disagreements among the senior Ra’am and Islamic Movement leadership about the policy toward the armed jihad operations—or “wave of terror.”

By giving Abbas alone the task of condemning the attacks, Ra’am and the Islamic Movement want to have their cake and eat it too—paying lip service to partnership in the government coalition without requiring the leaders of the movement, and particularly its institutions of religious law, to take an official stance against armed jihad.

Still at the top of Ra’am’s order of priorities are the perks of being part of the coalition—a large budget for the Arab sector, influence over outline plans, recognition of Bedouin communities in the Negev, and the fight against crime. At this stage, they have no interest in breaking up the coalition. They believe that, with the condemnations, they can overcome the challenge to its stability posed by the security incidents.

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Notes

Hysteria is unnecessary, but public pressure is important

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April 7, 2022

A little perspective. In terms of Palestinian terrorism, nothing new or surprising happened last week. It was a spate of incidents. So on one hand, there is no need for a hysterical response, but on the other, it’s good that the public responded with an uproar, because that is the only way to compel the Israeli government to act with the necessary responsibility in the mid and long terms, rather than the reckless addiction to temporary calm that is the result of a lack of political courage. In hindsight, it turns out that the rioters in Lod, Acre, and on the roads of Arad in May 2021, and the terrorists in Beersheba, Hadera, and Bnei Brak now, are forcing the government to deal with what it and its predecessors this past generation should have prevented through responsible policies.

Palestinians have been indiscriminately killing Jews for over 100 years. Since the Palestinian people emerged, prior to any foundational event or after it – the establishment of the state of Israel, the 1967 Six-Day War, Oslo and Camp David, the Second Intifada, the disengagement from the Gaza Strip. Always: when the Palestinians are in distress and when they are flourishing; under the mufti, Yasser Arafat, and Mahmoud Abbas; in the midst of a peace process and when peace talks are frozen; under supportive US administrations and US administrations that ignored them; in the territories and inside the Green Line. Perpetrators of terrorism are ignorant and education, poor and well-off, religious and secular, Muslim and Christian, men, women, children, motivated by nationalism or by personal troubles, citizens of Israel, residents of Jerusalem, residents of Gaza, residents of the West Bank and the Bedouin sector.

Palestinians have an inherently high motivation for violence. It is a violent society, under Israeli rule and outside it, even toward its own. Murderers of Jews (shahidim) are the main role models, who are honored and financially rewarded based on the number of Jews they kill. This stems from the Palestinian national ethos, which describes a historical compromise (a retreat from the demand for “right of return”) as a betrayal and sanctifies the “sacrifice” of preventing a violent struggle that will go on for generations. Only ongoing forcible prevention (the Shin Bet security agency and IDF thwart attacks based on high-quality intelligence) and deterrence can hold terrorism in check, combined with awareness of a critical blow to what happens to perpetrators of terrorism and those around them, as dealt by Operation Guardian of the Walls.

The absence of forcible prevention is perceived as helplessness, which invites violence. This is what happens when the government, for years, is afraid to take action against thousands of armed Bedouin rioters in the Negev, against agricultural crime, against protection schemes and against expressions of solidarity with the enemy in a time of war. It happens when in matters that pose a threat to leaders of society, courts impose absurd, not to say irresponsible, punishments and the prosecutorial authorities suggest scandalous plea bargains. The government also transfers billions to Arab local authorities without ensuring that the money won’t be diverted to criminal organizations via the clans. Rather than dealing with eroding deterrence in a generation that has no memory of Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, Israel continues to accept vandalism of the security barrier and stops oversight over entry of hundreds of thousands of members of the people fighting against it. To “keep things calm,” Hamas is being allowed to rebuild its strength after Guardian of the Walls so it can recover for the next conflict, while sending tens of thousands of laborers into Israel. The price of the addiction to the supreme goal of “calm today” is an incalculable eruption “the day after.”

So it’s good that the public is outraged. Not because of the 11 people killed, but because it is starting to lose faith in its governments. They have allowed the Bedouin the take over the Negev, the violent lawlessness in Arab society, and legitimization of terrorism among Arab citizens. The violent Arab society and political culture are mainly responsible for these perversions, but the government is responsible for suppressing violence.

Now we need to force the government to repair the security barrier, oust Palestinians in Israel illegally, forcibly put down Bedouin rioting – including the massive encroachment on state-owned land – and issue severe punishments to people who participate, for example, in mass events in Umm al-Fahm that identify with the murderers of two police officers on the Temple Mount in 2017. Legislators much make it clear to prosecutors and judges that their role is to protect victims of terrorism, not show empathy for the perpetrators. Honest Arab citizens, who want to integrate into society, will welcome this wholeheartedly.

David Bedein asks: will PA/UNRWA indoctrination to war be on the agenda?

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April 7, 2022

Biden Secretly Pushing for PA-Israel Summit

The Biden Administration is again pressuring the State of Israel to hold senior-level diplomatic talks with the Palestinian Authority, at the White House, according to a report by the Hebrew-language Walla! News outlet.

This is the third time in five months US officials have urged Israel to agree to such a meeting, although up to this point, the discussions have been behind closed doors.

The first proposal came in December 2021; the next in February 2022. Thus far, Israel’s response has been noncommittal.

Three past and present senior officials in the Biden Administration, and two senior Israeli officials told the news outlet the Israeli government did not outright reject the US proposal, but had reservations.

Without a positive response from the Bennett-Lapid government, American officials decided to try again this month.

If such a meeting were to take place, it would be hosted by White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Israel would send National Security Adviser Eyal Hulata. Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel and Jordanian intelligence chief Ahmad Hosni would also attend, according to the proposal.

(DM Takes 3 Monkeys Role) DM Gantz Speaks with PA Chairman Abbas

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April 6, 2022

(DM Takes 3 Monkeys Role) DM Gantz Speaks with PA Chairman Abbas
Dr. Aaron Lerner 5 April 2022

When it comes to DM Gantz’s approach with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas it is
“see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”.

Gantz met with Abbas after Abbas’ spokesman along with the PA PM and other
PA officials condemned Israel for killing 3 terrorists who opened fire on
Israeli forces rather than surrender and called for Israel to be prosecuted
in international court for this “crime”. The terrorists were on the way to
murdering Israelis at the time they were stopped. The fourth member of the
team surrendered later without a scratch.

Not a word from DM Gantz about this.

The irony: When DM Gantz takes on the 3 Monkeys role, he makes it HARDER for
Abbas to behave himself since the Palestinian street sees that there are no
consequences to publicly attacking Israel for defending itself.

====
DM Gantz Speaks with PA Chairman Abbas

This evening (Tuesday, 5 April 2022), Defense Minister Benny Gantz spoke
with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Minister Gantz wished Chairman Abbas and the
Palestinian people a blessed month of Ramadan.

During the call, Minister Gantz said that the month of Ramadan must be a
month of peace and quiet and not a a period marked by terror. He spoke of
the horrendous terror attacks that took the lives of 11 Israeli citizens
over the past two weeks and emphasized that Israel will continue to take the
measures necessary to prevent attacks and to defend its citizens.

Minister Gantz expressed his appreciation to Chairman Abbas for condemning
the terror attack that took place in Beni Brak. He also noted that Israel is
prepared to expand civilian measures during and after the month of Ramadan,
in accordance with the security situation.

COGAT Maj.-Gen. Ghasan Alyan was on the call.

Media and Foreign Affairs Advisor to Defense Minister Gantz
Betty Ilovici

________________________________________
IMRA – Independent Media Review and Analysis

Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on
Arab-Israeli relations

Website: www.imra.org.il

Israel Behind the News

European Donors to UNRWA are shown a 1 January Video of Fatah Armed Demonstration in UNRWA Camp

He returned to Jaffa and died

Joseph’s Tomb

Inconvenient revelations

Recent terrorist attacks in Israel undermine ‘prospects for peace’: Guterres

What Motivates an Arab to Murder a Jew

The Condemnation of Terror by Mansour Abbas: Is It Real?

Analysis and Assessment

Hysteria is unnecessary, but public pressure is important

David Bedein asks: will PA/UNRWA indoctrination to war be on the agenda?

(DM Takes 3 Monkeys Role) DM Gantz Speaks with PA Chairman Abbas

Column from the Director