[{"lang":"en","indexId":"index20","content":"Official PA daily: \n

US behind civil wars and atrocities
\nin Arab countries
\n
\nBy Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook

\n
\nThe official Palestinian Authority daily newspaper has accused the United States of ordering radical Islamists to commit atrocities in order to justify America's war on terror and its actions against Arabs.
\n
\nA recent opinion piece in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida claims that after the fall of the Soviet Union, the US needed "a new straw man, whose existence would justify all its wars, all its conspiracies and its policies of supporting oppression."
\n
\nThe writer, Fuad Abu Hajla, who is a regular columnist at the paper, alleges that the US subsequently "urged Islamist movements to commit atrocities that tarnished the image of Islam and Muslims in the world," thereby allowing it to use its war on terror as an excuse to overthrow Arab regimes.
\n
\nThe columnist insists that the American-led "lunatics" were forbidden to operate in Israel - "the Israeli tyrant" - but continue to be responsible for murders, kidnapping and terror in Syria and Algeria.
\n
\nAbu Hajla has made similar accusations in the past. Describing the attack on a Shiite mosque by "Salafists and Jihadists" in Syria, he wrote in December 2012:\n

"I'm sure that these crazy gangs, who wreak havoc in the land (i.e., Syria), look to the same authority who puts the tyrants in Arab lands in power - they all function by virtue of an American authority and possess an American identity; they are all stooges of American ambassadors and agents."
\n

\nHe claimed that "the Salafists who 'practice Jihad' in Arab capital cities and wave their swords to change Arab society, are fulfilling the wishes of the United States - to destroy everything accomplished by nations, and turn '[Arab] Spring' into civil war."
\n
\nPalestinian Media Watch has documented other PA conspiracy accusations against Israel and the US.
\n
\nThe following are excerpts from the two op-eds by regular columnist Fuad Abu Hajla in the official PA daily:
\n
\n\n

"Since the fall of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the socialist bloc in Europe, the United States has been striving to create a new straw man whose existence would justify all its wars, all its conspiracies and its policy of supporting oppression.
\n
\nAt that stage the Americans decided to activate their strategic allies. They urged Islamist movements to commit atrocities that tarnished the image of Islam and Muslims in the world, and allowed Washington to replace the Soviet threat, as it were, with an imaginary Islamic threat. [Thus] began the 'war against terrorism' that overthrew progressive pan-Arab regimes and culminated with the conquest of Arab states. But it did not put an end to even one terrorist organization from among the organizations to whom the United States had extended its long-distance sponsorship and for whom it had provided fertile ground to broaden and expand.
\n
\nAll this was accompanied by an American and Western mobilization against Islam, Muslims and Arabs, depicting them as terrorists who understand only the language of slaughter and slitting hostages' throats...
\n
\nBy a political decision, Salafists became Jihadists who with weapons confront all the tyrants of the world except the Israeli tyrant, whom the Americans prohibited them from coming near.
\n
\nThat is how we and the whole world became accustomed to seeing pictures of cold-blooded murder and handcuffed hostages slaughtered with swords wielded by 'Jihadists'...
\n
\nIt seems as if Washington has still not got all it wanted out of these lunatics, and so it allows them to act freely and move from arena to arena in order to provide new despicable examples that substantiate the unjust image of Islam in the world. They are still murdering in Syria and they are still kidnapping and terrorizing in Algeria. They are in all the other Arab states even if many of their cells are still dormant, to be awakened only when given an American green light."

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 21, 2013]

\n"Salafists or the Muslim Brotherhood winning control in Syria is no longer the most dangerous thing to look out for in the long Syrian Spring. On the contrary. [Muslim] Brotherhood and Salafi rule that embody reactionary decisions and choices looks much more compassionate than what now seems to be in store in the revolution that continues under American sponsorship. Yesterday, I watched a video clip that showed a group of Salafists and Jihadists attacking and burning a Shiite mosque in the village of Zarzour [in Syria]. The Jihadists saw this accomplishment as a great victory, part of a Jihadist raid, recorded in history in letters with American lighting in the book of hijacked Arab revolutions. I don't know what they call this Jihad organization whose activists did this stupid thing, but I'm sure that these crazy gangs, who wreak havoc in the land (i.e., Syria), look to the same authority who puts the tyrants in Arab lands in power - they all function by virtue of an American authority and possess an American identity; they are all stooges of American ambassadors and agents... We've seen these crazies before, in Afghanistan. We saw them in Chechnya. We saw their 'Jihad' in Yemen, in Libya, and in Lebanon. We saw massive numbers of them in Egypt, and we saw their explosives in Jordanian hotels. But we never saw a single one of them - not one single activist - confront the Jewish occupation in Palestine. The Salafists who 'practice Jihad' in Arab capital cities and wave their swords to change Arab society, are fulfilling the wishes of the United States - to destroy everything accomplished by nations, and turn '[Arab] Spring' into civil war."

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 16, 2012]

","published":true,"date":{"type":"firestore/timestamp/1.0","seconds":1359936000,"nanoseconds":0},"author":[{"id":45,"about":"","name":{"en":"itamar marcus and barbara crook","he":""},"citeName":{"he":"","en":"Marcus, I., & Crook, B."}}],"contentType":"Article","tags":[],"id":4537,"title":"US behind civil wars and atrocities in Arab countries, says official Palestinian Authority daily","news":false,"description":"Official PA daily columnist: US-led Islamist movements responsible for murders, kidnapping and terror in Arab world. (Feb. 4, 2013)","tagIds":["8","19"],"imageUrl":"/STORAGE/USA flag.jpg","authorId":[45],"thumbnail":"/STORAGE/USA flag.jpg"},{"tags":[],"date":{"type":"firestore/timestamp/1.0","seconds":1348358400,"nanoseconds":0},"contentType":"Article","id":4134,"imageUrl":"/storage/bulletins/thumbnails/holocauststar.jpg","lang":"en","authorId":[45],"tagIds":["8","15"],"content":"

Israel "more loathsome" than Nazis:
\nPA daily
\n
\nby Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook

\n
\nIsrael's treatment of Palestinians is worse than anything carried out by Hitler and the Nazis during the Holocaust, according to the official Palestinian Authority daily newspaper.
\n
\nThree recent articles in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida claim that Israel's behavior is worse than that of the Nazis. The articles use such terms as "loathsome," "dangerous and criminal" and "despicable" to describe Israel's treatment of Palestinians and Arabs.
\n
\nPalestinian Media Watch has documented the PA libel that Israel conducts Nazi-like experiments on prisoners.
\n
\nThe following are excerpts from the three articles:
\n\n

\n"It looks like the Palestinian National Authority is simultaneously facing war on a number of fronts...
\nAmong the volatile topics is the insane settlement enterprise that the Netanyahu government continues, using racist settlers, who behave more like wounded and mad wolves aroused by the smell of blood, and whose actions against our people are more loathsome than any Zionist story about the Nazi Holocaust."

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 6, 2012]

\n"Members of the Jewish religion must awaken from the coma of historical distortion, which was fabricated by the Zionist movement and world capitalists, the very same [capitalists] who wheel and deal in the Nazi and Fascist slaughter of Jews during WWII. Since what they (i.e., the Jews) are doing in Palestine against the Palestinian Arab people is more dangerous and criminal than what Hitler's Holocaust brought on the Jews and the nations of the world of the 1940s."

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 18, 2012]

\n"The Al-Quds Open University branch in northern Gaza screened the documentary film Two Holocausts with director Dr. Suwailam Al-Abbasi and other film participants attending. Also attending was the University Vice President for Gaza Affairs, Dr. Jihad al-Batsh... who declared that the film is an attempt to appeal to the viewer's conscience by presenting the main cases of slaughter perpetrated by the occupation's gangs against the Palestinian people. Al-Batsh added that the film shows that Israel and the Zionist movement are doing to the Palestinian people what Nazi Germany did to the Jews, in the same way, but in a more despicable manner."

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 20, 2012]

","description":"Three recent articles in the PA daily claim that Israel's behavior is worse than that of the Nazis. (Sept. 23, 2012)","indexId":"index18","news":false,"published":true,"title":"Israel “more loathsome” than Nazis: Palestinian Authority daily","author":[{"name":{"en":"itamar marcus and barbara crook","he":""},"about":"","id":45,"citeName":{"en":"Marcus, I., & Crook, B.","he":""}}],"thumbnail":"/storage/bulletins/thumbnails/holocauststar.jpg"},{"tagIds":["8","19"],"lang":"en","title":"Conflicting views in the Palestinian Authority about increased Israeli entry permits for Palestinians","contentType":"Article","date":{"type":"firestore/timestamp/1.0","seconds":1346716800,"nanoseconds":0},"indexId":"index18","tags":[],"content":"

After 180,000 Palestinians enter Israel for holiday
\nPA daily: Entry permits intended to hurt Palestinian economy
\nIndependent Al-Quds: Encourage more contact
\n
\nby Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook

\n
\nIsrael's decision to allow 180,000 Palestinians to enter Israel for the Muslim holiday of Eid El-Fitr has drawn different responses in the Palestinian Authority. While the official PA daily newspaper said that the move was intended to hurt the Palestinian economy, the independent Al-Quds argued that more contact should be encouraged.
\n
\nSince the Palestinian Authority terror campaign (Intifada, 2000-2005), in which more than 1,000 Israelis were murdered, mostly by suicide bombings, Israel has restricted Palestinian entry into Israel. The Palestinian Authority has condemned this policy.
\n
\nBut due to the improved security situation, Israel granted increased access, and 180,000 Palestinians entered Israel for the Muslim holiday in late August. Rather than expressing appreciation for the increased freedom of movement, the official PA daily newspaper quoted sources that accused Israel of granting the entry permits to deliberately hurt the Palestinian economy, because Palestinians would spend their holiday money in Israel instead of in the PA.
\n
\nThe article in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida said that Israel "profited economically and enhanced its image in the press and internationally, as a state enjoying security and tranquility and easing [restrictions] on the [Palestinian] residents." [Aug. 23, 2012]
\n
\nThe independent daily Al-Quds, however, questioned the negative reaction: "If the Israeli decision had entailed the slightest bit of a security risk, Israel would not have agreed to place itself in danger merely in order to acquire what the residents of the West Bank might spend during their visit to Jerusalem and Israel."
\n
\nThe Al-Quds article did see ulterior motives in Israel's actions - to have direct contacts between Palestinians and Israelis in order "to convince Palestinian citizens that the Palestinian Authority is useless." The op-ed argued that this was also positive for Palestinians, and that more contact should be encouraged "to permit our people, on both sides of the fence, to make contact and to mingle in a natural manner, since this is preferable to living in a great prison that is called the West Bank - or, more precisely, the Palestinian Authority areas." [Aug. 26, 2012]
\n
\nThe following is the article in the PA daily:
\n

\nHeadline: "Israeli merchants exploited the situation - Jaffa and Tel Aviv beaches were packed with bathers from the West Bank, while the recreational sites and parks in the West Bank longed for the good old days"
\n
\n"Owners of [Palestinian] recreational sites and public parks did not anticipate the unprecedented losses during the Eid El-Fitr holiday caused by the departure of thousands of people to vacation and enjoy themselves in [Israeli] cities across the Green Line (i.e., 1949-1967 armistice line). This made them wonder about the Israeli authorities' motives for granting [Palestinian] citizens more than 180,000 permits to visit inside the Green Line. They said they believed that Israel had thereby achieved two main goals: First, it profited economically, and [second] it enhanced its image in the press and internationally, as a state enjoying security and tranquility and easing [restrictions] on the [Palestinian] residents... Samir Ibrahim (24), from El-Bireh, noted that [Israeli] shop-owners had exploited the presence of West Bank residents at this [Jaffa] beach, and raised their prices."

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 23, 2012]

\n
\nThe following is the op-ed in the independent paper Al-Quds:
\n

\n"I can't understand why some people were so infuriated by Israel's granting permits to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to visit Jerusalem and Israel, and about the flow of tens of thousands of Palestinians, during the holiday, to the Jaffa beach and other Palestinian beaches... As someone who is involved in what is happening on the Israeli scene, I do not believe that there is someone [in Israel] who wanted to export the Israeli economic crisis to the Palestinian side. If the Israeli decision had entailed the slightest bit of a security risk, Israel would not have agreed to place itself in danger merely in order to acquire what the residents of the West Bank might spend during their visit to Jerusalem and Israel... What does require discussion is the suggestion that Israel's goal was to strengthen the Civil Administration Authority and to create a direct connection with Palestinian citizens, because of the continued lack of political consensus between itself and the Palestinian Authority, and the refusal of the latter to return to negotiations. The goal was to convince Palestinian citizens that the Palestinian Authority is useless...
\nTo date, the political process has failed, there is no political solution on the horizon, the rift between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is growing stronger, and there are increasing numbers of Palestinians, on both sides [West Bank and Gaza], calling for steps that will perpetuate the rift and pave the way for the establishment of two [Palestinian] entities, and not two Palestinian states, in the West Bank and in Gaza. Given this situation, it would be easy for Israel to strengthen the process of consolidating a political entity in Gaza, and crushing the opportunity to establish an independent entity in the West Bank. If this is the case, I believe that once again it is necessary to remove all barriers between the West Bank and Israel, and to permit our people, on both sides of the fence, to make contact and to mingle in a natural manner, since this is preferable to living in a great prison that is called the West Bank - or, more precisely, the Palestinian Authority areas."

[Al-Quds, Aug. 26, 2012]

","author":[{"about":"","id":45,"name":{"he":"","en":"itamar marcus and barbara crook"},"citeName":{"he":"","en":"Marcus, I., & Crook, B."}}],"news":false,"authorId":[45],"published":true,"id":4080,"imageUrl":"/STORAGE/Bulletins/thumbnails/Eid_el_fitr_jaffo_beach.jpg","description":"Israel's decision to allow 180,000 Palestinians to enter Israel for the Muslim holiday of Eid El-Fitr drew different responses in the PA. (Sept. 4, 2012)","thumbnail":"/STORAGE/Bulletins/thumbnails/Eid_el_fitr_jaffo_beach.jpg"},{"description":"The law should \"severely punish\" even non-Muslims who eat in public during Ramadan, said a PA cleric interviewed on PA TV. (Aug. 1, 2012)","authorId":[45],"imageUrl":"/storage/bulletins/thumbnails/idais_punish_eaters_on_ramadan_bull_thumb.jpg","author":[{"about":"","name":{"en":"itamar marcus and barbara crook","he":""},"id":45,"citeName":{"he":"","en":"Marcus, I., & Crook, B."}}],"lang":"en","tags":[],"date":{"type":"firestore/timestamp/1.0","seconds":1343779200,"nanoseconds":0},"published":true,"id":3937,"news":false,"tagIds":["154","258"],"title":"Six Palestinians arrested, one given a month in prison, for eating in public during Ramadan","contentType":"Article","indexId":"index17","content":"

Six Palestinians arrested,one sentenced to a month in prison,
\nfor eating in public during Ramadan

\n\n

\nPA cleric: "Our streets are Islamic," therefore even non-Muslims should be "severely punished" for eating in public

\n\n

by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook

\n\n

\nSix people have been arrested and one sentenced to a month in prison for eating in public during the month of Ramadan, according to the official Palestinian Authority daily newspaper. Under Islamic law, eating is prohibited from sunrise until sunset during the entire month.
\n
\nIn addition, the Chairman of the PA Supreme Court for Shari'ah Law said PA law should prohibit even non-Muslims and those who cannot fast for health reasons from eating in public during the month. Sheikh Yusuf Ida'is explained: "Our streets are Islamic," and formal legislation should be enacted to "severely punish" anyone who eats publicly during Ramadan. Sheikh Ida'is was appointed Chairman of the Shari'ah court by presidential order of Mahmoud Abbas in January 2012.
\n
\nIt should be noted that approximately 10 per cent of Palestinians in the West Bank are Christian.
\nClick to view
\nThe following are the texts:\n\n

\n"The Jericho court yesterday sentenced a man to a month in prison who ate in public during the blessed month of Ramadan."

\n\n

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 30, 2012]

\n\n

\n"The police arrested five people who desecrated the holiness of the month of Ramadan by eating in public during daytime, in the city of Nablus."

\n\n

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 29, 2012]

\n
\nPA TV interview with the Chairman of the PA Supreme Court for Shari'ah Law, Sheikh Yusuf Ida'is:\n\n

TV host: "If someone doesn't fast for some reason [during Ramadan month] because he follows a different religion or has health reasons, it's his right. However, he breaks the spirit of Ramadan by eating or drinking in public or at work."
\nIda'is: "We have to monitor the streets and severely punish anyone who [eats] in public during Ramadan, and this is the responsibility of the security forces. Our [Palestinian] streets are Islamic, praise Allah. Any person caught committing this sin in public during Ramadan has to be imprisoned until the end of Ramadan, as an example to others. I call upon others [non-Muslims] to be considerate of Muslims' feelings."

\n\n

[PA TV (Fatah), July 22, 2012]

\n\n

\n","thumbnail":"/storage/bulletins/thumbnails/idais_punish_eaters_on_ramadan_bull_thumb.jpg"},{"title":"Palestinian distortion: \"If I forget thee, oh Jerusalem\" was Crusader expression usurped by Zionists","authorId":[45],"id":2826,"imageUrl":"/STORAGE/Bulletins/2011/book_of_psalms.jpg","news":false,"tagIds":["20","21","97","258"],"contentType":"Article","lang":"en","description":"Palestinian researcher and Jerusalem specialist states that Psalm 137 is a Crusader expression “falsified” by the Jews “in the name of Zionism”. (June 9, 2011)","published":true,"date":{"type":"firestore/timestamp/1.0","seconds":1307577600,"nanoseconds":0},"indexId":"index12","author":[{"about":"","name":{"en":"itamar marcus and barbara crook","he":""},"id":45,"citeName":{"he":"","en":"Marcus, I., & Crook, B."}}],"content":"

Palestinian distortion:
\n"If I forget thee, oh Jerusalem"
\nwas Crusader expression usurped by Zionists
\n
\nby Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook

\nAs part of the continuing Palestinian denial of Jewish history in Jerusalem, a Palestinian researcher and specialist on Jerusalem has claimed that the well-known verse of the Hebrew psalm, "If I forget thee, oh Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill," is not a Jewish source at all. He said that the words were uttered by a Christian Crusader, and have only recently been "borrowed" by Jews and "falsified in the name of Zionism."
\n
\nThe verse is in fact from Psalm 137 of the Hebrew Bible, which opens with the words: "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion." The psalm mourns the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army in 586 BCE, is part of Jewish tradition and liturgy and has appeared in Jewish sources for thousands of years.
\n
\nPalestinian Media Watch has documented the Palestinian Authority policy of denying Israel's history as the basis for its denial of Israel's right to exist. The PA often denies the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem, calling it "the alleged Temple."
\n
\nThe following are the words of Palestinian researcher Dr. Hayel Sanduqa on PA TV, claiming that the Hebrew Bible's psalm was actually first said by a Crusader:
\n

\n"[The Israelis] have acted to change Jerusalem's character. Even the expression (Psalm 137:5) 'If I forget thee, oh Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember thee.'
\nThis statement, said by the Frankish [Crusader] ruler of Acre shortly before he left, was borrowed by the Zionist movement, which falsified it in the name of Zionism."

[PA TV (Fatah), June 2, 2011]

\n
\nClick here to see more examples from PMW's website of the Palestinian Authority's denial of Jewish history.
\n
\nThe following is the beginning of Psalm 137 of the Hebrew Bible:
\n

"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
\nUpon the willows in the midst thereof we hanged up our harps.
\nFor there they that led us captive asked of us words of song, and our tormentors asked of us mirth: 'Sing us one of the songs of Zion.'
\nHow shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?
\nIf I forget thee, oh Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.
\nMay my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember thee, if I set not Jerusalem above my greatest joy."

","tags":[],"thumbnail":"/STORAGE/Bulletins/2011/book_of_psalms.jpg"},{"lang":"en","contentType":"Article","date":{"type":"firestore/timestamp/1.0","seconds":1306972800,"nanoseconds":0},"tagIds":["20","21","258","265","294","858","869","870"],"tags":[],"authorId":[45],"news":false,"imageUrl":"/STORAGE/Bulletins/thumbnails/abbasthumb5.jpg","published":true,"indexId":"index12","content":"

Entertainment for Abbas and PA leaders:
\nAll of Israel is "my land"
\n
\nby Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook

\n
\n

\nFor a third time PA TV has broadcast a Fatah event held in the presence of Mahmoud Abbas and many other senior PA officials, at which a Palestinian singer defined all of Israel as Palestinian. He sings that "my land" and "our coast" span from Rosh Hanikra in Israel's north to Rafah in the Gaza Strip in the South, and from Haifa on Israel's Western coast to Beit Shean on Israel's Eastern border. It was broadcast on Feb. 27, May 12, and now again on May 27, 2011.
\n
\nContrary to the PA leaders' claim that they recognize Israel's right to exist, their controlled TV and cultural events continue to reinforce the PA message of non-recognition of Israel by depicting all of Israel as "Palestine."
\n
\nThe Fatah members filling the large auditorium are shown clapping enthusiastically to the song.
\n
\nThe following are the words of the song at the Fatah event:
\n

\n"We commit and promise to stand behind you, oh Mahmoud Abbas, until Judgment Day. I am returning to you, the purest land, oh land of the free. No matter how long the nights of exile, I am returning to you, oh land. From Rafah to Rosh Hanikra (northern Israel) our coast, and Beit Shean (Israeli city). Above your soil, oh my land, is a picture of Garden of Eden. From Rafah to Rosh Hanikra our coast, and Beit Shean. Above your soil, oh my land, is a picture of Garden of Eden. From Rafah to Rosh Hanikra, north and south, are the picture's borders. From Haifa (Israeli city) and Tantura to the [Jordan] valley (i.e., all of Israel). I am returning to you, the purest land, oh land of the free."

[PA TV (Fatah), Feb. 27, May 12, and May 27, 2011]

\n
\nOn April 13, PA TV broadcast a different song presenting all Israeli cities as Palestinian.
\nClick to see more examples of PA non-recognition of Israel
\nClick to see more examples of Abbas's non-recognition of Israel","description":"At Fatah event Palestinian singer defined \"my land\" from Rosh Hanikra in Israel's north to Rafah in the Gaza Strip in the south, from Haifa on Israel's western coast to Beit Shean on Israel's eastern border. (June 2, 2011)","id":2813,"title":"Palestinian Authority TV rebroadcasts event with Abbas at which all Israel defined as \"Palestine\"","author":[{"about":"","name":{"en":"itamar marcus and barbara crook","he":""},"citeName":{"he":"","en":"Marcus, I., & Crook, B."},"id":45}],"thumbnail":"/STORAGE/Bulletins/thumbnails/abbasthumb5.jpg"},{"tagIds":["20","21","258","265","294","858","869","870"],"authorId":[45],"imageUrl":"/STORAGE/Bulletins/thumbnails/abbasthumb5.jpg","news":false,"contentType":"Article","author":[{"citeName":{"he":"","en":"Marcus, I., & Crook, B."},"name":{"en":"itamar marcus and barbara crook","he":""},"about":"","id":45}],"date":{"type":"firestore/timestamp/1.0","seconds":1305590400,"nanoseconds":0},"id":2779,"published":true,"tags":[],"title":"Entertainment for Abbas and Palestinian Authority leaders: All of Israel is \"my land\"","description":"At Fatah event Palestinian singer defined \"my land\" from Rosh Hanikra in Israel's north to Rafah in the Gaza Strip in the south, from Haifa on Israel's western coast to Beit Shean on Israel's eastern border. (May 17, 2011)","lang":"en","content":"

Entertainment for Abbas and PA leaders:
\nAll of Israel is "my land"
\n
\nby Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook

\n
\n

\nContrary to the PA leaders' claim that they recognize Israel's right to exist, their controlled TV and cultural events continue to reinforce the message of non-recognition of Israel by depicting all of Israel as "Palestine."
\n
\nAt a recent Fatah event in the presence of Mahmoud Abbas and many other senior PA officials, a Palestinian singer defined all of Israel as being Palestinian. He sings that "my land" and "our coast" span from Rosh Hanikra in Israel's north to Rafah in the Gaza Strip in the South, and from Haifa on Israel's Western coast to Beit Shean on Israel's Eastern border.
\n
\nThe Fatah members filling the large auditorium are shown clapping enthusiastically to the song. The event was rebroadcast on PA TV on May 12, 2011.
\n
\nThe following are the words of the song at the Fatah event:
\n

[PA TV (Fatah), Feb. 27 and May 12, 2011]

\n
\nOn April 13, PA TV broadcast a different song presenting all Israeli cities as Palestinian.
\nClick to see more examples of PA non-recognition of Israel
\nClick to see more examples of Abbas's non-recognition of Israel","indexId":"index12","thumbnail":"/STORAGE/Bulletins/thumbnails/abbasthumb5.jpg"},{"tagIds":["240","881"],"description":"Netanyahou : L’Autorité palestinienne doit choisir entre la paix avec Israël ou avec le Hamas.","id":2720,"news":false,"indexId":"index11","content":"
\nLe 27 avril, le mouvement du Fatah de l’Autorité palestinienne (AP) et le Hamas ont conclu un accord de réconciliation et d’unité, même si le Hamas n’a pas accepté de reconnaître Israël. Israël a condamné l’AP, disant qu’elle devait choisir entre la paix avec Israël et celle avec le Hamas.
\n
\nVoici les réactions du Fatah de l’AP et du Hamas :
\n

\n« Le Fatah et le Hamas ont annoncé hier qu’ils ont conclu un accord de réconciliation selon lequel il y aura un gouvernement de transition qui sera chargé de préparer les élections présidentielles et parlementaires qui se tiendront dans l’année… Le Premier ministre Binyamin Netanyahou a affirmé : ‘L’Autorité palestinienne a choisi entre la paix avec Israël et la paix avec le Hamas. La paix est impossible avec les deux. Le Hamas essaie de détruire Israël et envoie des missiles sur nos villes et nos enfants.’

\n[Le chef adjoint du bureau politique du Hamas, Moussa] Abou Marzuq a souligné qu’au cours des négociations entre le Fatah et le Hamas l’année et demie passée, des discussions avaient eu lieu sur ‘la plate-forme politique de l’unité gouvernementale', et que le débat portait sur les conditions du Quartet. Aujourd’hui le Quartet est obsolète, tout comme ses conditions, et nous n’avons pas mentionné [le Quartet] ou ses conditions dans l’accord que nous avons conclu.’

\n[Le chef du Hamas] Mahmoud Al-Zahar a affirmé que la plate-forme politique du Hamas était : 'Pas de reconnaissance [d’Israël] et pas de négociations.’ Il a affirmé qu’il était persuadé que ces désaccords entre le Hamas et le Fatah au sujet du processus de paix n’affecteraient pas le fonctionnement du gouvernement qui sera créé selon cet accord, parce que le but de ce gouvernement est uniquement de traiter des questions palestiniennes internes…

\nUn porte-parole du Président Abbas, Nabil Abou Rudeineh, a déclaré : ‘en réponse aux déclarations de Netanyahou, nous affirmons que la réconciliation palestinienne et l’accord qui a été signé aujourd’hui au Caire sont des questions palestiniennes internes’. »
\n

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, le 28 avril 2011]

","imageUrl":"/storage/bulletins/2011/hamas_logo.jpg","authorId":[45],"title":"Hamas : « Pas de reconnaissance – Pas de négociations »","author":[{"id":45,"name":{"en":"itamar marcus et barbara crook","he":""},"about":"","citeName":{"en":"Marcus, I., & Crook, B.","he":""}}],"published":true,"lang":"en","tags":[],"contentType":"Article","date":{"type":"firestore/timestamp/1.0","seconds":1304294400,"nanoseconds":0},"thumbnail":"/storage/bulletins/2011/hamas_logo.jpg"},{"published":true,"news":false,"id":2708,"title":"Hamas: \"No recognition – no negotiations\"","contentType":"Article","tagIds":["80","154","290","869"],"authorId":[45],"lang":"en","description":"Hamas: \"No recognition - no negotiations\" by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook Yesterday the Palestinian Authority Fatah movement and Hamas reached a reconciliation and unification agreement, even though Hamas did not agree to recognize Israel. Israel has condemned the PA saying they have to choose...","imageUrl":"/STORAGE/Bulletins/2011/hamas_logo.jpg","date":{"type":"firestore/timestamp/1.0","seconds":1303948800,"nanoseconds":0},"indexId":"index11","content":"

Hamas:
\n"No recognition - no negotiations"
\n
\nby Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook

\n
\nYesterday the Palestinian Authority Fatah movement and Hamas reached a reconciliation and unification agreement, even though Hamas did not agree to recognize Israel. Israel has condemned the PA saying they have to choose between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas.
\n
\nThe following are PA Fatah and Hamas reactions:
\n
\n

"Fatah and Hamas announced yesterday that they have reached a reconciliation agreement that there will be a transition government that will be responsible for preparing elections to the presidency and parliament that will take place within a year ... Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu said, 'The Palestinian Authority has to choose either peace with Israel or peace with Hamas. Peace is impossible with both of them. Hamas is trying to destroy Israel, and sends missiles on our cities and our children.'
\n
\n[The deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas, Musa] Abu Marzuq clarified that during the negotiations between Fatah and Hamas in the last year and a half, there were 'discussions on the topic of the political platform of the unity government, and the argument was about the conditions of the Quartet. Now the Quartet is obsolete, as well as its conditions, and we did not mention [the Quartet] or its conditions in the agreement that was reached.'
\n
\n[Hamas leader] Mahmoud Al-Zahar said that the political platform of Hamas is 'no recognition [of Israel] and no negotiations.' He said that he's sure that the disagreements between Hamas and Fatah regarding the peace process will not affect the functioning of the government that will be established by this agreement, because the purpose of this government is only to handle internal Palestinian issues...
\n
\nA spokesman for President Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeina, said, 'In response to Netanyahu's statements, we say that the Palestinian reconciliation and the agreement that was signed today in Cairo are internal Palestinian issues."

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, April 28, 2011]

","tags":[],"author":[{"about":"","name":{"he":"","en":"itamar marcus and barbara crook"},"citeName":{"he":"","en":"Marcus, I., & Crook, B."},"id":45}],"thumbnail":"/STORAGE/Bulletins/2011/hamas_logo.jpg"},{"title":"Le logo de l’Union des écrivains palestiniens : un fusil sur une carte de « la Palestine » qui raye Israël","author":[{"about":"","name":{"he":"","en":"itamar marcus et barbara crook"},"citeName":{"en":"Marcus, I., & Crook, B.","he":""},"id":45}],"description":"Le logo était bien mis en évidence à une rencontre de l'Union des écrivains palestiniens.","published":true,"news":false,"tags":[],"contentType":"Article","id":2706,"date":{"type":"firestore/timestamp/1.0","seconds":1303948800,"nanoseconds":0},"content":"
\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n

$\"\"$

Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, le 19 avril 2011

\nPMW suit la diffusion des cartes officielles de l’Autorité palestinienne (AP) – présentées dans ses bureaux, dans les événements de l’AP et du Fatah, et dans ses cahiers d’école – qui rayent tout Israël et le remplacent par "la Palestine".
\n
\nDes syndicats professionnels et des organisations privées présentent également des cartes qui définissent tout Israël comme « la Palestine ». Lors d’une rencontre de l’Union générale des écrivains palestiniens la semaine dernière, le logo de l’union était très visible. Sur le logo, un fusil et une plume au centre d’une carte de « la Palestine » qui englobe tout Israël (en photo ci-contre).
\n
\nLe président Barack Obama a déjà critiqué ces cartes qu’il a qualifiées de « menace sécuritaire pour Israël » – les classant dans la même catégorie que la menace provenant de groupes terroristes dont l’objectif est la destruction d’Israël :
\n

\n« Je ne ferai aucun compromis en ce qui concerne la sécurité d’Israël. Pas lorsqu’il existe encore des voix qui nient l’Holocauste. Pas quand des groupes terroristes et des dirigeants politiques sont engagés dans la destruction d’Israël. Pas lorsque circulent des cartes à travers le Moyen-Orient qui ne reconnaissent même pas l’existence d’Israël. »

[Conférence de l’AIPAC, le 4 juin 2008]

","authorId":[45],"tagIds":["240","254","881"],"indexId":"index11","imageUrl":"/storage/bulletins/2011/pa_writers_union1.jpg","lang":"en","thumbnail":"/storage/bulletins/2011/pa_writers_union1.jpg"},{"authorId":[45],"tagIds":["240","881"],"contentType":"Article","imageUrl":"/storage/bulletins/passover.jpg","published":true,"content":"
\nUn article du journal quotidien officiel de l’Autorité palestinienne indiquait que la marche du printemps de la jeunesse palestinienne chrétienne comprenait le chant : « Juifs, Juifs ! Votre fête [Pessah] est la Fête des Singes ».
\n
\nL’article mentionnait que ces « messages significatifs » étaient proférés en réaction aux mesures sécuritaires israéliennes imposées à Jérusalem pendant la fête de Pessah :\n

« Depuis de nombreuses années, la ville sainte [Jérusalem] est délibérément fermée aux Palestiniens, sous des prétextes liés à la sécurité et pour le festival juif de la Pâque. »
\n

\nL’auteur de l’article mentionnait que les cérémonies religieuses de Pâques à Jérusalem avaient perdu leur saveur palestinienne en raison de la présence importante de pèlerins chrétiens occidentaux :\n

« Les festivités à l’Eglise du Saint-Sépulcre commencent à revêtir un caractère occidental, en raison de la présence massive de pèlerins chrétiens étrangers et de la présence limitée de Palestiniens. »
\n

\nMais l’auteur insistait sur le fait que dans les villes de l’Autorité palestinienne, les festivités avaient perdu de leur saveur palestinienne. Et de parler de ces jeunes chantant que la fête la Pâque juive est « la Fête des Singes ».\n

« Le carnaval de printemps a perdu de sa saveur [palestinienne] dans des villes comme Bethléem, Beit Sahour et Ramallah… avec les représentations de scouts, les chansons, les danses et les hymnes populaires palestiniens sur l’unité islamo-chrétienne et l’unité interne chrétienne. Ces hymnes portent des messages significatifs, en réaction à l’interdiction israélienne [d’entrer à Jérusalem], comme les appels des jeunes qui ont mené la procession de la lumière, brandi des épées, se moquant du fait qu’on pouvait les accuser d’antisémitisme : … ‘Notre maître, Jésus, le Messie, le Messie nous a rachetés, par son sang il nous a achetés, et aujourd’hui nous sommes joyeux, alors que les Juifs sont tristes’, et, ‘Juifs, Juifs ! Votre fête est la Fête des Singes, tandis que notre fête est la Fête du Messie. »

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, le 19 avril 2011]

","news":false,"indexId":"index11","id":2704,"author":[{"about":"","citeName":{"he":"","en":"Marcus, I., & Crook, B."},"name":{"he":"","en":"itamar marcus et barbara crook"},"id":45}],"date":{"type":"firestore/timestamp/1.0","seconds":1303862400,"nanoseconds":0},"tags":[],"title":"Dans le journal quotidien de l’Autorité palestinienne : « Juifs, Juifs ! Votre fête [Pâque] est la Fête des Singes »","lang":"en","description":"Selon un article du journal officiel de l’Autorité palestinienne, la jeunesse palestinienne chrétienne a défilé en chantant ces paroles.","thumbnail":"/storage/bulletins/passover.jpg"},{"news":false,"author":[{"citeName":{"en":"Marcus, I., & Crook, B.","he":""},"about":"","id":45,"name":{"he":"","en":"itamar marcus and barbara crook"}}],"description":"Logo of Palestinian writers' union includes rifle over map of \"Palestine\" that erases Israel by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, April 19, 2011] PMW has documented that the official maps of the Palestinian Authority - as displayed in its offices, at PA and Fatah events, and in...","authorId":[45],"id":2700,"tagIds":["20","203","254"],"lang":"en","imageUrl":"/STORAGE/Bulletins/2011/PA_writers_union1.jpg","title":"Logo of Palestinian writers' union includes rifle over map that erases Israel","tags":[],"date":{"type":"firestore/timestamp/1.0","seconds":1303776000,"nanoseconds":0},"indexId":"index11","published":true,"content":"

Logo of Palestinian writers' union includes rifle
\nover map of "Palestine" that erases Israel
\n
\nby Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook

\n
\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n

$\"\"$

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, April 19, 2011]
\n

\nPMW has documented that the official maps of the Palestinian Authority - as displayed in its offices, at PA and Fatah events, and in schoolbooks - erase all of Israel and replace it with "Palestine."
\n
\nProfessional unions and private organizations also display maps depicting all of Israel as "Palestine." At a meeting of the General Union of Palestinian Writers last week, the union's logo was on display, showing a rifle and a quill over a map of "Palestine" that replaced Israel.
\n
\nPresident Barack Obama has criticized such maps as a security threat to Israel -- in the same category as the threat from terrorist groups who want to destroy Israel:
\n

\n"I will never compromise when it comes to Israel's security. Not when there are still voices that deny the Holocaust. Not when there are terrorist groups and political leaders committed to Israel's destruction. Not when there are maps across the Middle East that don't even acknowledge Israel's existence."

[AIPAC Conference, June 4, 2008]

\n
\nSee more examples of maps in PA schoolbooks, government ministries, and other public as well as private bodies whose logos replace all of Israel with "Palestine."","contentType":"Article","thumbnail":"/STORAGE/Bulletins/2011/PA_writers_union1.jpg"}]