Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) are embarrassed: Iran just admitted that both of those terrorist groups serve as mercenaries for the mullahs in Tehran.
For Hamas and PIJ, the admission is yet another sign that the truth can be painful and inconvenient, especially when it comes from a major ally such as Iran.
Recently, Maj. Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid, Commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, stated that his country has armies that operate outside of Iran.
Only a few months ago, US President Joe Biden betrayed a US ally by withdrawing forces from Afghanistan, bringing down the government in Kabul and consigning the country to the bitter depredations of Taliban terrorists. Now he is winding up to betray another, much closer ally — Israel.
Biden plans to open a consulate in Jerusalem. This may seem like just another diplomatic facility to issue visas, promote trade and take care of US citizens, with no greater consequence than the US consulate in Edinburgh, UK. But it is far more than a mere office for paper-shuffling diplomats. It amounts to a de facto US embassy to the Palestinians on Israeli territory. Its true purpose is to undermine Israeli sovereignty in its own capital city and will jeopardise future prospects for peace between Israel and Palestinian Arabs.
A recent hunger strike by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) prisoners held by Israel caught the attention of many journalists and media outlets. Reports about the hunger strike appeared in newspapers around the world and were included in dispatches by major news agencies.
The PIJ prisoners, who have been convicted of terrorism against Israel, received wide coverage because they are being held in Israeli prisons. They are being held in prison because many of them were involved in major terror attacks against Israel, including murder. The international media and the Palestinian Authority (PA), however, refuse to call these prisoners terrorists. Instead, they call them “militants” or “political detainees.”
While the world’s attention remains focused on the Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, there is hardly any mention of prisoners and detainees held by the PA security forces in the West Bank.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas have again shown that peace with Israel is not only extremely ill-advised and most likely doomed from the start but critically dangerous as well. The two Palestinian parties, both the PA and Hamas, do not want Palestinians to engage in any real estate transactions with Israeli Jews; they also do not want Palestinians to assist Israel in the war on terrorism.
By opposing the sale of properties to Israeli Jews and “collaboration” with Israel, the PA and Hamas are sending a message to the Palestinian public that despite all the talk about a “two-state solution” and the possible resumption of the “peace process,” Israel remains the mortal enemy of the Palestinians.
Guerilla bus stop advertisements reading “Normal people boycott Israel” went on display in London on Saturday, in solidarity with writer Sally Rooney for what its creators called her “principled stand” against Tel Aviv.
Prolific “subvertising agency” Protest Stencil unveiled its latest mainstream discourse-disrupting advert at the weekend. The posters, flyposted on London bus stops, read, “Normal people boycott Israel” and featured an image of a sardine tin, mirroring the cover of Rooney’s best-selling 2018 novel ‘Normal People’. The book was adapted for television in 2020, garnering popular and critical acclaim
Palestinians in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip are excited. Israeli authorities have decided to allow thousands of them to work in Israel. The news about the Israeli decision spread like wildfire, prompting tens of thousands of Palestinians to converge on the offices of the chambers of commerce throughout the Gaza Strip in the hope of obtaining a permit to work in Israel.
The scenes of Palestinian scrambling to receive permits to work in Israel have angered and embarrassed many Palestinians and Arabs, many of whom believe that Palestinian leaders are not doing enough to end the suffering of the Palestinians.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdohallahian criticized its neighbor Azerbaijan on Wednesday during a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.
Amirabdollahian criticized Azerbaijan’s dealings with Israel and recent military maneuvers close to Iran’s northern border.
“We certainly will not tolerate geopolitical change and map change in the Caucasus, and we have serious concerns about the presence of terrorists and Zionists in this region,” he said.
Despite the decision by the Biden administration to resume financial aid to the Palestinians and work toward reviving the “peace process” with Israel, most Palestinians continue to support Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that does not recognize Israel’s right to exist.
The Biden administration’s talk about achieving a “two-state solution” does not seem to impress many Palestinians. They believe, according to a recent public opinion poll, that this solution is no longer practical or feasible. These Palestinians, the poll found, prefer to wage an “armed struggle” against Israel.
At the risk of putting a target on my back, it has occurred to me that the proper response for much of the anti-Israel activity on and off campus should be a combination of derision, counter-attack and neglect. I’ve been dealing with anti-Semitism, Israel denial and Middle East issues since my college days and, after more than 40 years, I have concluded that too much time, money, and energy is being spent responding to the latter.
Instead, we should simply say, “who cares?”
h/t Waffle
While many international media outlets focused their attention on the escape of six Palestinian inmates from an Israeli prison on September 6, as well as the ensuing dramatic manhunt launched by thousands of Israeli police officers and soldiers, only a few – if any – reported on the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership’s ongoing glorification of terrorists.
The PA lionization of Palestinian terrorists, including those who have been caught by the Israeli security forces, tried and are currently serving prison sentences, is not new. In fact, this is a practice that dates back to the first years of the founding of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1964.
Just when Congress overwhelmingly defeated an effort by eight radical Democrats and one Republican to defund Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, several “mainstream” Democrats proposed legislation that is equally dangerous and filled with half-truths, omissions and outright fabrications.
Congressman Andy Levin has introduced a bill that purports to further the “two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Although I favor two states for two peoples, I strongly oppose Levin’s perhaps well-intentioned but ill-conceived bill, because it would destroy any prospect for peace, would reward and encourage terrorism and disincentivize Palestinian leaders from negotiating with Israel.
A pogrom in the American House of Representatives.
A pogrom in the House?
Who knew that the debate over re-funding Israel’s Iron Dome would turn out to be a gut-wrenching emotional experience?
Who knew there’d be a debate at all?
Usually, these things are automatic. When it comes to partnering with our greatest ally in the region on matters of security, it’s a done deal.
The “Squad” is a small group of radical members of the U.S. House of Representatives who run for Congress under the banner of the Democratic Party but do not reflect its mainstream policies. They represent niche districts that are not typical of the Democratic base. They could not be elected in any statewide race, because they lack widespread support. They were nominated because of low turnout in primaries and were elected because their districts are overwhelmingly Democrat. They are fringe Democrats who should not have influence beyond their districts. But the House leadership of the Democratic Party has exaggerated their significance and given them more power than they deserve.
As the Biden administration steps up its efforts to bolster the Palestinian Authority (PA), Palestinians seem to be increasingly losing faith in their leaders.
The Palestinian public also appears to be losing faith in any peace process with Israel. Many are even saying that they support the annulment of the Oslo Accords, signed in 1993 between Israel and the PLO and that the only peace process they would support is one that leads to the elimination of Israel.
The Biden administration, which earlier this year restored relations with the PA and pledged to resume unconditional financial aid to the Palestinians, apparently believes that such measures will pave the way for the revival of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians toward a “two-state solution.”
Sally Rooney, author of “Normal People” and “Conversations with Friends,” will not allow her latest book to be translated or published in Hebrew by an Israeli publishing company.