Netanyahu Refuses UN Call For Renewed Building Freeze; Hundreds Of Homes In Shiloh Approved

In a refreshing change, Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyahu told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flatly on Wednesday that there will be no new freeze on Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria.

In a press conference after his meeting Tuesday in Jordan with King Abdullah II and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Ban had forcefully urged Netanyahu to reinstate an Israeli unilateral construction freeze in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria as a “goodwill gesture” to the Hamas-allied 'Palestinian' Authority, saying that such construction was “not helpful”. Ban did not specify for whom building hom,es was unhelpful, and needless to say, Ban had nothing to say about 'Palestinian' construction in the area.

Netanyahu refused to comply with Ban’s request, saying that any discussion regarding a renewed freeze on construction should occur as part of negotiations themselves rather than as a precondition to talks.

“This issue is part of the negotiations,” he told Ban. “It can’t be a precondition.”

In other good news, Israel gave preliminary approval on Wednesday to a plan to build 600 new homes in Shiloh in Judea. Included are retroactive approvals for 100 previously constructed homes.

Shiloh, by the way was Israel's capitol for over 400 years.

The UN’s Mideast envoy, Robert Serry, called the Israeli announcement “deplorable” and said it “moves us further away from the goal of a two-state solution.”

*chuckle*

Let a thousand bulldozers bloom.

Netanyahu Refuses UN Call For Renewed Building Freeze; Hundreds Of Homes In Shiloh Approved

In a refreshing change, Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyahu told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flatly on Wednesday that there will be no new freeze on Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria.

In a press conference after his meeting Tuesday in Jordan with King Abdullah II and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Ban had forcefully urged Netanyahu to reinstate an Israeli unilateral construction freeze in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria as a “goodwill gesture” to the Hamas-allied 'Palestinian' Authority, saying that such construction was “not helpful”. Ban did not specify for whom building hom,es was unhelpful, and needless to say, Ban had nothing to say about 'Palestinian' construction in the area.

Netanyahu refused to comply with Ban’s request, saying that any discussion regarding a renewed freeze on construction should occur as part of negotiations themselves rather than as a precondition to talks.

“This issue is part of the negotiations,” he told Ban. “It can’t be a precondition.”

In other good news, Israel gave preliminary approval on Wednesday to a plan to build 600 new homes in Shiloh in Judea. Included are retroactive approvals for 100 previously constructed homes.

Shiloh, by the way was Israel's capitol for over 400 years.

The UN’s Mideast envoy, Robert Serry, called the Israeli announcement “deplorable” and said it “moves us further away from the goal of a two-state solution.”

*chuckle*

Let a thousand bulldozers bloom.

US Poll - Only 5% Of Americans Oppose Israeli Strike On Iran

Apparently the average American has a lot more common sense than some of the media elites or the White House.

According to the latest Pew poll, only 5% of Americans believe the U.S. should oppose an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. Over 39% believe America ought to actively support it:

Broken down along party lines, Republican support for an Israeli strike was clearly stronger than Democrats and independent voters. A strong 62% majority of Republicans said Washington should support Israeli military action, while only one-third of Democrats and independents answered similarly.

Although the answers about support for an Israeli strike varied when broken down by the gender, education, political affiliation and religion, one consistent position was that very few think the US should oppose Israeli action. In total, only five percent of Americans oppose such a move.

Put into the context of whether military action will be required to stop Iranian nuclear proliferation, a majority of Americans do not believe that increased sanctions against Tehran will work. That belief was held by Republicans, Democrats and independents, although Republicans were most cynical of sanctions deterring Iranian from developing nuclear weapons, the survey found.

Asked whether Iran should be prevented from developing nuclear weapons, even if doing so requires military action against the Islamic Republic, a majority of those polled answered affirmatively.

Nearly two thirds of Republicans said it was more important to stop Tehran's nuclear proliferation even at the cost of war, while a mere 16 percent said it was more important to avoid military conflict even if that resulted in a nuclear-armed Iran. Half of Democrats answered that it was more important to stop a nuclear Iran, while 38% said priority should be placed on avoiding military conflict.

A number of particularly silly op-eds have been written recently about why the US ought to oppose and Israeli strike from the usual suspects. The usual claim is that the consequences would be too dangerous and that the price of oil would spike.

I'm curious how bearable these people think the consequences and the price of oil are going to be like after Iran obtains nuclear weapons?

The Israelis for their part may to be be preparing for something:

If Israel strikes Iranian nuclear facilities, Tehran has three major targets: the atomic reactor at Dimona, Haifa’s port and refineries, and the area of Zakariya, where Israel stored its missile arsenal. Eyal Eisenberg, head of the Home Front Command, recently declared, “Haifa will be flooded with 12.000 missiles.” Israel’s army estimates that Hamas and Hezbollah have 1,600 rockets capable of hitting targets with high precision. In the words of former Minister Matan Vilnai, in the event of such a war, Israel’s Defense Ministry building “will not remain standing.”

But Israel is no stranger to missile fire. Since 1948, the year of the founding of the state, more than 60,000 rockets have fallen on Israel. In 2006 during the second Lebanon war when Hezbollah rained missiles down on the north of the country, one million Israelis were forced to live in shelters for more than a month. There are estimated to be 200,000 missiles pointed at the country today. The situation is such that, according to a survey conducted by Tel Aviv University, 30 percent of those Israelis with a foreign passport are willing to leave the country. A few days ago, Yediot Ahronot, Israel’s largest circulation newspaper, published a list of “cities of refuge” where it is better to live “in case of emergency.”

Tel Aviv, where 60 percent of Israel’s population reside, is now facing Iran’s “judgment day.” Many security drills are termed “NBC:” nuclear, biological and chemical threats.

Syria is the “most advanced Arab country in the production of chemical weapons,” according to a report by the Center for Strategic Studies at Bar Ilan University. Though Syria’s government is preoccupied with the rebellion against the Assad regime, it is still an ally of Iran and might decide that joining in an attack on Israel would be a good way to divert public anger against the massacres of dissidents. Syria has produced hundreds of tons of chemical weapons and bombs filled with sarin and another lethal gas, VX. The idea is that botulinum, anthrax and other lethal pathogens can be used in conjunction with explosives. Just 100 grams of mustard gas would be enough to kill 500 Israelis.

With this sort of threat in view, Israel is preparing its bomb shelters. This week, the Foreign Ministry gave the embassies a list of bunkers available for the diplomats. Only Tel Aviv has as many as 240 bunkers. The Jerusalem railway station is able to accommodate 5,000 people. Even theaters, like Habima in Tel Aviv, will host thousands of people. In Safed, the first hospital-bunker for children is being prepared. Evacuation plans are ready for Ramat Gan, the populous suburb of Tel Aviv hit by Saddam Hussein’s rockets in 1991.

While many Israelis may take shelter in the Negev, up to half a million could take refuge in the Jewish settlements of Samaria. The commander of the Home Front, General Yair Golan, declared that “cities can be transformed into a battlefield” and that masses of people will be forced to flee to a “national refuge” in Samaria in the West Bank. The hospitals have emergency plans. The most important industries, such as the banks and the Bezeq phone company, are preparing alternative technologies in case of national collapse.

Meanwhile, in southern Israel, where Gaza-based terrorists have rained down thousands of missiles in recent years, bulldozers are hard at work building new shelters for the expected next round of shelling. In Sderot, the town that has been hardest hit by Hamas missile fire, virtually every street is already dotted with concrete huts. The government has promised to put a missile-proof security room in every home. Five thousand shelters are planned for a place with just 20,000 inhabitants.

In addition to the shelters, a new alarm system, located in the Negev desert, can calculate the exact trajectory of a missile. The plan is to use this information to alert all the mobile phones in the area via SMS, audio alert and display lighting.

Given the level of preparation for these attacks, these days the State of Israel looks like a bunkered Western outpost threatened with destruction by Iran. The countdown for war may have already begun. But as Israelis start thinking about heading to shelters, the question in their minds is: once the assault on their nation begins, will the West come to their aid?

My gut feeling is that there's a strong liklihood Hezbollah and Hamas would not risk striking Israel,although it's certainly possible. Hamas is still recovering from Cast Lead, Iran is not funding them at this point and they likely realize that a strike at Israel would be treated as an act of war for which their could only be one ending. Hezbollah is more likely to get involved, but an attack would again be treated as an act of all out war and Hezbollah might be unwilling to risk their political position in Lebanon by bringing on a heavy Israeli counterstrike.Unlike the last time, the gloves would be off and all Lebanon would be fair game.

If I were the Israelis,I would not count on the West coming to their aid,especially not an America under President Obama's control.The best Israel could hope for is some low level aid and a posture in the UN that uses America's veto to prevent any major anti-Israel resolutions passing. And that's a best case scenario.

If worst comes to worst, the idea of Judea and Samaria becoming the Israeli haven might not be the worst thing that could happen. A great many Israelis who now feel that appeasing the 'Palestinians' by trading Israel's heartland for yet another false 'peace' might feel differently about the matter afterwards.

What an irony if it ends up being tiny Israel that saves the West from its folly.

US Poll - Only 5% Of Americans Oppose Israeli Strike On Iran

Apparently the average American has a lot more common sense than some of the media elites or the White House.

According to the latest Pew poll, only 5% of Americans believe the U.S. should oppose an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. Over 39% believe America ought to actively support it:

Broken down along party lines, Republican support for an Israeli strike was clearly stronger than Democrats and independent voters. A strong 62% majority of Republicans said Washington should support Israeli military action, while only one-third of Democrats and independents answered similarly.

Although the answers about support for an Israeli strike varied when broken down by the gender, education, political affiliation and religion, one consistent position was that very few think the US should oppose Israeli action. In total, only five percent of Americans oppose such a move.

Put into the context of whether military action will be required to stop Iranian nuclear proliferation, a majority of Americans do not believe that increased sanctions against Tehran will work. That belief was held by Republicans, Democrats and independents, although Republicans were most cynical of sanctions deterring Iranian from developing nuclear weapons, the survey found.

Asked whether Iran should be prevented from developing nuclear weapons, even if doing so requires military action against the Islamic Republic, a majority of those polled answered affirmatively.

Nearly two thirds of Republicans said it was more important to stop Tehran's nuclear proliferation even at the cost of war, while a mere 16 percent said it was more important to avoid military conflict even if that resulted in a nuclear-armed Iran. Half of Democrats answered that it was more important to stop a nuclear Iran, while 38% said priority should be placed on avoiding military conflict.

A number of particularly silly op-eds have been written recently about why the US ought to oppose and Israeli strike from the usual suspects. The usual claim is that the consequences would be too dangerous and that the price of oil would spike.

I'm curious how bearable these people think the consequences and the price of oil are going to be like after Iran obtains nuclear weapons?

The Israelis for their part may to be be preparing for something:

If Israel strikes Iranian nuclear facilities, Tehran has three major targets: the atomic reactor at Dimona, Haifa’s port and refineries, and the area of Zakariya, where Israel stored its missile arsenal. Eyal Eisenberg, head of the Home Front Command, recently declared, “Haifa will be flooded with 12.000 missiles.” Israel’s army estimates that Hamas and Hezbollah have 1,600 rockets capable of hitting targets with high precision. In the words of former Minister Matan Vilnai, in the event of such a war, Israel’s Defense Ministry building “will not remain standing.”

But Israel is no stranger to missile fire. Since 1948, the year of the founding of the state, more than 60,000 rockets have fallen on Israel. In 2006 during the second Lebanon war when Hezbollah rained missiles down on the north of the country, one million Israelis were forced to live in shelters for more than a month. There are estimated to be 200,000 missiles pointed at the country today. The situation is such that, according to a survey conducted by Tel Aviv University, 30 percent of those Israelis with a foreign passport are willing to leave the country. A few days ago, Yediot Ahronot, Israel’s largest circulation newspaper, published a list of “cities of refuge” where it is better to live “in case of emergency.”

Tel Aviv, where 60 percent of Israel’s population reside, is now facing Iran’s “judgment day.” Many security drills are termed “NBC:” nuclear, biological and chemical threats.

Syria is the “most advanced Arab country in the production of chemical weapons,” according to a report by the Center for Strategic Studies at Bar Ilan University. Though Syria’s government is preoccupied with the rebellion against the Assad regime, it is still an ally of Iran and might decide that joining in an attack on Israel would be a good way to divert public anger against the massacres of dissidents. Syria has produced hundreds of tons of chemical weapons and bombs filled with sarin and another lethal gas, VX. The idea is that botulinum, anthrax and other lethal pathogens can be used in conjunction with explosives. Just 100 grams of mustard gas would be enough to kill 500 Israelis.

With this sort of threat in view, Israel is preparing its bomb shelters. This week, the Foreign Ministry gave the embassies a list of bunkers available for the diplomats. Only Tel Aviv has as many as 240 bunkers. The Jerusalem railway station is able to accommodate 5,000 people. Even theaters, like Habima in Tel Aviv, will host thousands of people. In Safed, the first hospital-bunker for children is being prepared. Evacuation plans are ready for Ramat Gan, the populous suburb of Tel Aviv hit by Saddam Hussein’s rockets in 1991.

While many Israelis may take shelter in the Negev, up to half a million could take refuge in the Jewish settlements of Samaria. The commander of the Home Front, General Yair Golan, declared that “cities can be transformed into a battlefield” and that masses of people will be forced to flee to a “national refuge” in Samaria in the West Bank. The hospitals have emergency plans. The most important industries, such as the banks and the Bezeq phone company, are preparing alternative technologies in case of national collapse.

Meanwhile, in southern Israel, where Gaza-based terrorists have rained down thousands of missiles in recent years, bulldozers are hard at work building new shelters for the expected next round of shelling. In Sderot, the town that has been hardest hit by Hamas missile fire, virtually every street is already dotted with concrete huts. The government has promised to put a missile-proof security room in every home. Five thousand shelters are planned for a place with just 20,000 inhabitants.

In addition to the shelters, a new alarm system, located in the Negev desert, can calculate the exact trajectory of a missile. The plan is to use this information to alert all the mobile phones in the area via SMS, audio alert and display lighting.

Given the level of preparation for these attacks, these days the State of Israel looks like a bunkered Western outpost threatened with destruction by Iran. The countdown for war may have already begun. But as Israelis start thinking about heading to shelters, the question in their minds is: once the assault on their nation begins, will the West come to their aid?

My gut feeling is that there's a strong liklihood Hezbollah and Hamas would not risk striking Israel,although it's certainly possible. Hamas is still recovering from Cast Lead, Iran is not funding them at this point and they likely realize that a strike at Israel would be treated as an act of war for which their could only be one ending. Hezbollah is more likely to get involved, but an attack would again be treated as an act of all out war and Hezbollah might be unwilling to risk their political position in Lebanon by bringing on a heavy Israeli counterstrike.Unlike the last time, the gloves would be off and all Lebanon would be fair game.

If I were the Israelis,I would not count on the West coming to their aid,especially not an America under President Obama's control.The best Israel could hope for is some low level aid and a posture in the UN that uses America's veto to prevent any major anti-Israel resolutions passing. And that's a best case scenario.

If worst comes to worst, the idea of Judea and Samaria becoming the Israeli haven might not be the worst thing that could happen. A great many Israelis who now feel that appeasing the 'Palestinians' by trading Israel's heartland for yet another false 'peace' might feel differently about the matter afterwards.

What an irony if it ends up being tiny Israel that saves the West from its folly.

Netanyahu: "The Palestinians Have No Interest In Entering Peace Talks"

Well, it's about time someone admitted it.

“For the last three years, the Palestinians have refused to enter negotiations, thinking they could impose preconditions upon us,” Netanyahu told Israeli lawmakers in a closed parliamentary meeting.

“The Palestinians have no interest in entering peace talks. I’m ready to travel now to Ramallah to start peace talks with Abu Mazen, without preconditions. But the simple truth is that Abu Mazen is not ready,” he said. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is widely known as Abu Mazen.

Netanyahu’s comments were relayed by a meeting participant who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed.

Abbas says the Palestinians will not resume talks unless Israel stops building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, areas Israel captured in the 1967 war from Jordan and claimed by the Palestinians as parts of their future state.

Actually, this WAPO article is somewhat..incomplete in details. Not only is Abbas insisting that Israel not build in the areas mentioned (most of whom are going to be off the table in any peace settlement anyway) but Abbas insists that Israel commit to making the pre '67 lines the starting point of the negotiations before any talks occur, and has said numerous times that he's unwilling to make a single concession of any kind to Israel in any negotiations he enters.

In other words, Abbas is only willing to 'negotiate' with the Israelis only if there's nothing much left to negotiate. This is roughly the equivalent of agreeing to go to Las Vegas and place a bet on the roulette wheel only if your winnings are guaranteed in advance.

Another building freeze is off the table, and Abbas knows it very well, which is exactly why he's insisting on it. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu already gave the 'Palestinians' a 10 month freeze as a unilateral concession before in an attempt to get talks going, something that caused him considerable political damage at home. It turned out to be worthless, because the 'Palestinians' stonewalled for 9 1/2 months and then used Netanyahu's refusal to extend the freeze indefinitely as an excuse to bail out of talks. Netanyahu isn't going to make the same mistake twice.

Actually, the reality is that the 'Palestinians' have little interest in living in peace beside Israel, but merely in getting Israel as close to the indefensible pre '67 lines as possible. People interested in living in peace don't display maps of 'Palestine' with Israel obliterated, don't hold up people who've murdered Israeli civilians as heroes and role models and don't preach Jew hatred in their mosques, schools and media:

PA Mufti calls for the killing of Jews quoting Islamic Hadith from Palestinian Media Watch on Vimeo.

Moderator at Fatah ceremony:
"Our war with the descendants of the apes and pigs (i.e., Jews)
is a war of religion and faith.
Long Live Fatah! [I invite you,] our honorable Sheikh."

The official Palestinian Authority religious leader, the Mufti Muhammad Hussein comes to the podium and says:

"47 years ago the [Fatah] revolution started. Which revolution? The modern revolution of the Palestinian people's history. In fact, Palestine in its entirety is a revolution, since [Caliph] Umar came [to conquer Jerusalem, 637 CE], and continuing today, and until the End of Days. The reliable Hadith (tradition attributed to Muhammad), [found] in the two reliable collections, Bukhari and Muslim, says:

"The Hour [of Resurrection] will not come until you fight the Jews.
The Jew will hide behind stones or trees.
Then the stones or trees will call:
'Oh Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.'
Except the Gharqad tree [which will keep silent]."
Therefore it is no wonder that you see Gharqad [trees]
surrounding the [Israeli] settlements and colonies.."

Imagine the headlines worldwide if Israel's chief Rabbi had addressed the Knesset and called for genocide against the Palestinians.

Of course the Quartet certainly provides lip service on violent incitement of this kind, but since the 'Palestinians' never receive any penalties for it and the aid money continues to roll in, there's no incentive for them to stop it. Oddly enough, the UN is a member of the Quartet and calling for genocide against a member nation is expressly against Article 2 of the UN Charter...yet they happily continue to fund the 'Palestinian Authority'.

And to refer to Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria as 'settlements'.

It's well worth remembering that 'Arab East Jerusalem' only became 'Arab' after the ethnic cleansing of every Jew there by the Arab armies after 1948.

The same applies to the 'Arab' areas of Judea and Samaria (AKA The West Bank), where again every Jew living there was ethnically cleansed, just like almost a million other Jews throughout the Arab world after 1948.

Strange, isn't it that an attempted Arab colonization of 19 years based on aggressive war and an occupation the UN itself didn't even recognize at the time is now considered legitimate, while Jewish communities that existed before 1948 on Jewish owned land like Ariel and Gush Etzion are considered temporary 'settlements' after being repopulated by Jews for over 40 years?

And isn't it odd that it's only Israeli building in the so-called disputed areas that continually comes under criticism as an obstacle to peace rather than that of the 'Palestinians'?

Not only East Jerusalem but the 'Palestinian' occupied areas in Judea and Samaria are rife with illegal and often unsafe construction, often done by squatters with no legal title to the land they build on. As I write this, the 'Palestinians' are attempting to build an entire city from scratch called Rawabi using EU and USAid funds in the middle of a primarily Jewish area that will actually encroach on the Israeli town of Ateret. Yet no one, especially President Obama or our State Department has ever referred to 'Palestinian' building as 'unhelpful'.

The truth of the matter is that the fabled two state solution doesn't exist,because there's no deal that Abbas is willing or able to accept that doesn't amount to the Israelis committing national suicide, especially since Fatah is now officially in a unity government with the genocidal Hamas.It's bad enough to have Hamas shooting missiles and mortars at Israel's sparsely populated south. It's quite another to cede the high ground in Judea and Samaria and the strategic area of the Jordan Valley to the same people in easy range of Jerusalem and Israel's densely populated coastal plain.

The real problem here is not building in Judea and Samaria. It's the Arab refusal to live with Jews in peace and equality. Since they insist on getting their apartheid, obscene little reichlet without a single Jew in it and refuse to make any concessions for real peace, there's no reason for Israel to accomodate them any further.

It might very well be time for Netanyahu to name some preconditions of his owntocontinue talks,like taking Jerusalem and the Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria off the table, insisting on recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and a formal renouncing by th e'Palestinians' of any fictional 'right of return.' Abbas of course would never agree to any of this since it would be tantamount to recognizing that a peace settlement involves the end of the conflict, but the clarity might be helpful.

If the 'Palestinians' really dislike living in peace next to Jews that much, there are there are 22 Arab countries they can move to where Jews are already forbidden. The Israelis lack that option, in case no one has noticed.

Netanyahu: "The Palestinians Have No Interest In Entering Peace Talks"

Well, it's about time someone admitted it.

“For the last three years, the Palestinians have refused to enter negotiations, thinking they could impose preconditions upon us,” Netanyahu told Israeli lawmakers in a closed parliamentary meeting.

“The Palestinians have no interest in entering peace talks. I’m ready to travel now to Ramallah to start peace talks with Abu Mazen, without preconditions. But the simple truth is that Abu Mazen is not ready,” he said. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is widely known as Abu Mazen.

Netanyahu’s comments were relayed by a meeting participant who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed.

Abbas says the Palestinians will not resume talks unless Israel stops building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, areas Israel captured in the 1967 war from Jordan and claimed by the Palestinians as parts of their future state.

Actually, this WAPO article is somewhat..incomplete in details. Not only is Abbas insisting that Israel not build in the areas mentioned (most of whom are going to be off the table in any peace settlement anyway) but Abbas insists that Israel commit to making the pre '67 lines the starting point of the negotiations before any talks occur, and has said numerous times that he's unwilling to make a single concession of any kind to Israel in any negotiations he enters.

In other words, Abbas is only willing to 'negotiate' with the Israelis only if there's nothing much left to negotiate. This is roughly the equivalent of agreeing to go to Las Vegas and place a bet on the roulette wheel only if your winnings are guaranteed in advance.

Another building freeze is off the table, and Abbas knows it very well, which is exactly why he's insisting on it. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu already gave the 'Palestinians' a 10 month freeze as a unilateral concession before in an attempt to get talks going, something that caused him considerable political damage at home. It turned out to be worthless, because the 'Palestinians' stonewalled for 9 1/2 months and then used Netanyahu's refusal to extend the freeze indefinitely as an excuse to bail out of talks. Netanyahu isn't going to make the same mistake twice.

Actually, the reality is that the 'Palestinians' have little interest in living in peace beside Israel, but merely in getting Israel as close to the indefensible pre '67 lines as possible. People interested in living in peace don't display maps of 'Palestine' with Israel obliterated, don't hold up people who've murdered Israeli civilians as heroes and role models and don't preach Jew hatred in their mosques, schools and media:

PA Mufti calls for the killing of Jews quoting Islamic Hadith from Palestinian Media Watch on Vimeo.

Moderator at Fatah ceremony:
"Our war with the descendants of the apes and pigs (i.e., Jews)
is a war of religion and faith.
Long Live Fatah! [I invite you,] our honorable Sheikh."

The official Palestinian Authority religious leader, the Mufti Muhammad Hussein comes to the podium and says:

"47 years ago the [Fatah] revolution started. Which revolution? The modern revolution of the Palestinian people's history. In fact, Palestine in its entirety is a revolution, since [Caliph] Umar came [to conquer Jerusalem, 637 CE], and continuing today, and until the End of Days. The reliable Hadith (tradition attributed to Muhammad), [found] in the two reliable collections, Bukhari and Muslim, says:

"The Hour [of Resurrection] will not come until you fight the Jews.
The Jew will hide behind stones or trees.
Then the stones or trees will call:
'Oh Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.'
Except the Gharqad tree [which will keep silent]."
Therefore it is no wonder that you see Gharqad [trees]
surrounding the [Israeli] settlements and colonies.."

Imagine the headlines worldwide if Israel's chief Rabbi had addressed the Knesset and called for genocide against the Palestinians.

Of course the Quartet certainly provides lip service on violent incitement of this kind, but since the 'Palestinians' never receive any penalties for it and the aid money continues to roll in, there's no incentive for them to stop it. Oddly enough, the UN is a member of the Quartet and calling for genocide against a member nation is expressly against Article 2 of the UN Charter...yet they happily continue to fund the 'Palestinian Authority'.

And to refer to Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria as 'settlements'.

It's well worth remembering that 'Arab East Jerusalem' only became 'Arab' after the ethnic cleansing of every Jew there by the Arab armies after 1948.

The same applies to the 'Arab' areas of Judea and Samaria (AKA The West Bank), where again every Jew living there was ethnically cleansed, just like almost a million other Jews throughout the Arab world after 1948.

Strange, isn't it that an attempted Arab colonization of 19 years based on aggressive war and an occupation the UN itself didn't even recognize at the time is now considered legitimate, while Jewish communities that existed before 1948 on Jewish owned land like Ariel and Gush Etzion are considered temporary 'settlements' after being repopulated by Jews for over 40 years?

And isn't it odd that it's only Israeli building in the so-called disputed areas that continually comes under criticism as an obstacle to peace rather than that of the 'Palestinians'?

Not only East Jerusalem but the 'Palestinian' occupied areas in Judea and Samaria are rife with illegal and often unsafe construction, often done by squatters with no legal title to the land they build on. As I write this, the 'Palestinians' are attempting to build an entire city from scratch called Rawabi using EU and USAid funds in the middle of a primarily Jewish area that will actually encroach on the Israeli town of Ateret. Yet no one, especially President Obama or our State Department has ever referred to 'Palestinian' building as 'unhelpful'.

The truth of the matter is that the fabled two state solution doesn't exist,because there's no deal that Abbas is willing or able to accept that doesn't amount to the Israelis committing national suicide, especially since Fatah is now officially in a unity government with the genocidal Hamas.It's bad enough to have Hamas shooting missiles and mortars at Israel's sparsely populated south. It's quite another to cede the high ground in Judea and Samaria and the strategic area of the Jordan Valley to the same people in easy range of Jerusalem and Israel's densely populated coastal plain.

The real problem here is not building in Judea and Samaria. It's the Arab refusal to live with Jews in peace and equality. Since they insist on getting their apartheid, obscene little reichlet without a single Jew in it and refuse to make any concessions for real peace, there's no reason for Israel to accomodate them any further.

It might very well be time for Netanyahu to name some preconditions of his owntocontinue talks,like taking Jerusalem and the Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria off the table, insisting on recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and a formal renouncing by th e'Palestinians' of any fictional 'right of return.' Abbas of course would never agree to any of this since it would be tantamount to recognizing that a peace settlement involves the end of the conflict, but the clarity might be helpful.

If the 'Palestinians' really dislike living in peace next to Jews that much, there are there are 22 Arab countries they can move to where Jews are already forbidden. The Israelis lack that option, in case no one has noticed.

A Free People Comes Home - Hebron

This week's Sabbath is a special one, as it celebrates the first purchase by of land in Israel by the first Jew, Abraham, and the beginning of the first Jewish city,Hebron.

As you may know, observant Jews read a different part of the Torah every week, and this week's Torah portion is called Hayei Sarah, because it relates how Abraham purchased the land known as Me’arat Hamachpela, the Cave of the Patriarchs as a tomb for his wife Sarah and himself.

I intended to write a little something about this, but found something that expresses my feelings about the matter quite well, written by David Wilder a spokesman for the Jewish community of Hebron. Read it, and you'll understand what this all means and how deep it goes:

Several years ago, on the anniversary of the liberation of Hebron in 1967, I was interviewed by a journalist who queried me about various problems facing Hebron’s Jewish community. His concluding question/statement was, “Well, I guess you’re not celebrating today?”

“Why not?” I replied.

“Well, you have all these problems and issues, how can you celebrate?”

“You just don’t understand,” I answered. “Look at where were we 70 years ago, or 60 years ago. Were we in Hebron? Today I’m here, in the first Jewish city in Israel. I live here, I work here, I’m bringing up my children here. This is my home. True, we have problems. There are ups and downs. Issues must be dealt with. And they will be overcome. But I’m here. And as long as I’m here, I have what to celebrate, and that’s exactly what I’m doing today!”

One of our most special celebrations will occur this weekend. The Torah portion of Hayei Sarah, otherwise known as “Shabbat Hebron,” is an extraordinary event. It is not an ordinary shabbat (which in Hebron is also unique). Rather, it is an event.

Over the past decade, some 20,000 people have capitalized on this special Sabbath to crowd into Hebron and nearby Kiryat Arba to rejoice. Starting on Friday morning, Israelis young and old will begin flocking to the city. Jews from the United States and other countries fly to Israel to be in Hebron for this exceptional occasion.

Well over six months prior to this Sabbath we begin receiving phone calls and emails requesting places to sleep and eat on this auspicious day. Dozens of tents are pitched outside Me’arat Hamachpela, the Cave of the Patriarchs, and Matriarchs. Public buildings are transformed into dormitories, with separate facilities for men and women. It’s the only time of the year when my living room is wall-to-wall people sleeping on the floor.

One year, on Saturday night, a young woman walked into our kitchen to thank my wife. She asked what for. The woman said she had slept in one of our rooms. We had no idea she was there, or where she slept, because the room was already packed.

A huge tent is constructed outside the Avraham Avinu neighborhood, providing meals thousands of guests. Literally every nook and cranny in Hebron is utilized, with people sleeping and eating wherever they can find a few free meters.

All hours of the day and night the streets are full of people walking to and from the various neighborhoods in Hebron. Saturday afternoon, multitudes tour the city, visiting the Hebron Heritage Museum at Beit Hadassah, the tomb of Jesse and Ruth in Tel Rumeida, and the Avraham Avinu synagogue in the Avraham Avinu neighborhood. Special Casba tours are also included in the day’s agenda.

The heart of the day’s events takes place at Me’arat Hamachpela. On Friday night, literally thousands of people gather at this holy site, inside and out, to offer joyous Sabbath prayers. Singing and dancing during a huge “Carlebach minyan,” conducted in the Machpela courtyard, is unbelievably uplifting.

But the pinnacle and actual raison d’être for the ingathering begins early Saturday morning.

By 5:15 a.m., thousands make their way to early morning prayers at the Machpela. The entire building is open to Jewish worshipers, including “Ohel Yitzhak,” the Isaac Hall, available to Jews only ten days during the year. The first vatikin service, with the sunrise, is a spiritually inspirational way to start the day.

However, the peak takes place about an hour into the service. A Torah scroll is removed from the Holy Ark and opened. The first person, usually a cohen, or priest, is called up to the Torah. Following recitation of a blessing, the reader begins:

“And the life of Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died in Kiryat Arba –the same is Hebron – in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her... and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver...four hundred shekels of silver... And Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre – the same is Hebron – in the land of Canaan...” (Gen: 23, 1-20).

HERE, AT Machpela in Hebron, some 3,800 years ago, Abraham, the first Jew, purchases the first Jewish property in Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel. It is an amazing thought: here we are, almost 4,000 years later, the offspring of the first Jew, present at that very site which we read about in the Torah. It is all the more astonishing considering that fact that this sacred site was off-limits to Jews for seven centuries, following the 1267 Mamluk conquest of Israel. Only since our return to Hebron in 1967 has this holy place again accessible to any and all who wish to visit or worship here.

If that isn’t a reason to celebrate, what is?

As a result of political anti-Semitism, the first Jewish site of national heritage has become an object of international controversy. UNESCO has recognized our first holy site as a “Palestinian heritage site,” demanding it be removed from Israel's list of “national heritage sites.”

Should this site again be placed under Muslim control, Jews (and Christians) will no longer be allowed to enter and worship at this holy place, as was the case for 700 years, as the Arabs consider it to be a mosque. According to Islam, only Muslims may enter and pray in a mosque.

Support for a continued Jewish presence in Hebron and at Machpela is tangible. Some half a million visitors of all religions visit Hebron and Machpela annually, letting their feet do the talking. Polls show that almost 90 percent of Israelis reject relinquishing Me’arat Hamachpela. Rejection of Hebron and Me’arat Hamachpela is equivalent to chopping off our roots. And we all know what happens to a tree when you sever its roots.

Shabbat Hayei Sarah in Hebron is an affirmation of our people’s right to live and worship freely in our land. This is the embodiment of the Israeli national anthem, Hatikva: Lehiot am hofshi, b’artzeinu – to be a free people in our land. Can we be a free people in our land without the first Jewish city in Israel; without free, unlimited worship at the first Jewish holy site in our land?

This Sabbath, some 20,000 people from Israel and around the world will answer that question, at Machpela, in Hebron.

Believe it or not, after the massacres that drove the Jews out of Hebron, after the Arab attempt to commit genocide in 1948, after the 19 year occupation by Jordan that denied Jews any access to this holy place, one of the first thing the Israelis did was to attempt to share this shrine with the 'Palestinians', who likewise claim Abraham as a father.

Israel's reward for this unbelievable generosity was repeated desecration of the shrine by the Arabs and of course, constant incidents of terrorism and murder, including the deliberate shooting by a PA sniper of 10-month-old Shalhevat Pas in her stroller.

Will the Jews ever give up Hebron in exchange for more empty words and promises of peace in the future? I don't think so. That ship sailed a long time ago.

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A Free People Comes Home - Hebron

This week's Sabbath is a special one, as it celebrates the first purchase by of land in Israel by the first Jew, Abraham, and the beginning of the first Jewish city,Hebron.

As you may know, observant Jews read a different part of the Torah every week, and this week's Torah portion is called Hayei Sarah, because it relates how Abraham purchased the land known as Me’arat Hamachpela, the Cave of the Patriarchs as a tomb for his wife Sarah and himself.

I intended to write a little something about this, but found something that expresses my feelings about the matter quite well, written by David Wilder a spokesman for the Jewish community of Hebron. Read it, and you'll understand what this all means and how deep it goes:

Several years ago, on the anniversary of the liberation of Hebron in 1967, I was interviewed by a journalist who queried me about various problems facing Hebron’s Jewish community. His concluding question/statement was, “Well, I guess you’re not celebrating today?”

“Why not?” I replied.

“Well, you have all these problems and issues, how can you celebrate?”

“You just don’t understand,” I answered. “Look at where were we 70 years ago, or 60 years ago. Were we in Hebron? Today I’m here, in the first Jewish city in Israel. I live here, I work here, I’m bringing up my children here. This is my home. True, we have problems. There are ups and downs. Issues must be dealt with. And they will be overcome. But I’m here. And as long as I’m here, I have what to celebrate, and that’s exactly what I’m doing today!”

One of our most special celebrations will occur this weekend. The Torah portion of Hayei Sarah, otherwise known as “Shabbat Hebron,” is an extraordinary event. It is not an ordinary shabbat (which in Hebron is also unique). Rather, it is an event.

Over the past decade, some 20,000 people have capitalized on this special Sabbath to crowd into Hebron and nearby Kiryat Arba to rejoice. Starting on Friday morning, Israelis young and old will begin flocking to the city. Jews from the United States and other countries fly to Israel to be in Hebron for this exceptional occasion.

Well over six months prior to this Sabbath we begin receiving phone calls and emails requesting places to sleep and eat on this auspicious day. Dozens of tents are pitched outside Me’arat Hamachpela, the Cave of the Patriarchs, and Matriarchs. Public buildings are transformed into dormitories, with separate facilities for men and women. It’s the only time of the year when my living room is wall-to-wall people sleeping on the floor.

One year, on Saturday night, a young woman walked into our kitchen to thank my wife. She asked what for. The woman said she had slept in one of our rooms. We had no idea she was there, or where she slept, because the room was already packed.

A huge tent is constructed outside the Avraham Avinu neighborhood, providing meals thousands of guests. Literally every nook and cranny in Hebron is utilized, with people sleeping and eating wherever they can find a few free meters.

All hours of the day and night the streets are full of people walking to and from the various neighborhoods in Hebron. Saturday afternoon, multitudes tour the city, visiting the Hebron Heritage Museum at Beit Hadassah, the tomb of Jesse and Ruth in Tel Rumeida, and the Avraham Avinu synagogue in the Avraham Avinu neighborhood. Special Casba tours are also included in the day’s agenda.

The heart of the day’s events takes place at Me’arat Hamachpela. On Friday night, literally thousands of people gather at this holy site, inside and out, to offer joyous Sabbath prayers. Singing and dancing during a huge “Carlebach minyan,” conducted in the Machpela courtyard, is unbelievably uplifting.

But the pinnacle and actual raison d’être for the ingathering begins early Saturday morning.

By 5:15 a.m., thousands make their way to early morning prayers at the Machpela. The entire building is open to Jewish worshipers, including “Ohel Yitzhak,” the Isaac Hall, available to Jews only ten days during the year. The first vatikin service, with the sunrise, is a spiritually inspirational way to start the day.

However, the peak takes place about an hour into the service. A Torah scroll is removed from the Holy Ark and opened. The first person, usually a cohen, or priest, is called up to the Torah. Following recitation of a blessing, the reader begins:

“And the life of Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died in Kiryat Arba –the same is Hebron – in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her... and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver...four hundred shekels of silver... And Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre – the same is Hebron – in the land of Canaan...” (Gen: 23, 1-20).

HERE, AT Machpela in Hebron, some 3,800 years ago, Abraham, the first Jew, purchases the first Jewish property in Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel. It is an amazing thought: here we are, almost 4,000 years later, the offspring of the first Jew, present at that very site which we read about in the Torah. It is all the more astonishing considering that fact that this sacred site was off-limits to Jews for seven centuries, following the 1267 Mamluk conquest of Israel. Only since our return to Hebron in 1967 has this holy place again accessible to any and all who wish to visit or worship here.

If that isn’t a reason to celebrate, what is?

As a result of political anti-Semitism, the first Jewish site of national heritage has become an object of international controversy. UNESCO has recognized our first holy site as a “Palestinian heritage site,” demanding it be removed from Israel's list of “national heritage sites.”

Should this site again be placed under Muslim control, Jews (and Christians) will no longer be allowed to enter and worship at this holy place, as was the case for 700 years, as the Arabs consider it to be a mosque. According to Islam, only Muslims may enter and pray in a mosque.

Support for a continued Jewish presence in Hebron and at Machpela is tangible. Some half a million visitors of all religions visit Hebron and Machpela annually, letting their feet do the talking. Polls show that almost 90 percent of Israelis reject relinquishing Me’arat Hamachpela. Rejection of Hebron and Me’arat Hamachpela is equivalent to chopping off our roots. And we all know what happens to a tree when you sever its roots.

Shabbat Hayei Sarah in Hebron is an affirmation of our people’s right to live and worship freely in our land. This is the embodiment of the Israeli national anthem, Hatikva: Lehiot am hofshi, b’artzeinu – to be a free people in our land. Can we be a free people in our land without the first Jewish city in Israel; without free, unlimited worship at the first Jewish holy site in our land?

This Sabbath, some 20,000 people from Israel and around the world will answer that question, at Machpela, in Hebron.

Believe it or not, after the massacres that drove the Jews out of Hebron, after the Arab attempt to commit genocide in 1948, after the 19 year occupation by Jordan that denied Jews any access to this holy place, one of the first thing the Israelis did was to attempt to share this shrine with the 'Palestinians', who likewise claim Abraham as a father.

Israel's reward for this unbelievable generosity was repeated desecration of the shrine by the Arabs and of course, constant incidents of terrorism and murder, including the deliberate shooting by a PA sniper of 10-month-old Shalhevat Pas in her stroller.

Will the Jews ever give up Hebron in exchange for more empty words and promises of peace in the future? I don't think so. That ship sailed a long time ago.

please donate...it helps me write more gooder!

Israeli Village Saved From Death

Migron is a small Israeli community situated in the hill country about five miles north-east of Jerusalem. It was established back in 2002 as small village within easy commuting distance from Jerusalem, and has a population of about 500 people. Some would refer to the small community as an 'outpost'.

Shortly after Migron’s construction, Migron became a target of Peace Now, who started a legal campaign on behalf of several 'Palestinian' Arabs who claimed that their families owned the land upon which Migron sits. According to the Arabs, the land had been given to them by King Hussein of Jordan.

The residents of Migron claimed that they had legally purchased the land, and showed paperwork recording the sale and giving them legal title. The resident's attorneys made the argument all of Judea and Samaria were illegally occupied by Jordan between 1948 to 1967, and that therefore King Hussein had no right to 'give' land to anyone.

Israel's Supreme Court chose to ignore both the history of the area and the villager's legal paperwork showing ownership and ruled in favor of the Arabs. The Court ordered the army to remove the Israeli inhabitants and destroy all structures.

After several appeals which saw three homes demolished,a final 'death sentence' was pronounced on Migron on August 2, 2011, with the court ruling that Migron must be demolished and the inhabitants removed by March 31, 2012.

What happened next is poetic justice.

The Arabs and their supporters in Peace Now got greedy and filed a lawsuit in the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, demanding that the Israeli government compensate them for the years during which Migron existed on what they had said was their land.

The Magistrate’s Court, just as a matter of routine, asked that the Arab plaintiffs provide their proof of ownership to the court.

Following that,the Arabs, who had managed to skate through Israel's Supreme Court without being asked this simple question suddenly withdrew their lawsuit.

Because the Arab plaintiffs had no proof of ownership and refused to provide any explanation of why they had withdrawn their suit, the Magistrate’s Court stopped the demolition of Migron's homes and the eviction of the families that live there.

This was fairly major news in Israel and a huge embarrassment for the Supreme Court, especially at a time when the Israeli government is crafting new legislation on new procedures in how Supreme Court justice are selected . The only explanation the Court gave was that “The High Court does not debate evidence.”

The entire fiasco sheds a great deal of light on the necessity of the pending legislation curbing the foreign funding of Israel's Left wing Organizations.

Peace Now is funded almost entirely by the EU and grants from places like the Tides Foundation and the New Israel Fund in America.The UK alone, for example, gave Peace Now £310,000 (about $500,000) in the period of 2008-11.

What they've done with the money, among other things, is to challenge the existence of any community in Israel they oppose as a 'settlement' in court with the idea of harassing Israelis who live in Judea and Samaria and flooding Israeli courts with bogus lawsuits no matter how weak the evidence is, all designed to make it more difficult for the Israeli government to build housing and infrastructure.

In the recent past they tried exactly the same strategy they used in Migron - better known as lawfare - in unsuccessful attempts to have the Israeli communities of of Kiryat Netafim and the Jerusalem suburbs of Ma'aleh Adumim and Har Homa destroyed and the land turned over to Israel's enemies. Needless to say, they have never done anything to challenge the widespread illegal 'Palestinian' construction in Judea and Samaria or in East Jerusalem. In fact they've even attempted to intervene when the City of Jerusalem has attempted to demolish unsafe and illegal structures built by Arabs without permits or any compliance with building and safety codes that were actually hazards to adjacent structures.

Given the state of Middle East peace, one could be forgiven for considering Peace Now's activities as borderline treason.

For now, their attempt to throw their fellow Jews out of their homes in Migron has been foiled, appropriately, by their own greed and zeal to accomplish it at all costs. Hopefully, when Israel limits foreign funding for groups like Peace Now their contemptible efforts to wage lawfare against their own country will be curtailed.

Meanwhile, their fellow citizens can do what Israelis do best,build. Let a thousand bulldozers bloom!

please donate...it helps me write more gooder!

Israeli Village Saved From Death

Migron is a small Israeli community situated in the hill country about five miles north-east of Jerusalem. It was established back in 2002 as small village within easy commuting distance from Jerusalem, and has a population of about 500 people. Some would refer to the small community as an 'outpost'.

Shortly after Migron’s construction, Migron became a target of Peace Now, who started a legal campaign on behalf of several 'Palestinian' Arabs who claimed that their families owned the land upon which Migron sits. According to the Arabs, the land had been given to them by King Hussein of Jordan.

The residents of Migron claimed that they had legally purchased the land, and showed paperwork recording the sale and giving them legal title. The resident's attorneys made the argument all of Judea and Samaria were illegally occupied by Jordan between 1948 to 1967, and that therefore King Hussein had no right to 'give' land to anyone.

Israel's Supreme Court chose to ignore both the history of the area and the villager's legal paperwork showing ownership and ruled in favor of the Arabs. The Court ordered the army to remove the Israeli inhabitants and destroy all structures.

After several appeals which saw three homes demolished,a final 'death sentence' was pronounced on Migron on August 2, 2011, with the court ruling that Migron must be demolished and the inhabitants removed by March 31, 2012.

What happened next is poetic justice.

The Arabs and their supporters in Peace Now got greedy and filed a lawsuit in the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, demanding that the Israeli government compensate them for the years during which Migron existed on what they had said was their land.

The Magistrate’s Court, just as a matter of routine, asked that the Arab plaintiffs provide their proof of ownership to the court.

Following that,the Arabs, who had managed to skate through Israel's Supreme Court without being asked this simple question suddenly withdrew their lawsuit.

Because the Arab plaintiffs had no proof of ownership and refused to provide any explanation of why they had withdrawn their suit, the Magistrate’s Court stopped the demolition of Migron's homes and the eviction of the families that live there.

This was fairly major news in Israel and a huge embarrassment for the Supreme Court, especially at a time when the Israeli government is crafting new legislation on new procedures in how Supreme Court justice are selected . The only explanation the Court gave was that “The High Court does not debate evidence.”

The entire fiasco sheds a great deal of light on the necessity of the pending legislation curbing the foreign funding of Israel's Left wing Organizations.

Peace Now is funded almost entirely by the EU and grants from places like the Tides Foundation and the New Israel Fund in America.The UK alone, for example, gave Peace Now £310,000 (about $500,000) in the period of 2008-11.

What they've done with the money, among other things, is to challenge the existence of any community in Israel they oppose as a 'settlement' in court with the idea of harassing Israelis who live in Judea and Samaria and flooding Israeli courts with bogus lawsuits no matter how weak the evidence is, all designed to make it more difficult for the Israeli government to build housing and infrastructure.

In the recent past they tried exactly the same strategy they used in Migron - better known as lawfare - in unsuccessful attempts to have the Israeli communities of of Kiryat Netafim and the Jerusalem suburbs of Ma'aleh Adumim and Har Homa destroyed and the land turned over to Israel's enemies. Needless to say, they have never done anything to challenge the widespread illegal 'Palestinian' construction in Judea and Samaria or in East Jerusalem. In fact they've even attempted to intervene when the City of Jerusalem has attempted to demolish unsafe and illegal structures built by Arabs without permits or any compliance with building and safety codes that were actually hazards to adjacent structures.

Given the state of Middle East peace, one could be forgiven for considering Peace Now's activities as borderline treason.

For now, their attempt to throw their fellow Jews out of their homes in Migron has been foiled, appropriately, by their own greed and zeal to accomplish it at all costs. Hopefully, when Israel limits foreign funding for groups like Peace Now their contemptible efforts to wage lawfare against their own country will be curtailed.

Meanwhile, their fellow citizens can do what Israelis do best,build. Let a thousand bulldozers bloom!

please donate...it helps me write more gooder!

Proud 'Palestinians' Mahmoud Abbas And Most Of The Fatah Leadership Are Jordanian Citizens!

Some people in the past have criticized me because I continue to consider the 'Palestinians' a made up nationality and insist that Jordan is the actual Arab 'Palestinian' state.

They're not taking into account that Jordan as 'Palestine' was the intention of the British partition of the Palestine Mandate in 1923, as codified in international law by the San Remo Agreement.The majority of Jordan's population then were 'Palestinian' - Quraysh Arabs, who were town dwellers as opposed to the Bedouin, who were desert dwellers. 80% of the Palestine Mandate was given to Abdullah, the present King's grandfather who established a minority Bedouin Hashemite monarchy over the 'Palestinians' that continues to this day. Presently, even given the inevitable intermarriage, the split is roughly 75% 'Palestinian' and about 25% Bedouin, with many of the Bedouin Hashemite loyalists installed in key positions in government and the army.

Moreover, in 1967 when Israel took over Judea and Samaria (AKA the West Bank) after Jordan attacked them, every Arab there was a Jordanian citizen and remained one according to Jordan's own laws until the mid 1990's.

The laws were changed because the minority Bedouin Hashemite monarchy has always feared that someday the majority of non-Bedouins would try to take over. That almost happened once before during 'Black September' back in 1970 when Yasser Arafat tried to take over the country and the Jordanian Arab Legion killed and expelled thousands of 'Palestinians'.

As I've reported before, the Bedouin minority has upped the ante on 'de-Palestinizing' Jordan by arbitrarily taking away Jordanian citizenship from thousands of people who identify themselves as 'Palestinians' and have held Jordanian citizenship for decades.

Ah, but that's for the little people.

After Mahmoud Abbas' little screed at the UN, some people applauded what they saw as his brave championship of 'Palestinian' nationhood. Who would have imagined that Mahmoud Abbas and most of the Fatah leadership have applied for and been granted Jordanian citizenship for themselves and their families? You see, according to the October 9th 2011 Jerusalem Post reporting on an article in the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, a significant number of PA leaders and their families are now full Jordanian citizens:

Atef Tarawneh, deputy speaker of the Jordanian parliament, denounced the decision to revoke the citizenship of thousands of Jordanians of Palestinian origin.

Tarawneh said that the decision was “harmful” to national unity and the constitution in Jordan.

He added that he recently met with King Abdullah II and warned him against the repercussions of revoking the citizenships. He said that the decision has harmed investment in the kingdom because dozens of Jordanian-Palestinian businessmen living abroad were afraid to return home out of fear that the authorities would confiscate their passports.

According to the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, a significant number of PA leaders are registered as full Jordanian citizens.

The paper pointed out that the leaders applied for Jordanian citizenship at a time when they were urging the Jordanian authorities to stop giving Palestinians Jordanian citizenship, in order to “consolidate their Palestinian identity.” The Jordanian government had justified its decision to strip Palestinians of their citizenship by using the same argument.

However, the Jordanians have long seen the Palestinian majority in the kingdom as a demographic threat.

The decision to rescind the citizenship of tens of thousands of Palestinians is seen in the context of this fear.

Al-Quds Al-Arabi quoted sources in Amman as saying that Abbas and his entire family carry Jordanian passports.

Other PA leaders who carry Jordanian passports include former PA prime minister Ahmed Qurei, Abbas’s spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh and Fatah’s Muhammad Dahlan.

The paper did not say when the Palestinian officials were given Jordanian citizenship. PA spokesmen in Ramallah refused to comment on the report.

A Fatah official, however, said that he was not surprised to hear that Palestinian leaders were carrying Jordanian passports. He said he believed most of the PA leaders had applied for and received Jordanian passports in the past 15 years.

Tarawneh, by the way is of 'Palestinian' origin.

Al-Quds Al-Arabi also reported that it was the PA leaders who had asked for Jordanian citizenship, and not the Jordanians who had offered it.

Who would have ever guessed that I and the Fatah leadership would agree on something? Jordan is the 'Palestinian' state and the nonsense going on at the UN is simply an attempted land grab by the 'Palestinians' in an attempt to complete St. Arafat's mission of pushing the Jews into the sea bit by bit and grab a more strategic location to launch the final jihad.

(h/t Carl)

please donate...it helps me write more gooder!

Proud 'Palestinians' Mahmoud Abbas And Most Of The Fatah Leadership Are Jordanian Citizens!

Some people in the past have criticized me because I continue to consider the 'Palestinians' a made up nationality and insist that Jordan is the actual Arab 'Palestinian' state.

They're not taking into account that Jordan as 'Palestine' was the intention of the British partition of the Palestine Mandate in 1923, as codified in international law by the San Remo Agreement.The majority of Jordan's population then were 'Palestinian' - Quraysh Arabs, who were town dwellers as opposed to the Bedouin, who were desert dwellers. 80% of the Palestine Mandate was given to Abdullah, the present King's grandfather who established a minority Bedouin Hashemite monarchy over the 'Palestinians' that continues to this day. Presently, even given the inevitable intermarriage, the split is roughly 75% 'Palestinian' and about 25% Bedouin, with many of the Bedouin Hashemite loyalists installed in key positions in government and the army.

Moreover, in 1967 when Israel took over Judea and Samaria (AKA the West Bank) after Jordan attacked them, every Arab there was a Jordanian citizen and remained one according to Jordan's own laws until the mid 1990's.

The laws were changed because the minority Bedouin Hashemite monarchy has always feared that someday the majority of non-Bedouins would try to take over. That almost happened once before during 'Black September' back in 1970 when Yasser Arafat tried to take over the country and the Jordanian Arab Legion killed and expelled thousands of 'Palestinians'.

As I've reported before, the Bedouin minority has upped the ante on 'de-Palestinizing' Jordan by arbitrarily taking away Jordanian citizenship from thousands of people who identify themselves as 'Palestinians' and have held Jordanian citizenship for decades.

Ah, but that's for the little people.

After Mahmoud Abbas' little screed at the UN, some people applauded what they saw as his brave championship of 'Palestinian' nationhood. Who would have imagined that Mahmoud Abbas and most of the Fatah leadership have applied for and been granted Jordanian citizenship for themselves and their families? You see, according to the October 9th 2011 Jerusalem Post reporting on an article in the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, a significant number of PA leaders and their families are now full Jordanian citizens:

Atef Tarawneh, deputy speaker of the Jordanian parliament, denounced the decision to revoke the citizenship of thousands of Jordanians of Palestinian origin.

Tarawneh said that the decision was “harmful” to national unity and the constitution in Jordan.

He added that he recently met with King Abdullah II and warned him against the repercussions of revoking the citizenships. He said that the decision has harmed investment in the kingdom because dozens of Jordanian-Palestinian businessmen living abroad were afraid to return home out of fear that the authorities would confiscate their passports.

According to the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, a significant number of PA leaders are registered as full Jordanian citizens.

The paper pointed out that the leaders applied for Jordanian citizenship at a time when they were urging the Jordanian authorities to stop giving Palestinians Jordanian citizenship, in order to “consolidate their Palestinian identity.” The Jordanian government had justified its decision to strip Palestinians of their citizenship by using the same argument.

However, the Jordanians have long seen the Palestinian majority in the kingdom as a demographic threat.

The decision to rescind the citizenship of tens of thousands of Palestinians is seen in the context of this fear.

Al-Quds Al-Arabi quoted sources in Amman as saying that Abbas and his entire family carry Jordanian passports.

Other PA leaders who carry Jordanian passports include former PA prime minister Ahmed Qurei, Abbas’s spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh and Fatah’s Muhammad Dahlan.

The paper did not say when the Palestinian officials were given Jordanian citizenship. PA spokesmen in Ramallah refused to comment on the report.

A Fatah official, however, said that he was not surprised to hear that Palestinian leaders were carrying Jordanian passports. He said he believed most of the PA leaders had applied for and received Jordanian passports in the past 15 years.

Tarawneh, by the way is of 'Palestinian' origin.

Al-Quds Al-Arabi also reported that it was the PA leaders who had asked for Jordanian citizenship, and not the Jordanians who had offered it.

Who would have ever guessed that I and the Fatah leadership would agree on something? Jordan is the 'Palestinian' state and the nonsense going on at the UN is simply an attempted land grab by the 'Palestinians' in an attempt to complete St. Arafat's mission of pushing the Jews into the sea bit by bit and grab a more strategic location to launch the final jihad.

(h/t Carl)

please donate...it helps me write more gooder!