Elder of Ziyon Daily News

UNRWA closed by protesters in West Bank
Wednesday links (Ian)
How the PA fooled the West on Jenin (Toameh)
"Israel spreads AIDS and heroin in Egypt"
Erdogan on Turkey: “One nation, one state, one flag and one religion.”
The Palestinian Arab addiction to headlines
Sunrise
Two unreported stories from the territories
40 years ago: Israeli commandos storm hijacked Sabena flight

Posted: 09 May 2012 05:28 PM PDT

Dozens of protesters closed off UNRWA headquarters in Ramallah because of the latest terrible thing UNRWA did.

Did it pay low salaries? Did it stop terrorists from joining? Did it say it was going to teach about the Holocaust?

No, this protest was different than previous ones.

This protest was because UNRWA did not voice public support for the terrorists and suspected terrorists who are participating in a hunger strike against Israel.

Yes, in a Palestinian Arab state, if you would not publicly support the current trends, you are considedred an enemy - and treated as such.

It is unclear what services were disrupted because of this protest, but no doubt it was well worth it.

Wednesday links (Ian)

Posted: 09 May 2012 01:00 PM PDT

Marx: Jews Were Majority In Jerusalem

[Jerusalem's] sedentary population numbers about 15,500 souls, of whom 4,000 are Mussulmans [Muslims] and 8,000 Jews . . . the Mussulmans, forming about a quarter of the whole, consisting of Turks, Arabs, and Moors, are, of course, the masters in every respect

Honest Reporting - BBC Or Norman Finkelstein: Who is More Despicable?

Also, note the use of the term "Jewish lobby." Not the "Israel lobby" as has been used, most notably by Walt and Mearsheimer in their discredited thesis. What does the BBC base its statement on? Such criticism of American presidents has come from a particular anti-Israel strain and is certainly not a universally accepted mantra.

Shatter accuses Palestine group of cyberbullying
Justice Minister hits out after 'avalanche of venom' forces band to cancel tour of Israel

Anyway J.Lo is much nicer to look at than scruffy Irishmen.
Jennifer Lopez schedules a Tel Aviv concert for late 2012!

Obama Accepts Big Money From Israel-Hater
Team Obama includes a self-identified "Muslim Palestinian-American" campaign fundraiser who has a history of blasting Israel in highly charged letters and newspaper articles about the Middle East conflict.

Hala Hijazi, a Jordanian native and current San Francisco city employee, has personally secured between $100,000 to $200,000 for Obama's reelection effort, according to Federal Election Committee filings.

She also has gone on record accusing Israel of war crimes while castigating America for providing the Jewish state critical military aid—a long-term investment that has bolstered U.S. security interests.

The battle for America
Special: Israeli, Jewish students fighting back as hostility grows on leading campuses in America

'Lost Airmen of Buchenwald' - Honoring Pilots Who Survived Imprisonment in a Nazi Concentration Camp

By the Numbers: Jodi Rudoren's Palestinian Prisoner Article

What the Guardian won't report: Palestinians continue to laud Itamar Massacre terrorists

Hamas urges French President-elect Hollande to visit Gaza

Also:
With Help of a 'Bionic' Suit, Paralyzed Woman Finishes London Marathon
Israel's ReWalk technology, of course. (h/t Elias)

How the PA fooled the West on Jenin (Toameh)

Posted: 09 May 2012 11:22 AM PDT

From Khaled Abu Toameh at the Gatestone Institute:

The Palestinian Authority has been boasting over the past four years of its success in restoring law and order to the West Bank city of Jenin.

Journalists from all around the world were invited to Jenin, once notorious for dispatching suicide bombers to Israel, to report on the Palestinian government's successful efforts.

Palestinian leaders and government officials told the journalists how their security forces have managed to end the state of chaos and lawlessness that used to prevail in Jenin.

They talked about how Fatah gangsters and thugs who used to roam the streets, imposing an atmosphere of intimidation and terror on the population, have vanished.

Most of the gangsters, the Palestinian government officials noted, had been recruited to various branches of the Western-funded Palestinian security forces and were indirectly receiving salaries from American and European taxpayers' money.

But while the international, and Israeli, media were breaking the "good news" about Jenin, the journalists failed to understand what was really going on in Jenin and its surrounding villages. Some journalists, in fact, chose to turn a blind eye to the grim reality on the ground.

The murder of Israeli Arab actor and film producer Julian Mar-Khamis in Jenin last year should have sounded an alarm bell among the media representatives. His killers have never been caught, sparking a wave of unconfirmed reports about the involvement of influential Fatah gangsters and Palestinian security officers in the case.

A Western journalist who wanted to do an investigative report into the case was warned by senior Palestinian security officers that she would be putting her life at risk if she insisted on carrying out this mission.

Last week, the truth about the situation in Jenin finally exploded in the faces of everyone: the local governor died of a fatal heart attack following an unsuccessful assassination attempt.

For the Palestinian Authority leadership, the assassination attempt was what lifted the veil: Palestinian leaders in Ramallah realized that they could no longer continue to hide the truth about what was really happening in Jenin.

Palestinian security forces have since arrested dozens of Fatah "outlaws" and police officers for various crimes -- including murder, extortion, abductions, sexual harassment and armed robberies.

Radi Asideh, the security commander of the Jenin area, admitted that it was the Palestinian security establishment that was responsible for the anarchy and lawlessness. "There is a defect inside the security establishment and officers were responsible for this," he revealed.

[I]n most cases it is the Palestinian Authority's security forces that are responsible for the chaos and corruption.

If the Western journalists and donors continue to ignore the reality on the ground, the West Bank could soon fall into the hands of gangsters and armed clans, as has been the case in Jenin -- among the main reasons the Palestinian Authority collapsed in the Gaza Strip in 2007, speeding the rise of Hamas to power.

The PA security forces are corrupt? The ones trained by the US? Say it ain't so!

"Israel spreads AIDS and heroin in Egypt"

Posted: 09 May 2012 09:30 AM PDT

Great stuff from MEMRI:

This has it all - the Protocols, Zionist heroin, and naked Israeli girls purposefully spreading AIDS among Egyptian youth (hijacking an old urban legend, no less.)

Not bad for a one-minute clip!

Erdogan on Turkey: “One nation, one state, one flag and one religion.”

Posted: 09 May 2012 07:55 AM PDT

From Hurriyet:

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's remarks on "one religion" for Turkey were a slip of the tongue in his apparent intention to emphasize the common Muslim faith of Turks and Kurds, a senior official of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has said. Erdoğan's controversial comments had sparked concerns that he was targeting the secular system with his statements.

Erdoğan made the controversial remarks in two separate speeches over the weekend as part of comments on the Kurdish conflict. Addressing Kurds, he said that he had never advocated one language for Turkey but "one nation, one state, one flag and one religion."

"Democratic and secular countries cannot have one religion. Our attitude towards [non-Muslim] minorities is evident. As someone who has known the prime minister for years, I can say that this was a slip of the tongue," AKP deputy chairman Hüseyin Çelik told daily Radikal, stressing that the party's statute rejected "ethnic, religious and regional nationalism."

Sure - a slip of the tongue. Twice.

(h/t Simone)

The Palestinian Arab addiction to headlines

Posted: 09 May 2012 06:10 AM PDT

Whining from Salam Fayyad:

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Tuesday the Palestinians may have "lost the argument" on the international stage for an independent state but cautioned that continued Israeli occupation was unsustainable.

Arab unrest, the US presidential elections and financial crises in Europe had combined to knock the Palestinian issue off the global agenda more than 18 months after peace talks with Israel broke down in a dispute over settlement building.

"What is the biggest obstacle we face? The state of marginalization. It is unprecedented," he said. "The Israelis have managed to successfully trivialize our side of the argument," he added, alluding to the Palestinian demands for a halt to settlement building before negotiations can resume.

Palestinian Arabs are obsessed to feeling relevant, and they childishly equate world headlines with relevance.

This is why they did the UN stunt last year. That's why there are constant calls to boycott Israel. That is why they're obsessed with publicizing the current hunger strikes of prisoners - the vast majority of whom have been convicted of serious terror attacks. And that's why they are hoping that one or more of the prisoners die.

They are addicted to headlines.

It is very telling that Fayyad - the most moderate of the moderates, the only Palestinian Arab leader who is untouched by a history of terrorism - buys into this childish need for attention as a critical tactic.

Although they will still mouth support for it, the Arab world is sick of the Palestinian issue. Compared to what is going on in Egypt, Yemen, Syria, Tunisia and elsewhere, the fact is that the Palestinians are literally irrelevant in the Arab world. And to the world at large, the PalArabs are even less important.

The fact is that, consciously or not, the world community knows that Israel does support a two-state solution. Politicians know that it is Palestinian Arab obstinacy and unwillingness to compromise that is holding up a real solution. They know that the 1% or 2% difference between what Israel offered and what the Palestinian Arabs insist on is not worth obsessing over - the PalArabs could have a state if they want one but instead they insist on a nebulous idea of "justice" where they are the sole judges.

That is why they lost world sympathy. That is why they lost the front pages. And that is why they are itching (or constantly "warning") of a new intifada - because rather than attacking the real issues, they would rather feel relevant and hope that their headlines will pressure Western powers to pressure Israel to make yet more concessions on top of concessions they have been making for peace for decades.

It is not Israel that trivialized their side of the argument. Their argument has been trivial from the start. It is the Palestinian Arabs who have been trying to inflate this trivial argument into a world crisis by relying on publicity stunts, year after year.

Sunrise

Posted: 09 May 2012 04:48 AM PDT

I am still on vacation, after all.

Two unreported stories from the territories

Posted: 09 May 2012 03:25 AM PDT

...Which are probably related.

IDF and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Unit (COGAT) have made an effort to facilitate Palestinian movement throughout the area by reopening six important roadways.

The terror attacks of the Second Intifada forced Israel to close roadways in Judea and Samaria during this difficult period, specifically in high-risk zones. Lately, in light of increased stability and calm in the region, the IDF and COGAT have made an effort to facilitate Palestinian movement throughout the area by reopening six important roadways.

• Shomronim Barrier.
• Shofa Izbat Shofa Barrier.
• Zvata Barrier.
• Sha'ar Gilazun Barrier.
• Ariel Salfit Barrier.
• Beit Dajan Barrier.

And:

In the last few days hundreds of violent attacks were directed against IDF patrols, Border Police and civilians by Arab terrorists with rocks, fire bombs, Molotov Cocktails, rocks put on the road to force the vehicles to stop. Security forces have responded to these murderous attacks using restraint.

May 8, 2012

Massive rock attacks on Israeli vehicles on the road between Efrat and Tekoa causing damage.

Rock attacks against Israeli vehicles on Gush Etzion-Hebron Highway near El Arub causing damage to vehicles.

Near Bet Umar on the Gush Etzion-Hebron Highway IDF soldier moderately injured by rocks in his leg. He was treated by IDF medic on the spot.

Possible shooting directed on Israeli vehicle between Ma'ale Levona and Sinjil in the Benjamin Region. Driver reported shots and when the vehicle was examined the mirror was found damaged. Security patrols check for evidence of shooting.

For hours over 50 Arab terrorists in Abu Dis north east of Bet Lechem attack IDF forces with rocks and Molotov Cocktails.

Massive rock attacks and damage to several Israeli vehicles on the Cross Judea Highway near the bridge of Chalchul and near Bene Naim village in the Kiryat Arba region.

Massive rock attacks against Israeli bus in El Fuar in the Southern Hebron Hills.

Rock attacks against Israeli vehicles near Bet Enun north of Kiryat Arba continuing the attack for hours and causing damage to Israeli vehicles. And moderate injuries to 2 Israelis.

Bet Enun, planned ambush by Arab terrorists with vehicles waiting to escape into the village following attacks on Israeli vehicles. Following the attacks the waiting vehicles escaped into the village when IDF arrived. 7 Israeli vehicles were damaged in the attack.

Arab terrorists attacked IDF force near Neguhot in the southern Hebron Hills and rock attacks against Israeli vehicles near El Fuar.

Rock attacks between Bet Umar and El Arub causing damage to Israeli vehicles.

Arab terrorists continue to attack Israeli vehicles on the Gush Etzion-Hebron Highway near Chalchul north of Hebron as a result of the attack Israeli bus damaged.

May 7, 2012

Road 446 north of Nili in the Benjamin Region Arab terrorists put blocks in road causing damage to Israeli vehicle that hit the obstruction.

Massive rock attacks on Israeli vehicles near El Arub on the Gush Etzion-Hebron Highway.

Arab terrorists threw rocks on Israeli vehicle north of Na'alim checkpost causing damage.

3 Arab terrorists started fire between Har Bracha and Kedumim in the Shomron fire fighters put out the flames.

Hundreds of Arab terrorists with Hamas flags marched inside of Hebron towards the Jewish Quarter of Hebron.

Qalandia checkpost Arab terrorist found hiding firearm on his possession. Arrested and taken in for questioning by security forces.

Rock attacks on Israeli vehicles between Tapuach and Migdalim in the Shomron causing damage.

40 years ago: Israeli commandos storm hijacked Sabena flight

Posted: 09 May 2012 01:00 AM PDT

From the IDF Blog:

On May 8, 1972, a flight from Belgian airline Sabena set off from Vienna towards Tel Aviv, named Flight 571. Twenty minutes after takeoff, it was hijacked by four terrorists–two men, two women–from the Black September terror group. This set off a series of events leading up to Operation Isotope–one of the most daring rescue operations in the history of Israel.

Following the terrorists' attempt to break into the cockpit, Reginald Levy, the plane's captain, kept his cool and attempted to relax his passengers by entertaining them through a loudspeaker conversation with the terrorists, about everything from navigation to sex.

Aboard the plane, the terrorists were demanding the release of 315 Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails, claiming they would blow up the plane if their demands were not met.

Captain Levy sent in distress signals, which were received by Israeli Security Minister Moshe Dayan. Dayan immediately began negotiations with the terrorists, while simultaneously planning a covert rescue operation: Operation Isotope.

The Sabena flight reached Tel-Aviv, landing in Lod Airport (now Ben-Gurion Airport). Captain Levy was sent out to show the waiting Israelis a sample of the explosives on the plane, to convince them of the threat. Aboard the plane, passengers were crying or hysterical.

A team of 16 elite commandos (Hebrew: Sayeret Matkal) approached the grounded aircraft in white overalls, disguised as airplane technicians. They convinced the terrorists that the aircraft was in desperate need of repairs.

Within ten minutes of boarding the plane, the squad of elite commandos managed to kill the two male terrorists, arrest the two female terrorists, and neutralize the threat to the passengers. Nearly all civilians on board were unharmed, except for three, one of whom later died from her injuries. Among the commandos were Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu–both of whom eventually became Israeli prime ministers.