Abbas spreads lies and incites terror, Israel says after PA leader’s latest rhetoric
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) In a televised address on Wednesday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of “executing our sons in cold blood” and held up a picture of a 13-year-old Arab boy from eastern Jerusalem who stabbed an Israeli boy of the same age in Pisgat Zeev on Monday. In fact, the attacker, Ahmed Manasra, was shot and wounded by police and is currently receiving treatment at an Israeli hospital in Jerusalem, where he is in a stable condition.
In his speech, Abbas said Israel’s “rejection” of peace and continued construction in Judea and Samaria were to blame for the ongoing wave of violence. He went on to say peace and stability would only be achieved if Israel ends its “occupation” of Palestinian lands.
Abbas did not condemn the recent wave of Palestinian terrorist attacks. He claimed Israel’s actions are “threatening to spark a religious conflict that would burn everything, not only in the region but also in the whole world.”
“We will not give in to the logic of using power and the aggressive policy of the occupation that the Israeli government is implementing as well as its herd of settler followers who are acting with terrorism against our people, our holy sites, our homes, our trees, and executing our sons in cold blood, as they did with this boy Ahmed Manasra and other children in Jerusalem and other places in Palestine,” Abbas said.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Palestinian leader of spreading lies and inciting his people to violence.
“The boy of whom he speaks is alive and hospitalized at Hadassah after he stabbed an Israeli child who was riding on a bike,” the Prime Minister’s Office statement said. “While Israel maintains the status quo on the Temple Mount, Abbas makes inflammatory statements that make cynical use of religion and encourage acts of terrorism.”
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said, “Abbas and his people are continuing their lies and incitement. The blood of our dead and wounded citizens are on their hands.”
Immigrant Absorption and Jerusalem Affairs Minister Zeev Elkin said, “The main inciter must be treated as if he was a terrorist himself.”
Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid said, “Abbas is continuing his campaign of incitement and lies. His speech will add fuel to terrorism and hatred.”
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Contrary to Palestinian claims, terrorists documented stabbing Jews
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Arab media outlets are portraying Ahmed Manasra, the 13-year-old Beit Hanina resident who stabbed a 13-year-old Jewish boy in Jerusalem on Monday, as a victim, almost turning him into an icon representing the pain and suffering of the “occupation.”
In a photo circulating on social media, a photo of Manasra shows the boy’s “body” on the railroad tracks in the Pisgat Zeev neighborhood of Jerusalem. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas claimed in a speech Wednesday that the boy was “executed” by Israel. The boy’s family claimed he was incapable of “picking up a knife.”
But on Thursday, images and video footage of the “dead” boy surfaced on various media sites, showing him to be very much alive and receiving care at an Israeli hospital.
In the video, the terrorist is shown handcuffed to a gurney and guarded by an Israeli police officer. His condition has improved greatly in the days since and has been upgraded to moderate.
In addition, the police issued security camera footage of Monday’s attack, clearly demonstrating that Manasra and his cousin, 15, were intent on stabbing Jews.
A security camera at a grocery store caught the two terrorists walking down the street holding knives in their hands and looking for potential victims. They are then seen chasing a man, whom they had stabbed out of camera view. Another camera at a different shop documented them looking for another victim, and catching the 13-year-old Israeli boy as he exited a candy shop and got on his bicycle.
The images leave no room for doubt: The boy falls off his bicycle and the two terrorists are seen stabbing him with knives.
Additional footage shows the younger terrorist running on the light rail tracks toward police officers who arrived at the scene. Spotting the knife in his hand, the officers fire at him.
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Under Russian cover, Iran sends troops to Syria
(JNS.org) Iran has sent hundreds of troops to Syria in its first open deployment of forces to the civil war-torn country. Iranian forces are joining fighters from the Iranian ally and Lebanese terror group Hezbollah in a likely battle against Syrian rebels and in favor of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The forces are benefiting from cover due to Russia’s airstrikes on the country.
A Syrian official and activist who spoke on condition of anonymity reported that about 1,500 Iranian fighters began arriving in Syria about two weeks ago when the Russian airstrikes began, and more are arriving in recent days. Additional Hezbollah fighters have also been arriving. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed on Wednesday that Iranian troops are arriving in Syria.
Russia claims that it is trying to stop the Islamic State terror group in Syria, but this is being disputed by Syrian rebels and Western officials, who say the airstrikes are taking place in parts of the country where the Islamic State has little presence. The arrival of additional Iranian and Hezbollah fighters seems to show that Russia’s main goal is to protect Assad’s regime.
“Sending more troops from Hezbollah, and Iran only increases the shelf life of the Syrian regime, which is destined to end,” said Maj. Jamil Saleh, the leader of the CIA-backed Free Syrian Army faction Tajammu Alezzah, according to the Associated Press. “It will only add more destruction and displacement.”
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Arab Gulf states reportedly negotiating to buy version of Iron Dome
(JNS.org) Several Arab Gulf states are reportedly negotiating to buy a version of the Israeli Iron Dome missile defense system, with the U.S. quietly helping negotiate the deal.
The member nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—are negotiating the purchase of the system, which has reduced the effectiveness of rockets fired from Gaza into Israel by about 90 percent, to defend against “a growing arsenal of Iranian missiles.”
If a deal is negotiated, it will likely include longer-range interceptor missiles such as David’s Sling, Arrow I, and Arrow II, which can intercept supersonic intercontinental ballistic missiles. Such a deal could be worth billions of dollars, according to Sky News.
“The Israelis have their small Iron Dome. We’ll have a much bigger one in the GCC,” said Khalid bin Mohammed al Khalifa, Bahrain’s foreign minister.
“Iran has been trying to undermine and topple government in our region for years,” he added.
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Facebook initially refuses to remove page calling for stabbing of Israelis
(JNS.org) Facebook refused to remove a page calling for the stabbing of Israelis, claiming the page was compliant with its community standards, until an Israeli newspaper called the social network out on the decision.
The page, titled “Stab Israelis,” was opened in the wake of the current wave of Palestinian terror attacks taking place in Israel and called for “a campaign to support the Palestinian people including the stabbing of Israelis,” according to the Hebrew-language news website of Yedioth Ahronoth.
Although Israeli social media users complained that the page was inciting violence, Facebook initially refused to remove the page, deciding that it did not violate its guidelines. After Yedioth Ahronoth published an article about Facebook’s refusal, the social network ultimately removed the page.
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Iranian parliament approves amended version of nuclear deal
(JNS.org) The Iranian parliament, in a 161-59 vote with 13 abstentions, approved an amended version of July’s nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 world powers.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called the vote a “historic decision,” and the bill now moves to the Guardian Council, a clerical body dominated by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
But according to reports, the bill passed by the parliament, known as the Majlis, stipulates that international inspectors would only have limited access to nuclear sites.
Furthermore, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reports that the Iranian parliament did not pass the actual Irani nuclear deal—or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—but rather an amended version that includes new demands on sanctions removal.
According to the MEMRI report, paragraph 3 of the Iranian decision states that “the government will monitor any non-performance by the other party [to the agreement] in the matter of failing to lift the sanctions, or restoring the canceled sanctions, or imposing sanctions for any another reason, and will take steps to actualize the rights of the Iranian nation and to terminate the voluntary cooperation…and to handle the rapid expansion of the Iranian nuclear program for peaceful purposes, so that within two years the enrichment potential in Iran will reach 190,000 SWU.”
MEMRI explained that since the JCPOA stipulates that U.S. sanctions will be suspended rather than cancelled, so that they could be snapped back in case Iran violates the terms of the deal, “It follows that the Majlis decision constitutes ratification of a nonexistent document. It was not a ratification of the JCPOA as it stands, but rather of additional demands made by Iran after the JCPOA was agreed upon on July 14, 2015 in Vienna.”
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Palestinian terrorist stabs elderly woman in Jerusalem
(JNS.org) A Palestinian terrorist stabbed and injured a 70-year-old woman near Jerusalem’s central bus station on Wednesday evening in the latest incident among a string of recent Palestinian terror attacks. Just hours earlier, another Palestinian terrorist was shot dead by an Israeli police after attempting a stabbing attack near Jerusalem’s Old City.
The latest terrorist tried to board a bus, but was shot dead by Border Police, who said that the bus driver was able to allow the wounded woman to board before closing the doors to the terrorist. The victim was treated by paramedics from Magen David Adom and then transported to a hospital.
The terrorist was identified as 23-year-old Ahmed Sha’aban from the Ras el-Amud neighborhood in Jerusalem. He had been released from prison earlier this year after already serving a sentence for terror activity.
In the earlier incident, according to Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, Border Police identified a suspicious-looking man wearing a military style, camouflaged uniform near the Old City’s Damascus Gate. When police stopped the man to search him, he pulled out a knife and charged the officers. The officers then shot him dead.
“Police reacted immediately and fired at him,” Rosenfeld said, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The Palestinian al-Watan news identified the terrorist as Basel Bessam Sidr, 20, from Hebron.
Meanwhile, the Israeli security cabinet on Tuesday voted to allow police to impose closures around Arab neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said. The security cabinet also authorized calling up 1,400 Border Police reservists.
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Kerry links terrorist violence to Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria
(JNS.org) The growth of Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria has increased Palestinian frustration and has led to the recent spate of terror attacks, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said during a talk at Harvard University on Tuesday evening.
“What’s happening is that, unless we get going, a two-state solution could conceivably be stolen from everybody,” Kerry said. “And there’s been a massive increase in settlements over the course of the last years, and now you have this violence because there’s a frustration that is growing.”
Kerry added that he plans to travel to the region “soon” to help calm tensions, and that he held phone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas last weekend.
Kerry’s remark on the cause of the violence represents a stark contrast with the comments of many Israeli leaders, who see the Palestinian terror attacks in recent weeks as a direct result of Palestinian incitement.
In a briefing to journalists, Israeli Infrastructure, Energy, and Water Minister Yuval Steinitz pointed to Palestinian propaganda videos and images glorifying the stabbings of Jews, and to a recent statement by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas claiming that Jews are desecrating the Temple Mount with their “filthy feet” and blessing “every drop of blood spilled for Allah.”
“This is not new. It is just a new wave of terrorism and violence and this time it’s totally clear that the main approach here is a religious approach. Defending Islam from the enemy of the mosque, the enemy of Islam—against the Jews. It’s all about horrible, anti-Jewish, racist incitement,” Steinitz said, the Associated Press reported.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon echoed that sentiment on Wednesday in a statement to the U.N. secretary-general and Security Council, stressing that “only the cessation of the incitement will alleviate this dangerous situation and bring calm and security to the region.”
“Israelis do not feel safe walking down the street, they avoid taking the bus to work, and they fear for the lives of their children every time they walk out the door,” Danon said, the Jerusalem Post reported.
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Articles from JNS.org appear on San Diego Jewish World through the generosity of Dr. Bob and Mao Shillman.