West Bank Boils Over In Demonstrations
February 24, 2013 16:15 by Pesach Benson
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Today’s Top Stories
1. The West Bank’s heating up; Israelis, Palestinians, and journos all freely use the term, third intifada. A hunger strike by some inmates ballooned following the death of one security prisoner who wasn’t on an hunger strike. Demonstrations spread across the West Bank (see Haaretz live-blogging) while YNet reports 4,500 prisoners refused their breakfasts. More below.
2. The EU wants the peace process restarted so badly, it’ll support Hamas participation in a national unity government — with no conditions. Elliott Abrams comments on an Arab media report:
If the story is accurate, it represents a significant change in EU policy. Previously, the EU–as part of the Quartet, with the United States, Russia, and the UN–had staunchly supported the “three Quartet principles.” These required that Hamas abandon violence and terror, accept all previous Israel-PLO agreements as binding, and accept Israel’s right to exist. Now it seems the Europeans are asking far less of Hamas–in fact, appear to be asking nothing at all . . . 
3. The Oxford Student Union was all set to vote on boycotting Israel on Wednesday. But George Galloway’s odious walkout on a debate with an Israeli last week poisoned what might have been a significant BDS victory. According to The Guardian:
Both the proposer and the seconder of the motion have received threatening emails: the seconder has withdrawn his support and the proposer has requested that her name not be publicised.
That’s probably what prompted The Guardian’s Comment is Free contributor, Rachel Shabi, to criticize Galloway. Whatever Shabi’s motive, this snippet made my antennae twitch:
But there is another issue here, alluded to by Galloway and by comments on social media. Because the people who shout “antisemitism” over criticism of Israeli policy are often also advocates of a rightwing agenda on Israel, there is within anti-occupation circles growing anger over the term’s use – even dismissal of it. What gets missed, often, is how off-putting all the Israel hate in such circles can be; how focused on the people – Jewish people, Israeli people, sometimes interchangeably – not the state. Those who raise doubts or ask questions about the level of animosity tend to be shut down with the rebuttal that the occupation is far worse – the atrocity ace card. This is no way to build a movement that includes Jewish and Israeli advocates of equal rights for all.
Israel and the Palestinians
• Palestinian leaders quoted by the Times of Israel said:
Palestinian officials on Sunday morning warned that another popular uprising was indeed unfolding, but asserted that protesters would stick to the path of nonviolence.
And Israel’s response? The Jerusalem Post writes:
According to Channel 10, Netanyahu also instructed Israeli authorities to transfer the PA its tax revenues for January, “so that they won’t have an excuse not to enforce calm on the ground.”
• The 30-year-old Jaradat was in prison “for his involvement in a stone throwing incident in November, 2012, in which an Israeli had been wounded.” He apparently died of cardiac arrest.
• Do you see a pattern to these headlines?
- Abbas and Mashaal agree on peaceful intifada.
- Palestinians Plan Violence to Force US to Extract Concessions From Israel.
- Prisoner protests mark PA effort to start a “popular intifada“
• Is history repeating itself? Jonathan D. Halevi catalogued what’s known about the PA’s responsibility for the second intifada, which was not “spontaneous.”
• IDF commander to Israeli media: Palestinians have made 18 attempts to kidnap soldiers in the last four months.
• A Palestinian lit himself on fire last week because Hamas welfare gave him a runaround for two years. Maan News talked to the family of Muhammad Namrouti. They don’t blame Israel.
- Europe to soften its demands on Hamas?
- Meet Syria’s most outraged bystander.
- Iran announces discovery of new uranium deposits.
batya dagan
6:29 pm
Feb 24, 2013
Too shocked and disgusted at how the Palestinians manipulate the behavior of the real dumb
EU.What kind of peace is going to “come” as a result of the EU giving in to Palestinian
demands without demanding anything from them for the sake of peace?
It is not about peace, it is all about forcing Israel yet again to show weakness when attacked
wirth supposed intifada by terrorists being supported by their friends and enemies lof Israel in
the antisemitic EU.
What a disgarace.
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Frank Adam
7:14 pm
Feb 24, 2013
As an erstwhile one term councillor, a politician is paid to talk because politics starts where the rules and the power give out into grey areas lacking definition, shifting premises and aims and inability to push around, so one must negotiate and clarify. So “Gorgeous George” is taking his money under false premises if not fraud by not talking.
Rachel Shaabi is running on Hanan Ashrawi and others’ tramlines who wrote in The Guardian in the 80′s – 90′s that they are not into Antisemitism only opposed to the Israeli state. Arabs trust individuals and not institutions which is why they cannot keep their own house, and why they – and most people – do not distinguish Jews and Israelis.
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Rob Vincent
8:44 pm
Feb 24, 2013
Just be aware everybody, at how choreographed all of this is.
Obama is merely a pre-programmed anti-Israel political cruise missile. The timing of the economic crisis which got him elected the first time was manipulated by the Gulf Arabs in order to scare America into electing him. As to his re-election, this was obviously rigged. There is no way Romney could have got LESS votes than McCain did in ’08, no way.
Obama is not going to Israel to make nice. The election is over. He is going to “dictate terms”, with a new Intifada as the planned backdrop. This is the final act. Bibi may or may not cave, but if he doesn’t, Obama will almost certainly destroy the U.S-Israeli alliance.
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M.Sphardi
11:14 pm
Feb 26, 2013
How is Mr. Obama going to plead on behalf of the now phoney Palestinian refugees when there are all those genuineSyrian Arab refugees fleeing for their lives in all directions? No one is a refugee for 60 some years unless he wants to be or UNRWA and the Arab League want him to be. Israel had more than 800,000 Jewish refugees from the Arab world arrive after 1948. They are now more than half the Jews of Israel. Just ask one if he or his father or his grandfather are refugees!
The Jews from the Arab countries can point with pride to all their achievements and lifestyle. The self proclaimed Palestinian refugees have absolutely nothing to show but anger, sorrow and humiliation.
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Rob Vincent
8:51 pm
Feb 24, 2013
Much turns on the situation with Iran. If the alleged Fordo sabotage action of last month was really as effective as initially reported, then Netanyahu’s hand is stronger and Obama does not have so much leverage. But if Iran is still very close to getting the bomb, then Obama has a strong card to play, unless Israel can still take effective unilateral action on her own…and if Bibi has the nerve to do so in the face of U.S. opposition.
The other cards Obama has, besides Iran, is the U.S.-Israeli alliance and indirectly, Israel’s relationship with the EU. What I see ultimately happening over the next four years is that Obama will wind up forcing Israel into the arms of China.
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Rob Vincent
8:55 pm
Feb 24, 2013
With Obama’s re-election – which I am convinced was rigged in any event – I don’t give any better than a 40% chance that the U.S.-Israeli alliance will survive the next four years. Unless Israel agrees to commit slow national suicide via capitulation to the thugs of the PA per Obama’s “mission”, Obama will punish Israel by wrecking the U.S.-Israeli relationship, of course trying to make it look like Israel’s fault. But, if Iran is dealt with effectively – the big “if” – long term, Israel should be OK. She has other options. The U.S. will wind up suffering more from Obama than Israel will.
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William
10:46 pm
Feb 24, 2013
Rob, I live in the USA, and I know that Romney lost the election because we did not vote as much for him. No, I do not back everything Obama does, nor everything he’s done towards Israel. But Romney tried to appear to give more real support for Israel, but I doubt it. He is a Mormon, and a little mixed up, and far too hawkish. If he had been elected, much of what Israel has done to avoid a war with Iran could have been undone. Truth is, it was later revealed that he did not even want the job. He was pushed into running by his wife. Other republican candidates, who may be more true friends of Israel, were not chosen by the electorate. Barak may yet help Israel. Pray for him. And for Israel.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Rob Vincent
5:35 am
Feb 25, 2013
William, I also live in the U.S. I live in a swing county of the swing state of Ohio. Romney yard signs outnumbered Obama signs at least five to one. Yet, Obama “won” Ohio, including my county. Space does not permit me to go into all the advantages Romney had compared with McCain 4 yrs. ago. If I were in charge of rigging the election for Obama, I would have tried to make it look less obvious. I don’t buy this nonsense about “his wife made him do it”….TWICE?? But, if that is the excuse he puts out now, maybe he didn’t have the character to be president. Almost anything would have been better than Obama, esp. on Israel.
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Lovely
6:22 am
Feb 25, 2013
To Honest Reporting – I love the new format. However, the wording of postings themselves need improving. I often feel like I’ve come in, in the middle of a thought & can’t easily figure out what the storyline is, nor the point.
#3. So I see Galloway walked out of a debate. So HOW did that lead to boycott supporters 1 & 2 trying to keep their identities quiet because of threatening emails? By who? What’s it got to do with Galloway’s walked out? Why would it slow the vote when such a thing as threats should be motivating them more? And then WHY/HOW did Galloway’s walkout motivate Shabi’s opinion article on the importance of antisemitism as a turn off?
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Irv Dain
7:36 pm
Feb 25, 2013
Obama is no friend of Israel
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jimmy
9:56 pm
Feb 25, 2013
The real question is: “Why is there such irrational hate of Israel by all liberals, including those born from Jewish parents?”
There is no rational answer.
Arabs walk around murdering Israelis, and all liberals can do is blame Israel.
Even if Israel did not exist as a nation, anymore, liberals would still blame Israel for having existed. To do otherwise, would force liberals to admit they were wrong and their worldview is wrong. But they still would have the US to blame, so all would not be lost for them.
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» Mideast Media Sampler 02/25/2013 - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
3:36 pm
Feb 26, 2013
[...] And Honest Reporting ties the current news to the Halevi report. [...]
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Mideast Media Sampler 02/25/2013
12:51 pm
Feb 27, 2013
[...] Honest Reporting ties the current news to the Halevi report. One theme that has emerged from the reporting is that Hamas and Fatah are in agreement about the [...]
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