SOLDIERS OF IDF VS ARAB TERRORISTS

SOLDIERS OF IDF VS ARAB TERRORISTS

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Address to the 2016 United Nations General Assembly

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking at the UN General Assembly. Photo: Twitter.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking at the UN General Assembly. Photo: Twitter.


Below is the full transcript of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, 2016.
Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, what I’m about to say is going to shock you: Israel has a bright future at the UN.
Now I know that hearing that from me must surely come as a surprise, because year after year I’ve stood at this very podium and slammed the UN for its obsessive bias against Israel. And the UN deserved every scathing word – for the disgrace of the General Assembly that last year passed 20 resolutions against the democratic state of Israel and a grand total of three resolutions against all the other countries on the planet. Israel – 20; rest of the world – three.
And what about the joke called the UN Human Rights Council, which each year condemns Israel more than all the countries of the world combined? As women are being systematically raped, murdered, sold into slavery across the world, which is the only country that the UN’s Commission on Women chose to condemn this year? Yep, you guessed it – Israel. Israel. Israel, where women fly fighter jets, lead major corporations, head universities, preside – twice – over the Supreme Court, and have served as speaker of the Knesset and prime minister.
And this circus continues at UNESCO. UNESCO, the UN body charged with preserving world heritage. Now, this is hard to believe, but UNESCO just denied the 4,000-year connection between the Jewish people and its holiest site, the Temple Mount. That’s just as absurd as denying the connection between the Great Wall of China and China.
Ladies and Gentlemen: The UN, begun as a moral force, has become a moral farce. So when it comes to Israel at the UN, you’d probably think nothing will ever change, right? Well, think again. You see, everything will change, and a lot sooner than you think. The change will happen in this hall, because back home, your governments are rapidly changing their attitudes towards Israel. And sooner or later, that’s going to change the way you vote on Israel at the UN.
More and more nations in Asia, in Africa, in Latin America, more and more nations see Israel as a potent partner – a partner in fighting the terrorism of today, a partner in developing the technology of tomorrow.
Today Israel has diplomatic relations with over 160 countries. That’s nearly double the number that we had when I served here as Israel’s ambassador some 30 years ago. And those ties are getting broader and deeper every day. World leaders increasingly appreciate that Israel is a powerful country with one of the best intelligence services on earth. Because of our unmatched experience and proven capabilities in fighting terrorism, many of your governments seek our help in keeping your countries safe.
Many also seek to benefit from Israel’s ingenuity in agriculture, in health, in water, in cyber and in the fusion of big data, connectivity and artificial intelligence – that fusion that is changing our world in every way.
You might consider this: Israel leads the world in recycling wastewater. We recycle about 90% of our wastewater. Now, how remarkable is that? Well, given that the next country on the list only recycles about 20% of its wastewater, Israel is a global water power. So if you have a thirsty world, and we do, there’s no better ally than Israel.
How about cybersecurity? That’s an issue that affects everyone. Israel accounts for one-tenth of one percent of the world’s population, yet last year we attracted some 20% of the global private investment in cybersecurity. I want you to digest that number. In cyber, Israel is punching a whopping 200 times above its weight. So Israel is also a global cyber power. If hackers are targeting your banks, your planes, your power grids and just about everything else, Israel can offer indispensable help.
Governments are changing their attitudes towards Israel, because they know that Israel can help them protect their peoples, can help them feed them, can help them better their lives.
This summer I had an unbelievable opportunity to see this change so vividly during an unforgettable visit to four African countries. This is the first visit to Africa by an Israeli prime minister in decades. Later today, I’ll be meeting with leaders from 17 African countries. We’ll discuss how Israeli technology can help them in their efforts to transform their countries.
In Africa, things are changing. In China, India, Russia, Japan, attitudes towards Israel have changed as well. These powerful nations know that, despite Israel’s small size, it can make a big difference in many, many areas that are important to them.
But now I’m going to surprise you even more. You see, the biggest change in attitudes towards Israel is taking place elsewhere. It’s taking place in the Arab world. Our peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan continue to be anchors of stability in the volatile Middle East. But I have to tell you this: For the first time in my lifetime, many other states in the region recognize that Israel is not their enemy. They recognize that Israel is their ally. Our common enemies are Iran and ISIS. Our common goals are security, prosperity and peace. I believe that in the years ahead we will work together to achieve these goals, work together openly
So Israel’s diplomatic relations are undergoing nothing less than a revolution. But in this revolution, we never forget that our most cherished alliance, our deepest friendship, is with the United States of America, the most powerful and the most generous nation on earth. Our unbreakable bond with the United States of America transcends parties and politics. It reflects, above all else, the overwhelming support for Israel among the American people, support which is at record highs and for which we are deeply grateful.
The United Nations denounces Israel; the United States supports Israel. And a central pillar of that defense has been America’s consistent support for Israel at the UN. I appreciate President Obama’s commitment to that longstanding US policy. In fact, the only time that the United States cast a UN Security Council veto during the Obama presidency was against an anti-Israel resolution in 2011. As President Obama rightly declared at this podium, peace will not come from statements and resolutions at the United Nations.
I believe the day is not far off when Israel will be able to rely on many, many countries to stand with us at the UN. Slowly but surely, the days when UN ambassadors reflexively condemn Israel, those days are coming to an end.
Ladies and Gentlemen: Today’s automatic majority against Israel at the UN reminds me of the story, the incredible story of Hiroo Onada. Hiroo was a Japanese soldier who was sent to the Philippines in 1944. He lived in the jungle. He scavenged for food. He evaded capture. Eventually he surrendered, but that didn’t happen until 1974, some 30 years after World War II ended. For decades, Hiroo refused to believe the war was over. As Hiroo was hiding in the jungle, Japanese tourists were swimming in pools in American luxury hotels in nearby Manila. Finally, mercifully, Hiroo’s former commanding officer was sent to persuade him to come out of hiding. Only then did Hiroo lay down his arms.
Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished delegates from so many lands, I have one message for you today: Lay down your arms. The war against Israel at the UN is over. Perhaps some of you don’t know it yet, but I am confident that one day, in the not-too-distant future, you will also get the message from your president or from your prime minister informing you that the war against Israel at the United Nations has ended. Yes, I know, there might be a storm before the calm. I know there is talk about ganging up on Israel at the UN later this year. Given its history of hostility towards Israel, does anyone really believe that Israel will let the UN determine our security and our vital national interests?
We will not accept any attempt by the UN to dictate terms to Israel. The road to peace runs through Jerusalem and Ramallah, not through New York.
But regardless of what happens in the months ahead, I have total confidence that in the years ahead, the revolution in Israel’s standing among the nations will finally penetrate this hall of nations. I have so much confidence, in fact, that I predict that a decade from now an Israeli prime minister will stand right here where I am standing and actually applaud the UN. But I want to ask you: Why do we have to wait a decade? Why keep vilifying Israel? Perhaps because some of you don’t appreciate that the obsessive bias against Israel is not just a problem for my country; it’s a problem for your countries, too. Because if the UN spends so much time condemning the only liberal democracy in the Middle East, it has far less time to address war, disease, poverty, climate change and all the other serious problems that plague the planet.
Are the half million slaughtered Syrians helped by your condemnation of Israel? The same Israel that has treated thousands of injured Syrians in our hospitals, including a field hospital that I built right along the Golan Heights border with Syria. Are the gays hanging from cranes in Iran helped by your denigration of Israel? That same Israel where gays march proudly in our streets and serve in our parliament, including I’m proud to say in my own Likud party. Are the starving children in North Korea’s brutal tyranny, are they helped by your demonization of Israel? Israel, whose agricultural knowhow is feeding the hungry throughout the developing world?
The sooner the UN’s obsession with Israel ends, the better. The better for Israel, the better for your countries, the better for the UN itself.
Ladies and Gentlemen: If UN habits die hard, Palestinian habits die even harder. President Abbas just attacked from this podium the Balfour Declaration. He’s preparing a lawsuit against Britain for that declaration from 1917. That’s almost 100 years ago – talk about being stuck in the past. The Palestinians may just as well sue Iran for the Cyrus Declaration, which enabled the Jews to rebuild our Temple in Jerusalem 2,500 years ago. Come to think of it, why not a Palestinian class action suit against Abraham for buying that plot of land in Hebron where the fathers and mothers of the Jewish people were buried 4,000 years ago? You’re not laughing. It’s as absurd as that. To sue the British government for the Balfour Declaration? Is he kidding? And this is taken seriously here?
President Abbas attacked the Balfour Declaration because it recognized the right of the Jewish people to a national home in the land of Israel. When the United Nations supported the establishment of a Jewish state in 1947, it recognized our historical and our moral rights in our homeland and to our homeland. Yet today, nearly 70 years later, the Palestinians still refuse to recognize those rights – not our right to a homeland, not our right to a state, not our right to anything. And this remains the true core of the conflict, the persistent Palestinian refusal to recognize the Jewish state in any boundary. You see, this conflict is not about the settlements. It never was.
The conflict raged for decades before there was a single settlement, when Judea Samaria and Gaza were all in Arab hands. The West Bank and Gaza were in Arab hands and they attacked us again and again and again. And when we uprooted all 21 settlements in Gaza and withdrew from every last inch of Gaza, we didn’t get peace from Gaza – we got thousands of rockets fired at us from Gaza.
This conflict rages because for the Palestinians, the real settlements they’re after are Haifa, Jaffa and Tel Aviv.
Now mind you, the issue of settlements is a real one and it can and must be resolved in final-status negotiations. But this conflict has never been about the settlements or about establishing a Palestinian state. It’s always been about the existence of a Jewish state, a Jewish state in any boundary.
Ladies and Gentlemen: Israel is ready — I am ready — to negotiate all final-status issues. But one thing I will never negotiate: our right to the one and only Jewish state.
Wow, sustained applause for the prime minister of Israel in the General Assembly? The change may be coming sooner than I thought.
Had the Palestinians said yes to a Jewish state in 1947, there would have been no war, no refugees and no conflict. And when the Palestinians finally say yes to a Jewish state, we will be able to end this conflict once and for all.
Now here’s the tragedy, because, see, the Palestinians are not only trapped in the past; their leaders are poisoning the future.
I want you to imagine a day in the life of a 13-year-old Palestinian boy. I’ll call him Ali. Ali wakes up before school; he goes to practice with a soccer team named after Dalal Mughrabi, a Palestinian terrorist responsible for the murder of a busload of 37 Israelis. At school, Ali attends an event sponsored by the Palestinian Ministry of Education honoring Baha Alyan, who last year murdered three Israeli civilians. On his walk home, Ali looks up at a towering statue erected just a few weeks ago by the Palestinian Authority to honor Abu Sukar, who detonated a bomb in the center of Jerusalem, killing 15 Israelis.
When Ali gets home, he turns on the TV and sees an interview with a senior Palestinian official, Jibril Rajoub, who says that if he had a nuclear bomb, he’d detonate it over Israel that very day. Ali then turns on the radio and he hears President Abbas’s adviser, Sultan Abu al-Einein, urging Palestinians, here’s a quote, “to slit the throats of Israelis wherever you find them.” Ali checks his Facebook and he sees a recent post by President Abbas’s Fatah Party calling the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics a “heroic act.” On YouTube, Ali watches a clip of President Abbas himself saying, “We welcome every drop of blood spilled in Jerusalem.” Direct quote.
Over dinner, Ali asks his mother what would happen if he killed a Jew and went to an Israeli prison. Here’s what she tells him. She tells him he’d be paid thousands of dollars each month by the Palestinian Authority. In fact, she tells him, the more Jews he would kill, the more money he’d get. Oh, and when he gets out of prison, Ali would be guaranteed a job with the Palestinian Authority.
Ladies and Gentlemen: All this is real. It happens every day, all the time. Sadly, Ali represents hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children who are indoctrinated with hate every moment, every hour.
This is child abuse.
Imagine your child undergoing this brainwashing. Imagine what it takes for a young boy or girl to break free out of this culture of hate. Some do but far too many don’t. How can any of us expect young Palestinians to support peace when their leaders poison their minds against peace?
We in Israel don’t do this. We educate our children for peace. In fact, we recently launched a pilot program, my government did, to make the study of Arabic mandatory for Jewish children so that we can better understand each other, so that we can live together side-by-side in peace.
Of course, like all societies, Israel has fringe elements. But it’s our response to those fringe elements, it’s our response to those fringe elements that makes all the difference.
Take the tragic case of Ahmed Dawabsha. I’ll never forget visiting Ahmed in the hospital just hours after he was attacked. A little boy, really a baby, he was badly burned. Ahmed was the victim of a horrible terrorist act perpetrated by Jews. He lay bandaged and unconscious as Israeli doctors worked around the clock to save him.
No words can bring comfort to this boy or to his family. Still, as I stood by his bedside, I told his uncle, “This is not our people. This is not our way.” I then ordered extraordinary measures to bring Ahmed’s assailants to justice and today the Jewish citizens of Israel accused of attacking the Dawabsha family are in jail awaiting trial.
Now, for some, this story shows that both sides have their extremists and both sides are equally responsible for this seemingly endless conflict.
But what Ahmed’s story actually proves is the very opposite. It illustrates the profound difference between our two societies, because while Israeli leaders condemn terrorists, all terrorists, Arabs and Jews alike, Palestinian leaders celebrate terrorists. While Israel jails the handful of Jewish terrorists among us, the Palestinians pay thousands of terrorists among them.
So I call on President Abbas: you have a choice to make. You can continue to stoke hatred as you did today, or you can finally confront hatred and work with me to establish peace between our two peoples.
Ladies and Gentlemen: I hear the buzz. I know that many of you have given up on peace. But I want you to know – I have not given up on peace. I remain committed to a vision of peace based on two states for two peoples. I believe as never before that changes taking place in the Arab world today offer a unique opportunity to advance that peace.
I commend President el-Sisi of Egypt for his efforts to advance peace and stability in our region. Israel welcomes the spirit of the Arab peace initiative and welcomes a dialogue with Arab states to advance a broader peace. I believe that for that broader peace to be fully achieved the Palestinians have to be part of it. I’m ready to begin negotiations to achieve this today – not tomorrow, not next week, today.
President Abbas spoke here an hour ago. Wouldn’t it be better if instead of speaking past each other we were speaking to one another? President Abbas, instead of railing against Israel at the United Nations in New York, I invite you to speak to the Israeli people at the Knesset in Jerusalem. And I would gladly come to speak to the Palestinian parliament in Ramallah.
Ladies and Gentlemen: While Israel seeks peace with all our neighbors, we also know that peace has no greater enemy than the forces of militant Islam. The bloody trail of this fanaticism runs through all the continents represented here. It runs through Paris and Nice, Brussels and Baghdad, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Minnesota and New York, from Sydney to San Bernardino. So many have suffered its savagery: Christian and Jews, women and gays, Yazidis and Kurds and many, many others.
Yet the heaviest price, the heaviest price of all has been paid by innocent Muslims. Hundreds of thousands unmercifully slaughtered. Millions turned into desperate refugees, tens of millions brutally subjugated. The defeat of militant Islam will thus be a victory for all humanity, but it would especially be a victory for those many Muslims who seek a life without fear, a life of peace, a life of hope.
But to defeat the forces of militant Islam, we must fight them relentlessly. We must fight them in the real world. We must fight them in the virtual world. We must dismantle their networks, disrupt their funding, discredit their ideology. We can defeat them and we will defeat them. Medievalism is no match for modernity. Hope is stronger than hate, freedom mightier than fear.
We can do this.
Ladies and Gentlemen: Israel fights this fateful battle against the forces of militant Islam every day. We keep our borders safe from ISIS; we prevent the smuggling of game-changing weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon; we thwart Palestinian terror attacks in Judea and Samaria — the West Bank — and we deter missile attacks from Hamas-controlled Gaza.
That’s the same Hamas terror organization that cruelly, unbelievably cruelly, refuses to return three of our citizens and the bodies of our fallen soldiers, Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin. Hadar Goldin’s parents, Leah and Simcha Goldin, are here with us today. They have one request – to bury their beloved son in Israel. All they ask for is one simple thing – to be able to visit the grave of their fallen son, Hadar, in Israel. Hamas refuses. They couldn’t care less.
I implore you to stand with them, with us, with all that’s decent in our world against the inhumanity of Hamas – all that is indecent and barbaric. Hamas breaks every humanitarian rule in the book, throw the book at them.
Ladies and Gentlemen: The greatest threat to my country, to our region and ultimately to our world remains the militant Islamic regime of Iran. Iran openly seeks Israel’s annihilation. It threatens countries across the Middle East, it sponsors terror worldwide.
This year, Iran has fired ballistic missiles in direct defiance of Security Council Resolutions. It has expended its aggression in Iraq, in Syria, in Yemen. Iran, the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism, continued to build its global terror network. That terror network now spans five continents.
So my point to you is this: The threat Iran poses to all of us is not behind us; it’s before us. In the coming years, there must be a sustained and united effort to push back against Iran’s aggression and Iran’s terror. With the nuclear constraints on Iran one year closer to being removed, let me be clear: Israel will not allow the terrorist regime in Iran to develop nuclear weapons – not now, not in a decade, not ever.
Ladies and Gentlemen: I stand before you today at a time when Israel’s former president, Shimon Peres, is fighting for his life. Shimon is one of Israel’s founding fathers, one of its boldest statesmen, one of its most respected leaders. I know you will all join me and join all the people of Israel in wishing him refuah shlemah, Shimon, a speedy recovery.
I’ve always admired Shimon’s boundless optimism, and like him, I too am filled with hope. I am filled with hope, because Israel is capable of defending itself by itself against any threat. I am filled with hope, because the valor of our fighting men and women is second to none. I am filled with hope, because I know the forces of civilization will ultimately triumph over the forces of terror. I am filled with hope, because in the age of innovation, Israel – the innovation nation – is thriving as never before. I am filled with hope, because Israel works tirelessly to advance equality and opportunity for all its citizens: Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, everyone. And I am filled with hope, because despite all the naysayers, I believe that in the years ahead, Israel will forge a lasting peace with all our neighbors.
Ladies and Gentlemen: I am hopeful about what Israel can accomplish because I’ve seen what Israel has accomplished. In 1948, the year of Israel’s independence, our population was 800,000. Our main export was oranges. People said then we were too small, too weak, too isolated, too demographically outnumbered to survive, let alone thrive. The skeptics were wrong about Israel then; the skeptics are wrong about Israel now.
Israel’s population has grown tenfold, our economy fortyfold. Today our biggest export is technology – Israeli technology, which powers the world’s computers, cellphones, cars and so much more.
Ladies and Gentlemen: The future belongs to those who innovate, and this is why the future belongs to countries like Israel. Israel wants to be your partner in seizing that future, so I call on all of you: Cooperate with Israel, embrace Israel, dream with Israel. Dream of the future that we can build together, a future of breathtaking progress, a future of security, prosperity and peace, a future of hope for all humanity, a future where even at the UN, even in this hall, Israel will finally, inevitably, take its rightful place among the nations.
Thank you.

PMW: Fatah cartoon suggests Jews behind world terror

Fatah cartoon:
Jews are behind world terror


Nan Jacques Zilberdik


Fatah has posted a cartoon that shows a Jew with a large nose and wearing a kippah (Jewish skullcap), comfortably seated in an armchair with the Star of David on it. Using a remote control, the Jew sets off an explosion in the city below, viewing the destruction as if watching TV. 

The cartoon expresses a libel often voiced by Palestinian leaders that Israel and Jews are responsible for world terror. It was posted on the official website of Fatah's Mobilization and Organization Commission. [Sept. 20, 2016]

A similar cartoon was recently posted by another Fatah commission, as documented by Palestinian Media Watch. It showed a long-nosed Jew lighting a fuse to blow up a bomb. Inside the bomb, a Shi'ite Muslim and a Sunni Muslim are both lying atop bombs, lighting fuses to blow up one other. This cartoon expresses the libel that Jews/Israel seek to destroy the Muslim world, and that they are taking advantage of internal Muslim fighting to do so.


In the past, Palestinians have accused Israel of being behind the terror attacks in Brussels (March 2016), Paris (November 2015), Nice (July 2016), and even 9/11 (New York, 2001).

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

PMW: PA libel: Terrorist stabbers are "unarmed" victims of Israeli executions

PA libel continues:  
Terrorist stabbers are "unarmed" victims
of Israeli "executions" 
  • PA news agency about terrorist stabbers: "Unarmed Palestinians" have been "executed... on pretexts and empty excuses"
  • PA Minister of Justice ignored and denied stabbings:"Israel is waging a one-sided campaign""The occupation is using the excuse that they tried to stab... and other baseless excuses"
  • PA TV about terrorist who attacked police with a knife in each hand:"Occupation soldiers... executed 28-year-old Sa'id Al-Amru... under the pretext that he tried to carry out a stabbing operation"Israel "targeted" him to "prevent Arabs from defending Jerusalem and Palestine"
  • PLO "called on the Palestinian factions and forces, associations, and unions to escalate the popular struggle against the occupation"
by Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Several Palestinian terrorists have carried out stabbing attacks in the last few days, injuring Israelis. Some of the terrorists were shot and killed during their attacks. The violent acts of terror have gone unaddressed by Palestinian leaders, and have even been denied by some. Instead, Palestinian leaders describe the perpetrators as victims and accuse Israel of carrying out "summary executions."

The official PA news agency WAFA announced that Israel is carrying out "summary executions and daily killing[s]" of "unarmed Palestinians," and claimed several "citizens" had been "executed... on pretexts and empty excuses." [WAFA, official PA news agency, Sept. 19, 2016]

PA Minister of Justice Ali Abu Diyak chose to ignore and even deny the stabbings, calling Israel's response to the spike in terror attacks "a one-sided campaign" and categorizing the stabbings as "baseless excuses":

"[PA] Minister of Justice Ali Abu Diyak said... in a statement that he published: 'Israel is waging a one-sided campaign against our people, and is intensifying the crimes of murder and aggression. In less than a week, it has committed many crimes of summary executions'...
He [Abu Diyak] emphasized that most of the victims of these crimes are youth and children, and that the occupation is using the excuse that they tried to stab or throw rocks at the occupation soldiers, and other baseless excuses."
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Sept. 19, 2016]

One of these allegedly "unarmed" citizens was a Jordanian terrorist who tried to stab Israeli border police officers at the Damascus Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs released footage of the attack in which terrorist Sa'id Al-Amru can be seen attacking the officers with a knife in each hand. [Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs YouTube channel, Sept. 19, 2016]


Click to view

Official PA TV was quick to portray this as a deliberate "targeted" killing to deter other Arabs from coming to Jerusalem and "defending" it: 

 

Official PA TV host: "The targeting of Jordanian Martyr Sa'id Al-Amru (i.e., terrorist stabber) is also a message against all of the calls to our Arab brothers to visit Jerusalem. [It is] an attempt to reduce these visits and in a sense prevent them, so that the Arabs will not defend Jerusalem and Palestine and the besieged Palestinian people that lives under the occupation." 
[Official PA TV, Good Morning Jerusalem, Sept. 17, 2016]
Click to view

A PA official interviewed on the program supported this claim:

Deputy Governor of Jerusalem District Abdallah Siyam: "It is exactly a hijacking of Jerusalem, and an attempt to alter the nature... of Jerusalem. The occupation wants to accustom the [Arab] citizens to the idea that there is a permanent danger in Jerusalem and it would be better for you not to come to Jerusalem."
Likewise, PA TV News stated Israel had "executed" the terrorist:

PA TV newsreader: "Occupation soldiers this afternoon executed the 28-year-old Sa'id Al-Amru, who holds Jordanian citizenship, in the area of the Damascus Gate [in Jerusalem] under the pretext that he tried to carry out a stabbing operation."
[Official PA TV News, Sept. 16, 2016]
  

Click to view

Another terrorist stabber, Hatem Al-Shaloudi, can be seen on security camera footage pulling out a knife and stabbing an Israeli soldier [Israeli TV Channel 2, Sept. 17, 2016]:


Click to view

As with the other stabber, PA TV claimed Israel had "executed" terrorist Hatem Al-Shaloudi "under the pretext that he had stabbed a soldier":

  

Official PA TV newsreader: "The occupation forces executed the 25-year-old young man Hatem Al-Shaloudi by shooting him with automatic weapons in the Tel Rumeida area in the center of Hebron, under the pretext that he had stabbed a soldier, lightly injuring him."

Official PA TV reporter: "The chain of Israeli crimes against residents of the Hebron district has not ended. Especially [not] the summary executions there, as the occupation army continues its intentional policy of killing Palestinian residents, using the same pretexts and excuses."
[Official PA TV News, Sept. 17, 2016]
Click to view

The official PA daily even sowed doubt about the attack, stating that Israel "claimed as usual" that a stabbing had taken place:

"The occupation army claimed, as usual, that young Al-Shaloudi stabbed a soldier at Tel Rumeida."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 18, 2016]
The PA libel that Israel deliberately "targets" and "executes" innocent Palestinians without justification has been repeated constantly in recent days by PA and Fatah leaders. PA Minister of Justice Ali Abu Diyak referred to Israel's killing of two stabbers, Amir Jamal Al-Rajabi and Muhannad Jamil Al-Rajabi, as "organized state terror and additional proof that Israel is continuing to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity."

Amir Jamal Al-Rajabi and Muhannad Jamil Al-Rajabi were two terrorists, who on Sept. 19, 2016, stabbed and wounded an Israeli border police officer near the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. The two terrorists were shot and killed by Israeli officers during the attack.

The PLO Department for Jerusalem Affairs stated that the killing of terrorist Al-Shaloudi was an example of Israel's "summary executions" that constitute "organized Israeli terror." [WAFA, official PA news agency, Sept. 19, 2016]

The Palestinian National Council, which is the legislative body of the PLO, encouraged Palestinians to "defend" themselves, and to "escalate the popular struggle":

"The Palestinian National Council (i.e., legislative body of the PLO) called on our people to defend itself from the Israeli terror... In a press release by its chairman, Salim Al-Za'anoun, the council yesterday [Sept. 17, 2016] called on the Palestinian factions and forces, associations, and unions to escalate the popular struggle against the occupation, its aggression, and its crimes."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 18, 2016]
Palestinian Media Watch has documented that terms like "popular struggle," "popular resistance," and "peaceful uprising" are used by Palestinian leaders to refer to many forms of "resistance," including the use of violence. Referring to the Palestinian terror wave in November 2015, which at the time had already murdered 14 Israelis and wounded 167 in 65 stabbings and 8 shootings, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas announced on PA TV that it was a "peaceful uprising." Similarly, a Fatah spokesman stated in December 2015, during the terror wave, that Fatah was leading the "popular resistance" in "the Jerusalem uprising." 

The Jerusalem branch of the Fatah Movement emphasized in a statement two days ago that "the occupation forces are targeting the blood of the Palestinians and doing as they please with it..." and warned that this would have "serious consequences," possibly alluding to an escalation of the violence. Fatah Movement Secretary in Jerusalem Adnan Ghaith repeated the libel that Israel targets Palestinians deliberately:

"Our Palestinian people has turned into a direct target for summary executions and cold-blooded murder for the occupation forces, who carry out crimes before the eyes and ears of the entire world, without anyone acting to stop these racist crimes." [WAFA, official PA news agency, Sept. 19, 2016]
In another statement, Fatah also implicitly threatened to use violence against Israel. The head of the Information Committee of the Fatah Mobilization and Organization Commission Munir Al-Jaghoub "warned" Israel against "continuing the executions," stating that Fatah would "not agree to make do with counting the Martyrs":

"Head of the Information Committee of the Fatah Mobilization and Organization Commission Munir Al-Jaghoub said that the level of the fascism and terror that Israel has reached today only proves to us all that it is only specializing in the cold-blooded execution of Palestinians... [He] warned the occupation government against the continuation of the murders, arrests, and executions. He said: 'The Fatah Movement - as a faction that represents the first line of the many members of the Palestinian people that believes in popular resistance - will not agree to make do with counting the Martyrs (Shahids) who are falling as a result of the acts of the criminal occupation.'"
[Ma'an, independent Palestinian news agency, Sept. 20, 2016]
These PA libels - that Israel fabricates stabbing attacks and "executes unarmed Palestinians" for no reason were also heard during the terror wave that started last year in September and continued with numerous stabbings, shootings, and car ramming attacks in 2016, and which had murdered 40 people (36 Israelis, 1 Palestinian, 2 Americans and 1 Eritrean) and wounded hundreds by July 2016.

The following are longer excerpts of the reports mentioned above. 
A list of the Palestinian terror attacks between Sept. 16 and 20, 2016 are listed below:

Official PA TV newsreader: "The occupation executes three residents (i.e., terrorists who carried out stabbing and car ramming attack) of occupied Jerusalem and Hebron, and the [PA] presidential office calls for urgent international involvement."
Official PA TV reporter: "Occupation soldiers shot at a Palestinian car near the settlement of Kiryat Arba, which is located on the [Hebron] district's land, under the pretext of a car ramming operation being carried out. This led to the Martyrdom-death (Istish'had) of young Firas Muhammad Al-Khaddour and the wounding of his sister (sic., fiancée)...
In another incident, Young Muhammad Kayed Al-Rajabi (i.e., terrorist stabber, wounded 1) became a Martyr (Shahid) when he was shot by occupation soldiers, which led to his Martyrdom-death in the Tel Rumeida region in the center of Hebron, under the pretext that he carried out a stabbing operation..."
Official PA TV newsreader: "In occupied Jerusalem, Occupation soldiers this afternoon executed the 28-year-old Sa'id Al-Amru, who holds Jordanian citizenship, in the area of the Damascus Gate [in Jerusalem] under the pretext that he tried to carry out a stabbing operation...
Official [PA] Palestinian Government Spokesman Yusuf Al-Mahmoud... said that the executions of three citizens by the occupation forces in Hebron and Jerusalem, among them a Jordanian citizen, over the last several hours emphasizes that Israel is continuing the chain of vile crimes that it is carrying out and that are considered war crimes, crimes against humanity, and in violation of international law."
[Official PA TV News, Sept. 16, 2016]


Official PA TV host: "The targeting of Jordanian Martyr Sa'id Al-Amru (i.e., terrorist stabber) is also a message against all of the calls to our Arab brothers to visit Jerusalem. [It is] an attempt to reduce these visits and in a sense prevent them, so that the Arabs will not defend Jerusalem and Palestine and the besieged Palestinian people that lives under the occupation. How do you understand this message?"
Deputy Governor of Jerusalem District, Abdallah Siyam: "It is exactly a hijacking of Jerusalem, and an attempt to alter the nature... of Jerusalem. The occupation wants to accustom the [Arab] citizens to the idea that there is a permanent danger in Jerusalem and it would be better for you not to come to Jerusalem."
 [Official PA TV, Good Morning Jerusalem, Sept. 17, 2016]

Official PA TV newsreader: "The occupation forces executed the 25-year-old young man Hatem Al-Shaloudi (i.e., terrorist stabber), by shooting him with automatic weapons in the Tel Rumeida area in the center of Hebron, under the pretext that he had stabbed a soldier, lightly injuring him."
Official PA TV reporter: "The chain of Israeli crimes against residents of the Hebron district has not ended. Especially [not] the summary executions there, as the occupation army continues its intentional policy of killing Palestinian residents, using the same pretexts and excuses."
 [Official PA TV News, Sept. 17, 2016]

Headline: "The [PA] Minister of Justice: The executions of the Al-Rajabi Martyrs is proof that Israel is continuing to commit war crimes and conduct organized terror"
"[PA] Minister of Justice Ali Abu Diyak said that the crime of the executions of child Martyr (Shahid) Amir Jamal Al-Rajabi (17) and Martyr Muhannad Jamil Al-Rajabi (21) (i.e., terrorist stabbers, wounded 1) next to the Ibrahimi Mosque (i.e., Cave of the Patriarchs) in Hebron today (Monday) [Sept. 19, 2016] is organized state terror, and additional proof that Israel is continuing to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity...
The minister of justice added in a statement that he published: 'Israel is waging a one-sided campaign against our people, and is intensifying the crimes of murder and aggression (sic., Israel is responding to an escalation in Palestinian terror attacks). In less than a week, it has committed many crimes of summary executions; occupation forces killed Martyr Muhammad Abd Al-Fattah Sarahin (i.e., wanted terrorist), who was shot and died as a Martyr in his house in the town of Beit Ula last Thursday [Sept. 15, 2016], and after him came a procession of Martyrson Friday and Saturday.
On Friday young Muhammad Thalaji Kayed Al-Rajabi (18) (i.e., terrorist stabber, wounded 1) in the Tel Rumeida region in the center of Hebron, and Martyr Firas Musa Muhammad Al-Khaddour (18) (i.e., terrorist who carried out a car ramming attack, wounded 3) from Bani Na'im that is next to the entrance to the settlement of Kiryat Arba in Hebron, died as Martyrs.'
He continued: 'Likewise, the young Jordanian Sa'id Hayel Al-Amru (28) (i.e., terrorist stabber) died as a Martyr... He entered Palestine in order to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday, and died as a Martyr on Friday, Sept. 16, at the Damascus Gate in occupied Jerusalem. Afterwards Hatem Abd Al-Hafiz Abd Al-Rahim Al-Shaloudi (25) (i.e., terrorist stabber, wounded 1) died as a Martyr last Saturday in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood in Hebron.
Abu Diyak clarified that the West Bank has turned into a scene of constant crime by the occupation forces. He emphasized that most of the victims of these crimes are youth and children, and that the occupation is using the excuse that they tried to stab or throw rocks at the occupation soldiers, and other baseless excuses."
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Sept. 19, 2016]

Headline: "The Department for Jerusalem Affairs: The summary executions are organized Israeli terror"
"The PLO Department for Jerusalem Affairs said: 'The summary executions being carried out by the occupation authorities are organized Israeli terror...' The department, in its announcement that was published today, Monday [Sept. 19, 2016], warned against the danger inherent in the Israeli occupation authorities continuing their criminal and racist violations against Jerusalem and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and their carrying out additional crimes through the incessant perpetration of summary executions, which were expressed this morning in the shooting of a young man from Jerusalem (i.e., terrorist stabber Hatem Al-Shaloudi, wounded 1) in the Herod's Gate region of Jerusalem, which caused him to be seriously wounded."
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Sept. 19, 2016]

Headline: "Fatah: We stand before Israeli fascism that is only specializing in the execution of Palestinians"
"The Fatah Movement held Israel responsible for the clear policy of murder and summary executions of Palestinians. [Fatah added that] through [this policy] it (i.e., Israel) seeks to turn the relationship between the occupation and the defenseless Palestinian citizen into a relationship of blood and murder, which is based on the terrorist fascism from which every occupation soldier who serves the criminal government of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu feeds.
Head of the Information Committee of the Fatah Mobilization and Organization Commission Munir Al-Jaghoub said that the level of the fascism and terror that Israel has reached today only proves to us all that it is only specializing in the cold-blooded execution of Palestinians at checkpoints, roads, and gates of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Munir Al-Jaghoub warned the occupation government against the continuation of the murders, arrests, and executions. He said: 'The Fatah Movement - as a faction that represents the first line of the many members of the Palestinian people that believes in popular resistance - will not agree to make do with counting the Martyrs (Shahids) who are falling as a result of the acts of the criminal occupation.'
Al-Jaghoub added: 'We view with severity Israel's return to the method of daily arrests, blocking routes to the traffic of [Palestinian] citizens, and preventing their arrival to their homes and workplaces. [This is] a policy that is no less racist and terrorist than all of the murders that are being committed against us. The escalation that Israel is striving for in all areas of our life will only drag the region into a logic of force and resistance [by the Palestinians] against the logic of murder and racist occupation [by Israel].'"
[Ma'an, independent Palestinian news agency, Sept. 20, 2016]

Headline: "Hatem Al-Shaloudi - the third Martyr in Hebron within 24 hours"
"Hatem Abd Al-Hafiz Abd Al-Rahim Al-Shaloudi, a 26-year-old young man, died as a Martyr (Shahid) yesterday morning [Sept. 17, 2016] [when he] was shot by the occupation forces next to the Jabel Al-Rahma Mosque, the entrance to the Tel Rumeida neighborhood in the center of Hebron. Local sources and witnesses conveyed that the occupation soldiers shot a round of bullets towards the Martyr and prevented Red Crescent teams from reaching the site... The occupation army claimed, as usual, that young Al-Shaloudi stabbed a soldier at Tel Rumeida... Martyr Al-Shaloudi is the fourth Martyr in less than 24 hours."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 18, 2016]
The picture, reprinted from the AFP News Agency, shows the knife used by Al-Shaloudi with the following caption in the official PA daily: "Martyr Al-Shaloudi's blood"

Headline: "The National Council calls to fight the occupation's terror and its aggression against our people"
"The Palestinian National Council (i.e., the legislative body of the PLO) called on our people to defend itself from the Israeli terror that is being carried out alongside the shameful international silence regarding the crimes of the occupation government, the settlements, and the summary executions, the last instance of which was the execution of young Hatem Al-Shaloudi yesterday morning [Sept. 17, 2016].
In a press release by its chairman, Salim Al-Za'anoun, the council yesterday called on the Palestinian factions and forces, associations, and unions to escalate the popular struggle against the occupation, its aggression, and its crimes. [He added that this is] a natural right, guaranteed by the UN Convention, UN General Assembly resolutions, the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, and the other conventions and laws, as part of the legitimate right of self-defense."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 18, 2016]
PMW Note: PA leaders and officials have legitimized Palestinian violence by quoting UN resolution 3236 which "recognizes the right of the Palestinian people to regain its rights by all means." The PA interprets "all means" as including violence against civilians, but has chosen to ignore the continuation of the resolution which states that the use of "all means" should be "in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations..." The UN Charter prohibits targeting civilians, even in war. Chapter 1, Article 1, opens by saying that "international disputes" should be resolved "by peaceful means."


Headline: "Fatah in Jerusalem: The occupation does as it pleases with the blood of the Palestinians"
"The Jerusalem branch of the Fatah Movement emphasized in its statement today, Monday[Sept. 19, 2016], that the occupation forces are targeting the blood of the Palestinians and doing as they please with it in an intentional and direct manner, which is something that will have serious consequences. The statement comes after the summary executions and daily killing that the [Israeli] security forces have carried out against unarmed Palestinians (i.e., terrorists attacking with knives or in car ramming attacks), as seven citizens were executed within a week on pretexts and empty excuses, the last of which was the targeting of young Ayman Al-Kurd (i.e., terrorist, wounded 2) this morning.
Fatah Movement Secretary in Jerusalem Adnan Ghaith said that our Palestinian people has turned into a direct target for summary executions and cold-blooded murder for the occupation forces, who carry out crimes before the eyes and ears of the entire world, without anyone acting to stop these racist crimes."
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Sept. 19, 2016]
One of the seven Palestinians referred to was Muhammad Abd Al-Fattah Sarahin, a wanted Palestinian terrorist who was killed while resisting arrest on Sept. 15, 2016. Israeli special forces arrived at Sarahin's home in Beit Ula northwest of Hebron to arrest him, and when he tried to escape the forces shot and killed him. PMW has been unable to verify the nature of his crimes.


Headline: "Calls for unity against the escalation of the executions and settlement by the occupation"
"The Fatah Movement called to our people to unify and unite against the worsening Israeli aggression, the massacres and crimes against our young people particularly in Hebron and Jerusalem, and emphasized that what the occupation state is committing is organized state terror whose goal is to blow up the situation, an Israeli attempt to force a security solution instead of a political solution, and a response to the international efforts to end the occupation and implement international law.
[Fatah] Movement Spokesman Osama Al-Qawasmi yesterday [Sept. 19, 2016] in a press statement... emphasized that the fact that Israel is executing Palestinians at checkpoints is simply the literal carrying out of the orders of the politicians and rulers of Tel Aviv...
Secretary-General of the Palestinian Liberation Front and PLO Executive Committee member Dr. Wasel Abu Yusuf emphasized that the summary executions that are being carried out by the occupation soldiers in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem will not break the desire of our people to defend its land and support Jerusalem.
Abu Yusuf described the executions as desperate attempts to suppress the popular resistance, and he emphasized that these attempts to murder the young Palestinian men and women in cold blood reveal the Israeli racism and fascism and their goal to break the strength of the resistance. Likewise, he said that these executions constitute a strong incentive for those rising up among our people to continue in the path of the struggle and to deter the terrorist settlers."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 20, 2016]

PMW Note: The rate of terror attacks by Palestinians against Israelis increased again in mid-September 2016. The following are some examples:

September 16:

Sa'id Al-Amru - 28-year-old Jordanian journalist who attacked Israeli border police officers with a knife in each hand, trying to stab them at the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem's Old City on Sept. 16, 2016. The officers shot and killed Al-Amru, and found additional knives on his person as well. Jordan condemned the officers' killing of Al-Amru and denied that he tried to carry out a terror attack. However, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented security camera footage of the incident clearly showing Al-Amru trying to stab the officers.

Muhammad Kayed Al-Rajabi  - 15-year-old Palestinian terrorist who stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier at the Jilbar checkpoint in Hebron on Sept. 16, 2016. In response Israeli soldiers shot and killed Al-Rajabi.

Firas and Raghad Al-Khaddour - Palestinian terrorists, an engaged couple, who carried out a car ramming attack against 3 Israeli youth, injuring them, at the entrance to Kiryat Arba on Sept. 16, 2016. Firas was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers and Raghad was injured and transferred to an Israeli hospital. Raghad left a will stating her reason for participating in the attack was that her sister, Majd Al-Khaddour, was killed at the same junction on June 24, 2016, when she carried out a car ramming attack.

September 17:

Hatem Al-Shaloudi - 25-year-old Palestinian terrorist who stabbed and injured an Israeli soldier in Hebron on Sept. 17, 2016. Al-Shaloudi was shot and killed in response by Israeli soldiers. Security camera footage of the incident clearly shows Al-Shaloudi stabbing the soldier.

September 19:

Ayman Al-Kurd - 20-year-old Palestinian terrorist with Israeli resident status who stabbed and wounded 2 Israeli police officers near Herod's Gate of Jerusalem's Old City on Sept. 19, 2016. One of the officers shot and wounded Al-Kurd.

Amir Jamal Al-Rajabi and Muhannad Jamil Al-Rajabi - Two Palestinian terrorists and relatives, aged 18 and 21 respectively, who on Sept. 19, 2016, stabbed and wounded an Israeli border police officer next to the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. The two terrorists were shot and killed by Israeli officers during the attack.