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Facts and Logic About the Middle East

July 25, 2017

Palestinians commit murder, then complain when Israel cracks down with increased security measures

Dear Friend of FLAME:

Another week, another Palestinian terrorist kills innocent Israelis. Then Israel cracks down, then Palestinians riot, then Palestinians are killed. It's what the New York Times will call a cycle of violence. It's what they should call the Palestinian cycle of self-destruction.

This time the Salomon family of 10 in the West Bank is sitting down to Shabbat dinner. A 19-year-old Arab man knocks at their door, and they open it, thinking he has come to celebrate their newborn grandson. The man rushes in and begins stabbing the family. He doesn't stop until he has killed the father, grandfather and grandmother and critically wounded the aunt . The Arab was shot and captured and told authorities he murdered because he feared the "desecration" of Jerusalem's al Aqsa Mosque.

The desecration the man was referring to is the placement of metal detectors at the entrance to the Temple Mount, where al Aqsa is located, and the increasingly violent reaction of Palestinians to this "indignity."

The metal detectors, of course, are the result of Palestinians smuggling automatic weapons into the al Aqsa compound last week, then using them to commit an even greater indignity—killing two Israeli Druze policemen in cold blood.

Meanwhile, as a reward for jobs well done, all of these murderers have qualified for the same level of income from the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a senior officer in the Palestinian security forces.

While President Mahmoud Abbas officially condemned the murder of the police, his Palestinian Authority has been inciting its people about non-existent threats to the "status quo" at al-Aqsa for years, and especially in the last 12 months, which has led to scores of stabbing, car and automatic weapon terror attacks.

Abbas has promised his people to prevent Jews from defiling the mount with "their filthy feet." A teacher at the al Aqsa mosque school said Jews who visit the Temple Mount are "monkeys and pigs." A preacher outside Aqsa urged worshipers to "slaughter Jews."

Is it any wonder that thousands of Arabs are rioting and refusing to pray on the Mount? Is it any wonder that three Palestinians have already been killed in clashes with Israeli peacekeepers?

To top it off, Mahmoud Abbas now says he is freezing contacts with Israel at all levels until the Jewish state reverses all new security measures. This is absurd, of course—not just because heightened security is to protect all visitors to the holy site—but more importantly because Abbas's rule would collapse within days if Israel didn't cooperate with him to keep rival Hamas in check.

To appreciate the supreme irony of the current situation in Israel, I commend you to this week's FLAME Hotline featured article, below, by Middle East-based Arab commentator Bassam Tawil. Tawil, chides the Palestinians, who refuse to condemn any form of terrorism, then complain violently when Israel responds with due force.

In the end, Tawil exposes the Palestinian motives for what they really are—to turn al Aqsa into an arms depot, with the hope it will someday be blown up, so the blame can be cast on you-know-who.

Above all, I hope this week's brief, but hard-hitting FLAME Hotline helps you and your friends to understand the sad contradictions inherent in the Palestinians' logic and behavior—and why Israel has little choice but to respond to terrorism with firm, definitive measures. Sooner or later, we can only hope the Palestinians will learn that every single act of terrorism sets their cause back —delaying it and increasingly restricting their daily lives in the meantime.

While we're on the subject of terrorists—and the PA's despicable "pay-for-slay" policy—I hope you'll also quickly review the P.S. immediately below, which describes FLAME's long-running hasbarah campaign to stop the U.S. Congress from funding Palestinian terrorism.

Best regards,

Jim Sinkinson
President, Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME)

P.S.

Did you know: By subsidizing the corrupt Palestinian Authority (P.A.) with aid of some $400 million taxpayer dollars a year, the U.S. is also funding the P.A.'s program of paying salaries to Palestinian terrorists who have killed innocent Americans and Israelis? In order to make Americans—especially college and university students—aware of this Palestinian practice of rewarding jihadi assailants and murderers with U.S. funds, FLAME has recently been publishing a new position paper: " U.S. Funds Palestinian Terrorism " This paid editorial has appeared in magazines and newspapers, including college newspapers, with a combined readership of some 10 million people. In addition, it is being sent to every member of the U.S. Congress and President Trump. If you agree that this kind of public relations effort on Israel's behalf is critical, I urge you to support us. Remember: FLAME's powerful ability to influence public opinion-and U.S. support of Israel—comes from individuals like you, one by one. I hope you'll consider giving a donation now, as you're able—with $500, $250, $100, or even $18. (Remember, your donation to FLAME is tax deductible.) To donate online, just go to donate now . Now more than ever we need your support to ensure that the American people and the U.S. Congress end our support of blatantly anti-Semitic, global jihadist organizations.

As of today, more than 15,000 Israel supporters receive the FLAME Hotline at no charge every week. If you’re not yet a subscriber, won’t you join us in receiving these timely updates, so you can more effectively tell the truth about Israel? Just go to free subscription.

Metal Detectors and Palestinian Lies

By Bassam Tawil, Gatestone Institute, July 22, 2017

The controversy surrounding the Israeli authorities' decision to place metal detectors at the gates of the Temple Mount calls to mind the famous Arab saying, "he beat me and cried then came to me to complain." This inversion of reality is a common among perpetrators who pretend to be victims.

The decision to install the metal detectors came after Arab terrorists murdered two Israeli police officers at the Temple Mount on July 14. The three terrorists—Israeli Arab citizens from the city of Umm al-Fahm—used a submachine gun and knives to carry out their attack. The weapons were easily smuggled into the Temple Mount thanks to Muslim worshippers not having been required to pass through metal detectors or undergo body searches by policemen stationed at the gates.

Incredibly, the Palestinians have since been waging daily protests against the new Israeli security measures, demanding that the metal detectors be removed from the entrances to the Temple Mount. As part of the protests, Palestinian leaders have urged Muslim worshippers not to enter the Temple Mount through the metal detectors and instead to pray at the entrances to the holy site.

The Palestinian Authority (PA), Jordan and other Arab and Islamic countries are accusing Israel of violating the status quo at the Temple Mount by installing the metal detectors.

One listens in vain for a denouncement of the terrorists who murdered the two Israeli police officers—these are the people responsible for defiling the sanctity of the holy site.

We also hear no condemnation of the murder of the officers, who belong to the Druze community in Israel and who were entrusted with preserving law and order at the Temple Mount. The slain officers were stationed there to ensure the safety of Muslim worshippers.

On the contrary—many Palestinians and Arabs have applauded the terror attack as a "heroic operation" against the "Zionist enemy." The three terrorists, who were killed by Israeli policemen during the attack, are being hailed as "martyrs" and "heroes" who sacrificed their lives in defense of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Sadly, many Israeli Arab leaders have refused to condemn the terror attack carried out by three of their fellow citizens.

The metal detectors have one goal: to prevent terrorists from smuggling weapons into the Temple Mount. That is the act that should be viewed as a desecration of a holy site.

Yet, rather than supporting the Israelis' attempt to thwart bloodshed on this sacred soil, the Palestinians and other Arabs blame Israel for seeking to safeguard the well-being of all people—not least of all Muslim worshipers-through basic security measures.

The Palestinian spin doctors are attempting to divert attention from the terror attack by making it look as if the crisis began when Israel installed the metal detectors and not when two police officers were murdered.

The Palestinians and other Arabs are now crying to the international community that Israel is seeking to change the status quo at the Temple Mount through a series of security measures. They are also trying to make it look as if Israel is preventing Muslim worshippers from entering and praying at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The facts, however, tell a rather different story.

First, the security measures, including the placement of the metal detectors, was not an Israeli initiative but came as a direct and necessary response to a specific terror attack. The Israeli government did not convene and take a decision to install the metal detectors in order to alter the status quo or stop Muslims from praying.

Second, it was the Palestinians who took the decision not to enter into the Temple Mount unless the metal detectors are removed. Palestinian leaders and officials the Waqf (a religious trust that manages the Temple Mount compound) were the ones who urged Muslim worshippers to stay away from the Temple Mount and hold prayers in the streets and public squares in protest against the metal detectors. The Muslim worshippers prefer to pray in the streets and public squares rather than enter the Temple Mount through metal detectors. But now the Palestinians and the Waqf are lying to the world by telling it that Israel is denying Muslims access to their holy sites.

The Palestinian propaganda machine is working overtime to market the false impression that the metal detectors are part of an Israeli scheme to spark a religious war with Muslims and destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque. It appears, however, that quite the opposite is true. The incitement of Palestinian and Waqf officials suggests that it is they who are hell-bent on triggering a religious war with Israel and Jews.

This incitement began more than two years ago, when Palestinian and Waqf leaders started telling their people and the rest of the world that Israel was planning to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and that Jews visiting the Temple Mount were "defiling with their filthy feet" an Islamic holy site. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was the first to pronounce this blood libel, which triggered a wave of knife and car—ramming attacks against Israelis that continues to this day.

The three terrorists who carried out the July 14 attack were acting precisely in accordance with the instructions of Abbas and other Palestinian and Muslim leaders: that it is the duty of Muslims to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque from Jews. In that sense, this attack should be seen in the context of the ongoing wave of terror attacks against Israel that began in late 2015 and which is known as the "Knife Intifada."

Since then, the Palestinians have been using visits by Jews to the Temple Mount as an excuse to launch terror attacks against Israel. Palestinian officials and media outlets continue to depict these peaceful visits as "violent raids by Jewish settler gangs into the Al-Aqsa Mosque." The truth, however, is that no Jew has set foot inside the mosque. The visits are restricted to tours of the Temple Mount compound—something that non-Muslim tourists have been doing since 1968.

In reality, it is the Palestinians themselves who are desecrating the sanctity of the Temple Mount, using the site to launch violent attacks against Jews by hurling stones at Jews praying at the nearby Western Wall.

They have also been smuggling various types of weapons into the Temple Mount in order to throw firebombs and stones at Jewish visitors and policemen. The Palestinian leadership and Waqf officials have also encouraged Muslims to harass Jewish visitors and police officers by hurling insults at them.

Last year, the Palestinians thwarted a plan by Jordan to install dozens of security cameras at the Temple Mount. The cameras were supposed to refute or confirm Palestinian allegations that Israel was plotting to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Jordanians backed off from their plan after Palestinian intimidation, including the threat to destroy the cameras.

Why protest the plan? The Palestinians were afraid that their violence, harassment and amassing of weapons to attack Jewish visitors and police officers would be captured on camera.

Redux : Palestinian are twisting reality again, only this time with metal detectors. They are worried that the metal detectors will stop them from smuggling knives and firearms into the Temple Mount.

One wonders—if the draw of the Al-Aqsa Mosque is prayer, why worry about metal detectors? Thousands of Palestinians pass every day through metal detectors on their way into Israel, and all that happens is that they get to work. Similarly, Palestinians and Israelis alike pass every day through metal detectors at shopping malls and state institutions, such as the Post Office, the National Insurance Institute, hospitals and medical centers. Where is the outcry?

The Palestinian opposition to the metal detectors at the Temple Mount means one thing only: that the Palestinians are determined to turn the holy site into a weapons cache and use it as a launching pad to carry out terror attacks against Israelis. If the mosque were then actually destroyed in the process, guess who would be blamed? Possibly that is even the real agenda. Who among the international community would like to sign off on that?

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