“They murder, we build” is what Netanyahu is telling the world as Israel moves to build more homes in settlement blocs that will remain part of Israel under any peace deal. The fact that these blocs will be Israel? Doesn’t matter to the Obama administration which, of course, condemned the building as “illegitimate.” The PA tried to do its usual thing, by turning the language Israel uses to describe Palestinian activities against Israel.
Fatah spokesman Ahmad Assaf said Israel was taking advantage of Friday night’s murder of five members of the Fogel family to “launch an incitement campaign against Palestinian President Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) and the Palestinian Authority in general.”
But something didn’t take. When HRW puts out a statement excoriating the attack, and Netanyahu seemed to successfully call the PA out on their namby-pamby “we abhor violence” line, Mahmoud Abbas took an unprecedented step: He went on Israeli radio and condemned the attack. Why? I think because Israel took an unprecented step: Pictures of the grisly murder scene were released. (I’m sorry, I’m not linking to them here. I don’t want to see them.) I think, however, the release of the pictures were greatly effective. Of course, Abbas is lying about Palestinian incitement. He always lies, except when speaking in Arabic to an Arab audience about “retaking” Palestinian lands.
And the AP, as always, spins.
Israel has long contended that Palestinian textbooks and official media preach hatred toward Israel and that the killers of Israelis are often glorified.
On Sunday, a group of activists from Abbas’ Fatah movement dedicated a square in the West Bank city of Ramallah after Dalal Mughrabi, a female militant who carried out a 1978 bus attack that killed 37 Israelis. Aides to Abbas said they tried to stop the ceremony and the move was not officially sanctioned.
Still, Israel has not produced evidence that incitement contributed to the killings.
Even when presenting evidence of incitement, the AP bends over backwards trying to prove that it isn’t incitement. Or at least, if it is, it’s not the PA’s fault. Or at least, if it is, Israel can’t prove that incitement is the reason that family was massacred. Way to spin, AP!
Something is different this time, though. Abbas never, ever, attacked his own people like that before. I wonder if something is going on behind the scenes at State. Or if he’s finally noticing that there are a lot of Republican politicians who want to cut the PA purse strings.
Regardless, two parents and three children are dead—including a four-month-old baby. The brave, brave mujahadeen managed to kill them all in their sleep. This time, even the PA can’t spin the attack as justified. It’s a baby step forward.