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Role Reversal: Mahmoud Abbas Condemns Israel for ‘Acts of Terror’ Against Hezbollah
People rush to a soccer field hit by a Hezbollah rocket in the majority-Druze northern Israeli town Majdal Shams Photo: Via 924, from social media used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law
While ignoring the thousands of rockets and drones fired at northern Israel by the Iranian-backed Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah since the start of the current Gaza war, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its ruling party, Fatah, continue to express support for Hezbollah against Israel by painting Hezbollah as a victim.
Following Israel’s recent pager and device attacks against Hezbollah, both the PA and Fatah hurried to express their support for “sister Lebanon.”
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ office “condemned” the attacks as “acts of terror,” claiming they “harmed innocent civilians”:
The Palestinian [PA] presidential office again strongly condemned the acts of terror against sister Lebanon…
The presidential office emphasized that the State of Palestine and the Palestinian people stand alongside the government and people in sister Lebanon, at a time when it is being subjected to terror that harmed innocent civilians …
The presidential office warned against the results of this severe escalation, which violates Lebanese sovereignty and threatens international peace and security.”
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Sept. 18, 2024]
Also ignoring Hezbollah’s numerous attacks on Israeli civilian areas — and the murder of more than 40 Israelis, including 12 children who were playing soccer — Abbas’ advisor Mahmoud Al-Habbash accused Israel of “escalating” the situation and seeking to “undermine the region’s stability” with its “aggressive operations”:
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor Mahmoud Al-Habbash: “The Israeli government is continuing its attempts to escalate the situation and the tension more and more. These aggressive operations that the occupation state [i.e., Israel] and the occupation army are carrying out, whether in Lebanon, in Palestine, or anywhere else, strive to create additional tension and escalation on the military and security level in order to undermine the region’s stability.” [emphasis added]
[Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Sept. 18, 2024]
Abbas’ Fatah movement also condemned Israel’s “aggressive and criminal operation,” stressing its continued support for Lebanon and its “great appreciation for the support” that Lebanon [ i.e., the terror organization Hezbollah] “has given the [Palestinian] cause”:
The Fatah Movement … condemned the aggressive and criminal operation, due to which hundreds died as Martyrs …
Fatah said that it is standing alongside sister Lebanon and the Lebanese people that is dear to our hearts, and expressed its great appreciation for the support that it has given the [Palestinian] cause and the Palestinian people, despite the burden it bears and despite the sacrifices it is making …
[Fatah] also promised and swore once again to continue on the path of struggle to realize freedom, return, and independence on the Palestinian land and the end of the occupation [i.e., Israel]. [emphasis added]
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Sept. 17, 2024]
In addition to promising to “continue on the path of struggle” by committing more terror attacks, Fatah has also directly called on Hezbollah to continue attacking Israel.
Recently, top PA/Fatah official Jibril Rajoub encouraged Hezbollah and Iran to “punish the Israeli enemy”:
Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub: “The one who endangers regional security and world peace is this unilateral Israeli aggression against Palestine, against Syria, against Lebanon, against Iraq, against Yemen, against Iran, and against the entire world. ..
This [Israeli] enemy only understands the language of force, and it needs to be punished … Punishing Netanyahu and a response – whether by our brothers in Hezbollah, Iran, and any other side – are a message for which [those countries] are responsible… But the military conduct must come simultaneously with a political will on everything concerning fighting the occupation and aggression … We must not let [Israel] continue to behave like the neighborhood bully, and must not let it integrate in the Middle East region and normalize any relations before the fully sovereign [Palestinian] state is established.”
[Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub, Facebook page, Aug. 7, 2024]
And let’s not forget the leader that started it all with the massacre and murder on Oct. 7, 2023: Hamas, headed by Yahya Al-Sinwar.
Sinwar is of course thrilled with Hezbollah’s unwavering support for the “resistance to the Zionist project” and the “Nazi Zionist occupation.”
Following the assassination in Iran of Sinwar’s predecessor Ismail Haniyeh, chairman of Hamas’ political bureau, Sinwar sent a letter to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, thanking him for joining “one of the most honorable battles of the Palestinian people” — Hamas’ “Al-Aqsa Flood”:
Al-Sinwar: “We thank you for your solidarity that is mixed with sincere and noble feelings, which were expressed by your blessed actions in the fronts of the axis of resistance as support and participation in this battle.” [emphasis added]
[Al-Manar website (Hezbollah affiliated), Sept. 14, 2024]
Al-Sinwar emphasized his disregard for human life, stressing his appreciation of all the people who have died for his cause — “Jihad and resistance” against Israel:
“The blood of our people … this pure blood and the blessed convoys of Martyrs will become more decisive and stronger against the Nazi Zionist occupation.
We also emphasize that… the lofty principles that leader Martyr [Ismail Haniyeh] espoused will remain firm and present … foremost among them the unity of the Palestinian people around Jihad and resistance, and also the unity of the nation, and at its core the axis of resistance to the Zionist project.” [emphasis added]
The author is a senior analyst at Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article was originally published.
The post Role Reversal: Mahmoud Abbas Condemns Israel for ‘Acts of Terror’ Against Hezbollah first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Harris Says Won’t Give Up Pushing for End to Israel-Gaza War
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks before participating in a bilateral meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the White House in Washington, U.S., May 21, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger
US Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday repeated her call for a ceasefire in Israel’s war in Gaza and said it was important to seize the opportunity provided by the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a mastermind of the Oct. 7 attack.
Harris acknowledged challenges ahead but told reporters she would continue to push for an end to the conflict.
“This creates an opening that I believe we must take full advantage of – to dedicate ourselves to ending this war and bringing the hostages home,” she said.
“As it relates to the issues in the Middle East and in particular in that region, it has never been easy. But that doesn’t mean we give up. It’s always going to be difficult. We can’t give up.”
Harris dodged a question on whether Arab American and Muslim anger over US support for Israel’s continued bombardment of Gaza and more recently in Lebanon could cost her the election in the battleground state of Michigan, but said she would continue speaking out about the tragic loss of innocent lives.
“I speak publicly all the time about the fact that there are so many tragic stories coming from Gaza,” Harris said, also referencing the initial Hamas Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
“What’s critically important as we look at this moment, is … acknowledging the tragedy of what has happened in Gaza, in terms of the extraordinary number of innocent Palestinians that have been killed, and taking that seriously and speaking truth about that,” she said.
Harris and Trump are essentially tied in the most competitive states like Michigan, with just 17 days until the Nov. 5 election.
Harris will need strong results in the majority non-white cities of Detroit and Atlanta and their surrounding suburbs – both of which have large Arab American and Muslim populations – to repeat US President Joe Biden’s 2020 wins in Michigan and Georgia. Trump won Michigan by 11,000 votes in 2016. In 2020, Biden beat Trump by 155,000 votes.
Harris on Friday won the endorsements of 50 prominent Lebanese-Americans, who said the US had been “unrelenting” in its support for Lebanon under the Biden administration and that they expect additional backing if Harris wins in November.
The endorsement came amid ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon that have killed at least 2,350 people over the last year, according to the Lebanese health ministry, with more than 1.2 million people displaced. Hezbollah attacks have killed 50 Israeli soldiers and civilians, according to Israel.
The post Harris Says Won’t Give Up Pushing for End to Israel-Gaza War first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Netanyahu: ‘The Agents of Iran Who Tried to Assassinate Me and My Wife Today Made a Grave Mistake’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem, Feb. 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – The private residence of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, came under attack early on Saturday from Hezbollah drone, a brief statement from the leader’s office stated:
The attempt by Iran’s proxy Hezbollah to assassinate me and my wife today was a grave mistake. This will not deter me or the State of Israel from continuing our just war against our enemies in order to secure our future. I say to Iran and its proxies in its axis of evil: Anyone who tries to harm Israel’s citizens will pay a heavy price. We will continue to eliminate the terrorists and those who dispatch them. We will bring our hostages home from Gaza. And we will return our citizens who live on our Northern border safely to their homes. Israel is determined to achieve all our war objectives and change the security reality in our region for generations to come. Together, we will fight, and with God’s help – together, we will win.
Netanyahu and his wife Sara were not at the residence at the time of the attack, and no one was hurt, the statement added. The extent of damage caused was not clear.
The post Netanyahu: ‘The Agents of Iran Who Tried to Assassinate Me and My Wife Today Made a Grave Mistake’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran FM Meets with Hamas Delegation Headed by Muhammad Darwish
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Photo: Reuters/Raheb Homavandi.
i24 News – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday met with a Hamas delegation in İstanbul, followed by a meeting with his Turkish counterpart.
The Hamas delegation was headed by Muhammad Ismail Darwish, the Head of Hamas Shura Council and included members of the jihadist group’s politburo. A well-placed source told i24NEWS Darwish was the strongest man in Hamas following the assassination of the group’s leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza.
The post Iran FM Meets with Hamas Delegation Headed by Muhammad Darwish first appeared on Algemeiner.com.