RSS
Mahmoud Abbas Makes Congratulatory Call to Terrorist Responsible for Murder of Israeli Baby
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, Sept. 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Just hours after the terrorist responsible for the murder of an Israeli baby was released from prison, Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas called him to congratulate him on his release.
Terrorist Yasser Abu Bakr was responsible for the murder of nine-month-old Avia Malka in 2002, as well as 27-year-old Israel Yihye and 23-year-old Constantine Danilov. Abu Bakr was released from prison this week along with 200 additional terrorists, in exchange for the release of four Israeli female hostages..
The PA also saw fit to send its Official Media General Supervisor Ahmad Assaf to the terrorist’s home, and the significance of Ahmad Assaf sitting alongside the terrorist just hours after his release cannot be minimized.
Assaf is close to Abbas, who personally appointed him as head of all PA media. Every year, Abbas honors Assaf for the great work the official PA media does for the “Palestinian cause.” Assaf’s presence is another embrace by Abbas of the terrorist.
In addition, standing in the room with the terrorist was a member of the PA Security Forces. The PA Security Forces are funded by the United States and the Europeans to fight Palestinian terror.
Why, then, did the PA see fit to send a member of these forces to honor a released terrorist?
Palestinian Media Watch has exposed that the PA Security Services are deeply involved in terror, and this is another indication that there is nothing “revitalized” about the PA.
Many in the West want a “revitalized” PA to rule the Gaza Strip, but it is so clearly involved in terror that it is dangerous to even entrust it to rule the Palestinian cities in Judea and Samaria.
Here is a video and partial transcript of the conversation between Abbas and Assaf. Note that most of what Abbas said on the phone could not be heard, as the recording was made in the home of the terrorist. The significance, however, is in the call itself and the presence of the PA representatives.
Released terrorist prisoner Yasser Abu Bakr: “Your Honor [PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas].”
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas: “My dear, I consider this [an act] for the homeland, but they [i.e., Israel] greatly burdened you, may Allah help [you].”
Yasser Abu Bakr: “[They burdened] everyone … I and all the prisoners say that there is no reason for any show of joy while thousands of our dear ones, [the Martyrs] who are more honorable than all of us, are no more … Everyone sends you greetings, and I hope you will set a date for a meeting with us.” [emphasis added]
[Fatah Commission of Information and Culture, Facebook page, Jan. 25, 2025]
Itamar Marcus is Palestinian Media Watch (PMW)’s Founder and Director. Ephraim D. Tepler is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch. A version of this article originally appeared at PMW.
The post Mahmoud Abbas Makes Congratulatory Call to Terrorist Responsible for Murder of Israeli Baby first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Israel to Resume Airdrop Aid to Gaza on Saturday, Military Says
Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo
Israel will resume airdrop aid to Gaza on Saturday night, the Israeli military said, a few days after more than 100 aid agencies warned that mass starvation was spreading across the enclave.
“The airdrops will include seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food to be provided by international organizations,” the military added in a statement.
The post Israel to Resume Airdrop Aid to Gaza on Saturday, Military Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Trump Says Hamas ‘Didn’t Want to Make a Deal,’ Now Likely to Get ‘Hunted Down’
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.
i24 News – US President Donald Trump on Friday said the Palestinian jihadists of Hamas did not want to make a deal on a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza.
“Now we’re down to the final hostages, and they know what happens after you get the final hostages. And basically because of that, they really didn’t want to make a deal,” Trump said.
The comments followed statements by Middle East peace envoy Steve Witkoff and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the effect that Israel was now considering “alternative” options to achieve its goals of bringing its hostages home from Gaza and ending the terror rule of Hamas in the coastal enclave.
Trump added he believed Hamas leaders would now be “hunted down.”
On Thursday, Witkoff said the Trump administration had decided to bring its negotiating team home for consultations following Hamas’s latest proposal. Witkoff said overnight that Hamas was to blame for the impasse, with Netanyahu concurring.
Trump also dismissed the significance of French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that Paris would become the first major Western power to recognize an independent Palestinian state.
Macron’s comments, “didn’t carry any weight,” the US leader said.
The post Trump Says Hamas ‘Didn’t Want to Make a Deal,’ Now Likely to Get ‘Hunted Down’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Italy’s Meloni: Recognizing Palestinian State Before It Is Established May Be ‘Counterproductive’
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, Feb. 26, 2022. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday that recognizing the State of Palestine before it is established could be counterproductive.
“I am very much in favor of the State of Palestine but I am not in favor of recognizing it prior to establishing it,” Meloni told Italian daily La Repubblica.
“If something that doesn’t exist is recognized on paper, the problem could appear to be solved when it isn’t,” Meloni added.
France’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September drew condemnation from Israel and the United States, amid the war in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.
On Friday, Italy’s foreign minister said recognition of a Palestinian state must occur simultaneously with recognition of Israel by the new Palestinian entity.
A German government spokesperson said on Friday that Berlin was not planning to recognize a Palestinian state in the short term and said its priority now is to make “long-overdue progress” towards a two-state solution.
The post Italy’s Meloni: Recognizing Palestinian State Before It Is Established May Be ‘Counterproductive’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.