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In Classic Antisemitic Libel, Palestinian Press Accuses Israel of Poisoning Water

Jordan’s King Abdullah II speaks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, during a group photo of Arab leaders, ahead of the 30th Arab Summit in Tunis, Tunisia, March 31, 2019. Photo: Reuters / Zoubeir Souissi / Pool / File.

Antisemitism is fundamental to Palestinian Authority ideology (PA), and that antisemitism takes many forms.

As reported by Palestinian Media Watch, a mere two weeks after the October 7 atrocities — where Palestinians murdered Jews in their homes, in their towns, and at the Nova music festival hiding behind rocks and trees — the PA chose to preach in all its mosques that it is Muslim destiny to kill Jews hiding behind rocks and trees. That was an example of PA religious antisemitism.

The PA has now taken its people back to medieval-style antisemitism, by accusing Israel of poisoning the water supply:

Israel and also the US have many types of weapons that [Israel] could use … It [Israel] is liable to spread viruses; it is liable to poison the water; it is liable to do everything of this nature, perhaps things that we are not even thinking about. Even trees that are growing naturally, crops such as spinach and mallow, they will spray them with toxic substances. [emphasis added]

[Official PA TV, columnist Omar Hilmi al-Ghoul of Al-Hayat al-Jadida, March 6, 2024]

Poisoning water and spreading disease are libels that were commonly hurled at Jews in the Middle Ages, especially when Jews were accused of being the source of Bubonic plague. Believing Jews to be the source of disease created rage among the European populations, and led to repeated massacres of Jews.

This libel accusing Israel of poisoning the water supply is likewise intended to create outrage among Palestinians, who will feel justified in attacking and killing Israelis. This libel is particularly odious coming at a time when Israel is allowing hundreds of trucks filled with humanitarian aid into Gaza every day, while no humanitarian aid is reaching the Israeli hostages.

PA libels about Jews and Israel are a major part of the Palestinian national discourse, intended to create loathing of Israelis and justify terror. For example, one ongoing PA libel is that Israel abuses Palestinian prisoners through medical neglect, medical experiments, and intentional infection. This likewise was recently disseminated by a senior PA official, after a Palestinian prisoner died of cancer:

This is a sight to which we do not want to grow accustomed, we do not want it to repeat itself, and may this not be the ongoing situation in which our prisoners are executed in a systematic and planned manner by this extremist Zionist system. This is not medical neglect. This is medical assassination against our prisoners. [emphasis added]

[Official PA TV, Ramallah and El-Bireh District Governor Laila Ghannam, March 1, 2024]

Official PA reporter, Benazir Eichmann, further propagated the abuse-of-prisoners libel.

The fact that 22-year-old Fatah member Asef Al-Rifa’i contracted cancer before his imprisonment and received chemotherapy in Israeli hospitals while incarcerated did not stop her from accusing Israel of his death. Eichmann claimed that Al-Rifa’i was a victim of neglect:

The latest case was the ascent [to Heaven] of Asef Al-Rifa’i, 22, from Kafr Ein next to Ramallah, a victim of the crime of medical neglect and prevention of treatment.

[Official PA TV, March 1, 2024]

All of these prisoner libels are false. The International Red Cross, which visits all Palestinian terrorist prisoners regularly, has never made the claim that prisoners have improper conditions or do not receive medical treatment. The prisoners themselves have not made any such claims either — not even during hunger strikes, such as an infamous one in 2011. At the time, they requested additional benefits, such as access to satellite TV channels and allowing prisoners who are relatives to be closer to each other. There was no need for them to request better medical care.

Moreover, PMW has documented prisoners talking about how they “lack nothing” in the prisons, and that “the worst thing about Israeli prison” is that they are occasionally transported in a vehicle with no seat padding.

Whether PA antisemitism focuses on its religious component of Jews being the enemy of Allah, or the Middle Ages approach, which presented Jews as the source of death, the objective is the same — to give Palestinians the justification for killing Jews.

The author is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article first appeared.

The post In Classic Antisemitic Libel, Palestinian Press Accuses Israel of Poisoning Water first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Hezbollah Says Lebanon Move on Army Plan Is ‘Opportunity,’ Urges Israel to Commit to Ceasefire

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and members of the cabinet stand as they attend a cabinet session to discuss the army’s plan to disarm Hezbollah, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, September 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati told Reuters on Saturday that the group considered Friday’s cabinet session on an army plan to establish a state monopoly on arms “an opportunity to return to wisdom and reason, preventing the country from slipping into the unknown.”

Lebanon’s cabinet on Friday welcomed a plan by the army that would disarm Hezbollah and said the military would begin executing it, without setting a timeframe for implementation and cautioning that the army had limited capabilities.

But it said continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon would hamper the army’s progress. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Lebanese information minister Paul Morcos stopped short of saying the cabinet had formally approved the plan.

Qmati told Reuters that Hezbollah had reached its assessment based on the government’s declaration on Friday that further implementation of a US roadmap on the matter was dependent on Israel’s commitment. He said that without Israel halting strikes and withdrawing its troops from southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s implementation of the plan should remain “suspended until further notice.”

Lebanon’s cabinet last month tasked the army with coming up with a plan that would establish a state monopoly on arms and approved a US roadmap aimed at disarming Hezbollah in exchange for a halt to Israeli military operations in Lebanon.

Qmati said that Hezbollah “unequivocally rejected” those two decisions and expected the Lebanese government to draw up a national defense strategy.

Israel last week signaled it would scale back its military presence in southern Lebanon if the army took action to disarm Hezbollah. Meanwhile, it has continued its strikes, killing four people on Wednesday.

A national divide over Hezbollah’s disarmament has taken center stage in Lebanon since last year’s devastating war with Israel, which upended a power balance long dominated by the Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim group.

Lebanon is under pressure from the US, Saudi Arabia and Hezbollah’s domestic rivals to disarm the group. But Hezbollah has pushed back, saying it would be a serious misstep to even discuss disarmament while Israel continues its air strikes on Lebanon and occupies swathes of territory in the south.

Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem last month raised the specter of civil war, warning the government against trying to confront the group and saying street protests were possible.

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UK Police Arrest Dozens at Latest Protest for Banned Palestine Action

Demonstrators attend the “Lift The Ban” rally organised by Defend Our Juries, challenging the British government’s proscription of “Palestine Action” under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, in London, Britain, September 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

British police arrested dozens more people on Saturday under anti-terrorism laws for demonstrating in support of Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian group banned by the government as a terrorist organization.

Britain banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation in July after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged military planes. The group accuses Britain’s government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

Police have arrested hundreds of Palestine Action supporters in recent weeks under anti-terrorism legislation, including over 500 in just one day last month, many of them over the age of 60.

On Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators gathered near parliament in central London to protest against the ban on Saturday, with many holding up signs that said: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”

London’s Metropolitan Police said officers had begun arresting those expressing support for Palestine Action. Police did not say how many arrests were made but a Reuters witness said dozens of people were detained.

Palestine Action’s ban, or proscription, puts the group alongside al-Qaeda and ISIS and makes it a crime to support or belong to the organization, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

“I can be unequivocal, if you show support for Palestine Action – an offense under the Terrorism Act – you will be arrested,” Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said on Friday. “We have the officer numbers, custody capacity and all other resources to process as many people as is required.”

Human rights groups have criticized Britain’s decision to ban the group as disproportionate and say it limits the freedom of expression of peaceful protesters.

The government has accused Palestine Action of causing millions of pounds worth of criminal damage and says the ban does not prevent other pro-Palestinian protests.

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Macron’s Meeting with American Jewry ‘Won’t Happen’ Amid Palestinian Recognition Drive, Surge in Antisemitism

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference in Paris, France, June 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

i24 NewsFrench President Emmanuel Macron attempted to set up a meeting with American Jewish leaders later this month on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

i24NEWS has learned that the meeting won’t happen, firstly because Macron was only available for the meeting ahead of the UN General Assembly during Rosh Hashanah, and yet, a person invited to meet with Macron and who has knowledge of the discussions told i24NEWS the sit-down simply wasn’t going to happen, anyway.

“I think the organizations, for the most part, would not have participated,” the person said, adding that AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee would have likely received invitations, among other entities.

“The guy has a 15% popularity rating in France. It’s not our job to help him out,” the person said.

Asked by i24NEWS whether Macron’s push for greater Palestinian state recognition or his lack of action in tackling antisemitism at home led to the stance of organized American Jewry, the person said it’s more of “the climate” which allows one to say ‘Look, the American Jews met with me,’ regardless of the content.”

The person said they are sure, if a meeting would have happened, that everybody in the room would have taken a hard line with Macron, including his “statements on Israel, the failure to respond to antisemitism” and France’s announcement this summer that it will recognize a Palestinian state later this month, and is leading an effort to get more countries to do the same.

But, the person told i24NEWS they are convinced that, in the end, while no final decision actually had to be taken, there was enough pressure that a consensus would have been reached to decline the meeting.

Of the timing of Rosh Hashanah allowing for leadership to not be forced to officially say no to Macron, the person said “G-d saves us every time.”

Another source familiar with the matter noted that it cannot be ruled out that Macron may eventually succeed in arranging a meeting with certain representatives, as the organizations are not a single unified body. However, he is unlikely to be welcomed by the overwhelming majority of groups representing American Jewry.

i24NEWS has also learned that French President Emmanuel Macron explored the possibility of visiting Israel ahead of the convention, but was advised by the Prime Minister’s Office that the timing was inappropriate. The message came as Macron continues to push for recognition of a Palestinian state, a move Israel strongly opposes. Sources further told i24NEWS that Israel is weighing additional retaliatory measures against Macron, including the potential closure of the French consulate in Jerusalem, which primarily serves Palestinians in the West Bank.

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