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Israel Must Stop the Red Cross From Providing ‘Economic Incentive for Terrorist Activity’

A Red Cross vehicle, as part of a convoy believed to be carrying hostages abducted by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, arrives at the Rafah border, amid a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, as seen from southern Gaza, Nov. 24, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been complicit in the facilitation of rewards to imprisoned Palestinian terrorists. In so doing, the ICRC plays a central role in providing “economic incentive for terrorist activity,” as defined in Israeli law.

In January 2024, Qadura Fares, the director of the PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs, alleged on official PA television that:

The occupation [i.e., Israel] is preventing the Red Cross from visiting the prisoners, and as a result, the Red Cross cannot provide the document given to new or veteran prisoners showing that they are still in prison. This is the document that we established in our [prisoners’ law] regulations as a main document [to confirm salary eligibility]. [emphasis added]

[Official PA TV, Jan. 31, 2024]

The prisoners’ law to which Fares was referring is Palestinian Authority (PA) “Government Decision Number 23 of 2010, Regarding the Regulation of Payment of the Monthly Salary to the Prisoner.” The law specifies:

Clause 3 — Documentation

For the purpose of the payment of a prisoner’s monthly salary, his relatives are required to present the necessary documentation to the authorized administration:

1. An original document of the Red Cross attesting to his arrest, and an updated document must be brought every three months for a prisoner who is still in detention. [emphasis added]

The prisoners who are entitled to a monthly salary from the PA are those who have been imprisoned for acts of terrorism, as specified in the “PA Law of Prisoners and Released Prisoners number 19 of 2004”:

Prisoner: Anyone imprisoned in the occupation’s [i.e., Israel’s] prisons as a result of his participation in the struggle against the occupation [i.e., PA euphemism for terror] … (7) (1) The Authority will pay every prisoner a monthly salary (ratib) that will be determined in the regulations. [emphasis added]

The PA has arranged that the Red Cross supply the forms for the imprisoned terrorists as proof of their imprisonment, and has written this into PA law and regulations. Accordingly, the Red Cross is a central cog in facilitating the terror rewards.

Additional PA regulations reveal that the Red Cross is quite active in the process. They require an initial Red Cross visit and a minimum of four visits a year to prisoners until the completion of their trial and conviction.

The same PA regulations require that another important form be provided by the Red Cross, that of the Power of Attorney. With this form, terrorist prisoners can designate an individual who will open a bank account for them or receive terror reward payments on their behalf:

Clause 5 — Power of Attorney: (3) The authorization of a representative is executed through a power of attorney issued by the Red Cross signed by the prisoner, or through a personal power of attorney signed by him and certified by a lawyer of the Ministry and by the General Administration for Legal Matters of the Ministry. The document will be valid only at the Ministry for the purpose of paying the salaries. [emphasis added]

The last line of this regulation is of particular significance. It states that the PA would use the power of attorney provided by the Red Cross for one purpose only—to facilitate financial reward for terrorism.

Red Cross documentation also plays a central role in guaranteeing jobs within the PA to released terrorist prisoners, as stated in PA Government Decision — 2006, Regarding the Regulations of the Law of Prisoners and Released Prisoners — Regulation for Ensuring Jobs for the Released Prisoners”:

Clause 3. Every released prisoner has a right to be guaranteed a job in one of the ministries or the PA apparatus, if the following conditions are met:

He was imprisoned for 5 or more years, because of resistance to the occupation; that is whether this period was consecutive or broken into different time periods.
These period/periods is/are documented in official documents of the Red Cross organization, or in a document from the responsible ministry that will verify his imprisonment. [emphasis added]

PA Government Decision No. 15 of 2013 — Regulation for Ensuring Jobs for Released Prisoners was enacted to replace the previous regulation of 2006, but the role of the Red Cross remained the same:

Clause 4: The fixed salary

The criteria for receiving the fixed salary [after release from prison]

The prisoner was imprisoned for a period of 5 or more years …
The period is confirmed by official documents from the International Committee of the Red Cross, or any other legal document that confirms the arrest, the indictment, and decision of the court. [emphasis added]

The fundamental role of the Red Cross in the PA terror rewards program was demonstrated yet again in December 2023, when the PA published the following announcement:

Honored prisoners’ relatives, please produce a Red Cross document for those who have no sentence whose names appear below; [(a list of names followed]
a Red Cross document accompanied by a new administrative [detention] order for the administrative detainees;
and a Red Cross document accompanied by a verdict for the sentenced prisoners.

In addition, the PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs published the following: “The relatives of the prisoners whose names are noted below must produce the signed Red Cross documents. Respectfully.”

The document shows a list of prisoners from the PA’s Hebron District whose period of eligibility for PA terror salaries would end in December 2023. Next to the prisoners’ names is written either, “Bring a new Red Cross document” or “Bring an administrative [detention] document with the Red Cross’ [signature].”

List: “The relatives of these prisoners must hurry and bring new signed [Red] Cross documents — before Dec. 5, 2023”

[PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs – Hebron Directorate, Facebook page, Nov. 26, 2023]

How the Red Cross incentivizes terrorism

In 2018, Israel passed the Law on the Deduction of Allocations to Palestinian Prisoners and Families of Martyrs from Palestinian Clearance Revenues, which defines these terror salaries as an “economic incentive for terrorist activity.”

This law penalizes the PA for paying stipends to Palestinian terrorists and their families by ordering that Israel withhold the monthly transfers of tax revenues that it collects on the PA’s behalf.

The Red Cross, by facilitating these payments, is enabling “economic incentive for terrorist activity.”

The Palestinian Authority’s policy of paying salaries to imprisoned terrorists, including murderers, has been universally condemned by Western governments. Ignoring this, the International Committee of the Red Cross has chosen to play a central role in facilitating these payments to the terrorists.

As can be seen above, the Red Cross is actively involved in ensuring that terrorists receive their salaries and thereby plays an important role in incentivizing Palestinian terrorism.

Every time a Red Cross representative brings forms to the PA after a visit with terrorists, the Red Cross is enabling “economic incentive for terrorist activity.”

The Red Cross has been under severe criticism since Oct. 7 for its lack of initiative in helping the Israeli hostages in Gaza. This Palestinian Media Watch report makes clear that while the Red Cross seems to have no problem being complacent when it comes to the welfare of Israeli hostages, the Red Cross is proactive in being complicit in the reward of Palestinian terrorists.

The Israeli government has been committing a gross oversight by enacting laws that curtail terror salaries on the one hand, but permit the Red Cross to openly facilitate those illegal salaries on the other.

The Israeli government, which has suspended Red Cross visits to imprisoned terrorists, must notify the Red Cross that any future visits are contingent on the Red Cross’ commitment not to supply any forms to the PA that will enable terrorists to receive the terror salaries. It must further prohibit anyone, including imprisoned terrorists’ lawyers, from processing any forms on behalf of the terrorists that allow them to receive these illegal terror payments, and if necessary, enact legislation to prohibit this.

Itamar Marcus is Founder and Director of Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article first appeared.

The post Israel Must Stop the Red Cross From Providing ‘Economic Incentive for Terrorist Activity’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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US Senators Urge Secretary of Homeland Security to Secure Northern Border From Gaza Refugees

US Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaking at a press conference about the United States restricting weapons for Israel, at the US Capitol, Washington, DC. Photo: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

Six US senators sent a letter to US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas this week requesting that he increase security measures along the northern border in response to Canada accepting an influx of refugees from Gaza, the Palestinian enclave ruled by the terrorist group Hamas.

The six Republican lawmakers — Sens. Marco Rubio (FL), Ted Cruz (TX), Joni Ernst (IA), Tom Cotton (AK), Mike Braun (IN), and Josh Hawley (MO) — said they were “deeply concerned” that refugees from Gaza could sneak into the United States. The senators warned that allowing unvetted Palestinian refugees to cross the border poses a serious national security threat. 

“On May 27, 2024, the Government of Canada announced its intent to increase the number of Gazans who will be allowed into their country under temporary special measures,” the senators wrote. “We are deeply concerned and request heightened scrutiny by the US Department of Homeland Security should any of them attempt to enter the United States at ports of entry as well as between ports of entry.”

After arriving in Canada, the Palestinian refugees will be given a “Refugee Travel Document,” which serves as a valid form of identification, the letter claimed, adding that US Citizenship and Immigration Services recognizes these documents as a valid substitute for a passport. The senators warned that “individuals with ties to terrorist groups” could potentially enter into the United States. 

The letter argued that the US should maintain “common-sense terrorist screening and vetting” for any individual attempting to enter its borders from a foreign country. The lawmakers lamented that the Biden administration’s “”ax border enforcement” has rendered the country vulnerable to potential terrorist attacks. From April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, the US Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations intercepted over 233 suspected terrorists at the northern border, according to the letter.

“[T]he possibility of terrorists crossing the US-Canada border is deeply concerning given the deep penetration of Gazan society by Hamas,” the senators wrote. “It would be irresponsible for the US to not take necessary heightened precautions when foreigners attempt to enter the United States.”

On Oct. 7, Hamas launched the ongoing war in Gaza with its Oct. 7 invasion of and massacre of 1,200 people across southern Israel. The Palestinian terrorist group also kidnapped over 250 hostages.

In response, Israel launched defensive military operations in Gaza with the aim of freeing the hostages and permanently dislodging Hamas from the neighboring enclave.

The vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza, as well as the West Bank, still support Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel that started the ongoing war, and they would prefer a “day after” scenario in which Hamas remains in control of Gaza rather than the Palestinian Authority, which governs in the West Bank, or other Arab countries, according to recent Palestinian polling. The same polling found that, when asked about support for Palestinian political parties and movements, a plurality chose Hamas.

US lawmakers are split along party lines as to whether the United States should accept refugees from Gaza. Republicans are largely opposed to importing refugees from  Gaza, arguing that individuals from the war-torn enclave present “a national security risk” to the United States.” In May, Ernst and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sent US President Joe Biden a letter, urging him not to accept any refugees from Gaza.

In June, however, a group of 70 Democratic lawmakers sent Mayorkas a letter, requesting he create “pathways” for more refugees of the Israel-Hamas war to resettle in America.

The post US Senators Urge Secretary of Homeland Security to Secure Northern Border From Gaza Refugees first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Video of Masked Man Vowing ‘Rivers of Blood’ at Paris Olympics Over Israel Support Appears to Be Fake, of Russia Origin

Screenshot of a widely circulated video published on social media showing a masked man vowing that “rivers of blood will flow” at the 2024 Paris Olympics due to France’s support for Israel. According to reports, the video appears to be fake and of Russian origin.

A widely circulated video published on social media this week showing a masked man vowing that “rivers of blood will flow” at the 2024 Paris Olympics due to France’s support for Israel appears to be fake and of Russian origin, according to reports.

The video — published on Tuesday on social media networks including X/Twitter and Telegram — featured a keffiyeh-clad man with his face covered, delivering an Arabic-language address threatening France with violence due to the country’s alleged support for Israel amid its ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.

Addressing “the people of France” and “French President [Emmanuel] Macron,” the masked individual said, “You supported the Zionist regime in its criminal war against the people of Palestine. You provided Zionists with weapons; you helped murder our brothers and sisters, our children.”

“You invited the Zionists to the Olympic games. You will pay for what you have done!” continued the man, who wore a shirt adorned with a Palestinian flag. “Rivers of blood will flow through the streets of Paris. This day is approaching, God willing. Allah is the greatest.”

The video, published on X/Twitter by the account @endzionism24 and retweeted by Palestinian activist Ihab Hassan, ended with the speaker holding a prop severed head complete with fake blood up for the camera.

He is not a Palestinian:

A video clip has surfaced showing an individual wearing a keffiyeh and a Palestinian flag badge, threatening France with a “river of blood” at the Olympic Games.

It is glaringly obvious to any Arabic speaker that this person is not Arab; his dialect… pic.twitter.com/rwWGkkbiAi

— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) July 23, 2024

Hassan and other social media users immediately noted that the man speaking was clearly not a native Arabic speaker, citing his reasonably fluent but awkward and occasionally incorrect pronunciation.

Many social media users aware of the mispronunciations seemed to blame Israel for the video, implying the clip was a false flag meant to fearmonger and demonize Palestinians and Muslims. They did not address the fact that Israel has access to hundreds of thousands of native Palestinian Arabic speakers who would sound far more convincing than the man in the video.

On Wednesday, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that “French secret services and their partners have not been able to authenticate the veracity of this video.”

According to researchers at Microsoft, however, the video appears to be part of a Russian-linked disinformation campaign meant to disrupt the Olympics, which began with the opening ceremony on Friday.

The researchers from Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center told NBC News that the clip appears to have come from a Russian disinformation group known as Storm-1516, an outgrowth of Russia’s Internet Research Agency.

The latest clip was linked to a similar disinformation video falsely alleging that Ukraine had sent arms to Hamas — a claim for which there is no evidence. According to the researchers, the more recent video appears to be part of a Russian scare campaign meant to disrupt the Olympics.

The video came just days before France’s rail infrastructure was hit on Friday, ahead of the start of the Olympics, with widespread acts of vandalism including arson attacks, paralyzing travel to Paris from the rest of France and Europe just hours before the opening ceremony of the Olympics. French authorities described the acts as “criminal” and “malicious.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that the sabotage of France’s high-speed rail network was directed by Iran, which Western intelligence agencies have for years labeled as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism.

“The sabotage of railway infrastructure across France ahead of the Olympics was planned and executed under the influence of Iran’s axis of evil and radical Islam,” Katz wrote on X/Twitter. “As I warned my French counterpart [Stéphane Séjourné] this week, based on information held by Israel, Iranians are planning terrorist attacks against the Israeli delegation and all Olympic participants. Increased preventive measures must be taken to thwart their plot. The free world must stop Iran now — before it’s too late.”

Katz was referring to a letter he sent on Thursday to Séjourné raising alarm bells about what he described as a plan by Iran to attack Israel’s Olympic delegation.

Darmanin and French National Police both announced previously that they are taking increased security measures to ensure the safety of Israel’s Olympic delegation while they are in Paris amid mounting threats. These measures include providing them with round the clock security from French police. The Israeli delegation will also receive additional security details from Israel’s Shin Bet security agency during the Olympics.

The post Video of Masked Man Vowing ‘Rivers of Blood’ at Paris Olympics Over Israel Support Appears to Be Fake, of Russia Origin first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Top St. Louis Newspaper Endorses US Rep. Cori Bush’s Opponent, Argues Incumbent’s Israel Stance Is ‘Disqualifying’

US Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) raises her fist as US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) addresses a pro-Hamas demonstration in Washington, DC. Photo: Reuters/Allison Bailey

The editorial board of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the largest daily newspaper in Missouri, has endorsed the opponent of US Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), pointing to the incumbent congresswoman’s lack of legislative accomplishments and stance on the Israel-Hamas war. 

The Post-Dispatch argued that Bush’s position on Israel and the Gaza war should be “disqualifying” for any elected representative. The outlet took umbrage with Bush for equating a close democratic ally of the US with a genocidal terrorist organization. 

Israel’s conduct of the war has been far from perfect, but it remains a democracy fighting for survival against an evil terrorist organization. Bush’s tendency to equate both sides — and even to side with the terrorists, as when she cast one of just two House votes against a resolution to bar Hamas members from the US — should in itself be disqualifying for re-election,” the editorial board wrote.

Bush has established herself as one of the most vocal critics of Israel in the US Congress. Only nine days after Hamas’ Oct. 7 slaughter of roughly 1,200 people in southern Israel, Bush called for an “immediate ceasefire” between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group. As the war dragged on, Bush’s rhetoric toward Israel sharpened, with the congresswoman accusing the Jewish state of committing “genocide” in Gaza and “apartheid” in the West Bank. Bush has also accused Israel of inflicting a “famine” in Gaza without providing evidence. 

Bush seems more interested in pandering to the far-left fringes of the progressive movement than serving her constituents, the Post-Dispatch argued. Bush’s membership in “The Squad” — a clique of far-left progressive, anti-establishment lawmakers in the House of Representatives — has rendered her completely incapable of “accomplishing anything” in the halls of Congress, according to the newspaper.

The editorial board urged its readers to vote for Wesley Bell, pointing to his moderated approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as an example of his pragmatism and moral clarity. 

“On Israel, Bell offers an appropriately measured stance, acknowledging the need to protect Gazan civilians and work toward a two-state solution, while supporting America’s closest ally in the Middle East,” the outlet wrote. 

In contrast to Bush, Bell has expressed more sympathy to Israel’s military operations in Gaza, emphatically rejecting the notion that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute “genocide” or “ethnic cleansing.”

Moreover, Bell has strengthened his ties with the Jewish community over the course of his campaign. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the foremost pro-Israel lobbying group in the US, donated a reported $5 million to Bell’s campaign through its United Democracy Project super PAC. A group of 30 St. Louis-area rabbis penned a letter endorsing Bell, accusing Bush of a “lack of decency, disregard for history, and for intentionally fueling antisemitism and hatred.” Bell also brought about an official “director of Jewish outreach” to increase turnout among the Jewish community. 

A poll commissioned by McLaughlin & Associates and sponsored by the CCA Action Fund, a pro-Bell super PAC, showed Bell with a commanding 56 percent to 33 percent lead over Bush. 

Supporters of Israel see the primary race as a prime opportunity to oust another opponent of the Jewish state from the halls of Congress. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), a progressive lawmaker, lost his primary race to a pro-Israel challenger on June 25. Over the course of his reelection campaign, Bowman accused Israel of committing “genocide” and enacting “apartheid” against Palestinians. Bowman’s comments incensed Jewish constituents in the leafy suburbs of Westchester County, New York. 

Furthermore, observers are looking to the race as a potential indicator of the Democratic electorate’s position on Israel. Opinions of the Jewish state among Democrats have soured in the months following Oct. 7, calling into question whether anti-Israel views are still a liability with American liberals.

The post Top St. Louis Newspaper Endorses US Rep. Cori Bush’s Opponent, Argues Incumbent’s Israel Stance Is ‘Disqualifying’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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