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PA Goal: Unity with Hamas and Islamic Jihad Terror Organizations
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) alongside Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (L) and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, July 26, 2023. Photo: Reuters/Palestinian Presidents’ Office
There are many question about will happen to, and who will rule, the Gaza Strip after Israel has destroyed Hamas’ terror infrastructure.
For their part, the Palestinian Authority (PA)’s Fatah leaders are confident that the PA and Fatah will unite with the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror organizations and rule Gaza together.
Some PA and Fatah leaders have been adamant about joining forces with the terror organizations.
Jibril Rajoub, a top PA official and Fatah Central Committee Secretary, speaking in the name of Mahmoud Abbas, the PA leadership, and the PLO Executive Committee, has repeatedly stressed the PA’s goal of uniting with Hamas and Islamic Jihad — which he whitewashes as “political Islam” – against Israel:
Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub calls for unity:
“We say to our brothers in Hamas: We stand before a great turning point … The time has come for us [Fatah and Hamas] to reach a compromise. I call on them, on behalf of the Palestinian [PA] leadership, [PA President] Mahmoud Abbas, and the PLO Executive Committee — we say to them [Hamas]: Come build a political rapprochement regarding the international project, and build rapprochement regarding the struggle around a strategic option that could reap these achievements, which include an international turning point in world opinion about us and about our cause … We say to our brothers in Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Movement — the ball is in your court”
[Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub, Facebook page, Dec. 17, 2023]
Rajoub also says that the PA won’t rule Gaza without Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror organizations.
Jibril Rajoub: “Political Islam [i.e., Hamas] has been part of our political and social fabric and the fabric of our struggle, and it still is, and it will remain, period. … We will not go to [govern] the Gaza Strip without national agreement that will include political Islam, whether it is our brothers in Hamas or our brothers in [Islamic] Jihad. This is impossible.”
[Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub, Facebook page, Dec. 14, 2023]
Rajoub has also said that Hamas is “part of the fabric of our struggle”:
Jibril Rajoub: “We view political Islam, and foremost among it the Hamas Movement, as part of the fabric of our struggle and our political and social fabric. We must preserve our achievements, we are a liberation project, and we are all potential Martyrs.”
[Al-Anba, Kuwaiti news website, Nov. 26, 2023]
He has also called the Oct. 7 massacre a “battle of heroism”:
Jibril Rajoub: “We hope that our brothers in Hamas will do a political rapprochement, a rapprochement regarding the struggle, and an organizational rapprochement, so that we will reach a compromise … What happened on Oct. 7 [2023] was a great earthquake and returned the Palestinian cause to the global agenda…
Fatah and [PA President] Mahmoud Abbas — despite all the pressures, and perhaps a number of things happened that didn’t have to happen — we have not condemned and not denounced [Hamas’ attack], and we have also not closed the door of unity on our brothers in political Islam.We say to them: We view you as part of the social fabric, the fabric of the struggle, and the Palestinian political and national fabric.”
[Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub, Facebook page, Dec. 16, 2023]
“Rajoub said that ‘the Al-Aqsa Flood’ operation and the Palestinian resistance’s attack on Oct. 7 [2023], which Hamas’ military wing, the Martyr Izz A-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, launched against the occupation’s settlements [sic., towns in sovereign Israel], is ‘an additional battle of heroism and a war of defense in the 75-year history of the Palestinian resistance.’
He added that the Palestinians need to make collective decisions through joint support for the resistance [i.e., terror].’”
[Wattan, independent Palestinian news agency, Dec. 22, 2023]
Rajoub has also stressed that terror organizations will unite under the PLO/PA:
Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub: “The PLO [is] the sole legitimate representative of the [Palestinian] people. This is an achievement that we will not relinquish.
Of course, the PLO needs reorganization so that it will become the umbrella organization of all the Palestinians and of all the national action factions, including the [factions of] political Islam … The PA … also needs a reexamination, so that it will be a national unity government that will be responsible for all the Palestinians in all the Palestinian territories.”
[Ma’an, independent Palestinian news agency, Dec. 14, 2023]
This was echoed by Fatah official Muhammad Al-Hourani:
Fatah Revolutionary Council member Muhammad Al-Hourani: “We believe Hamas that it is taking action for the freedom of the land. Therefore we, Hamas, and all the Palestinian factions must think deeply and seriously about realizing the unity of the Palestinian arena under the flag of the PLO.”
[Al-Arabiya TV (Saudi Arabia), YouTube channel, Dec. 27, 2023]
Another top PA official who has called for unity with Hamas is Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs, Mahmoud Al-Habbash. Throughout the war, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) has exposed Al-Habbash’s emphasis on the PA’s support for Hamas and its massacre in Israel on Oct. 7, and its continued war against Israel — a support he has garnished with antisemitic teachings about Jews.
Al-Habbash: PA and Fatah’s “hands are extended, hearts are open” to Hamas to unite:
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash:
“The occupation [i.e., Israel] is the cause of every problem … Now more than ever, we need to end the matter of the internal [Fatah-Hamas] conflict. Our hands are extended, our hearts are open, and our chests are open to every Palestinian voice that wants to put the internal Palestinian home in order, because this is necessary to strengthen our position.”
[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Dec. 24, 2023]
Mahmoud Al-Habbash: “More than ever we must put our internal home in order. The time has come for everyone to once and for all announce the end of the [Fatah-Hamas] rift to unite the Palestinian internal front against this [Israeli] aggression.”
[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Dec. 12, 2023]
PLO Executive Committee Secretary Hussein Al-Sheikh repeated Abbas’ support for Hamas, stressing Abbas defended Hamas at the UN by claiming it is “not a terror organization”:
“Hamas is not a terror movement,” PLO official cites PA Chairman Abbas’ defense of Hamas
Al-Jazeera TV interviewer: “A poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) showed Palestinian support for the Resistance [i.e., Hamas] and a regression in the popularity of the PA, and President Abbas in particular. How do you view this, considering that you have stated that Hamas is not a role model?” …
PLO Executive Committee Secretary Hussein Al-Sheikh: “I didn’t say that Hamas is not a role model … When the world spoke and demanded that Hamas be defined as a terror movement — who set out against the world? Was it not Mahmoud Abbas, who stood at the UN podium and said: ‘No, Hamas is not a terror movement’! The real terror is the occupation [i.e., Israel]. The real terror is the settlement enterprise.”
[Former Head of Fatah Commission of Information and Culture’s Information Office Munir Al-Jaghoub, X (Twitter) account, Dec. 19, 2023]
Right from the beginning of the war, immediately after Hamas’ massacre in Israel on Oct. 7, PMW has reported on PA officials around the world expressing support for the Oct 7 terror attack. Another example is PLO Ambassador to South Africa Hanan Jarrar:
PLO Ambassador to South Africa Hanan Jarrar (in English): “As Palestinians we are one. Hamas, Fatah, [Islamic] Jihad, other political parties, either in the Left or the Right – we are one, we are Palestinians, and this is democracy… So why when it comes to Palestine we have to denounce one of our political factions [i.e., Hamas], that according to international law they are doing the right thing? International law says that when any country is under occupation, they have all the right to use all the measures, instruments available to defend themselves…
The Palestinian leadership has been subjected to numerous and huge pressure to denounce what’s going on right now, and we are not denouncing it and we will never ever denounce a major component of our people defending the interest of the Palestinian people.”
[Hilaal TV (South Africa), YouTube channel, Oct. 11, 2023]
Top PLO official Rawhi Fattouh emphasized PA Chairman Abbas’ instructions of continued financial support to Hamas-ruled Gaza, promising to prioritize “sending” money there.
Rawhi Fattouh made this statement in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the PA cannot take control of the Gaza Strip following the 2023 Gaza war, given that the PA pays salaries to terrorists and refuses to condemn Hamas’ massacre in Israel on Oct. 7.
Palestinian National Council Chairman Rawhi Fattouh: “As [PA President] Mahmoud Abbas noted at a conference and also before the Palestinian [PA] leadership, if we are left with one penny we will send it to the Gaza Strip.
Neither [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu nor anyone else will stop us from spending money on our residents and our people in the Gaza Strip … Therefore, we Palestinians, our position is unified and united, the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem are one body.”
[Official PA TV, Topic of the Day, Nov. 12, 2023]
Continued financial support for Hamas-ruled Gaza has also been stressed by PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh:
PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh: “We did not relinquish the Gaza Strip, and we will not relinquish the Gaza Strip, because they are our people … We are giving the Gaza Strip $1.7 billion from the Palestinian [PA] budget per year, which we spend on the Gaza Strip.”
[Al-Araby TV (Qatar-based), YouTube channel, Dec. 10, 2023]
Similarly, senior PLO/Fatah official Azzam Al-Ahmad stated he had “received instructions from Abbas to make contact with Hamas”:
“Senior PLO official Azzam Al-Ahmad informed [Saudi state-owned] Al-Arabiya TV that he received instructions from Palestinian [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas to make contact with Hamas.
Al-Ahmad … made contact with [Hamas Political Bureau member] Musa Abu Marzouq and [Hamas Political Bureau Chairman] Ismail Haniyeh, and expressed hope of holding an additional conversation with Haniyeh…
He added that the PLO did not set conditions for entering an agreement with the other Palestinian sides … He also noted that all the factions need to be under the PLO framework.”
[Al-Arabiya TV website (Saudi Arabia), Dec. 15, 2023]
Others have also shown their connection to terror organizations Hamas and Islamic Jihad — their “brothers” — and called for unity, stating that there are “no disagreements between Hamas and Fatah”:
Fatah Jenin Branch Secretary Ata Abu Rmeileh: “In the name of all the national and Islamic forces we announce a general strike in all aspects of life, in all of Palestine. Here are the brothers from the Islamic Jihad, Fatah, Hamas.”
[Fatah Movement – Bethlehem Branch, Telegram channel, Oct. 31, 2023]
Fatah Spokesman Jamal Nazzal: “Currently there are no disagreements between Hamas and Fatah. We now agree that a ceasefire is the joint goal … From the moment that a ceasefire will be achieved, we must outline a joint political plan and a joint path that will unite us, and through which we will draw conclusions from the recent past. This is the goal that we will put on the table the moment the ceasefire is achieved.”
[Al-Jazeera TV, YouTube channel, Dec. 24, 2023]
Fatah official calls for Fatah-Hamas unity “because after the Gaza Strip [the Israelis] will move on to the West Bank”
Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki:
“What is needed now after Oct. 7 [2023] is to reexamine all the policies and to have a new strategy whose basis is Palestinian unity. I think the door has been opened so that we will all be united, because after the Gaza Strip they [the Israelis] will move on to the West Bank.”
[Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki, Facebook page, Nov. 17, 2023]
Palestinian civilians in the West Bank have also expressed their support for Hamas and their desire for Hamas rule:
West Bankers praise Hamas, call for terror: “Actions … that will restore the glory to the religion … Death for Allah”
The image above shows celebrations in Nablus for female prisoners released in a prisoner exchange deal starting on Nov. 24, 2023, between Israel and Hamas during the 2023 Gaza war, in which terrorist prisoners were released in exchange for Israeli hostages. The crowd is seen waving green Hamas flags.
PMW has exposed similar calls in support for Hamas by students in the West Bank.
The post PA Goal: Unity with Hamas and Islamic Jihad Terror Organizations 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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