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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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US House Members Ask Marco Rubio to Bar Turkey From Rejoining F-35 Program

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard
A bipartisan coalition of more than 40 US lawmakers is pressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to prevent Turkey from rejoining the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, citing ongoing national security concerns and violations of US law.
Members of Congress on Thursday warned that lifting existing sanctions or readmitting Turkey to the US F-35 fifth-generation fighter program would “jeopardize the integrity of F-35 systems” and risk exposing sensitive US military technology to Russia. The letter pointed to Ankara’s 2017 purchase of the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system, despite repeated US warnings, as the central reason Turkey was expelled from the multibillion-dollar fighter jet program in 2019.
“The S-400 poses a direct threat to US aircraft, including the F-16 and F-35,” the lawmakers wrote. “If operated alongside these platforms, it risks exposing sensitive military technology to Russian intelligence.”
The group of signatories, spanning both parties, stressed that Turkey still possesses the Russian weapons systems and has shown “no willingness to comply with US law.” They urged Rubio and the Trump administration to uphold the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and maintain Ankara’s exclusion from the F-35 program until the S-400s are fully removed.
The letter comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed during a NATO summit in June that Ankara and Washington have begun discussing Turkey’s readmission into the program.
Lawmakers argued that reversing course now would undermine both US credibility and allied confidence in American defense commitments. They also warned it could disrupt development of the next-generation fighter jet announced by the administration earlier this year.
“This is not a partisan issue,” the letter emphasized. “We must continue to hold allies and adversaries alike accountable when their actions threaten US interests.”
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US Lawmakers Urge Treasury to Investigate Whether Irish Bill Targeting Israel Violates Anti-Boycott Law

A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A group of US lawmakers is calling on the Treasury Department to investigate and potentially penalize Ireland over proposed legislation targeting Israeli goods, warning that the move could trigger sanctions under longstanding US anti-boycott laws.
In a letter sent on Thursday to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, 16 Republican members of Congress expressed “serious concerns” about Ireland’s recent legislative push to ban trade with territories under Israeli administration, including the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.
The letter, spearheaded by Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), called for the US to “send a clear signal” that any attempts to economically isolate Israel will “carry consequences.”
The Irish measure, introduced by Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris, seeks to prohibit the import of goods and services originating from what the legislation refers to as “occupied Palestinian territories,” including Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Supporters say the bill aligns with international law and human rights principles, while opponents, including the signatories of the letter, characterize it as a direct extension of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate Israel as a step toward the destruction of the world’s lone Jewish state.
Some US lawmakers have also described the Irish bill as an example of “antisemitic hate” that could risk hurting relations between Dublin and Washington.
“Such policies not only promote economic discrimination but also create legal uncertainty for US companies operating in Ireland,” the lawmakers wrote in this week’s letter, urging Bessent to determine whether Ireland’s actions qualify as participation in an “unsanctioned international boycott” under Section 999 of the Internal Revenue Code, also known as the Ribicoff Amendment.
Under that statute, the Treasury Department is required to maintain a list of countries that pressure companies to comply with international boycotts not sanctioned by the US. Inclusion on the list carries tax-reporting burdens and possible penalties for American firms and individuals doing business in those nations.
“If the criteria are met, Ireland should be added to the boycott list,” the letter said, arguing that such a step would help protect US companies from legal exposure and reaffirm American opposition to economic efforts aimed at isolating Israel.
Legal experts have argued that if the Irish bill becomes law, it could chase American capital out of the country while also hurting companies that do business with Ireland. Under US law, it is illegal for American companies to participate in boycotts of Israel backed by foreign governments. Several US states have also gone beyond federal restrictions to pass separate measures that bar companies from receiving state contracts if they boycott Israel.
Ireland has been one of the fiercest critics of Israel on the international stage since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, amid the ensuing war in Gaza, leading the Jewish state to shutter its embassy in Dublin.
Last year, Ireland officially recognized a Palestinian state, a decision that Israel described as a “reward for terrorism.”
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US Families File Lawsuit Accusing UNRWA of Supporting Hamas, Hezbollah

A truck, marked with United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) logo, crosses into Egypt from Gaza, at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah, Egypt, Nov. 27, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
American families of victims of Hamas and Hezbollah attacks have filed a lawsuit against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, accusing the organization of violating US antiterrorism laws by providing material support to the Islamist terror groups behind the deadly assaults.
Last week, more than 200 families filed a lawsuit in a Washington, DC district court accusing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) of violating US antiterrorism laws by providing funding and support to Hamas and Hezbollah, both designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
The lawsuit alleges that UNRWA employs staff with direct ties to the Iran-backed terror group, including individuals allegedly involved in carrying out attacks against the Jewish state.
However, UNRWA has firmly denied the allegations, labeling them as “baseless” and condemning the lawsuit as “meritless, absurd, dangerous, and morally reprehensible.”
According to the organization, the lawsuit is part of a wider campaign of “misinformation and lawfare” targeting its work in the Gaza Strip, where it says Palestinians are enduring “mass, deliberate and forced starvation.”
The UN agency reports that more than 150,000 donors across the United States have supported its programs providing food, medical aid, education, and trauma assistance in the war-torn enclave amid the ongoing conflict.
In a press release, UNRWA USA affirmed that it will continue its humanitarian efforts despite facing legal challenges aimed at undermining its work.
“Starvation does not pause for politics. Neither will we,” the statement read.
Last year, Israeli security documents revealed that of UNRWA’s 13,000 employees in Gaza, 440 were actively involved in Hamas’s military operations, with 2,000 registered as Hamas operatives.
According to these documents, at least nine UNRWA employees took part directly in the terror group’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
Israeli officials also uncovered a large Hamas data center beneath UNRWA headquarters, with cables running through the facility above, and found that Hamas also stored weapons in other UNRWA sites.
The UN agency has also aligned with Hamas in efforts against the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israeli and US-backed program that delivers aid directly to Palestinians, blocking Hamas from diverting supplies for terror activities and selling them at inflated prices.
These Israeli intelligence documents also revealed that a senior Hamas leader, killed in an Israeli strike in September 2024, had served as the head of the UNRWA teachers’ union in Lebanon, where Lebanon is based,
UNRWA’s education programs have been found by IMPACT-se, an international organization that monitors global education, to contribute to the radicalization of younger generations of Palestinians.