Palestinians name Jenin square after Iraqi suicide bomber

By Hassan Fattah, Associated Press, 4/1/2003 08:01

JERUSALEM (AP) A square in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin
has been named after an Iraqi suicide bomber who killed four U.S.
troops over the weekend, camp officials said Tuesday.

The naming of the square is part of a weeklong commemoration of
the first anniversary of 11 days of fighting between Israeli troops
and about 150 gunmen in the camp.

The April 2002 battle was one of the toughest in 30 months of
Israeli-Palestinian fighting. Fifty-two Palestinians and 23 Israeli
soldiers were killed, and large patches of the Jenin camp were
ruined.

On Monday, a small square in the camp was named after Ali Joafar
al-Noamani, a non-commissioned Iraqi officer who blew himself up
Saturday at a U.S. checkpoint in southern Iraq, killing four U.S.
troops.

The bombing symbolizes the close ties between Iraqis and
Palestinians, said Akram Abu Esbaa, organizer of the
commemorations.

''We are experiencing the same tragedy here in Palestine that
they are in Baghdad,'' he said.

As part of anniversary, camp residents plan to march in support
of Iraq on Thursday and hold prayers in a demolished section of the
camp Friday in honor of the Iraqi dead.

Residents also hope to collect thousands pints of blood to be
delivered to Iraq through the Red Crescent Society, camp officials
said. By Tuesday, they had collected hundreds of pints.

In Gaza City, about 700 Palestinians marched in support of Iraq
on Tuesday, carrying Iraqi flags, posters of Saddam Hussein and
banners reading ''No Blood for Oil.''

The bomber was an innocent Iraqi civilian

forced at gunpoint to blow himself up. One of these days, they are going to

get the real news.

More Palestinian hypocrisy

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Muslim cleric wants to see Americans orphaned

Palestinian sheik slams Arab leaders, gives pep talk to Saddam

Palestinian TV broadcast a Muslim sermon on Friday that chided Arab leaders for not coming to Iraq's defense and prayed for Allah to make more American orphans and widows.

The sermon by Sheik Muhammad Abu al-Hunud was delivered in a Gaza mosque and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute.

Al-Hunud lashed out at fellow Muslims for not supporting the "slaughtered" Iraqis under siege by coalition forces.

"The sons of Iraq are slaughtered, Iraq is bombarded; the sons of Iraq are murdered," he declared. "[Iraq] is an Arab Muslim country, the cradle of civilization since the dawn of history, the capital of the land of Muslim caliphates. The Iraqi people are crying for help. ... Where are you, oh Arabs? Where are you, nation of Islam? ... Be free, or die honorably. The sons of the Arab and Muslim nation are murdered, its sons are slaughtered, its homes demolished – and the Arabs are standing and watching."

Without naming names, al-Hunud criticizes Arab nations that are giving any sort of aid to the United States.

Now, what about the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens slaughtered by Saddam? Where was this loud-mouth then? We killed "Brave and glorious fighters" who (1) use women and children as human shields, (2) force all male citizens to fight at gunpoint (some of whom were 10-year old children) or to become homicide bombers (3) blow up Iraqi marketplaces, (4) fire weapons from mosques and (5) store weapons and munitions in hospitals and schools. Saddam and his slime target civilians to kill, since the only way it can kill coalition forces is by fake surrenders asnd other perfidious means.

Al-Hunud continued his sermon by equating any assault on an Arab country as an assault on the religion of Islam.

"The aggression against Iraq is an aggression against humanity, against values and principles."

Britain, are you listening? European Union, are you listening? Russia, are you listening? United Nations, are you listening? Do you really want to create a Palestinian state with this Saddam-kind of mentality?

Israel can't win for losing

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By Joseph Farah, Executive Editor
WorldNetDaily
Posted: April 2, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

Have you noticed the further Israel bends over backward to achieve peace with its neighbors, the more excuses those neighbors find for maintaining a state of war?

In the latest example, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad explains why no matter what the Jewish state does – even if it achieves a settlement with the Palestinians and other Arab states – Israel will never be a "legitimate state," presumably one Assad recognizes has an absolute right to exist.

Assad made the statements in an interview in the Lebanese paper Al-Safir – really a house organ for his puppet government in that state.

"There are countries in the Middle East with diverse nationalities, but they have social and historic cohesiveness," Assad explained. "Despite the ethnic diversity within each nation, the social fabric of the region, by and large, is one. On the other hand, the [social] structure in Israel is an anomaly. It is a country with one characteristic, which is a religious characteristic. Its democracy stems from this characteristic. It is not a democracy based on the state's boundaries. Therefore, it is inconceivable that Israel will become a legitimate state even if the peace process is implemented, because its structure deviates from the region's norm, and maybe from the whole world …"

Now, let's analyze this statement – something no one in Lebanon or Syria would dare do for fear of swift, sure and draconian reprisals:

For starters, let's apply the Assad litmus test to a nation run by some of his best friends – Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is the most religiously intolerant nation on the face of the earth – bar none. The kingdom restricts an entire city, Mecca, to Muslims alone. A Jew, a Christian, a non-believer isn't allowed to set foot in the city. While Saudi Arabia feverishly exports its brand of Wahabbi Islam around the world though support of maddrasses – schools that brought the world the Taliban of Afghanistan – it doesn't allow any evangelism by other faiths, Muslim or non-Muslim. In fact, it doesn't even permit private worship by non-Muslims to take place. Possession of a Bible is a criminal offense. There is not a single church or synagogue anywhere in the country. Yet, Assad has the temerity to criticize Israel for its secular and highly pluralistic style of government.

As far as Israel's structure deviating from the region's norm, I would suggest that is high flattery from Assad. There are some 22 police states surrounding Israel. The Jewish state is the one truly free country in the Middle East.

This interview should illustrate to the entire world just how futile are Israel's efforts to achieve peace with the Arab world through concessions and negotiations from a position of weakness. I really hope Washington is reading. I really hope this statement is not missed over at the Bush State Department. I really hope the White House is watching – even while it continues to push hard for the creation of a Palestinian state as the solution for peace in the Mideast. I trust the doves in Israel's own Labour Party read this interview and understand what it means.

It means there is nothing Israel can do to mitigate the hatred focused upon it in places like Damascus. It is an irrational hatred. It is a self-destructive hatred. It is a hatred that is all-consuming and unquenchable.

So, why try?

There's an old saying that the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. It seems to me that is exactly what Israel has been doing for more than 10 years in the so-called "peace process."

And why does the U.S. State Department continue to promote the same, old solutions despite their abject, undeniable failure over more than a decade?

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Syria: Israel will never be legitimate

President Assad claims U.S. just doing Jewish state's bidding in Iraq

Posted: April 1, 2003
5:00 p.m. Eastern

© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

In an interview in a Lebanese newspaper, Syrian President Bashar Assad has lashed out at Israel, saying as long as the Jewish state exists it will be a threat.

Assad, who has expressed support for Saddam Hussein's regime in the face of coalition action, gave the interview to the pro-Syrian daily Al-Safir. His comments were translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute.

The Syrian leader claimed the U.S. is doing Israel's bidding in the war on Iraq.

"[The Americans] removed their masks and said that they wanted oil and that they wanted to re-draw the map of the region in accordance with the Israeli interests," he said. "Israel has a vested interest in dividing Iraq into small ethnic, national and ethnic mini-countries, so that Israel could enjoy legitimacy. There are countries in the Middle East with diverse nationalities, but they have social and historic cohesiveness. Despite the ethnic diversity within each nation, the social fabric of the region by and large is one.

"On the other hand, the [social] structure in Israel is an anomaly. It is a country with one characteristic, which is a religious characteristic. Its democracy stems from this characteristic. It is not a democracy based on the state's boundaries. Therefore, it is inconceivable that Israel will become a legitimate state even if the peace process is implemented, because its structure deviates from the region's norm, and maybe from the whole world. ..."

Assad says Israel could get its way in rearranging the region based on a "racial, religious or ethnic basis" because the "Israeli lobby" has clout with the United States.

Saying he was not surprised by the Iraqi resistance to coalition forces, Assad claimed "the U.S. and Britain are incapable of controlling all of Iraq." While they may conquer Saddam's state, he believes the U.S. will not actually control it.

Assad slammed those Arab countries that are helping to facilitate "the aggression" and called for the implementation of the Arab Defense Agreement.

"According to this agreement, if an Arab country is invaded, the rest of the Arab countries should defend it," he noted.

Assad says the fact that there has not been an "exodus" of refugees from Iraq, proves that the nation is still strong.

"The first lesson that the Iraqi citizen had learned is that displacement and leaving [home] last forever," he said. "Therefore the solution is resistance. This was the first lesson learned from Lebanon, and after that from the Intifada. There is no disaster, because there is no exodus. The problem is not the occupation, but whether the people are willing to resist it or not. ... Today, the Iraqi citizen sees that America is coming and wants to occupy his country and kill him, and he is willing to experience for himself what happened in Palestine. ... I believe that the situation will be much harder for the Americans and the British."

Asked if Syria feels threatened, Assad again referred to Israel:

"As long as Israel exists, the threat exists. As long as there is aggression against an Arab country, and as long as there is a war close to our borders, the danger continues. Anyone who does not worry in such circumstances does not see reality. Worry does not mean fear, but readiness for the confrontation. ..."

Continued Assad, "... None of us and none of the Arabs trust Israel. It is natural that we should always expect an Israeli attack, even when it does not threaten. It should be known that Israel is based on treachery. This is a point to be considered thoroughly. We are dealing with treachery and threats, which accompanied the establishment of Israel. Since its very inception, Israel has been a threat. It is the Israeli nature, and for that Israel was established.

"Based on this understanding of Israel's nature and role, we should deal with the possibility of protracted aggression. ... Israel does not care about the international public opinion. The U.S. is unable to reign it in; to the contrary, the Israelis are the ones who control [the U.S.] now through their lobby. ..."

PA official calls for Israel's 'elimination'

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Herb Keinon

Mar. 31, 2003

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center demanded Sunday the recall of the Palestinian observer to the UN Human Rights Commission for calling for the "elimination" of Israel.

Shimon Samuels, the Wiesenthal Center's representative at the 59th Human Rights Commission session currently taking place in Geneva, wrote to UN Human Rights High Commissioner Sergio Vieira de Mello calling on him to "immediately condemn the Palestinian observer and take the necessary measures for his recall, due to his violation of the UN Charter in calling for the 'elimination' of the state of Israel."

In addition to calling for Israel's elimination, Samuels said, Nabil Ramlawi repeatedly compared Nazism and "new Zionist Nazism," and at one point said Zionist Nazism was worse than German Nazism.
Samuel, in his letter to de Mello, said, "This call for the elimination of Israel may reveal the true intentions of the PA, but such language should have resulted in the immediate intervention of the session's chairperson, Libyan Ambassador Najat al-Hajjaji." Samuels also called on the high commissioner to "censure Ms. al-Hajjaji for her abuse of power in not restraining Ramlawi's excesses."

In a related matter, the Wiesenthal Center Monday called on the Human Rights Commission to launch a "a full and thorough investigation of UNRWA's expenditure and employment practices" and "to establish an independent committee to restructure what has become an agent for the perpetuation of the Middle East conflict."

Samuels, in addressing the sessions debate on "the Question of the violation of human rights in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine," said that "after 55 years of stagnation it is time to ask whether UNRWA has not served to perpetuate Palestinian refugee status."

He called for a "re-examination of UNRWA, by an independent agency, to determine whether it serves the cause of peace through its statutory responsibility for 'relief works.' Or, in contravention of its mandate and the UN Charter, is it, in fact, a prejudicial agent for the perpetuation of conflict and the deprivation of human rights?"

Samuels said the time has come to question whether UNRWA has not served the policies of Arab countries opposed to integration of the refugees in order to stoke the ever-festering Israeli-Arab conflict.

Samuels also slammed UNRWA head Peter Hansen, who in April 2002 said that in Jenin, Israel had perpetrated "a human catastrophe that has few parallels in recent history."

"The Hansen story," Samuels said, "entered the annals of 'Big Lie' revisionism, exacerbating further Palestinian hatred and politicizing UNRWA as an instrument of propaganda and incitement."

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Arafat's suicide squads dispatched to Baghdad Fatah movement sends Saddam hundreds of 'human bombs' to attack allied forces March 30, 2003 © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com One of the top commanders of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, the largest faction of the PLO, says hundreds of Palestinians living in Lebanon have been sent to Iraq to carry out suicide attacks against American and British soldiers, according to a report in the Jerusalem Post. Col. Munir Maqdah told the Nazareth-based as Sennarah weekly that Fatah has decided to ''strike at American interests all over the world.'' He added: ''Resisting the American aggression on Iraq supports the Palestinian people and the intifada. What is happening in Iraq is the battle of the Palestinian people first and the Arab and Muslim nation second.'' Maqdah said his men were already in Baghdad, prepared to launch suicide attacks, and that another group of Fatah suicide bombers is due there shortly. Palestinian sources said the Fatah volunteers entered Iraq through Syria. Fatah, which is the first Palestinian group to recruit women for suicide missions, has several thousand militiamen in Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps, and is headed by Arafat, who also holds the title of chairman of the Palestinian Authority. Most of the Fatah gunmen continue to receive their salaries from the PLO. Fatah is responsible for a number of suicide attacks against Israel over the past 30 months. Palestinians say some of the attacks were carried out on the personal instructions of Maqdah, according to the Post. Last week, Israeli security forces announced the capture of a Fatah teenager sent with a suitcase filled with explosives to blow up a home for 180 orphans and homeless children in Jerusalem. Leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad have repeatedly urged Iraqis to endorse the suicide attacks as an effective weapon against the Americans and British troops. On Friday, tens of thousands of Palestinians, chanting, ''Oh beloved Saddam, bomb Tel Aviv'' and ''Death to America,'' rallied in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in their biggest show of support ever for Iraq. They burned effigies of President Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. During "Gulf War I," Arafat – virtually alone among even Arab leaders – threw his lot in publicly with Saddam Hussein. "We will enter Jerusalem victoriously and raise our flag on its walls. ... We will fight you [the Israelis] with stones, rifles, and 'El-Abed' [the Iraqi missile)]," Arafat said at the start of that war, according to a March 29, 1990, Associated Press report. A few days later, on April 2, Saddam responded publicly to Arafat's expression of loyalty, saying, "In the name of Allah, we shall cause fire to devour half of Israel," according to the Iraqi News Agency. The next day, Arafat replied, "We say to the brother and leader Saddam Hussein – go forward with Allah's blessing." Though Iraqi Scud missiles assaulted Israel during that brief war, the Jewish state did not respond militarily, at the urging of the U.S. However, Sharon has made plain that such restraint on Israel's part would not be forthcoming in the event of an Iraqi attack on Israel in the current conflict. In recent weeks, the Bush administration has explained repeatedly that, after deposing Saddam and ending his support for terrorism, the U.S. president's No. 1 priority in the region will be to facilitate the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Repeated polls show a large majority of Palestinians today favor terrorism as a means of attaining political goals.