Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Palestinian Media Watch: PA TV: Singing to Israel's destruction
"We will liberate the Land… [which] is Arab in history and identity, Palestine is Arab in history and identity."
And to ensure that no one limits the land of the future "liberated Palestine," the song defines the scope of Palestinian cities, which include all of Israel:
"From Jerusalem and Acre and from Haifa and Jericho and Gaza and Ramallah
From Bethlehem and Jaffa and Be'er Sheva and Ramle
And from Nablus to the Galilee, and from Tiberias to Hebronâ€
This is significant not only because it was broadcast on Fatah TV, but because the constant repetition of this clip promising Israel's destruction comes at the very time that the world is preparing for a peace conference.
Arafat's Palestinian Authority was notorious for this duplicity. It signaled its real beliefs and intentions only in Arabic, while in English it said what the West and Israel needed to hear to sustain what is widely recognized today as a deceptive peace process. Arafat was successful, with Israel repeatedly giving in to his demands. Israel paid dearly for its trust in Arafat's English pronouncements, with more than 1,000 killed and tens of thousands wounded in the Palestinian Authority-led terror war.
Today's leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, was Arafat's right hand man and partner during the first duplicity period. To Israel and the U.S. in English, he is talking peace. To his people in Arabic, through his TV and schoolbooks [Click for PMW report on PA schoolbooks], he is promoting hatred and promising the destruction of Israel. Is Abbas following Arafat's successful duplicity tactic? It is incumbent upon Israel and the world to verify this before going further....