PA daily op-ed on death of ISIS leader demonizes Israel as "the root of terror", compares and accuses it of collaborating with ISIS

Excerpt of op-ed by Muwaffaq Matar, Fatah Revolutionary Council member and regular columnist for the official PA daily

Headline: "Al-Baghdadi's state and Netanyahu's state!"

"They [the US] killed a criminal [ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi] who outdid the barbarians in his organized crimes against humanity. They put an end to his evil, but have not yet purified the world from the root of terror!

They killed their pawn, who they planted in the open borderless territories of Iraq and Syria after they created an organization-state of barbarity, terror, and racism, for which they chose the name 'the Islamic State.' This is an organization that, in regard to its crimes, there is nothing similar to it in the modern history of the region except for a defective, colonialist, settling, occupying, and racist state for which they chose the name 'the State of Israel.' The heirs of the Zionist organizations now ruling it have added to it the adjective 'Jewish' (referring to Israel’s Jewish Nation-State Law in an attempted comparison between ISIS and Israel; see note below –Ed.)…

The heads of large states in the world have said that the elimination of Al-Baghdadi is not the end of ISIS’ terror – and this is correct! – but not one of them referred to their responsibility and their state’s responsibility to drain the greatest, deepest, and most dangerous swamp of terror for the region and the world: the defective and racist State of Israel. We know, and they also know, that the Muslim Brotherhood organization – from whose womb Al-Baghdadi emerged, and before him Sheikh of the Al-Qaeda terror organization Osama Bin Laden and all of the organizations and factions of the terrorists who use Islamic terms – is essentially a twin of the Zionist movement. This [Zionist] movement has committed most of its crimes against the Palestinian people on the land of Palestine, while the [Muslim Brotherhood] organization has engaged in distracting the Arabs and Muslims and gotten them into internal religious conflicts, to the point that it has deprived them of their capabilities, their power, and the ability to achieve nationally homogenous societies. This made it easier for their Zionist twin to encourage the Jewish immigration to Palestine and to establish the foundations of a 'state,' which they wrapped in a cloak of democracy – but really it is not significantly different from the state of ISIS. The racism, crimes, bloodshed to terrorize people, emptying the land of its original owners, horrifying massacres, and subjugating the residents of the land to laws that are inappropriate [even] for the world of wild animals – all of these are characteristics common to the two states, and it does not matter what weapons are used. For there is not difference between slitting throats and burning children alive (apparently referring to the murder of Muhammad Abu Khdeir; see note below –Ed.) or destroying families with the bombs and rockets of F-16 jets.

The world will continue to display helplessness as long as it does not put an end to the terror and crimes of the older of the two twins – for Al-Baghdadi's ISIS state did not receive any popular support or declared official backing at all from any state in the world, but the racist state of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu enjoys the support of large states. It receives official protection, not [only] from the strongest state in the world, but [also] from colonialist states that created its first bricks and foundations, and from states that see in it a solution for leaving the Jewish problem far away from them, and from states that are interested in leaving the Arab states in a situation of attrition and political and economic imbalance so that they will remain dependent – consumers and not producers, and also from states that see in Israel a factor that justifies their invasion into the Arab states in order to return glory to their empires that have passed from the world, under the slogan of 'the axis of resistance' (referring to Iran, which is heavily involved in Arab states such as Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, and presents itself as leading 'the axis of resistance' and protecting the Arab world from Israel –Ed.).

Al-Baghdadi did not attack his twin Netanyahu even once, but in many instances Netanyahu opened his state's borders with southern Syria to the entry of Al-Baghdadi's soldiers for the sake of maneuvering, rescuing, or [medical] treatment. These facts are known to [US President] Donald Trump, who according to his claim saw the fear and terror of terror organization leader Al-Baghdadi and heard his screams and crying. However, when the matter is connected to terror by those who use it in the racist 'Netanyahu state,' he becomes blind, deaf, and mute.

What happened two days ago [the elimination of Al-Baghdadi on Oct. 26, 2019] was tantamount to a strong blow that has cut off the tail of the monster of terror. However, this monster has a head, and in it is a brain that is capable of growing a different tail and wings. The location of this monster is openly known. There is no need for flashlights or international intelligence agencies, as it does not barricade itself in hiding places and does not roam boundless deserts. The occupation, settlement, terror, racism, crimes against humanity, and rebellion against UN laws and conventions have a state. They named it 'Israel' and established it on the land of Palestine, which is the Palestinian people’s historical and natural right."

Jewish Nation-State Law – law passed by the Israeli Parliament on July 19, 2018, which codifies in Israel's Basic Law that Israel is the home of the Jewish nation with Jerusalem its capital, and the Hebrew calendar its official calendar. It establishes Hebrew as the sole official language and grants Arabic a special status, and it recognizes Jewish and Israeli holidays, memorial days, and the Jewish Sabbath as national holidays and days of rest - while guaranteeing the right of all Israeli citizens and residents to celebrate their holidays and days of rest. The law, which passed with 62 in favor, 55 against, and 2 abstentions, has sparked controversy within Israeli society.

Muhammad Abu Khdeir - Palestinian teen kidnapped and murdered by Israeli extremists in Jerusalem on July 2, 2014, in revenge for the kidnapping and murder of Israeli teens Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar and Naftali Fraenkel in the West Bank on June 12. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli ministers immediately condemned the revenge murder in the strongest terms. Israeli police arrested six Israeli suspects on July 6 of whom three confessed to murdering Khdeir. One of the murderers, Yosef Ben-David, is serving life in prison and an additional 20 years. His two accomplices, both unnamed minors, are serving life in prison and 21 years respectively.