Abbas and Hamas compete politically by attacking Israel
After Abbas succeeded to ignite Jerusalem,
Hamas felt political need to also attack
With Abbas and his Fatah party leading the violent Palestinian rioting against Israel in the name of “protecting Jerusalem,” Hamas was left with no choice but to compete with Fatah by attacking Israel.
Abbas demanded violence using the PA euphemism “peaceful popular resistance” – the Palestinian public understood
Abbas’ Fatah: “The Fatah Movement with all its elements and leadership calls to continue this uprising” and calls “everyone to raise the level of confrontation in the coming days and hours in the Palestinian lands”
Abbas’ Presidential Office Spokesman to Palestinians: “The battle of all battles has arrived… [the] “long struggle against a satanic colonialist force”
The Fatah Revolutionary Council “called on all Fatah’s frameworks everywhere to act to support our people in occupied Jerusalem, who are fighting the occupation authorities’ incessant violations”
The timing of this latest terror wave initiated by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is not at all surprising. After canceling the Palestinian elections because his Fatah party faced certain defeat, Abbas was at his lowest popularity ever with no legitimacy to continue ruling. He was desperate to redirect Palestinian wrath away from himself and toward Israel. Accordingly, as he did in the past in 2014 and 2015, Abbas artificially created a crisis over Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Already ten days ago Abbas urged the Palestinian public to “do peaceful popular resistance.” He repeated this 3 times during a short statement:
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas: “We will continue to work to strengthen the national unity, end the [Fatah-Hamas] rift, and continue the peaceful popular resistance (i.e., PA euphemism for violence and terror). For God’s sake, I ask of you, do peaceful popular resistance, for God’s sake. Where is it? Where is the peaceful popular resistance that must be done?”
[Official PA TV News, April 30, 2021]
In 2015, Palestinian Media Watch exposed that Abbas literally meant murdering Israelis when he said "peaceful popular." Abbas went on TV and demanded: "We want peaceful popular uprising, and that’s what this is!" At the time he said this, 14 Israelis had already been murdered by Palestinians while 167 had been wounded in 65 stabbings and 8 shootings.
The terms "peaceful uprising/resistance,” and “popular uprising/resistance" are used by PA leaders to refer to deadly terror attacks and terror waves. As noted above, Abbas himself defined as “peaceful popular” the murderous terror during the 2015-2016 terror wave (“The Knife Intifada”), in which Palestinian terrorists eventually murdered 40 people (36 Israelis, 1 Palestinian, 2 Americans and 1 Eritrean) and wounded hundreds in stabbings, shootings, and car ramming attacks.
Considering the nightly riots by the Palestinians in Jerusalem and elsewhere, and the hundreds of injured Palestinians and dozens of wounded Israelis, it is clear that Palestinians understood that Abbas’ was asking for violence. For example, one Israeli was the victim of an attempted lynch by a mob of Palestinians who pummeled his car with rocks causing it to crash and they then tried to drag him from the car. He was saved only when a policeman arrived and shot in the air.
Image of bloodied Israeli victim of attempted lynch, Ynet, May 10, 2021
That Abbas wants continued violence was made explicit by Fatah’s announcement three days ago in which “the Fatah Movement with all its elements and leadership calls to continue this uprising” and urged “everyone to raise the level of confrontation.”
To make sure Palestinians got the message, the PA and Fatah broadcast this call for violence and terror via all of its official media outlets as well as via Facebook and independent news outlets:
Official PA TV newsreader: “The Fatah Central Committee emphasized in its statement that the [Fatah] Movement, with all its elements and leadership, calls to continue the uprising and struggle in the confrontation against the occupation forces… The Fatah Central Committee called on everyone to raise the level of confrontation in the coming days and hours in the Palestinian lands, the points of friction, and the settlers’ roads…
The Central Committee emphasized that this Monday [May 10, 2021] will be a day of united activity in the Palestinian lands starting after the iftar [Ramadan fast breaking meal], in order to fight the occupation and support and aid our people in Jerusalem.”
[Official PA TV News, May 9, 2021]
With Abbas and his Fatah party leading the violent Palestinian rioting against Israel in the name of “protecting Jerusalem,” Hamas was left with no choice but to compete with Fatah by attacking Israel. Hamas announced an ultimatum that Israel had to withdraw its forces from Jerusalem by 6 PM yesterday. At exactly 6 PM yesterday, Hamas started launching missiles toward Jerusalem and since then they have fired hundreds more missiles at sites throughout southern Israel, claiming repeatedly that they are the ones who are protecting Jerusalem from Israel. Israel just announced [4:00 PM] that two Israelis were killed in the Hamas bombing today of civilian targets.
One final indicator that Hamas and Fatah are fighting their internal political battle by attacking Israelis is the reporting by official PA TV and the official PA newspaper about what is happening in Gaza right now. Four hours of PA TV live broadcasting last night from Gaza only reported on the Israeli attacks and did not mention that Hamas had launched missiles on Israel. This morning’s 8 o’clock news report likewise focused on all the casualties in Gaza but never mentioned that it was Hamas that initiated the shooting. Finally, the official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida focused in its front-page story on the fact that there were “Widespread aggression: 21 Martyrs in Gaza, among them 9 children and hundreds of wounded in Jerusalem,” and throughout the entire paper, the PA never mentioned that Israel was counterattacking because Hamas was firing missiles.
The PA’s censoring all news about Hamas’ attacks in Israel is further proof that this entire battle is about Abbas and Hamas trying to convince Palestinians that they are the leaders in the terror war against Israel.
In recent days, there have been other examples of the PA promoting the violence Abbas called for:
The PA Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad Al-Malki stressed that Abbas has given “direct instructions” to “defend Jerusalem” and assist those who are already doing so “with their exposed bodies”:
“[PA] Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad Al-Malki… emphasized that the direct instructions of [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas are to move every stone in every corner of this land to help Jerusalem, defend it, and defend its people who are carrying out Ribat (i.e., religious conflict over land claimed to be Islamic) who are defending the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy sites with their exposed bodies.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 9, 2021]
On the same day, the Fatah Revolutionary Council “called on all Fatah’s frameworks everywhere to act to support our people in occupied Jerusalem, who are fighting the occupation authorities’ incessant violations against the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.” The council addressed “a message to every Palestinian and Arab: The danger of this occupation is an existential danger for Jerusalem.” It referred to the riots in Jerusalem as a “heroic struggle” and repated that the Fatah Movement “proudly and admiringly congratulated the masses of our people.” [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 9, 2021]
An editorial in the official PA daily even described the wounded in glorious terms, stating that “the blood” of Palestinians “is perfuming” the Al-Aqsa Mosque plazas:
“What has happened and is still happening in Jerusalem (refers to violent Arab riots -Ed.), at a time when the blood of its sons is perfuming its [Al-Aqsa Mosque] prayer plazas in defense of its sacred status and its Palestinian, Arab, and human identity… proves in a manner that is no longer subject to any argument or interpretation the correctness of the national decision… to postpone the elections for the [PA] Parliament (Legislative Council) as long as Jerusalem and its residents are not at the heart of these elections… Blessings to the knights of Jerusalem – old and young, youths and children, women and men – as they wave the flag of free Jerusalem today and emphasize the Palestinian sovereignty in its various neighborhoods and streets, in its gates, and in its holy prayer plazas.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 9, 2021]
Simultaneously, Fatah is adding to the violent atmosphere by broadcasting songs calling on Palestinians to “defend Jerusalem with their lives” and seek martyrdom-death while “making sure your bullets hit the target.”
After Abbas called for violence, PA and Fatah officials kept fanning the flames and inciting Palestinians to engage in “the battle” to protect the Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem. For example, Abbas’ Presidential Office Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told Palestinians that “the battle of all battles has arrived” and that this is a “long struggle against a satanic colonialist force”:
“Official [PA] Presidential Office Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said that the present stage that the Palestinian cause is in is the most dangerous for our national enterprise, our history, and our Islamic and Christian holy sites…
Abu Rudeina continued: ‘Currently the battle of all battles has arrived, the battle for Jerusalem, its sites that are holy to Islam and Christianity, its Arabness, its heritage, and its history… We will continue to stand firm on our land in this long struggle against a satanic colonialist force.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 6, 2021]
What is clear is that both Abbas and Hamas are competing over murdering Jews in order to shine politically.
The following are longer excerpts of the statements cited above:
Headline: “Al-Malki and Al-Safadi emphasize that the international community must take immediate and effective steps to stop the Israeli violations”
“[PA] Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad Al-Malki and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Jordan Ayman Al-Safadi emphasized that the international community must take immediate and effective steps to stop the illegal and inhuman Israeli acts against the Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem and in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque…
Al-Malki emphasized that the direct instructions of [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas are to move every stone in every corner of this land to help Jerusalem, defend it, and defend its people who are carrying out Ribat (i.e., religious conflict over land claimed to be Islamic) who are defending the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy sites with their exposed bodies.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 9, 2021]
Headline: “The Fatah Revolutionary Council calls to act to support Jerusalem and reject the plot that is being woven against the national enterprise”
“The Fatah Movement Revolutionary Council called on all Fatah’s frameworks everywhere to act to support our people in occupied Jerusalem, who are fighting the occupation authorities’ incessant violations against the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and their uprooting from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood (refers to planned eviction of Arabs illegally living in properties owned by Jews who were expelled in the 1948 Israeli War of Independence -Ed.)…
The Revolutionary Council emphasized in a statement yesterday [May 8, 2021]: ‘What is happening in Jerusalem – the invasion of the Al-Aqsa Mosque last night and the wounding and attacks against worshippers that were caused as a result of it – are a message to every Palestinian and Arab: The danger of this occupation is an existential danger for Jerusalem.’ …
It added that the heroic struggle of those carrying out Ribat (i.e., religious conflict over land claimed to be Islamic) at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and in Sheikh Jarrah, in addition to the popular resistance and the heroic struggle of our people in all of Palestine, ‘are a response that ensures the defeat of the occupation and its plots of Judaization and settlement.’ …
As part of a statement that was issued yesterday by the [Fatah] Commission of Information and Culture, Fatah proudly and admiringly congratulated the masses of our people in Jerusalem and Sheikh Jarrah and said: ‘Today you are a symbol of the honor of the Palestinian people and the Arab and Islamic nations.’ …
It emphasized the significance of a united Palestinian position at this fateful stage in Jerusalem, and its resistance to every attempt to divert the compass from the Israeli enemy, as the battle in Jerusalem is a battle of to be or not to be.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 9, 2021]
Headline: “With Jerusalem we will triumph”
“What has happened and is still happening in Jerusalem (refers to violent Arab riots -Ed.), at a time when the blood of its sons is perfuming its [Al-Aqsa Mosque] prayer plazas in defense of its sacred status and its Palestinian, Arab, and human identity… proves in a manner that is no longer subject to any argument or interpretation the correctness of the national decision… to postpone the elections for the [PA] Parliament (Legislative Council) as long as Jerusalem and its residents are not at the heart of these elections…
Imagine what the residents of Jerusalem would have said to a leadership that relinquished their right to vote from within their city??? What [PA] Parliament would they have respected after it relinquished the Palestinian sovereign right to its eternal capital??? And first of all, would the Jerusalem residents have risen up (the verb “rise up” is from the same root as “intifada” -Ed.) in this heroic and extraordinary manner if the leadership had reconciled itself to the fact that the occupation determined, and had decided to hold the elections without Jerusalem and without the Jerusalem residents???
Blessings to the knights of Jerusalem – old and young, youths and children, women and men – as they wave the flag of free Jerusalem today and emphasize the Palestinian sovereignty in its various neighborhoods and streets, in its gates, and in its holy prayer plazas.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 9, 2021]
“Official [PA] Presidential Office Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said that the present stage that the Palestinian cause is in is the most dangerous for our national enterprise, our history, and our Islamic and Christian holy sites. He added that this necessitates a tightening of the ranks and standing in one national trench to support Jerusalem and the resolution of its heroic residents against the occupation and its projects, whose goal is to eliminate the permanent Palestinian presence in the holy city (refers to violent Arab riots in Jerusalem -Ed.).
Abu Rudeina continued: ‘Currently the battle of all battles has arrived, the battle for Jerusalem, its sites that are holy to Islam and Christianity, its Arabness, its heritage, and its history. This is a long and difficult confrontation, and victory in it is not impossible, as the recent events in Jerusalem and the resolution of the Jerusalem residents have proven that the Palestinian people is capable of blocking plots once again, as it did in the battle of the metal detectors and [security] cameras (refers to Arab riots in July 2017; see note below -Ed.), and in the constant confrontations to protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.’ …
Abu Rudeina concluded his words by saying: ‘Jerusalem was and still is the Palestinian people’s permanent address, as it is the political line that we will not agree to harm under any circumstances. We will continue to stand firm on our land in this long struggle against a satanic colonialist force that is attempting to harm the existence of Palestine and the stability of the region, and to divide it.’”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 6, 2021]