Jews are “Khazars” who have no right to be in Israel, says PA daily op-ed
Excerpt of an op-ed by Yahya Rabah, regular columnist for the official PA daily
Headline: “The month of May – the memory of pain and the dawn of unity”
“Every year in May the painful memories rise up anew, and therefore we have called it ‘the month of the Nakba’ (i.e., “the catastrophe,” the Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel). Palestine and its people who love life became a torn and bloody painting, because one who had no right, [former] British [Foreign Secretary Arthur] Balfour, gave one who was unworthy – a mixed multitude of Khazars who called themselves ‘Israelis’ (sic., genetic research has conclusively proven modern Jews share a common origin in Israel and are not the descendants of Khazars) – a heinous and unfair promise that contradicts all forms of justice in human history…
In May, which is full of memories and meanings, were concentrated many events that made it such that it is not characterized only by grief and tears but also glows with pride, Palestinian honor, and more sacred sentiments: Palestinian unity. No longer is there a distinction between a Palestinian refugee and a civilian; there is no difference between what is inside the Green Line (i.e., Palestinian term for Israel; the Green Line is the ceasefire line between Israel and the neighboring Arab countries, 1949-1967) and what is outside the Green Line; and there no longer is an invalid separation between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Acre, Safed, Jaffa, Lod, Ramle, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Nazareth, and the Negev (i.e., Israeli cities and regions) all became the names of living and present Palestine (refers to violent Israeli Arab riots; see note below -Ed.)… Even the events that appeared normal, like the uprising of the Damascus Gate and the Sheikh Jarrah [neighborhood] in Jerusalem, are not normal events, but rather promises for the future and not lamentations over the past.”
The Balfour Declaration of Nov. 2, 1917 was a letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Baron Rothschild stating that "His Majesty's government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." In 1922, the League of Nations adopted this and made the British Mandate "responsible for putting into effect the declaration," which led to the UN vote in favor of partitioning Mandatory Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state in 1947. In response, Britain ended its mandate on May 15, 1948, and the Palestinian Jews, who accepted the Partition Plan, declared the independent State of Israel. The Palestinian Arabs rejected the plan and together with 7 Arab states attacked Israel, in what is now known as Israel's War of Independence.
Fatah/Hamas Riot and Rocket War 2021 – On April 30, 2021, facing certain electoral defeat, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas cancelled the first PA elections scheduled in 15 years. Hamas, which expected to win the elections, denounced it as a “coup.” In need of a conflict to divert public discontent, Abbas artificially generated a crisis over Jerusalem. His Fatah party called for "raising the level of confrontation,” and Abbas' spokesman told Palestinians "the battle of all battles is here.” Jerusalem Arabs responded by attacking Jews with rocks and Molotov cocktails. Hamas, Abbas' political rival, could not allow Abbas to lead the battle, so on May 10, 2021, Hamas launched rocket barrages targeting Israeli population centers including Jerusalem. Over the next 11 days, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired over 4,300 rockets into southern and central Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing 9 Israelis and 3 foreign nationals, and wounding hundreds. In response, Israel launched Operation Guardian of the Walls to target Hamas terror leaders and terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. Already in mid-April, a planned eviction of some Palestinian families illegally living in Jewish-owned buildings in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem had led to clashes between Palestinian residents and Israeli police. This dispute provided Palestinians with a pretext for violent rioting. Adding to the crisis, Israeli Arabs started rioting throughout Israel, especially in cities with a mixed Jewish and Arab population. Two Jews were murdered and many were wounded. According to Walla, an independent Israeli news site, 10 synagogues were wholly or partly burned down; fires were set in 112 Jewish homes and 1 Arab home mistaken for a Jewish home; 386 Jewish homes were plundered and 673 were damaged; 849 cars were set ablaze; and there were 5,018 rock-throwing attacks. In response, Jews started attacking Arabs and their properties as well, but on a much smaller scale. No mosques were burned; 13 Arab homes were damaged; 13 Arab-owned cars were burned; and there were 41 rock-throwing attacks by Jews. [Walla, May 16, 2021] The fighting between Israel and Hamas ended with a ceasefire on May 21, 2021.