Former Israeli Arab MP calls Fatah/Hamas riot and rocket war a "recurring victory of the Palestinian identity" and an "uprising of honour"
Headline: “Events for the anniversary of the Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque uprising concluded with a central procession in Sakhnin”
“Events for the 21st anniversary of the Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque uprising (i.e., October 2000 riots in which Israeli Arabs violently rioted nationwide), during which 13 Martyrs who were shot and killed by the Israeli police in the 1948 territories (i.e., Israel) ascended to Heaven, concluded yesterday evening, Saturday [Oct. 2, 2021] with a central procession and rally in Sakhnin (i.e., an Israeli Arab city in northern Israel)…
Chairman of the [High] Follow-Up Committee [for Arab Citizens of Israel] (i.e., an extra-parliamentary umbrella organization that represents Arab citizens of Israel) Muhammad Barakeh said in his speech: ‘In 2000 the Martyrs were the sons of their mothers and fathers, while today they are the sons of their entire people. We are not just marking the anniversary, but also convening in honor of the commitment that we took upon ourselves – we will know no rest until we achieve the goals for whose sake the Martyrs sacrificed, the national principles, the right of return, and Jerusalem.’
Barakeh added: ‘We want to fulfill our role also regarding the return [of the Palestinian refugees] and the Palestinian cause. This cause is not disconnected from the context. We announce here to the refugees outside of the homeland on behalf of our people in the Interior (i.e., Israel and the PA areas) that we are waiting for you when you will return, and you will return sooner or later.’ He continued: ‘It is also our duty to support the freedom prisoners. The prisoner who bears the cause is occupied every day with the dream of freedom, and he will attempt to gain freedom every day (apparently refers to 6 terrorist prisoners who escaped from Gilboa Prison; see note below -Ed.). This is the natural situation. The unnatural situation is the imprisonment of more than 5,000 prisoners, and it is unnatural that we would adopt the Israeli narrative. At this opportunity we condemn the continuation of the Palestinian [Fatah-Hamas] rift and the treason of normalization with Israel (apparently refers to Abraham Accords; see note below -Ed.).’
Barakeh concluded his speech by saying: ‘The Palestinian people’s cause is a just cause, and it does not ask for charity from anyone. The recurring uprisings are a victory of the Palestinian identity, and this is what we saw in May [2021] in the uprising of honor (refers to Fatah/Hamas riot and rocket war; see note below -Ed.), and also before it. Blessings to Acre, to Haifa, to Lod, to Ramle, and to Jaffa the Bride of Palestine (i.e., all Israeli cities). On behalf of every city and on behalf of us all, we declare that we stand alongside the dozens of prisoners. We must stand alongside them and support the local authorities and popular committees so that they will gain their right to freedom.’”
2021 Gilboa Prison escape – 6 Palestinian terrorist prisoners escaped from Israel's Gilboa Prison on Sept. 6, 2021, by widening the hole of the shower drainpipe in the floor of their cell. One terrorist is from Fatah - Zakariya Zubeidi, and the other five are from Islamic Jihad - Ayham Kamamji, Muhammad Ardah, Mahmoud Ardah, Yaqub Qaderi, and Munadil Nafiyat. Four of the terrorists were recaptured after five days: Zubeidi, Ardah, Ardah, and Qaderi. Kamamji and Nafiyat were arrested in Jenin on Sept. 18, 2021 along with two accomplices. Zubeidi was head of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades (Fatah's military wing) in the Jenin area during the PA terror campaign (the second Intifada, 2000-2005), when he oversaw numerous lethal attacks, and he also carried out shooting attacks in 2018-2019. Kamamji participated in the murder of 18-year-old Eliyahu Asheri on June 25, 2006, and planned to blow up a bus using an exploding car. Muhammad Ardah participated in initiating and executing a suicide bombing on bus no. 823 on Nov. 29, 2001, in which 3 people were murdered and many others were wounded. Mahmoud Ardah was involved in numerous attacks; the website of Islamic Jihad’s military wing defined him as the "commander" of the prison escape. Qaderi committed a shooting attack on Sept. 18, 2002 with an accomplice in which Israeli Yosef Ajami was murdered and a foreign worker was wounded. Nafiyat was being held in administrative detention.
Israeli peace agreements with the UAE and Bahrain
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.