Via JTA:

Like the people and governments of Israel, the pro-Israel community in the U.S. has long sought a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through direct negotiations between the parties that would lead to a lasting peace agreement and Israel’s acceptance by all its neighbors. The Israeli people dream of peace, and their governments have worked and sacrificed for it.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared his vision for peace – for two states – last June in a landmark speech at Bar-Ilan University, saying he supported the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside the Jewish State of Israel. Netanyahu declared a 10-month moratorium on all Israeli construction in the West Bank – a concession that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called “unprecedented” in advance of negotiations.

Israel also has taken significant steps to ensure that life improves for Palestinians in the West Bank, such as dismantling hundreds of West Bank roadblocks and checkpoints, which have helped produce double-digit economic growth at a time of global recession.

While the current Israeli government has proven its desire for peace, the leader of the Palestinian Authority refuses to meet or even speak on the phone with his Israeli counterpart, despite American demands that he do so. Abbas has said that his strategy is not to make concessions in negotiations but to encourage the U.S. and the international community to pressure Israel for unilateral concessions.

In recent months, the PA has intensified its efforts to delegitimize Israel in the international arena and increased the incitement against Israel. The PA media carries outrageous programs portraying Israel and Jews in the most negative ways.

As American friends of Israel we must continue to remind our leaders about how badly Israel wants peace – and how tragically the PA has only increased its demands and pulled away from the negotiating table. Don’t blame Israel for the lack of progress.

©2002 IDF Spokesman Weapons seized on the Karine A (Jan 4)

A ship carrying weapons intended for the Palestinian Authority was captured in the Red Sea by Israel’s Navy and Air Force. The boat’s cargo included 50 tons of advanced weaponry including Katyusha rockets, rifles, mortar shells, mines and a variety of anti-tank missiles. Senior figures in the Palestinian Authority were involved in the smuggling.

Communicated by the IDF Spokesman:

On January 3rd, the Israeli Navy seized control over the Karine A ship that was sailing in international waters on its way to the Suez Canal.

The shipment included both 122 mm. and 107 mm. Katyusha rockets, which have ranges of 20 and 8 kilometers respectively. It also contained 80 mm. and 120 mm. mortar shells, various types of anti-tank missiles, anti-tank mines, sniper rifles, Kalashnikov rifles and ammunition. From Gaza, the 122 mm. Katyushas could have threatened Ashkelon and other coastal cities; while from the West Bank, Ben-Gurion International Airport and several major Israeli cities would have been within their range. The shipment also included rubber boats and diving equipment, which would have facilitated seaborne attacks from Gaza against coastal cities.

Preliminary investigation of the crew members has revealed so far that the commanding officer of the ship is Colonel Omar Akawi. The ship was purchased by the Palestinian Authority, loaded with weapons by the Iranians and the Hizbullah, manned by Palestinian Authority personnel, with the aim of transfering the weapons it carried to the Palestinian Naval Police near the Gaza beaches.

Since October 2000, Adel Mughrabi, a major buyer in the Palestinian weapons purchasing system (with the assistance of the Palestinian Naval Police Commander Juma’a Ghali and his executive Fathi Ghazem), has been in contact with the Iranians and Hizbullah regarding a vast weapons smuggling operation for the use of the Palestinian Authority. This operation included the testing and purchase of ships, forming a sailing crew and appointing a commander for the team, as well as making arrangements as to how the weapons would be stored, loaded onto the vessels, and its journey until delivery to the Palestinian Authority.

Preliminary investigation of the team members arrested revealed that the Karine A ship was purchased by Adel Mughrabi in Lebanon, sailed to Sudan where it was loaded with regular cargo. The crew was then switched with the team members and in November 2001 sailed to Hodeida port in Yemen.

In December 2001 the ship sailed according to detailed instructions from Adel Mughrabi to the beaches of Iran near Qeshm Island. There a ferry approached it, most likely arriving from Iran, from which the weapons stored in 80 large wooden crates were transferred and loaded onto the ship. These weapons were stored in special waterproof containers produced only in Iran, which are floatable and are set with a special configurable system that determines how deep they are submerged, were prepared by Hizbullah personnel for smuggling to the Palestinian Authority. Included in the ferry team which transferred the weapons crates to the ship was also a Lebanese trainer, a Hizbullah operative who trained a diver from the ship’s crew in configuring the floatation devices in Lebanon. The trainer was present for yet another refreshing training session prior to the sailing.

After completing the loading process of the weapons onto the ship, the ship had to divert to Hodeida port in Yemen due to technical problems. After crossing the canal, the ship was supposed to meet with three smaller ships that were purchased in advance and to unload the weapons onto them. According to the plan, the smaller ships were to leave the weapons near El Arish in Gaza, where the weapons were to be taken by the commander of the Palestinian Naval Police Juma’a Ghali and his executive Fathi Ghazem.

Weapons Seized on the Karine-A Ship
Statement by IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Shaul Mofaz regarding interception of ship Karine A – Jan 4, 2002
Reaction of FM Peres to seizing of the Karine A – Jan 4, 2002
Address by PM Sharon following the seizing of the ship Karine A – Jan 6, 2002
DM Ben-Eliezer: PA invests in terrorism, not welfare of Palestinian people – Jan 6, 2002
DM Ben-Eliezer to Solana and Moratinos: Karine A managed and funded by Palestinian Authority in cooperation with Iran – Jan 7, 2002

Seized Weapons Ship Linked to Palestinian Authority -
U.S. State Department, Jan 10, 2002
U.S. Seeks Explanation from Arafat about Arms Smuggling – U.S. State Department, Jan 11, 2002

Prison interview with Palestinian ship captain smuggling 50 tons of weapons (Fox News) – Jan 7, 2002
Selected Photos

On the day before the Gaza flotilla confronted the Israeli navy, Al-Jazeera TV documented the pre-battle atmosphere created by men on board the flotilla, who chanted a well-known Islamic battle cry invoking the killing and defeat of Jews in battle:

Khaibar is the name of the last Jewish village defeated by Muhammad’s army in 628. Many Jews were killed in that battle, which marked the end of Jewish presence in Arabia. There are Muslims who see that as a precursor to future wars against Jews. At gatherings and rallies of extremists, this chant is often heard as a threat to Jews to expect to be defeated and killed again by Muslims.

Al-Jazeera also interviewed a woman who said that the flotilla participants’ goal was “one of two happy endings: either Martyrdom or reaching Gaza.”

Click here to view Islamic battle cry on Gaza flotilla.

Via NewsRealBlog:

Desmond Tutu has condemned the Israelis for defending their waters and their soldiers and for dealing with armed jihadists as armed jihadists should be dealt with. This particular unsavory crew launched their attack with chants celebrating Mohammed’s murder of Jews in the 7th century, which should be a crucial reminder to everyone in denial that the genocidal elements of Islam are alive and well in the minds of  Muslim fanatics today. Desmond Tutu should have been tried along time ago for his complicity in the necklacing  murders of black South Africans who fell out of favor with the Stalinists who ran the ANC and their witch-in-chief, Winnie Mandela. And the sicko Jews who thoughtlessly cheer Tutu and these neo-Nazis on (see in particular Salon’s Glenn Greenwald’s tweets) should earn every civilized person’s utter disgust.

Here is forensic proof that what happened on the “Free Gaza” Flotilla is not what genocidal jihadists want you to see. Check out the video below of what REALLY happened:

Video taken by IDF naval boat shows the passengers of the Mavi Marmara, one of the ships in the ‘Free Gaza’ Flotilla, violently attacking IDF soldiers who were trying to board the ship after having sent repeated requests for the boat to change course.

Large groups of passengers surrounded soldiers and beat them with metal poles and chairs, and threw one soldier over the side of the ship. Some passengers grabbed pistols from the IDF soldiers and opened fire. As a result of the attacks, seven IDF soldiers were injured, and nine of the passengers were killed.

The ‘Free Gaza’ Flotilla had publicly insisted on their non-violent intentions, however their violent attack on the IDF soldiers was clearly premeditated. They had knives, metal rods, firebombs and other items ready to use.

If Muslims are against Zionism, then they should stop touting palestinianism.  The question that Muslims must answer is why are only Muslims entitled to self-determination?  What the Jew-hating international community fails to remember is that both Palestinian Arabs and Palestinian Jews were residents of the Mandate of Palestine — therefore,  Muslims have no absolute, natural right to “the land” nor to self-determination without the reciprocal absolute natural right of the Palestinian Jew.  Palestinian Arabs can not veto the “rights” of the Palestinian Jew since the Palestinian Jew had a prior right to create a national existence in the lands of the Mandate of Palestine thousands of years before Islam was even invented.  Read below for another example of Muslim hubris.  Via MEMRI:

In an interview with the weekly Kul Al-Arab, which is published in Israel, Mas’oud Ghanaim, member of the United Arab List (Ra’am-Ta’al) in the Israeli Knesset, from the southern branch of the Islamic Movement, called for establishing a Great Islamic Caliphate that will include Israel, and said that all means were valid for defending Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa mosque. Ghanaim also expressed support for the Iran-Syria-Hizbullah axis, and called for recognizing the legitimacy of the Hamas government in Gaza.

The following are excerpts from the interview:

“…Q: As an Islamist, do you believe that there is a need to establish an Islamic state or Islamic regime in Palestine and in the Arab and Islamic homeland?

“A: There is a need for the return of the Islamic Caliphate, and I think that this is the ideal solution to the weakness, collapse, and crumbling afflicting the Arabs and Muslims… I think that a [new] Islamic caliphate is [also] in the interest of the Jews themselves, since their golden age as Jews came during the [medieval] Islamic Caliphate.

“Q: What are your conclusions about our people’s Nakba [i.e. the results of the 1948 war], and what is the solution?”

“A: We, as an Islamic movement, present a view that is different, and an interpretation that is different, from those of the other parties regarding the reasons and circumstances of the Nakba. We do not focus on external elements such as colonialism and occupation, nor [do we focus] geographically only on Palestine. In our view, the Nakba is the result of the weakness and collapse of the overall Islamic body, and therefore we must not isolate ourselves [from the rest of the Muslim world], and must strengthen the Islamic body and entity.”

“Q: What is to be Israel’s fate in such a situation?”

“A: Israel must be part of the great Islamic state. We are not against the Jews, just against the Zionist movement and its racist ideas. But we must not forget our responsibility [for our fate] and the causes of the Nakba…“

Via Ynetnews:

The Palestinian Authority is starting to be portrayed as the side against peace. Two moves by Netanyahu managed to change the picture: First, his willingness to endorse a Palestinian state, and then the temporary settlement freeze. Israel made a move, so why is Abbas refusing to negotiate? He is being asked this by world leaders at a time when his PA continues to incite against Israel.
While Israel is ready for negotiations, here and now, the Palestinians are presenting preconditions and are losing the West’s support. Preconditions for talks with Israel? As if we never had Oslo, mutual recognition, and signed agreements?

The Palestinians failed to realize that hatred for Israel does not equal sympathy for the Palestinians. They confused anti-Israel sentiments with pro-Palestinian sentiments. They failed to understand that many in the world hate Israel, but are using the Palestinians as the fig leaf for this hatred. The Obama administration is increasingly having reservations about them.

Nothing other than that Tareq Salahi, the White House “gatecrasher”, served in the same anti-Israel group as Obama’s palestinian professor pal Rashid Khalidi, a professor who excuses muslim terrorism as long as it is Jewish blood, guts and sinew that get splattered. Via WND:

Tareq Salahi served on the board of the American Task Force for Palestine, where Columbia University Professor Khalidi served as vice president. The American Power blog noticed both Salahi’s and Khalidi’s names have been scrubbed from the Task Force website, although Salahi’s bio still comes up on a Google cache search of the site.

The Task Force lobbies for a Palestinian state and demands the so-called right of return for Palestinian “refugees” – a formula Israeli officials across the political spectrum have warned could destroy Israel by population genocide, with the Jewish state forced to accept millions of Arabs, thus diluting its Jewish majority.

Basically, this proves that when you lay down with dogs, you wake up with fleas.

More mendacity from the fabricated entity commonly referred to as “Palestine”.  Via Palestinian Media Watch:

In an interview on official PA television on Oct. 22, historian Nabil Alqam first denied thousands of years of documented Jewish history in Israel, then replaced it with “4,000 to 5,000 years” of fictitious Palestinian history.

Placing Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims in Israel in biblical times is historically impossible: The name “Palestine” was coined by Rome only in 136 CE, and for nearly 2,000 years Jews were the only Palestinians the world recognized.
Islam was established only in 610 CE. Arabs first arrived in Israel with the Muslim invasion in 637 CE.

Hilarious, really, that “palestinian arabs”, the fabricated culture breast-fed on hatred for Jews would turn against Hillary Clinton, the American cur that kissed Suha Arafat on her cheek even after she accused Jews of “poisoning” Arab water, a claim that was never substantiated given the fact that no palestinian ever died from poisoned water.  Palestinians love to blame everyone but themselves for their own detestable failures and why they have not yet gained their kleptocracy.

Here’s Hillary Clinton, before she was Secretary of State, kissing the wife of Yassir Arafat, the filthy pig and founder of modern-day Muslim terrorism.  Oops, sorry for the redundancy:

Click here to read about the “poorpalestinianpeople” and their anger at Hillary Clinton.