Twice last week, official Palestinian Authority TV broadcast greetings to the murderers of the Fogel family from the relatives of the killers and from the PA TV host.

On March 11, 2011, five members of the Fogel family were killed in their home in the Israeli town Itamar by Palestinian terrorists from the Awad family. Hakim Awad led the attack, killing the parents Ehud and Ruth and three of their children, aged 11 years, 4 years, and 2 months.

The weekly PA TV program For You dedicated to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons let the mother and aunt of one of the murderers praise the terrorists as “heroes.” After the mother of the murderer Hakim Awad explained how she is prevented from visiting her son for security reasons, the PA TV host said: “Go ahead, sister, we can convey your voice.”

On the phone, Hakim Awad’s mother “blesses” her “dear son,” and despite the fact that participants in this TV program normally do not mention the terror attacks for which their relatives are serving time, the mother mentions that her son is the one who “carried out the operation in Itamar and sentenced to 5 life sentences,” referring to her son’s brutal killings in the town Itamar.

Hakim Awad’s aunt also participated in the program and referred to the terrorists involved in the killings as “heroes,” calling Hakim Awad “the hero, the legend.” This prompted the PA TV host to add: “We, for our part, also convey our greetings to them.”

It was Hakim Awad who killed Ehud and Ruth Fogel and their young children with a knife. The other Awad family members praised on the program as “heroes” were either accessories to the murders or helped destroy evidence.

Although this was a phone conversation, the editors of the PA TV program and its host did know in advance that the callers were relatives of the Fogel murderers. The host introduced them before the conversation took place and a text with the names of the callers appeared at the bottom of the screen: “Prisoner Hakim Awad’s family / Awarta – Nablus.”

The program was broadcast on official PA TV on January 19 and 21

Not that this is altogether surprising. Need I remind you how the palestinian man and woman on the street reacted to the heinous murders?

But yeah, believe settlements are the obstacle to peace if it makes you feel better.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for meeting freed Palestinian terrorist Amna Muna during a visit to Turkey on Wednesday.

Muna, who was freed to Turkey during the first stage of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange swap with Hamas, was serving a life sentence for her part in the murder of Ofir Rahum, an Israeli teen from Ashkelon.

Muna was supposed to go to the Gaza Strip, but she refused to enter the territory – apparently because she is a secular Muslim.

On Wednesday Israel Radio reported that Abbas had met Muna in private during his visit to Turkey after holding a group meeting with the rest of the Palestinians deported to Turkey in the Shalit deal.

In response to Abbas’ meeting, the Prime Minister’s Office released a statement later Wednesday, saying that it was “shocking to see the man who claims to the whole world that he aims for peace with Israel, going as far as Turkey to meet a despicable murderer.”

Fatah strongman Jibril Rajub addressed the PA president’s meeting with Muna, saying the freed prisoner wasn’t in seclusion, telling Israel Radio: “If she doesn’t deserve to live, why did you let her go?”

By the way, I don’t buy the baloney about Muna refusing to go to the Gaza Strip “because she is a secular Muslim.” She refused because she’s afraid what families of inmates she abused while in prison may do to her.

AFP

I didn’t take money from Palestine, says Suha Arafat, the widow of former Chairman of the Palestinian Authority and the PLO Yasser Arafat. Speaking in an interview with Egyptian journalist Wael Al Abrashi she said, “I didn’t take lands from the state of Palestine.”

Arafat, who is currently residing in Malta, has been accused of stealing donation money from the Palestinian Authority. “After working for Palestine for 50 years, does Arafat not deserve to build a playground for his daughter in Tunisia? I am not ashamed of that but, others came and took over. It’s the only investment he did for Zahwa and I have the papers to prove it.” 

“He didn’t buy her jewelry or build her factories, just a little playground in Tunisia. I have nothing to hide. Yasser Arafat is the one who ordered the playground to be built.”

I can understand why Yasser Arafat ordered it. After all, he reportedly had a thing for children’s playgrounds.

The interview also exposed Arafat’s only daughter, Zahwa, for the first time. Although she was present during one part of the interview, her mother made sure Zahwa would not utter a sound. “She wants to be a lawyer. Having seen what they did to me, she has absolutely no interest in politics,” Suha noted, adding that her daughter loves literature and art.

At one point in the interview, Zahwa presented Suha with her report card. This caused Arafat to become emotional and she said had Zahwa’s father been alive he would have been proud.

In an Israellycool exclusive, we got our hands on the report card.

Click to enlarge

For airing an interview with one of the recently released terrorists.

Coming soon: PA accuses Israel of incitement for reporting Israeli casualties of palestinian terror attacks.

More here.

Nigeria will vote in favor of the application for full UN membership in the Security Council, foreign minister Riyad Malki said Tuesday after meeting with his Nigerian counterpart.

Olugbenga Ashiru stressed Nigeria’s support for the application for a state on the 1967 borders as well as his hopes for a negotiated settlement to end the conflict, the official Palestinian Authority news agency said.

Last week, Israel’s defense minister said he had secured Nigeria’s support in the Security Council.

Last week Nigeria pledged to support Israel and this week the PA is claiming the same thing? Let me guess. The Nigerians promised to support each side, as long as they sent their bank account details?

Update: In other news, Abbas has claimed we deliberately train wild animals to attack palestinians.

Zionist Death Pigs^TM and Zionist Death Dogs^TM to be precise.

Abbas condemned the rise in Israeli settlers’ violence against the Palestinian people and Israel’s training of dogs and wild pigs to attack Palestinians

Maen Areikat

PLO official: Palestinian state to be free of Jews

The future independent Palestinian state will not include a Jewish minority, a top Palestinian official told USA Today on Wednesday, adding that it was in the best interest of both peoples to “be separated.”

Maen Areikat, PLO Ambassador to the United States, made the comment just as the Palestinian Authority, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, was preparing to offer up Palestinian statehood to a vote in the United Nations General Assembly later this month.

Answering questions on minority rights in a future state, Areikat was quoted by USA Today as saying on the possibility of a Jewish minority: “After the experience of the last 44 years of military occupation and all the conflict and friction, I think it would be in the best interest of the two people to be separated.”

Former U.S. National Security Council official Elliot Abrams responded to the Palestinian official’s comment, saying to USA Today that the Palestinian demand was “a despicable form of anti-Semitism,” adding: “No civilized country would act this way.”

When I went back to the Ha’aretz report this morning, lo and behold, the headline had changed.*

PLO official: Palestinians, Israelis must be totally separated

Nevertheless, the evidence remains when you type in the original headline in Google.

So clearly someone at Ha’aretz decided the original headline was not conducive to pulling the wool over our eyes about the PA’s real intentions the peace process, and had it summarily changed.

And I’m glad they did it. Because what was originally just a post about the PA’s true feelings about us, the prospects of peace with the establishment of a palestinian state, and the sheer chutzpah of their insistence on the so-called palestinian “right of return,” is now also a post about the complicity of the left-wing media in advancing a certain agenda.

Update: Commenter Engelo points out that Areikat has since claimed he was misinterpreted.

But in an interview with The Huffington Post, Areikat rejected USA Today’s characterization of his remarks, saying that he would never want to ban Jews from a Palestinian state.

“Under no circumstances was I saying that no Jews can be in Palestine,” Areikat said by phone. “What a statement that would be for me to make! I never said that, and I never meant to say such a thing. This is not a religious conflict, and we want to establish a secular state.”

I call BS on this. As EoZ points out, these latest statements are entirely consistent with what Areikat stated in an interview with Tablet last year.

So, you think it would be necessary to first transfer and remove every Jew—

Absolutely. No, I’m not saying to transfer every Jew, I’m saying transfer Jews who, after an agreement with Israel, fall under the jurisdiction of a Palestinian state.

Any Jew who is inside the borders of Palestine will have to leave?

Absolutely. I think this is a very necessary step, before we can allow the two states to somehow develop their separate national identities, and then maybe open up the doors for all kinds of cultural, social, political, economic exchanges, that freedom of movement of both citizens of Israelis and Palestinians from one area to another. You know you have to think of the day after.

* I also received an email from someone who noticed this.

MaanImages

A Ramadan TV series that became notorious for its criticism of Palestinian Authority officials has been discontinued on the PA-run Palestine TV, Attorney General Ahmad Al-Mughni said Tuesday evening.

Al-Mughni told Ma’an that the decision had been made to stop broadcasts of Watan Ala Watar [Homeland on a Thread] after Tuesday’s episode because “it is full of mistakes, is meaningless and is a waste of time for people to watch.”

The serial, aired during the holy month of Ramadan when broadcasters compete for captive audiences with soap operas and special series, had been praised the year earlier as an emblem of PA’s ability to tolerate self-criticism.

Al-Mughni said Tuesday that the series is “harmful to Palestinian society.”

“It mocks leaders terribly, and has a poor scenario,” he said, adding that episodes had crossed “red lines.”

“There are people and personalities that can’t be imitated in any way,” the Attorney General said.

The series had targeted the beleaguered Palestinian Authority health ministry, public sector workers union head Bassam Zakarneh and teachers union in recent weeks, and officials are reported to have complained to the Attorney General about the send-up.

Palestine TV is operated by the Palestine Broadcast Cooperation, and supervised by the Ramallah-based Ministry of Information.

Watan Ala Watar gained a huge following for its uncompromising look at themes of politics, corruption, nepotism, religion and morality.

It’s great to see the PA taking responsibility for keeping its people in line. No decent society should have to tolerate freedom of expression, especially when it involves criticizing leaders, and has a poor scenario. Heck, who doesn’t hate a poor scenario?

The pro palestinian left, who allegedly value human rights and civil liberties so much, must be beaming with pride right now.