“Of all the Palestinian lies there is no lie greater or more crushing than that which calls for the establishment of a separate Palestinian state in the West Bank... Not since the time of Dr. Goebbels has there been a case in which continual repetition of a lie has borne such great fruits....”
– From “Palestinian Lies” in Haaretz, July 1976.
By MARTIN SHERMAN in The Jerusalem Post
Nothing could better underscore just how emaciated Israeli foreign policy has become than the penetrating observation by former Meretz minister of education Prof. Amnon Rubinstein articulated above.
Nothing could better underscore just how detached from the reality the discourse on “Palestine” has become than the avowal of the timeless and unconditional rejection of Israel, articulated in ensuing excerpt. . . .
While no real consensus exists among political scientists as to the exact definition of “nation” and “nationalism,” there is broad agreement as to what constitutes its sine qua non. Whatever other details one scholar or another might wish to add to his/her preferred definition, there would be almost no disagreement that: a “nation” is an identifiably differentiated segment of humanity that desires to exercise political sovereignty in a defined territory; and that “nationalism” is the pursuit, by identifiably differentiated segments of humanity, of the exercise of political sovereignty in a defined territory.
The most cursory analysis of historical events in this region will quickly reveal that in the case of the Palestinians, neither of these two elements exists: neither an identifiably differentiated people desiring exercise of political sovereignty, nor a defined territory in which that sovereignty is to be exercised.
One need only examine the declarations/documents of Palestinians themselves to verify this – and to discover that they do not conceive of themselves as a discernibly discrete people with a defined homeland.
Accordingly, little effort is required to demonstrate that the Palestinian “narrative” – the notional fuel driving the demands for statehood – is a motley mixture of myths, which although they overlap and interlock, are nevertheless easily identifiable and readily refutable.
The inescapable conclusion is that the entire edifice of Palestinian national aspirations is a political hoax, a massive sleight of political hand designed to serve a far more sinister – and thinly disguised – motive. So what are these myths; and why are they so easily identifiable?
JERUSALEM – A leading human rights group on Wednesday criticized Palestinian security forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for what it said was an increase in attacks on local journalists, including arbitrary detentions and abuse.
A report by the New York-based Human Rights Watch said that over the past two years, the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank has stepped up harassment of journalists investigating corruption or seen to be supporters of the rival Hamas militant group. The pressure tactics by the Western-backed government have led to more self-censorship among local reporters, the group also said.
The report focused on the West Bank, documenting seven cases of abuse there. But it also included two cases in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip — where reported abuses against journalists by Hamas have been less frequent but nevertheless harsh, according to HRW. It said abuse by Hamas, as well as by Israeli security forces, would be the focus of future reporting.
"Palestinian security forces are becoming notorious for assaulting and intimidating journalists who are just trying to do their jobs," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Both the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza need to end these blatant attacks on free expression."
Speaking to reporters in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Stork said the abuses stretched beyond journalists. "Many other citizens in the West Bank, in Gaza, who are critics or who are perceived to be critics of the government or of the authorities are coming to face the same treatment," he said.
The group urged international donors to demand the Palestinian Authority — which receives hundreds of millions of dollars in Western support each year — stop the practice as a condition for receiving aid.
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