Abbas says no difference between Hamas and Fatah

From an interview with Mahmoud Abbas at Russia Today:

RT: Today, the other part of the Palestinian resistance, Hamas, is increasingly leaning towards a political solution of the problem rather than a military one. Have you noticed the shift?

MA: Yes, we have. Moreover, that's something we have agreed on. A number of Hamas members support this stance. That's what we agreed on during our meeting in Cairo, and several months ago at the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation we reaffirmed that the Palestinian people have the right to non-violent resistance. We are going back to the negotiating process. There is no disagreement on this between us and Hamas leaders, though some keep saying that they don't consider a peaceful solution the only option and don't rule out military struggle. But all this talk stopped at the Cairo meeting, which was sponsored by the US and Egypt. Now this is Hamas's official stance. Pay no attention to the odd Hamas members that say different.

RT: Can these odd dissident voices affect the reconciliation process?

MA: No. This is an entirely different topic. We agreed on all the political aspects of the reconciliation. The main thing ' and we have agreed on this ' will be to set up an interim government with me as its head. So here's the compromise: after Fayyad's government stands down, which is what Hamas wanted, I will become the head of the new government, which Hamas has no objections to. They were the ones that insisted I lead the independent interim technocratic government. The next step will be to hold a general election. These are the two main steps of the reconciliation process, and they are being carried out simultaneously. That's what we agreed on, but I do not know what prevents us from launching the process. That's all I have to say on this issue.

RT: The EU is said to be considering a move to take Hamas off the list of terrorist organizations. Do you think that this may be an attempt to legitimize the Hamas-led government?

MA: I don't think so. After the recent developments, the chances are quite high that the Hamas government may be recognized as legitimate. If Hamas is committed to the ceasefire and if it openly pledges to stick to the peaceful popular resistance, I don't see much difference between their policy and ours. In this case, there is no need to label them as a terrorist organization.

RT: But you didn't target Israel with rockets'.

MA: Neither we nor Hamas did. Not any longer. After the Second Intifada, we decided to give up on armed resistance. And let me be totally frank with you: we don't want to launch any armed resistance whatsoever. Hamas has said the same. Yes, there were clashes in the past, but they have stopped ' and I'm grateful to Allah for that.

As is usual when Abbas opens his mouth, he is lying.

Hamas last shot rockets at Israel only a mere four months ago. And, incidentally, so did Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in Gaza.

So in that sense, Abbas is right - they are both the same in supporting terror attacks against civilians.

And those "odd Hamas members" that support terror? Well, it's only their official spokespeople. And to this day both Fatah and Hamas websites glorify "martyrdom" operations against Israeli civilians.

Abbas is really beneath contempt.

Despicable Hamas politician and mother of terrorists dead

Maryam Farhat, known as Umm Nidal, hasdied.

She was famous for being the mother of three terrorist "martyrs" - including one who killed five students at a school, after which she gave out chocolates to her friends  - and for running in the PA elections as a Hamas candidate.  She was even praised by "moderate" Sari Nussibeh.

Here is this sick woman being interviewed on Arab TV:



It would be a good idea for President Obama to watch this video before he goes to Israel, instead of reading the latest NYT piece - the second major article this weekend - about "settlements."

Here is the photo that Palestine Today uses of this Palestinian Arab heroine:

More friction between Egypt and Hamas

From Ma'an:

Seven Palestinians being detained in Egypt are due to be deported to the Gaza Strip on Friday, sources at Cairo International Airport said.

The unidentified Palestinians were detained at Cairo International Airport on Wednesday carrying maps of military buildings in Cairo, airport sources told Ma'an.

A security official said Thursday that the Palestinians had entered Egypt through tunnels from Gaza, and that they had visited Syria and received training in Iran.

Gazans spying on Egypt - after being trained in Iran?

There aren't enough details in this report, but the distrust that Egypt has for Hamas seems to be growing, despite Hamas' efforts to calm things down.

Another ordinary day in Egypt: Brotherhood beats up reporters

From Al Ahram:

Clashes at the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters in Cairo's Moqattam district intensified late on Saturday, with a number of journalists reportedly assaulted by members of the Islamist group.

Violence first broke out earlier in the day after a meeting between Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal.

Dozens of protesters gathered at the Islamist group's HQ to condemn President Mohamed Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood, and Badie, who many critics say is the actual ruler of the country.

The violence led to renewed accusations that the Muslim Brotherhood sends people to assault members of the opposition. The Islamist group faced similar accusations in late 2012 when its supporters and opponents clashed in front of the presidential palace in Cairo.

Activist Ahmed Doma, a staunch critic of the Morsi government, sustained injuries after he was beaten up by what he said was a Brotherhood 'militia.'

Doma said the Brotherhood members were 'aggressive' and indiscriminately beat protesters, including women, and journalists.

Egypt's privately owned Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper said its journalist, Mohamed Talaat, was assaulted by 'young members of the Muslim Brotherhood' on Saturday.

He was attacked, the newspaper said, when he spoke with young people drawing anti-Brotherhood graffiti on the perimeter of the group's headquarters.

Brotherhood members, according to the report, pushed him away, before verbally and physically assaulting him when he said he was a journalist.

Amr Hafez, a photographer from Al-Watan ' another private daily ' said he was injured when Brotherhood members attacked those drawing graffiti.

Hafez told ONTV that a Brotherhood member threw a chair at him.

Photographer Mohamed Nabil picked up a foot injury in a similar manner, Hafez said.

Meanwhile, those drawing graffiti were also attacked by the Brotherhood members.

Diaa Rashwan, newly elected head of the Journalists' Syndicate, was quoted by several media reports as saying the presidency must apologise for the assaults on journalists.

Conversely, senior Brotherhood spokesman Mahmoud Ghozlan said some journalists and photographers had been involved in 'provocative' acts alongside protesters.

NYT writes another huge romantic story about Arab rioters

The New York Times on Friday published a very long piece by Ben Ehrenreich about Palestinian Arab rioters in Nabi Saleh (the home of "Shirley Temper.")

There's a lot to criticize in the story that romanticizes rioting - for example, the blunt characterization of neighboring Halamish as being built entirely on Palestinian Arab-own private land, which is simply not true - but I found this part especially tasteless:

'We see our stones as our message,' Bassem explained. The message they carried, he said, was 'We don't accept you.' While Bassem spoke admiringly of Mahatma Gandhi, he didn't worry over whether stone-throwing counted as violence. The question annoyed him: Israel uses far greater and more lethal force on a regular basis, he pointed out, without being asked to clarify its attitude toward violence. If the loincloth functioned as the sign of Gandhi's resistance, of India's nakedness in front of British colonial might, Bassem said, 'Our sign is the stone.' The weekly clashes with the I.D.F. were hence in part symbolic. The stones were not just flinty yellow rocks, but symbols of defiance, of a refusal to submit to occupation, regardless of the odds.

But Tamimi claims to be non-violent, and he claims that stone throwing is "non-violent." Israel never claimed that their response to violent rioters is Gandhi-like.

I wrote a comment; as of this writing is was not yet posted:

Too bad Mr. Ehrenreich didn't think of pushing back on Bassem Tamimi's irritation at justifying his idea that stone throwing is supposedly "non-violent."

Because today a three year old Israeli girl is in critical condition as a result of a stone-throwing attack.

Then again, that story cannot be found in the New York Times, so it must not be very important.

(h/t EBoZ)