All of Israel is “occupied historical and natural Palestine,” says PA daily op-ed
Excerpt of an op-ed by Muwaffaq Matar, Fatah Revolutionary Council member and regular columnist for the official PA daily
“The pictures reaching us from Jerusalem and every city and village in occupied historical and natural Palestine (i.e., Israel), from Lod, Jaffa, Haifa, Acre, the Galilee, Kafr Kanna, Tayibe, Umm Al-Fahm, and Ramle (i.e., Israeli cities and areas, refers to violent Arab riots), bring us the tidings of remaining not only on the land of the homeland, but also the remaining of the faith that is actually being manifested in preserving the identity.”
2021 violent Palestinian riots and Hamas rockets - On May 10, 2021, the terror organization Hamas launched numerous rocket barrages targeting Israeli population centers. Over a period of 10 days, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired over 3,500 rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing 9 Israelis, and 3 foreign nationals (1 Indian caregiver and 2 Thai foreign laborers) and wounding hundreds. In response, Israel launched Operation Guardian of the Walls to target Hamas terror leaders and terror infrastructure. The Israeli army also confronted terror activity in the West Bank, and was deployed to maintain order in Israeli cities with a mixed Jewish and Arab population, where Israeli Arabs violently rioted and attacked Jews with guns, knives, and firebombs, killing 1 Israeli. In return, Jews started attacking Arabs and Arab businesses as well. Hamas’ launching of rockets followed weeks of violent Arab riots in Jerusalem. The PA’s ostensible pretexts for the wave of Arab violence were PA elections being prevented in Jerusalem; Israeli security barricades at the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem's Old City to prevent disturbances (which were later removed following violent riots); and the planned eviction of several Arab families illegally living in properties in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem owned by Jews who were expelled in the 1948 Israeli War of Independence.