PA: Buttocks exposed - Emirates’ Crown Prince is pawn in hands of the US
Fatah: UAE peace agreement is “political danger,” encouraging other Arab states “to hurry towards normalization” with “the Israeli entity that is stealing the Al-Aqsa Mosque”
Palestinian Imams and preachers: “Visiting Jerusalem under the auspices and protection of the occupation is treason against Allah, His Prophet [Muhammad], and the Palestinian cause”
PA/Fatah/Hamas slogan: “Normalization is treason”
PA: UAE Crown Prince is destined for “the trash can of history”
The PA is emphatic about its condemnation of the peace agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel. From the cartoon above, showing the UAE’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as a pawn in the hands of the US with his buttocks exposed [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 18, 2020] to numerous official condemnations like the following by PLO Executive Committee Secretary Saeb Erekat on behalf of the PA leadership:
“The [PA] leadership and the people in the State of Palestine reject and condemn the normalization that the UAE state carried out with the occupation state at the expense of the Palestinian people and its national cause, and call on it to recant this historic mistake that is nothing but a free gift for the occupation government and [US President Donald] Trump’s administration.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 19, 2020]
In the same statement, the PA implied that the use of violence is a valid option, calling for “popular resistance” – a term Palestinian Media Watch has documented is used by Palestinians – including Chairman Mahmoud Abbas - to also refer to the use of violence and terror:
“The Palestinian leadership emphasizes that it is important to motivate the popular resistance. It also emphasizes the importance of the Palestinian people’s right to defend itself, its land, and its holy sites in the broadest framework, and this is as one of the means of thwarting these plans that are completely unacceptable.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 19, 2020]
This echoes the PA’s exploitation of the peace agreement to seek religious war and escalate confrontations with Israel, claiming the UAE made peace with “the enemy of Prophet Muhammad.” While the PA’s Grand Mufti issued a fatwa forbidding Muslims who come via the UAE to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Palestinian Imams and preachers condemned such visits as “treason against Allah”:
“Sheikh Omar Salameh said in a statement from the imams, preachers, and gatekeepers of the mosques of Palestine: ‘We are raising our voices against the tyranny and the tyrants, and condemning the aggressive tripartite agreement between the US, Israel, and the UAE, which the UAE rulers signed… The Al-Aqsa Mosque in its known boundaries – 144 dunams (i.e., approximately 35.6 acres) – is an exclusive right of the Muslims, and no one can say that others have a right to it… Visiting Jerusalem under the auspices and protection of the occupation is treason against Allah, His Prophet [Muhammad], and the Palestinian cause, which the Martyrs’ blood has been spilled in abundance in order to defend it.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 20, 2020]
A filler on official PA TV showed a picture of Abbas while condemning the UAE’s “betrayal”:
Text on screen: “The Palestinian leadership: ‘What the UAE did is a betrayal of Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Palestinian cause, and recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.’”
[Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, Aug. 16, 2020]
On broadcasts, official PA TV’s logo now appear with the slogan:
“#Normalization_is_treason”
[Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, Aug. 16, 2020]
Official spokesman of Fatah, Osama Al-Qawasmi, stated that the UAE’s peace agreement constitutes a “political danger” that will encourage other Arab states “to hurry towards normalization” with “the Israeli entity that is stealing the Al-Aqsa Mosque”:
“[The UAE] want to stand with Israel against the Palestinian people. The political danger… lies in this being a deviation from the Arab Peace Initiative – in how this will open the door for states that have aspirations but are embarrassed to a certain degree, and it will encourage some of the remaining states to hurry towards normalization – with whom? With the Israeli entity that is stealing the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the first direction for [Muslim] prayer, the second of the mosques, and the third in its sanctity for Islam.”
[Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, Aug. 18, 2020]
Promising the UAE a place only in “the trash can of history,” Fatah’s spokesman raged over the UAE’s “weakness,” its treaty “with the enemy,” and its “obedience to the commands of the US and Israel”:
“Is this how you behave? Have we learned from our history that Arabs stand with Arabs by making treaties with the enemy against the Palestinian people? … Are we striking each other at the neck at the expense of the Palestinian cause? … This is obedience to the commands of the US and Israel… we emphasize and call on the decision makers in the UAE to recant this step… Read the history, this is Jerusalem and whoever plots against it goes to the trash can of history… We are standing as the first line of defense, and believe me, Israel will target Abu Dhabi and Cairo and Mecca, and they will demand their alleged rights in all the Arab states in the shadow of this Arab weakness.”
[Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, Aug. 18, 2020]
“The trash can of history” was also the motive in this Fatah cartoon showing UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a trash can with the Israeli flag on it and blood underneath it as flies surround him:
Text on cartoon: “There is an end for those who do normalization”
Text on trash can: “The trash can of history”[Official Fatah Facebook page, Aug. 16, 2020]
In The Gaza Strip too, Palestinians held demonstrations against the UAE-Israel peace agreement under the slogan “Normalization is Treason.” A Fatah official described the agreement as a “plot against the Palestinian cause,” whereas a Hamas official encouraged all Palestinian factions to unite to engage in “comprehensive resistance, and struggle against the occupation”:
“Palestinian flags waved and revolutionary songs were heard during a mass-participant national unity procession that the national forces and social activists organized… under the slogan ‘Normalization is Treason’…
Fatah Movement Central Committee member [and Fatah Commissioner of Mobilization and Organization in Gaza] Ahmed Helles… emphasized that our people embodies unity against the plots that are targeting the Palestinian cause… He said that… we all must unite to defend our national enterprise and defend our holy sites, our people, and our land…
Senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya welcomed [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas’ call on the [Palestinian faction] secretary-generals to formulate a national strategy to deal with the challenges. He noted that this will contribute to the development of the PLO so that it will become a uniting national home that will include all our people’s groups without exception on the basis of partnership, comprehensive resistance, and struggle against the occupation, especially because no options are left other than confrontation.”[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 20, 2020]
The following are longer excerpts of the statements cited above:
Headline: “Imams and preachers at the mosques of Palestine condemn the normalization agreement between the UAE and Israel”
“Imams, preachers, and gatekeepers at the mosques of Palestine, as well as employees at the [PA] Ministry of Religious Affairs, participated in a rally yesterday [Aug. 19, 2020] against the UAE’s declaration on normalizing relations with the occupation state (see note below –Ed.)…
Sheikh Omar Salameh said in a statement from the imams, preachers, and gatekeepers of the mosques of Palestine: ‘We are raising our voices against the tyranny and the tyrants, and condemning the aggressive tripartite agreement between the US, Israel, and the UAE, which the UAE rulers signed…’
Salameh added: ‘Palestine is the land of the divine messengers to the people, and together with it and behind it stand all the honorable people in the [Islamic] nation. The Al-Aqsa Mosque in its known boundaries – 144 dunams (i.e., approximately 35.6 acres) – is an exclusive right of the Muslims, and no one can say that others have a right to it.’
He said that visiting Jerusalem under the auspices and protection of the occupation is treason against Allah, His Prophet [Muhammad], and the Palestinian cause, which the Martyrs’ blood has been spilled in abundance in order to defend it.”[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 20, 2020]
Headline: “The [PA] leadership: The State of Palestine rejects and condemns the normalization that the UAE carried out with the occupation, and calls on it to recant this historic mistake”
The following is an excerpt of the announcement summarizing a PA leadership meeting, which was read aloud by PLO Executive Committee Secretary Saeb Erekat –Ed.
“Given what has happened and still is happening, the Palestinian leadership emphasizes the following:
1. The leadership and the people in the State of Palestine reject and condemn the normalization that the UAE state carried out with the occupation state at the expense of the Palestinian people and its national cause (see note below –Ed.), and call on it to recant this historic mistake that is nothing but a free gift for the occupation government and [US President Donald] Trump’s administration…2. The PLO is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and it alone has the right to speak on its behalf and represent its national hopes and aspirations. It has not and will not authorize anyone to speak on its behalf, and it will not allow anyone to interfere in the Palestinian affairs or decide on the Palestinian people’s behalf regarding anything concerning its national rights…
3. The Palestinian leadership again expresses its complete opposition to the so-called ‘deal of the century’ (i.e., refers to Trump’s Middle East peace plan) and all the plans and measures that are connected to it or stem from it, because something that is based on something invalid is invalid, starting from the Balfour Promise (i.e., Declaration) in 1917 and up to the Trump deal. This includes the American recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli occupation’s capital (see note below –Ed.)…
4. The State of Palestine and the PLO emphasize their adherence to the option of establishing a just and comprehensive peace on the basis of the international institutions’ resolutions, international law, and the Arab Peace Initiative…
5. The Palestinian leadership demands that the Arab League General Secretariat and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) do all that is required of them and defend the decisions of the Arab and Islamic summit conferences, and especially the Arab Peace Initiative, and not deviate from the international institutions’ resolutions regarding the Palestinian cause…
8. The Palestinian leadership emphasizes that it is important to motivate the popular resistance (i.e., term used by Palestinians, which also refers to the use of violence and terror). It also emphasizes the importance of the Palestinian people’s right to defend itself, its land, and its holy sites in the broadest framework, and this is as one of the means of thwarting these plans that are completely unacceptable.
9. Blessings to our lauded people, to 13 million Palestinians in the homeland and the diaspora. Blessings to our people who are standing firm in the refugee camps, the resolve, the glory, and the honor. Blessings to our people who are defending the Arabness and the Christian and Islamic holy sites in our occupied capital Jerusalem. We again commit to stand firm and continue defending our legitimate national rights until the end of the occupation and the implementation of the independence of the State of Palestine, whose capital is East Jerusalem and is within the June 4, 1967 borders; the resolution of the refugees’ cause on the basis of [UN] Resolution 194 (see note below –Ed.); and the release of the prisoners.
Glory to the Martyrs, healing for the wounded, freedom for the prisoners. Long live Palestine, long live Palestine, long live Palestine.”[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 19, 2020]
Saeb Erekat also serves as Fatah Central Committee member and PLO Chief Negotiator
The Trump peace plan – US President Donald Trump announced his Israel–Palestinian peace plan "Peace to Prosperity" – commonly known as “the deal of the century” - on Jan. 28, 2020. Main points of the plan: 1- Israeli sovereignty would be applied to the Jordan Valley and all Israeli towns and cities in the West Bank. 2- Jerusalem, including all its holy sites, would remain under Israeli sovereignty with accommodations made to enable access for Palestinians. 3- The remainder of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and part of what is currently Israeli land in the Negev, the Galilee, and Jerusalem - creating a territory almost equal in size to the West Bank and Gaza Strip - would form the Palestinian state, with its capital in neighborhoods in East Jerusalem that are outside of Israel's security wall. 4- The Palestinian state would be demilitarized, with Israel responsible for external security and controlling all airspace. 5- All Palestinian prisoners except murderers, and those who attempted or conspired to murder would be released. 6- Palestinians in refugee camps would be absorbed into their host countries and, subject to certain limitations, into the Palestinian state. 7- Before becoming a state, the Palestinians would have to carry out extensive reform of their laws and institutions, including implementing a new governing system; granting its people due process and basic human rights and freedoms; end all incitement to and incentivizing of terror; end all glorification of terror and martyrdom; disarm Hamas; and adopt a culture promoting peace. The goal of the plan is to create a Palestinian state beside Israel, living in peace and security. The implementation would be facilitated through extensive international investment.
The Balfour Declaration of Nov. 2, 1917 was a letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Baron Rothschild stating that "His Majesty's government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." In 1922, the League of Nations adopted this and made the British Mandate "responsible for putting into effect the declaration," which led to the UN vote in favor of partitioning Mandatory Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state in 1947. In response, Britain ended its mandate on May 15, 1948, and the Palestinian Jews, who accepted the Partition Plan, declared the independent State of Israel. The Palestinian Arabs rejected the plan and together with 7 Arab states attacked Israel, in what is now known as Israel's War of Independence.
US recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel - On Dec. 6, 2017, US President Donald Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Trump added that the final borders of Jerusalem will be determined during negotiations. The US embassy was transferred from Tel Aviv and opened in Jerusalem on May 14, 2018, the anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence in 1948 according to the Gregorian calendar.
The terms "peaceful uprising/resistance,” and “popular uprising/resistance" are used by PA leaders at times to refer to peaceful protest and at times to refer to deadly terror attacks and terror waves. For example, Mahmoud Abbas defined as “peaceful popular” the murderous terror during the 2015-2016 terror wave (“The Knife Intifada”), in which 40 people were killed (36 Israelis, 1 Palestinian, 2 Americans and 1 Eritrean) and hundreds wounded in stabbings, shootings, and car ramming attacks. Abbas said: "We want peaceful popular uprising, and that’s what this is." https://palwatch.org/page/9276
UN Resolution 194 (Chapter 11, Dec. 11, 1948) states that "refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return." Palestinian leaders argue this means that all Arabs who left Israel during the war (hundreds of thousands) and their descendants (a few million) have a "right of return" to Israel. Israel argues that the resolution only calls for a limited return and only under certain conditions, especially focusing on the words "wishing to return... and live at peace with their neighbors."
Official PA TV program Palestine This Morning, on the Israel-UAE peace agreement – see note below, hosting Official Fatah Spokesman Osama Al-Qawasmi
Official Fatah Spokesman Osama Al-Qawasmi: “Certainly this step by the UAE towards normalization is popularly, officially, nationally, religiously, and morally unacceptable. Allow me to explain what the word normalization means between the UAE and Israel – that the affairs are natural, 100%, on the political, cultural, social, and media level, and these are the reciprocal media tours that we see of members of the press from the UAE inside the Israeli occupation entity state and the exact opposite; and [it means] that the ugly Israeli actions that contradict international law, which the occupation is committing, and the ugly actions against the Palestinian people, the last of which was the execution of a Palestinian youth in Jerusalem yesterday [Aug. 17, 2020] (refers to terrorist stabbing and wounding an Israeli border police officer before being shot and killed. The attack was caught on security cameras –Ed.), are all a completely natural matter…
But they [the UAE] have changed this principle, and they want to stand with Israel against the Palestinian people. The political danger, my dear brothers, lies in this being a deviation from the Arab Peace Initiative – in how this will open the door for states that have aspirations but are embarrassed to a certain degree, and it will encourage some of the remaining states to hurry towards normalization – with whom? With the Israeli entity that is stealing the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the first direction for [Muslim] prayer, the second of the mosques, and the third in its sanctity for Islam…
It is our right in the Fatah Movement [and the right of] the Palestinian people to ask the decision makers in the UAE: Why [are you] rushing towards the Israeli entity? [Is it] a reward for their crimes against Arabness? A reward for their crimes that are occurring at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and Jerusalem? A reward for the murder of members of our Palestinian people? Is this how you behave? Have we learned from our history that Arabs stand with Arabs by making treaties with the enemy against the Palestinian people? Have we gone back [to being] like the Aws and Khazraj, or like the Dahis and Ghabra (refers to feuding Arab tribes that Islam’s Prophet Muhammad mediated between them according to Islam –Ed.).
Are we striking each other at the neck at the expense of the Palestinian cause? And the worst of it is that they are seeking an excuse – the Palestinian cause - they are using this cause [of normalization] in that it serves the Palestinian cause – lies and falsehoods! After all, this is obedience to the commands of the US and Israel. And unfortunately this is what is happening. Therefore we emphasize and call on the decision makers in the UAE to recant this step…
Read the history, this is Jerusalem and whoever plots against it goes to the trash can of history. This Jerusalem expresses the Arab history, narrative, and will. We are standing as the first line of defense, and believe me, Israel will target Abu Dhabi and Cairo and Mecca, and they will demand their alleged rights in all the Arab states in the shadow of this Arab weakness. Therefore, when we say to them ‘Stand with Palestine,’ we are demanding that they stand with themselves.”[Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, Aug. 18, 2020]
Headline: “The Gaza Strip: A procession against normalization with the participation of representatives from the national and Islamic action factions”
“Palestinian flags waved and revolutionary songs were heard during a mass-participant national unity procession that the national forces and social activists organized yesterday [Aug. 19, 2020] under the slogan ‘Normalization is Treason’ (refers to Israel-UAE peace agreement –Ed.). The procession set out from UNRWA Junction and reached Ansar Square that is in the western Gaza Strip…
Fatah Movement Central Committee member [and Fatah Commissioner of Mobilization and Organization in Gaza] Ahmed Helles gave a speech during which he emphasized that our people embodies unity against the plots that are targeting the Palestinian cause…
He said that… we all must unite to defend our national enterprise and defend our holy sites, our people, and our land…
Senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya welcomed [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas’ call on the [Palestinian faction] secretary-generals to formulate a national strategy to deal with the challenges. He noted that this will contribute to the development of the PLO so that it will become a uniting national home that will include all our people’s groups without exception on the basis of partnership, comprehensive resistance, and struggle against the occupation, especially because no options are left other than confrontation.”[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 20, 2020]
Headline: “Zarif in a phone call with Al-Malki: Iran’s support for the Palestinian people’s rights is firm”
“[PA] Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad Al-Malki received a phone call yesterday evening [Aug. 15, 2020] from his Iranian counterpart [Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad] Javad Zarif.
Zarif emphasized Iran’s solidarity with the Palestinian people and its leadership in the situation that has been created following the UAE’s decision to normalize relations with the occupation state, Israel (see note below –Ed.)…
He emphasized that the current stage necessitates Palestinian unity at the highest level, and therefore he asked the Hamas Movement and [Islamic] Jihad Movement in conversations with them to implement this unity, in response to the UAE’s latest step. He also asked them to carry out coordination and cooperation regarding this matter with [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas.
Zarif expressed the Islamic Republic of Iran’s willingness to extend a hand to help and carry out cooperation in any future step in the regional and international forums, in order to support Palestine and defend its rights.
Al-Malki thanked his counterpart Zarif for this gesture. He emphasized… the Palestinian leadership’s determination to unite all of the efforts by the parties, streams, and factions in order to deal with the threats… which includes coordination with all the Palestinian factions, including Hamas and [Islamic] Jihad.
Minister Zarif emphasized that this blow must strengthen us – and it indeed is doing this – against all the plots that are being woven against us. He also asked to convey his blessings to the heroic Palestinian people and the Palestinian leadership led by President Mahmoud Abbas. The two ministers agreed to stay in contact and hold meetings between them soon. They also agreed that it is important to carry out coordination in all the regional and international forums.”[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 16, 2020]