Abbas calls for "war for Allah" and the West Bank erupts in violence
Abbas calls for "war for Allah,"
and the West Bank erupts in violence
Intifada-style violence follows Abbas' call
for religious "war for Allah,"
causing 9 Palestinians' deaths
"The big explosion is coming...
No one will say that weapons are forbidden
in the West Bank"
by Itamar Marcus
Palestinian Media Watchreported on Thursday that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas had publicly declared the current conflict with Israel a religious "war for Allah." On Friday, the independent Palestinian news service Ma'an printed an opinion piece that likewise interpreted the last lines of Abbas' speech as a call to West Bank Palestinians to initiate violence:
"He gave the sign to let the [Palestinian] street in the West Bank loose. Isn't the Quranic verse he quoted during his last speech, 'Permission [to fight] has been given to those who are being fought, because they were wronged. And indeed, Allah is competent to give them victory' [Sura 22:39, trans. Sahih International] a clear sign to loosen the reins of the street?"
[Op-ed by Muhannad Ubeid, Ma'an (independent Palestinian news agency),
July 25, 2014]
Violence began immediately following Abbas' speech and peaked on Saturday, as reported in the Jerusalem Post: "Nine Palestinians were killed during clashes with the IDF and Border Police over the weekend, in one of the deadliest days in the West Bank in the last 10 years." [July 27, 2014]
A cartoon published in the official PA daily today similarly indicated that the PA seeks violence. The picture showed two masked men, one with a Molotov cocktail in hand and the other about to throw a rock, with a fire raging in the background. The Arabic text is a saying attributed to Muhammad regarding the end of the Ramadan fast: "The thirst has passed, and the throat is moist." In this context, the cartoon indicates that the period of quiet is over, and violence has returned.
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 26, 2014]
The writer of the Ma'an op-ed cited above explained that Abbas chose to encourage the West Bank to join in the violence for political reasons:
"Abbas realized that by staying outside the arena, he would be excluded from the political game. He also knows that the [Palestinian] street in the West Bank is ready for an explosion."
The op-ed also noted an explicit statement made by senior Fatah official Tawfiq Tirawi as another indication of Abbas' desire for violence:
"What is the meaning of Fatah Central Committee member Tawfiq Tirawi's statement regarding the West Bank's need to enter into an armed Intifada? It's been a long time since we heard a member of the Fatah leadership talk about weapons. The West Bank's entrance into the line of confrontation will reshuffle the cards, and the action is still just beginning."
Tirawi said in a TV interview that the violence we are witnessing now in the West Bank is just the beginning and will lead to a "big explosion":
Fatah Central Committee member Tawfiq Tirawi: "These are small explosions, which happen occasionally, but the big explosion is coming. The big explosion is coming. After the big explosion, no one will know where it will lead and what its results will be... It is legal to use all means - to shoot, throw stones, to hold a demonstration and a sit-down strike. All these means will be possible and permissible for our people, and let no one say that weapons are forbidden in the West Bank."
[Al-Mayadeen TV channel (Lebanon), July 24, 2014]
Furthermore, Abbas issued two statements in support of continuing the West Bank unrest. In one, the PA leadership called on its "great nation to engage in continued popular action," and in the second it urged Palestinians "to continue peaceful popular resistance." As noted, the current "popular actions" are not "peaceful."
Yasser Abd Rabbo reads the PLO leadership statement: "The Palestinian leadership called on the masses of our great nation to engage in continued popular action of the broadest scope, to express its firm support for the heroic Gaza Strip and its brave resistance to the aggression army and its unceasing crimes."
[Official PA TV, July 23, 2014]
"A statement published at the conclusion of the [PA leadership] meeting stated that... 'Even as the [PA] leadership emphasizes that it will continue to act to support the heroic Gaza Strip and to stem its flow of blood, it calls on all our people to continue peaceful popular resistance to support Gaza, its Martyrs (Shahids) and brave sons...'"
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 27, 2014]
PMW has reported on the PA and Abbas' Fatah movement policy of glorifying violenceand honoring terroristswho have murdered Israelis. Abbas and PA leaders have said many times that they do not reject violence but that violence needs proper timing. The writer of the op-ed in Ma'an understands that Abbas' decision to quote a Quran source justifying religious war, and the violence erupting in the West Bank subsequent to Abbas' speech, are indicators that Abbas considers this is an appropriate time for violence.
The following is a longer excerpt from the op-ed arguing that Mahmoud Abbas is behind the current West Bank violence:
Headline: "A single Quranic verse ignited the West Bank"
"Mahmoud Abbas read the situation well. In an implicit way, he fully supports the Egyptian initiative - for it is inconceivable that the West Bank could oppose Egypt. He acted slowly at first, convinced that Hamas would not endure Israeli fire for long. Yet it [Hamas] has withstood Israel's painful blows, and [even] embarrassed it by capturing the Israeli soldier.
Abbas realized that by staying outside the arena, he would be excluded from the political game. He also knows that the [Palestinian] street in the West Bank is ready for an explosion. Therefore, he gave the sign to let the [Palestinian] street in the West Bank loose. Isn't the Quranic verse he quoted during his last speech, "Permission [to fight] has been given to those who are being fought, because they were wronged. And indeed, Allah is competent to give them victory" [Sura 22:39, trans. Sahih International] a clear sign to loosen the reins on the street?
Furthermore, what is the meaning of Fatah Central Committee member Tawfiq Tirawi's statement regarding the West Bank's need to enter into an armed Intifada? It's been a long time since we heard a member of the Fatah leadership talk about weapons. The West Bank's entrance into the line of confrontation will reshuffle the cards, and the action is still just beginning. Israel will not agree to a third Intifada, and this is precisely what Abbas wants. He wants Israel to knock on his door in order to find a solution."
[Op-ed by Muhannad Ubeid, Ma'an (independent Palestinian news agency),
July 25, 2014]
Note: the captured Israeli soldier to which this article refers is Staff Sergeant Oron Shaul, who was declared MIA after his Armored Personnel Carrier was destroyed during combat in Gaza on July 17, 2014. Hamas claimed to have kidnapped him. On Friday, July 26, 2014, the IDF declared that Oron Shaul was 'a soldier killed in action whose burial site is unknown.'