Official PA daily attacks the New York Times for publishing an article highlighting corruption in the PA
Headline: "The New York Times spits poison…”
"The [PA] Ministry of Information said: 'The New York Times paper and journalist Roger Cohen did not act objectively and harmed the Palestinian people when the paper published deceptions (An article was published noting corruption and other issues in PA Chairman Abbas’ government; see note below –Ed.)…
[PA] President Mahmoud Abbas is the elected president of a people that is under a despicable occupation, which is supported by an American administration that has lost its direction as a power that guarantees the world's security and global peace…'
The ministry emphasized: ‘The Palestinian people has much understanding and awareness, and it knows well the meaning of freedom and good governance. It is not waiting for Cohen or The New York Times in order to determine the appropriate type of Palestinian democracy or the character of governance in Palestine, which yearns for freedom and independence. This is a people that is determined to fulfill this role in a democratic manner, and it held elections despite the occupation.’
[The ministry] said: 'We hoped that The New York Times, the leading paper with a history, would act objectively and credibly, and would write about the occupation, its crimes, its violation of international conventions and the decisions of the [UN] Security Council, and about the intentional burning of children, such as the Dawabsheh family and the youth Muhammad Abu Khdeir. (These were crimes committed by individuals, not the State of Israel -Ed. See below.) [We hoped] that this paper would carefully check the laws of terror and racism against the Palestinian people and its interests, which the occupation's parliament is discussing.’"
New York Times journalist Roger Cohen wrote an article called It’s Time for Abbas to Go, which was published on Jan. 27, 2018, noting the corruption of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ government, the fact that he was elected to a four year term in 2005 and has remained in office since then, the undermining of an independent judiciary branch, and the growing climate of fear and lack of free press under his rule.
Duma arson attack - On July 31, 2015, two Palestinian houses in the West Bank village of Duma were set afire by Molotov cocktails thrown through their windows. 18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh was murdered in this attack, as was his father, Saad Dawabsheh and mother, Reham Dawabsheh, who both died of their injuries later. The only survivor of the attack was the couple’s other son, 4-year-old Ahmad, who suffered burns on 60% of his body and was treated in Israel. Israeli leaders and citizens from all sectors of society condemned this attack, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas that all Israelis were disgusted by the crime, adding, “We will not countenance terrorism of any kind.” He ordered the security forces "to use all means at their disposal to apprehend the murderers and bring them to justice forthwith." Israeli Police has treated the attack as a nationalistic crime carried out by Jewish extremists in revenge for Palestinian terror attacks. In early December 2015, Israeli police arrested several Jewish extremists who were believed to have been involved in the attack, and in January 2016, Israel indicted 21-year-old Amiram Ben Uliel, a member of the radical Jewish group “Hilltop Youth,” with three counts of murder, attempted murder, arson and conspiracy to commit a nationalistically-motivated crime. Ben Uliel confessed to police that he carried out the attack in revenge for the murder of Malachi Rosenfeld, an Israeli who was shot and murdered in a terror attack in the West Bank. Ben Uliel's defense has claimed that his confession was made under torture and suspicions have been raised that the arson and three other subsequent arson attacks against other Dawabshe family members are part of a family feud. Ben Uliel's trial is still pending. A minor whose name remains under a police gag order was also charged.
Muhammad Abu Khdeir - Palestinian teen kidnapped and murdered by Israeli extremists in Jerusalem on July 2, 2014, in revenge for the kidnapping and murder of Israeli teens Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar and Naftali Fraenkel in the West Bank on June 12. Following Abu Khdeir’s murder, Palestinians took to the streets of East Jerusalem in violent and continuous protests. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli ministers immediately condemned the revenge murder in the strongest terms. Israeli police arrested six Israeli suspects on July 6 of whom three confessed to murdering Khdeir. One of the murderers, Yosef Ben-David, is serving 1 life sentence and an additional 20 years. His two accomplices, both unnamed minors, are serving 1 life sentence and 21 years respectively.
"The [PA] Ministry of Information said: 'The New York Times paper and journalist Roger Cohen did not act objectively and harmed the Palestinian people when the paper published deceptions (An article was published noting corruption and other issues in PA Chairman Abbas’ government; see note below –Ed.)…
[PA] President Mahmoud Abbas is the elected president of a people that is under a despicable occupation, which is supported by an American administration that has lost its direction as a power that guarantees the world's security and global peace…'
The ministry emphasized: ‘The Palestinian people has much understanding and awareness, and it knows well the meaning of freedom and good governance. It is not waiting for Cohen or The New York Times in order to determine the appropriate type of Palestinian democracy or the character of governance in Palestine, which yearns for freedom and independence. This is a people that is determined to fulfill this role in a democratic manner, and it held elections despite the occupation.’
[The ministry] said: 'We hoped that The New York Times, the leading paper with a history, would act objectively and credibly, and would write about the occupation, its crimes, its violation of international conventions and the decisions of the [UN] Security Council, and about the intentional burning of children, such as the Dawabsheh family and the youth Muhammad Abu Khdeir. (These were crimes committed by individuals, not the State of Israel -Ed. See below.) [We hoped] that this paper would carefully check the laws of terror and racism against the Palestinian people and its interests, which the occupation's parliament is discussing.’"
New York Times journalist Roger Cohen wrote an article called It’s Time for Abbas to Go, which was published on Jan. 27, 2018, noting the corruption of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ government, the fact that he was elected to a four year term in 2005 and has remained in office since then, the undermining of an independent judiciary branch, and the growing climate of fear and lack of free press under his rule.
Duma arson attack - On July 31, 2015, two Palestinian houses in the West Bank village of Duma were set afire by Molotov cocktails thrown through their windows. 18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh was murdered in this attack, as was his father, Saad Dawabsheh and mother, Reham Dawabsheh, who both died of their injuries later. The only survivor of the attack was the couple’s other son, 4-year-old Ahmad, who suffered burns on 60% of his body and was treated in Israel. Israeli leaders and citizens from all sectors of society condemned this attack, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas that all Israelis were disgusted by the crime, adding, “We will not countenance terrorism of any kind.” He ordered the security forces "to use all means at their disposal to apprehend the murderers and bring them to justice forthwith." Israeli Police has treated the attack as a nationalistic crime carried out by Jewish extremists in revenge for Palestinian terror attacks. In early December 2015, Israeli police arrested several Jewish extremists who were believed to have been involved in the attack, and in January 2016, Israel indicted 21-year-old Amiram Ben Uliel, a member of the radical Jewish group “Hilltop Youth,” with three counts of murder, attempted murder, arson and conspiracy to commit a nationalistically-motivated crime. Ben Uliel confessed to police that he carried out the attack in revenge for the murder of Malachi Rosenfeld, an Israeli who was shot and murdered in a terror attack in the West Bank. Ben Uliel's defense has claimed that his confession was made under torture and suspicions have been raised that the arson and three other subsequent arson attacks against other Dawabshe family members are part of a family feud. Ben Uliel's trial is still pending. A minor whose name remains under a police gag order was also charged.
Muhammad Abu Khdeir - Palestinian teen kidnapped and murdered by Israeli extremists in Jerusalem on July 2, 2014, in revenge for the kidnapping and murder of Israeli teens Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar and Naftali Fraenkel in the West Bank on June 12. Following Abu Khdeir’s murder, Palestinians took to the streets of East Jerusalem in violent and continuous protests. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli ministers immediately condemned the revenge murder in the strongest terms. Israeli police arrested six Israeli suspects on July 6 of whom three confessed to murdering Khdeir. One of the murderers, Yosef Ben-David, is serving 1 life sentence and an additional 20 years. His two accomplices, both unnamed minors, are serving 1 life sentence and 21 years respectively.