Israeli Arabs understand they are not part of Israel, says PA official
Official PA TV, special broadcast on violent Arab riots and Hamas rocket barrages
PLO-affiliated Palestinian Planning Center Investigator Jamal Al-Baba: “The Zionist project is based on three foundations: The first foundation is taking control of the Palestinian lands. The second foundation is bringing in new Zionist immigrants. And the third foundation is the expulsion of the original Palestinian residents from this land. What is happening in the Sheikh Jarrah [neighborhood of Jerusalem] is a miniature model of this Zionist outlook: Uprooting the Palestinian residents and replacing them with Zionist residents who are foreign to this land.”
(Refers to planned eviction of several Arab families illegally living in properties owned by Jews who were expelled in the 1948 Israeli War of Independence -Ed.)
Official PA TV host: “But [Israel] has lost control over these cities where the Arabs are within the occupation state. This is apparently the first time in the history of the State of Israel since its establishment that we are seeing such things.”
Jamal Al-Baba: “Well put, but I am less interested in the fact that it has lost control.”
Host: “It is the response.”
Jamal Al-Baba: “Rather the idea and the response. There is a deep understanding among these [Arab] residents that they are not part of this [Zionist] entity, but rather they are part of noble Palestine. That is the idea that has formed. This idea will seep in, strengthen, and be passed on to this generation and the next generation.”
[Official PA TV, May 12, 2021]
Fatah/Hamas Riot and Rocket War 2021 – On April 30, 2021, facing certain electoral defeat, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas cancelled the first PA elections scheduled in 15 years. Hamas, which expected to win the elections, denounced it as a “coup.” In need of a conflict to divert public discontent, Abbas artificially generated a crisis over Jerusalem. His Fatah party called for "raising the level of confrontation,” and Abbas' spokesman told Palestinians "the battle of all battles is here.” Jerusalem Arabs responded by attacking Jews with rocks and Molotov cocktails. Hamas, Abbas' political rival, could not allow Abbas to lead the battle, so on May 10, 2021, Hamas launched rocket barrages targeting Israeli population centers including Jerusalem. Over the next 11 days, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired over 4,300 rockets into southern and central Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing 9 Israelis and 3 foreign nationals, and wounding hundreds. In response, Israel launched Operation Guardian of the Walls to target Hamas terror leaders and terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. Already in mid-April, a planned eviction of some Palestinian families illegally living in Jewish-owned buildings in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem had led to clashes between Palestinian residents and Israeli police. This dispute provided Palestinians with a pretext for violent rioting. Adding to the crisis, Israeli Arabs started rioting throughout Israel, especially in cities with a mixed Jewish and Arab population. Two Jews were murdered and many were wounded. According to Walla, an independent Israeli news site, 10 synagogues were wholly or partly burned down; fires were set in 112 Jewish homes and 1 Arab home mistaken for a Jewish home; 386 Jewish homes were plundered and 673 were damaged; 849 cars were set ablaze; and there were 5,018 rock-throwing attacks. In response, Jews started attacking Arabs and their properties as well, but on a much smaller scale. No mosques were burned; 13 Arab homes were damaged; 13 Arab-owned cars were burned; and there were 41 rock-throwing attacks by Jews. [Walla, May 16, 2021] The fighting between Israel and Hamas ended with a ceasefire on May 21, 2021.