PA daily columnist: Israel behind Charlie Hebdo terror attacks and maybe even behind 9/11
Op-ed by Osama Al-Fara, regular columnist for Al-Hayat Al-Jadida:
“After the breakup of the eastern bloc, the West had to redefine itself, which required it to define its enemy, and the Zionist lobby worked to convince the Neo-Conservatives to define Islamic extremism as enemy number one. Islamic extremism never had the influence that would have enabled it to assume this position, but then the attack on the trade towers (i.e., World Trade Center) in Manhattan, New York occurred on September 11, 2001, and immediately, voices were heard calling for the West to wage an uncompromising war on Al-Qaeda.
Whoever examines the events of September [2001], finds himself faced with a series of doubt-raising questions: Was Al-Qaeda capable of carrying out such a complex operation (i.e., terror attack) in the heart of the world’s greatest power? And [even] if Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for [the attack] later, did it carry it out alone or was there a secret power helping it? And was the filming of the incident with such skill and from positions allowing for such clear filming merely incidental?
At the beginning of this year [2015], the Charlie Hebdo incident occurred in France. Despite the evident link that was established between the incident and the pictures insulting the Prophet Muhammad published by the magazine, the choice of France in particular – especially given that a Danish newspaper had done the same offensive thing before it – raises several questions, especially if we recall the timing of the incident and the parties that stood to profit from it: Last December, the French parliament voted in favor of a decision calling on the French government to recognize the Palestinian state. Although the parliament’s decision does not obligate the government, this did not prevent the Israeli prime minister from describing it as a grave mistake, and Israel had previously warned the French government of the dire consequences of voting [in favor of Palestine].
In addition, a few days before the Charlie Hebdo incident, the French government voted in the [UN] Security Council in favor of a decision calling to end the occupation and to establish a Palestinian state along the June 1967 borders by the end of 2017.
It may be difficult to see a connection between the French vote and the magazine incident, but a few details of the incident suggest the possibility that such a link does exist: How did an Israeli journalist manage to film the incident? Why were there Israelis on the [roof of the] magazine building? Why did the car used in the incident stop near a Jewish store? And is it a coincidence that the hostages were taken in a Jewish store [of all places]? Couldn’t the French Security Forces have arrested the perpetrators without killing them, especially as their interrogation might have led to additional information on their activity in France? Or was their liquidation necessary in order to prevent further delving into the case? And did the French officer entrusted with investigating the Charlie Hebdo incident really commit suicide? History may not be all conspiracies, but conspiracies do exist in history.”
Note: Charlie Hebdo terror attacks in France - On Jan. 7, 2015, Muslim terrorists Cherif and Said Kouachi carried out a shooting attack at the Paris office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. 12 people were killed in the attack, which was a response to cartoons the magazine published about Islam's Prophet Muhammad. On Jan. 8, in a connected attack, Muslim terrorist Amely Coulibaly shot and killed a policewoman in Paris and on Jan. 9, he shot and killed 4 Jewish shoppers at a Paris kosher supermarket.
While Abbas officially condemned the terror attacks in France, PMW has documented different PA reactions to the attacks. Some have condemned them while at the same time condemning Charlie Hebdo for mocking Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Others have compared the terror attacks in France to Israeli "terrorism" against Palestinians, and some have even claimed that Israel was behind the attacks.
Muhammad cartoon controversy - In September 2005, the Danish daily Jyllandsposten printed 12 drawings by different artists depicting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. As Islamic law prohibits portraying Muhammad visually, the cartoons caused global Muslims protests, including violence in many Muslim countries. Danish diplomatic missions were attacked, Danish flags were burnt and Danish goods were boycotted. Muslim organizations in Denmark urged the government act against the paper that published the cartoons but the government refused, stating that freedom of speech is a core Danish value. The most well-known drawing of the 12 showed Muhammad with a bomb in his turban.
“After the breakup of the eastern bloc, the West had to redefine itself, which required it to define its enemy, and the Zionist lobby worked to convince the Neo-Conservatives to define Islamic extremism as enemy number one. Islamic extremism never had the influence that would have enabled it to assume this position, but then the attack on the trade towers (i.e., World Trade Center) in Manhattan, New York occurred on September 11, 2001, and immediately, voices were heard calling for the West to wage an uncompromising war on Al-Qaeda.
Whoever examines the events of September [2001], finds himself faced with a series of doubt-raising questions: Was Al-Qaeda capable of carrying out such a complex operation (i.e., terror attack) in the heart of the world’s greatest power? And [even] if Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for [the attack] later, did it carry it out alone or was there a secret power helping it? And was the filming of the incident with such skill and from positions allowing for such clear filming merely incidental?
At the beginning of this year [2015], the Charlie Hebdo incident occurred in France. Despite the evident link that was established between the incident and the pictures insulting the Prophet Muhammad published by the magazine, the choice of France in particular – especially given that a Danish newspaper had done the same offensive thing before it – raises several questions, especially if we recall the timing of the incident and the parties that stood to profit from it: Last December, the French parliament voted in favor of a decision calling on the French government to recognize the Palestinian state. Although the parliament’s decision does not obligate the government, this did not prevent the Israeli prime minister from describing it as a grave mistake, and Israel had previously warned the French government of the dire consequences of voting [in favor of Palestine].
In addition, a few days before the Charlie Hebdo incident, the French government voted in the [UN] Security Council in favor of a decision calling to end the occupation and to establish a Palestinian state along the June 1967 borders by the end of 2017.
It may be difficult to see a connection between the French vote and the magazine incident, but a few details of the incident suggest the possibility that such a link does exist: How did an Israeli journalist manage to film the incident? Why were there Israelis on the [roof of the] magazine building? Why did the car used in the incident stop near a Jewish store? And is it a coincidence that the hostages were taken in a Jewish store [of all places]? Couldn’t the French Security Forces have arrested the perpetrators without killing them, especially as their interrogation might have led to additional information on their activity in France? Or was their liquidation necessary in order to prevent further delving into the case? And did the French officer entrusted with investigating the Charlie Hebdo incident really commit suicide? History may not be all conspiracies, but conspiracies do exist in history.”
Note: Charlie Hebdo terror attacks in France - On Jan. 7, 2015, Muslim terrorists Cherif and Said Kouachi carried out a shooting attack at the Paris office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. 12 people were killed in the attack, which was a response to cartoons the magazine published about Islam's Prophet Muhammad. On Jan. 8, in a connected attack, Muslim terrorist Amely Coulibaly shot and killed a policewoman in Paris and on Jan. 9, he shot and killed 4 Jewish shoppers at a Paris kosher supermarket.
While Abbas officially condemned the terror attacks in France, PMW has documented different PA reactions to the attacks. Some have condemned them while at the same time condemning Charlie Hebdo for mocking Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Others have compared the terror attacks in France to Israeli "terrorism" against Palestinians, and some have even claimed that Israel was behind the attacks.
Muhammad cartoon controversy - In September 2005, the Danish daily Jyllandsposten printed 12 drawings by different artists depicting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. As Islamic law prohibits portraying Muhammad visually, the cartoons caused global Muslims protests, including violence in many Muslim countries. Danish diplomatic missions were attacked, Danish flags were burnt and Danish goods were boycotted. Muslim organizations in Denmark urged the government act against the paper that published the cartoons but the government refused, stating that freedom of speech is a core Danish value. The most well-known drawing of the 12 showed Muhammad with a bomb in his turban.