Palestinians: Kerry and the Game of Obfuscation

by Khaled Abu Toameh
February 22, 2016 at 5:00 am

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7480/palestinians-john-kerry

Translations of this item:

This "intifada" is simply a further phase in a larger plan to destroy Israel. When the plan began officially, with the establishment of the PLO in 1964, there were no "settlements" -- not until after the June 1967 War -- so what exactly were the Palestinians planning to "liberate"?
The current conflict is not about "defending" any mosque from being contaminated by the "filthy feet" of Jews: it is about seeing Israel forced to its knees. Abbas and others seek to reap delicious political fruits from this "intifada."
Here is a novel idea: Kerry could put pressure on the Palestinian and Jordanian leadership to cease anti-Israeli incitement and indoctrination. Now that would be pressure well applied.
Abbas is expected to become a partner in the fight against ISIS and radical Islamist groups. All well and good. Why then is he not expected to stop cheering on and glorifying young Palestinians who attack Jewish Israelis?

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is back in town. This time he is meeting with Jordanian and Palestinian leaders about "ongoing security issues in the region and continued tensions between Israel and the Palestinians."

For those not involved in political newspeak, here is a translation:

"Ongoing security issues" = the Islamic State terror group (ISIS).

"Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians" = the ongoing wave of Palestinian stabbing, car-ramming and shooting attacks that began in October 2015.

Jordan and the Palestinian Authority (PA) fighting ISIS? Now that's an idea! Jordanian King Abdullah and PA President Mahmoud Abbas ending "tensions" between Israel and the Palestinians? Let's think about that.

Kerry comes back, but never calls a spade a spade. The "tensions" to which he deceptively alludes are knifings and car-rammings. And what is the biggest spade that Kerry avoids calling by its name? The new generation of Palestinians brainwashed to believe that Israel can be defeated with knives and car-attacks.

This "intifada" is simply a further phase in a larger plan to humiliate and destroy Israel. This plan began officially, with the establishment of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), in May 1964. At that time there were no "settlements" -- not until after the June 1967 War -- so what exactly were the Palestinians planning to "liberate"?

The plan continued in 1974, at the twelfth session of the Palestinian National Council in Cairo, with the 10-point "Phased Plan" (see Appendix below for full text of the Phased Plan). Article 2 called for "armed struggle" (terrorism) to establish "an independent combatant national authority" that is "liberated" from Israeli rule.

Contrary to Palestinian leaders' pap, the current conflict is not about "defending" any mosque from being contaminated by the "filthy feet" of Jews: it is about seeing Israel forced to its knees. Abbas and others seek to reap delicious political fruits from this "intifada."

That is why, in his meeting with Kerry, Abbas made it clear that he intends to pursue unilateral moves to impose a solution on Israel, with the help of the international community.

Abbas also told Kerry that he intends to continue with his efforts to seek a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel over "settlement construction."

Never mind that on Palestinian maps, all of Israel is regarded as one big "settlement."

But back to Kerry. His "tensions" imply two sides engaged in some kind of a dispute that has aggravated a situation and strained relations between them, instead of what it really is: Palestinians openly trying to supplant Israelis -- the entire state.

So the game of obfuscation continues. No doubt, we will witness more pressure on Israel to make concessions that will supposedly ease the "tensions."

Kerry and his friends either do not "get it" or do not want to "get it." Palestinians are waging an out-and-out war against Israel with the goal of making Israelis suffer to a point at which they will beg their leaders to capitulate. In the Palestinian view, such behavior pays off royally.

It is a Palestinian commonplace that the two previous uprisings -- in 1987 and 2000 -- brought major achievements to the Palestinians.

The first "intifada" led to Israel's recognition of the PLO as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinians" -- a move that was followed by the signing of the Oslo Accords and the creation of the Palestinian Authority.

The second "intifada," the Palestinians argue, led to Israel's full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2005.

And so we arrive at the newest wave of attacks. As the saying goes: Step-by-step.

Kerry would like to see an end to the Palestinian attacks on Israeli Jews. The only problem is that his vacuous rhetoric prevents him from having a snowball's chance in a Middle Eastern summer from attaining that goal.

Let us also not underestimate Palestinian Authority rejectionism. On the eve of the Kerry-Abbas meeting, Palestinian Authority officials were quoted as saying that they did not expect anything positive to come out of the talks "because the U.S. remains biased in favor of Israel."

As always, the Palestinian stance is, "My way or the highway."

Moreover, Kerry is dreaming if he thinks that President Mahmoud Abbas or King Abdullah are able to stop the attacks on Israelis. Neither has the mandate or the credibility to do so. In any case, they and their media outlets are too busy with their anti-Israeli ranting to do much on that score.

Thus far, not a word has been uttered by either of the two Arab leaders that could be even vaguely interpreted by their people as "stop killing Israelis." In the Palestinian Looking Glass, it is Israel that is responsible for the deadly attacks. After all, claims that are untrue about Israelis "storming and desecrating the Al-Aqsa Mosque and other Islamic holy sites" are provocative, to say the least.

Here is a novel idea: Kerry could put pressure on the Palestinian and Jordanian leadership to cease anti-Israeli incitement and indoctrination. Now that would be pressure well applied. And it does not even require funding.

President Abbas is expected to become a partner in the fight against ISIS and radical Islamist groups. All well and good. Why then is he not expected to stop cheering on and glorifying young Palestinians who attack Jewish Israelis?

When Kerry and his crew finally wake up to the fact that it is precisely this incitement that is driving Palestinians into the open arms of ISIS, Hamas and other terror groups, perhaps, finally, we will be able to hope for "easing tensions in the region."

Meanwhile, Kerry is back blathering about peace in the Middle East. Unfortunately, he seems incapable of calling a spade a spade -- especially when that spade's name is Palestinian prevarication.

Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.

Appendix

THE PLO'S PHASED PLAN

Political Programme
Adopted at the 12th Session of the Palestinian National Council Cairo, June 9, 1974
Text of the Phased Plan resolution:

The Palestinian National Council:

On the basis of the Palestinian National Charter and the Political Programme drawn up at the eleventh session, held from January 6-12, 1973; and from its belief that it is impossible for a permanent and just peace to be established in the area unless our Palestinian people recover all their national rights and, first and foremost, their rights to return and to self-determination on the whole of the soil of their homeland; and in the light of a study of the new political circumstances that have come into existence in the period between the Council's last and present sessions, resolves the following:

To reaffirm the Palestine Liberation Organization's previous attitude to Resolution 242, which obliterates the national right of our people and deals with the cause of our people as a problem of refugees. The Council therefore refuses to have anything to do with this resolution at any level, Arab or international, including the Geneva Conference.
The Liberation Organization will employ all means, and first and foremost armed struggle, to liberate Palestinian territory and to establish the independent combatant national authority for the people over every part of Palestinian territory that is liberated. This will require further changes being effected in the balance of power in favour of our people and their struggle.
The Liberation Organization will struggle against any proposal for a Palestinian entity the price of which is recognition, peace, secure frontiers, renunciation of national rights and the deprival of our people of their right to return and their right to self-determination on the soil of their homeland.
Any step taken towards liberation is a step towards the realization of the Liberation Organization's strategy of establishing the democratic Palestinian state specified in the resolutions of previous Palestinian National Councils.
Struggle along with the Jordanian national forces to establish a Jordanian-Palestinian national front whose aim will be to set up in Jordan a democratic national authority in close contact with the Palestinian entity that is established through the struggle.
The Liberation Organization will struggle to establish unity in struggle between the two peoples and between all the forces of the Arab liberation movement that are in agreement on this programme.
In the light of this programme, the Liberation Organization will struggle to strengthen national unity and to raise it to the level where it will be able to perform its national duties and tasks.
Once it is established, the Palestinian national authority will strive to achieve a union of the confrontation countries, with the aim of completing the liberation of all Palestinian territory, and as a step along the road to comprehensive Arab unity.
The Liberation Organization will strive to strengthen its solidarity with the socialist countries, and with forces of liberation and progress throughout the world, with the aim of frustration all the schemes of Zionism, reaction and imperialism.
In light of this programme, the leadership of the revolution will determine the tactics which will serve and make possible the realization of these objectives.

The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization will make every effort to implement this programme, and should a situation arise affecting the destiny and the future of the Palestinian people, the National Assembly will be convened in extraordinary session.

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Comment on this item

13 Reader Comments

Mark • Feb 25, 2016 at 16:40

The reason Mr. Kerry is forced to obfuscate, not only on this issue, but on broader policy issues, is because obfuscation is much preferable to demonstrating bias and incompetence.

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Robert Manzoni • Feb 24, 2016 at 08:41

The words "terrorist" and "Islamic" appear to be mutually exclusive terms, prevented, by some bizarre rules of grammar, from being used in the same sentence, when Obama or Kerry is speaking.

If Islam is a "Religion of Peace", how is the Quran to be interpreted, or the Hadith made to square with the acts of ISIS, who stick almost exactly to the injunctions in these diabolical texts?

What has happened to intellectual honesty? How did the world get to the point where words which were never uttered are ascribed to an individual, then used as evidence against him? And how is it that otherwise intelligent people who see and hear these dishonest comments can remain silent, even as children are taught hatred and murder?

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Mark

Robert Manzoni • Feb 26, 2016 at 20:32

You are quite correct Robert. We are in a phase of political correctness and Orwellian doublespeak. Why? Multifarious reasons no doubt, but some of the more obvious include the protection of ideological and political thought and positions which would otherwise collapse upon scrutiny.

As an example, by any definition of 'treaty', the multinational 'nuclear agreement' with Iran was in fact a treaty. The scope, impact, implication, profound for a diversity of nations, clearly make a treaty.

But Mr. Obama chose to call it a 'deal' or 'agreement' so he could henceforth avoid ratification in the Senate. The Congress was thus reduced to rhetorical protests or threats to pass related legislation which could be unhesitatingly vetoed. It does not reflect well upon the Congress that they allowed this to happen.

There are many, many other examples, where obfuscation for the benefit of pacified ideologues rules the day, and it does not bode well for the exchange of rational thought.

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Kyra Nelson • Feb 23, 2016 at 15:56

John Kerry is a champion gold-medalist in the field of blathering. He's pretty good at bloviating, too. Imagine having YOUR fate in this idiot's hands. Oh, wait......

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Harvey • Feb 23, 2016 at 10:27

As a Jew I have always appreciated your articles as you tell it like it is.

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Shimon Z. Klein • Feb 23, 2016 at 03:59

The US and John Kerry are naive when it comes to the Middle East and of course the Israel-Palestinian Conflict. They cannot come to the terms that democracy, human rights, not to mention women's rights are foreign to Middle Eastern Arab leaders. The proof is in their non-democratic rule. Western style democracy that the US wishes to accomplish in the tribalized Arab societies is not going to happen and the turmoil in the Middle East is proof of US failure, wherever they become involved. The reaction to US involvement is hostile because of US naivety. Perhaps Kerry is in denial because of his lack of understanding of the dynamics in the Middle East. The "occupation" is associated with the Palestinian desire to destroy Israel. Kerry is not going to change their attitude and hate for Israel. Hamas and the PA have closed the doors for negotiation with Israel. The Oslo Accords have failed totally as time has proved.

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steven L • Feb 22, 2016 at 11:46

The lack of seriousness from the West was demonstrated on day one of the creation of the UNRWA by the UN. For 68 years now, Israel accepted a defacto TSS. But the creation, and constant funding of an ANTI-Israel organization, all most EXCLUSIVELY by the West, is testimony to the lack of interest from the West to place the Palestinians in front of their responsibilities. All the rest is BS and BDS. Both the US and EU ignore equally their responsibilities. They are blinded by their own antisemitism.

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Mickey Oberman • Feb 22, 2016 at 11:06

Kerry is an Obama puppet, plain and simple. Obama pulls his strings and provides his words.

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John Miller • Feb 22, 2016 at 09:33

The foolishness and futility of man is exposed by the inerrant word of the God of Eternity, the Lord of all the earth.

In Genesis 15:18-21 the Spirit of God gives precise details of the land that God gave to Abraham and his descendants. This was part of the Abrahamic Covenant. It has never been rescinded, nor can it be, because it was unconditional. God cannot be unfaithful to a commitment He made which did not impose any condition on the one to whom it was made.

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waljay • Feb 22, 2016 at 08:56

For eight years there's been a Rabbit in the White House. For the last three years there's been a Frog in the State Department. Question: What can a Rabbit and a Frog do to oppose the Vipers of the Middle East? Answer: Not much.

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Neal • Feb 22, 2016 at 08:30

Hat's off to Toameh who calls it as it is. Temerity and lack of clarity and lack of moral courage undermine peace. Pray for Toameh's safety.

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Lia • Feb 22, 2016 at 07:32

We've all seen the truly awful consequences of Mr Kerry's deal-making. Mr Abbas had better be careful.

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robert davis • Feb 22, 2016 at 07:22

Toameh is an honest Arab but interpretation of the newspeak or even some slight pressures on the PA which Obama will never apply since he wants to destroy Israel as much as Abbas, would not change much and for not very long. The only real solution and to the long term is the eviction of all of these Arabs from Judea/Samaria/Gaza.

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