What is Really Uniting the Palestinians?

by Bassam Tawil • October 15, 2017 at 5:00 am

Saleh Arouri and Hamas view the "reconciliation" agreement as Fatah moving closer to Hamas and not the other way around....The "reconciliation" agreement requires from Hamas only to dissolve its shadow government in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is not being asked to recognize Israel's right to exist, or renounce terrorism or lay down its arms. Hamas is not being asked to change its anti-Semitic charter, which openly calls for the elimination not only of Israel but of Jews: "The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews." (related by al-Bukhari and Moslem). (Hamas Charter, Article 7)
The "reconciliation" agreement is clearly a Fatah submission to Hamas and not vice versa. In his accord with Hamas, Abbas has signed onto Hamas's version of violent "resistance" against Israel and Jews. This is the real meaning of this Abbas-Hamas deal.

In the new "reconciliation" agreement between Hamas and Fatah, all that Hamas is being asked to do is to allow the Palestinian Authority government to manage civilian affairs in the Gaza Strip. Hamas will continue to maintain "security control" over the Gaza Strip. Pictured: Hamas "security forces" parade their weapons in Gaza City, on July 20, 2017. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Buoyed by the "reconciliation" agreement reached with President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority (PA), Hamas has announced that it seeks to unite all Palestinians in the fight against the "Zionist enterprise." In other words, Hamas views the agreement as a vehicle for rallying Palestinians behind it toward achieving its longtime goal of destroying Israel.

When Hamas talks about the "Zionist enterprise," it is referring to the establishment of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people. Hamas is not only opposed to the existence of Israel on what it and most Muslims perceive as "Muslim-owned" land; it reiterates, at every opportunity, its desire to annihilate Israel.

Those who think that the new "reconciliation" accord will have a moderating effect of Hamas are both blind and deaf to what Hamas itself has been stating both before and after the agreement. One has to give Hamas credit for being clear, honest and consistent about its goal of destroying Israel.

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"Our Lives Have Turned into Hell"
Muslim Persecution of Christians, May 2017

by Raymond Ibrahim • October 15, 2017 at 4:30 am

Long touted as a beacon of Muslim tolerance and moderation, Indonesia joined other repressive Muslim nations in May when it sentenced the Christian governor of Jakarta, known as "Ahok," to a two-year prison term on the charge that he committed "blasphemy" against Islam.
The blasphemy accusation is based on a video that Ahok made, in which he told voters that they were being deceived if they believed that Koran 5:51, as his opposition said, requires Muslims not to vote for a non-Muslim when there are Muslim candidates available. The Koran passage states: "O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you -- then indeed, he is one of them."
"Morocco's 2011 constitution allows for freedom of religion. The authorities claim to practice only a moderate form of Islam that leaves room for religious tolerance. Yet, in reality, Moroccan Christians still suffer from persecution." Mustafa said: "I was shunned at work. My children were bullied at school."

Indonesia joined other repressive Muslim nations in May when it sentenced the Christian governor of Jakarta, known as "Ahok," to a two-year prison term on the charge that he committed "blasphemy" against Islam. Pictured: Ahok on the day of his election, February 15, 2017. (Photo by Oscar Siagian/Getty Images)

One month after Islamic militants bombed two Egyptian churches during Palm Sunday and killed nearly 50 people in April 2017, several SUVs, on May 26, stopped two buses transporting dozens of Christians to the ancient Coptic Monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor in the desert south of Cairo. According to initial reports, approximately ten Islamic militants, heavily armed and dressed in military fatigues, "demanded that the passengers recite the Muslim profession of faith" — which is tantamount to converting to Islam. When they refused, the jihadis opened fire on them, killing 29 Christians, at least ten of whom were young children. Two girls were aged 2 and 4. Also killed was Mohsen Morkous, an American citizen described as "a simple man" whom "everyone loved," his two sons, and his two grandsons.

According to eyewitness accounts, the terrorists ordered the passengers to exit the bus in groups:

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China: Reshuffling the Party Cadres

by Amir Taheri • October 15, 2017 at 4:00 am

Pictured: The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, in November 2012. (Image source: Voice of America/Wikimedia Commons)

It is a testimony to the peculiarities of international attention to world events that while every tweet by US President Donald Trump triggers an avalanche of reports, analyses, and outright abuse, little attention is paid as the People's Republic of China prepares to hold its five-yearly National Congress of the Communist Party in Beijing.

And, yet, China is now established as the world's largest economy in gross domestic product (GDP) terms and the second-biggest exporter after Germany. It also has the world's fastest-growing portfolio of foreign investments with interests in 118 nations across the globe.

At the same time, at least 10 million Chinese are working abroad, almost always on projects sponsored by Beijing, helping transform large chunks of Africa, South America, and Asia.

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