Palestinians: The Real Goal of the Intifada
by Bassam Tawil • November 29, 2015 at 5:00 am
- Abbas seems intentionally to ignore that he and his Palestinian Authority are responsible for the violence, as a result of their daily incitement against Israel.
- A recent poll found that 48% of Palestinians interviewed believe that the real goal of the "intifada" is to "liberate all of Palestine." In other words, approximately half of Palestinians believe that the "intifada" should lead to the destruction of Israel, which would be replaced with a Palestinian state -- one that now would be ruled by Hamas and jihadi organizations such as Islamic State and Al-Qaeda.
- It is notable that only 11% of respondents said the goal of the "intifada" should be to "liberate" only those territories captured by Israel in 1967.
- The Palestinians do not, according to the poll, have a problem with "settlements" or "poor living conditions." They have a problem with Israel's existence. Palestinians do not see a difference between a West Bank "settlement" and cities inside Israel -- or differentiate between Jews living there. They are all depicted as "settlers" and "colonialists."
- This contradicts Abbas's claim that the Palestinians want a "peaceful and popular" uprising. The Palestinians are not, as their leaders claim, seeking a two-state solution.
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As the current Palestinian campaign of terrorism against Israel is about to enter its third month, it is still not clear to many what the Palestinians are trying to achieve. The Palestinians cannot even agree on a name for their campaign. Some are referring to it as an "intifada," while others are describing it as a "Habba Jamahiriya" ["popular puff," or "flurry"].
The Palestinians also have not been able to agree on the motives behind the stabbing, shooting, firebombing and car-ramming attacks. Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly claimed during the past few weeks that the terrorists are setting out to kill Jews out of "despair and frustration" and the lack of a "political horizon." But Abbas seems intentionally to be ignoring that it is he and his Palestinian Authority who are responsible -- together with Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian factions -- for the violence, as a result of their daily incitement against Israel.
5000-year-old Assyrian Culture Facing Devastation
by Uzay Bulut • November 29, 2015 at 4:00 am
- "After all, killing the 'kafirs' [non-believers of Islam] was a 'good deed'. They were told 'their place in heaven was guaranteed.' Just like ISIS gangs... and that they would also take their relatives in hell to heaven." — Sabri Atman, Assyrian Genocide and Research Center.
- When ISIS invaded Mosul in August 2014, Christian families were told by ISIS: "We offer [Christians] three choices: Islam; the dhimma contract -- involving payment... if they refuse this, they will have nothing but the sword."
- "There is a great parallel between 1915 and what is going on in the Middle East today. ... The most effective way to prevent future slaughter is to condemn past slaughter. Denying such a big crime means its continuation. The wish for genocide still exists in the Middle East." — Sabri Atman.
- "The Turkish authorities let a few Assyrians stay to show Europe and the world how good-hearted and tolerant Turkey and Islam are. ... And they say, 'Assyrians lead their lives so happily thanks to this great tolerance!'" — Sabri Atman.
Left: A memorial in France commemorating the 1915 Assyrian Genocide in Turkey. Right: An Islamic State member destroys a Christian tombstone in Mosul, Iraq, in April 2015.
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The recent invasions and massacres committed by the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda terrorists in Iraq and Syria have brought a persecuted but mostly forgotten people to the attention of the world: the Assyrians.
The Assyrians, a native people of Mesopotamia, have been exposed to massacres before -- throughout history, in fact.
Due to these campaigns of extermination, the demographic character of the region has been changed greatly.
Before 1915, the population of the territory that is now Turkey was about 15 million, about 4.5 million of which was Christian (nearly a third). Today, one can hardly even talk of a Christian minority. The approximate population of Turkey is 80 million, but there are only around 120,000 Christians, less than 1% of the population.
