INDEPENDENT NEWS

Terrorism As A Way Of Life

Published: Thu 18 Apr 2002 09:25 AM
My heart bleeds when I read the newspapers and articles on the internet nowadays. All over the world people are accusing Israel, the country I live in currently, of being “the most vile, terrorist-laden, diabolical and fascist state ever created in the history of man”.
I come from Germany but I see it as my duty to state the facts here, plain and simple.
Life might be complicated but the truth is not.
-Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East.
-Israel is the only country in the Middle East with civil rights for all its citizens, Jews and Arabs.
-Israel is the only country in the Middle East with a free press.
-Israel is the only country in the Middle East where women have equal rights
This stands in complete contradiction of course to the evil accusations Israel has to face today. So let us once again try to figure out the truth of what is really happening in this tiny, mostly Jewish state.
It is being accused of having committed terrible crimes against innocent men, women & children. Apparently there are even pictures of these atrocities to be found everywhere on the internet. On the other hand though, I have also seen many pictures, presentations, slideshows and videos of Palestinian crimes…And these are not only shown on the internet in attachment to articles filled with spite and open hatred, but on official Palestinian TV broadcasts.
Is encouraging your children to kill themselves and as many Jews as possible not a crime? You don’t believe me? I could hardly believe it myself, but I saw this with my own eyes on these TV channels. Children’s programs were interrupted by commercials saying “Drop your toys, pick up a gun and become a suicide terrorist!”
My eyes were opened further still to the hatred of Jews inherent at all levels of the Palestinian educational system by the video links suggested by M.Blumenfrucht (ie. http://www.terroristwatchonline.org/media/jihadforkids100k.wmv.asf).
These videos clearly show one of the main problems Israel is facing nowadays in its war against terrorism, the extremely efficient propaganda machine neatly set up by Arafat and his Palestinian Authority, financed with EU and US money intended for the Palestinian educational system.
A lot of money goes to financing terrorism too.
But instead of being praised for actively combating these incitements, Israel stands accused of being a terrorist state and using terrorist methods. These are obviously two very contradictory statements given to you by the opposing sides in this conflict. So let us try to figure out what exactly terrorism is and which of the two sides is guilty of committing it.
The standard example nowadays of terrorism is the World-Trade-Centre attack on 11.09.01 in New York City, when the whole world stood united (which does not happen very often), and declared it an act of terrorism.
This act killed thousands of innocent people and shocked and grieved the world.
In Israel, within hours of the attack, citizens spontaneously line up to donate blood, light candles, grieve the dead, and fly the American flag. A national day of mourning was declared as all Israeli flags were lowered to half mast, in respect and sympathy for the American tragedy. The Israeli government was among the first to offer a search and rescue team to help with the rescue efforts. Streets in Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem were even renamed ‘Pentagon Rd’ and Jaffa Street, the scene of numerous suicide bombings was temporarily renamed ‘New York Street’ to show solidarity with the American people.
Is this the reaction of a terrorist country? If so then the whole world should be accused alongside Israel for sharing its reactions and sentiments.
The whole world?
I should probably rephrase my last sentence and mention that some people did not feel the same way about this. While in London, Ottawa, Tel-Aviv and Moscow tens of thousands mourned, gave blood and participated in support rallies, others rejoiced.
In the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Lebanon, thousands of Palestinians danced and celebrated, chanting “God is Great”, firing in the air and handing out sweets.
This has been well documented by most of the international media but conveniently been forgotten by others.
"Allah, deal with the Jews, your enemies and the enemies of Islam. Deal with the crusaders, and America, and Europe behind them, O Lord of the worlds."
This was not a commercial made by and for Osama bin Laden, but a statement broadcast on the official Palestinian TV channel which ironically is being funded by the United States of America and the European Union.
A closer look into the Palestinians ties to terrorism reveals extraordinary facts:
”Top intelligence officials told Congress that the Lebanese Hezbollah and possibly Palestinian groups such as Hamas are suspected of helping the suicide pilots. Intelligence sources say that, despite religious differences and political rivalries, Hezbollah and bin Laden's Al-Qaeda have been working together for some time.
Bin Laden operative Ali Mohammed, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, testified about meetings between the Saudi millionaire and Hezbollah leaders. He also told of explosives training given to Al-Qaeda operatives by Hezbollah fighters. There is also evidence that both organizations were involved in the deadly Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia and the attack on the USS Cole in Yemen.
Representatives of Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terror organizations met in Beirut in February to form "a terrorist NATO" to fight the United States and Israel, sources said.” –
The New York Post, September 15, 2001
Do these names sound familiar? Of course! Everybody has heard of them and knows that they are the same terrorist groups that are carrying out the nearly daily attacks in Israel. Does that make them Terrorists, or merely passionate freedom fighters? The State Department gives us specific background information on the Hezbollah group:
“Activities: Known or suspected to have been involved in numerous anti-US terrorist attacks, including the suicide truck bombing of the US Embassy and US Marine barracks in Beirut in October 1983 and the US Embassy annex in Beirut in September 1984. Elements of the group were responsible for the kidnapping and detention of US and other Western hostages in Lebanon. The group also attacked the Israeli Embassy in Argentina in 1992.”
In fact we don’t have to specialize exclusively on the Hezbollah as all other groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Arafat’s own Fatah Movement and its suicide wing the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade can also be found on the US list of terrorist groups.
Israel is not mentioned. In spite of this, nearly all Islamic states agree on the fact that Israel is fighting with terrorist methods. But are they really? The Palestinians claim they have intentionally been killing and executing innocent people. If this had been the Israeli Defense Forces intention, wouldn’t it have been wiser to target them directly from the air? Why did they instead fight fierce battles with gunmen on the streets and thereby endanger their own lives while at the same time drastically reducing the possibility of accidentally killing innocent inhabitants?
This is not the only question that arises. If they really were trying to kill as many Palestinians a possible, why did hundreds of inhabitants get the chance to leave the area before the battle, being transported to safety by the Israelis? This does not indicate a ‘vicious terrorist action’.
Some rationalize this terrorist point of view in the Palestinian territories by saying that it is a minority of extreme militants who carry out and back these attacks, but a quick analysis of the social and educational systems in the territories shows this is not a minority view and never has been.
In fact, Arafat has never even made any attempt on Arab TV to deny that he supports these Palestinians terrorist groups:
“Turn on the TV - a sheik offers ‘blessings to whoever saved a bullet to put in a Jew's head.’ Open the mail - a letter from Arafat praises the Tel Aviv disco terrorist as a ‘model of manhood and sacrifice.’ Send a child to one of the Palestinian Authority's summer camps and he learns that murdering Jews will assure him a place in heaven. Click on the web site of Arafat's PLO faction and read how the killing must continue until ‘the Zionist state is demolished.’”
-- The Boston Globe, August 23, 2001
If you still do not believe the evidence pointing to the Palestinian Authority and Yasser Arafat as the true terrorists in this conflict, cast your mind back just a few years, when Arafat was known as the leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), one of the most vicious and murderous terrorist organisations ever seen. They, together with other groups such as the PFLP perfected methods such as airplane hijacking and hostage abduction. If you really want proof as to the intended methods of Arafat and his PLO (who incidentally fill many of the leading roles in the Palestinian Authority), read it in their own words in the Palestinian Nation Charter. This document which is the official doctrine of the PLO and contains the founding principles of the Palestinian Authority, contains paragraphs such as the following:
"Armed struggle is the only way to liberate Palestine. Thus it is the overall strategy, not merely a tactical phase."
"The partition of Palestine in 1947 and the establishment of the state of Israel are entirely illegal, regardless of the passage of time”
"The Arab Palestinian people, expressing themselves by the armed Palestinian revolution, reject all solutions which are substitutes for the total liberation of Palestine and reject all proposals aiming at the liquidation of the Palestinian problem, or its internationalization."
According to the Oslo accords, these paragraphs and many others in the charter were supposed to be removed, but these never occurred and it stands unchanged.
So it seems, when it really comes down to it, Yasser Arafat is just Osama bin Laden with extremely good PR!

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