|
Trending Topics
|
Why No Consequences for Abbas?
(Commentary) Jonathan S. Tobin - After the terrorist attack in Jaffa that took the life of an American tourist not far from where a visiting Vice President Biden was having dinner, PA leader Mahmoud Abbas responded that "occupation authorities" have killed 200 Palestinians in recent months, without mentioning the fact that almost all of those fatalities were individuals who were engaging in terror attacks. Official Palestinian Authority television - an entity that is directly controlled by Abbas' government - called the Jaffa terrorist a "martyr" who earned praise for a "complex operation." The report also referred to the slain American and the ten people injured as "settlers." This language is significant because it indicates once again that the government of Abbas, who has been lauded as a moderate and a champion for peace, thinks of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa beachfront as "occupied territory" inhabited by "settlers." It shows that he and the PA think of all of Israel as "occupied" and not just the West Bank or Jerusalem.