by Nadav Shragai
Don't be deceived by
Palestinian strongman Jibril Rajoub, who became the darling of the
Israeli media on Sunday, or the "Palestinian prisoners" on whose behalf
he spoke. Most of these "prisoners" are terrorists. Many of them are
murderers who sowed blood, death and bereavement on our streets for many
years. Some of them continued to engage in terrorism from inside
prison.
The death of Arafat
Jaradat in an Israeli prison is a tragedy for his family. Israel is a
democracy brave enough to conduct an exhaustive investigation into his
death, but Jaradat's story should not obscure the facts about the story
of "Palestinian prisoners," a terror-glorifying myth that has been
cultivated for the past 20 years.
Jibril Rajoub, who was
released by Israel from a life sentence in 1985 as part of a prisoner
swap, spoke sweet words to the Israeli public on Israeli TV, shying away
from the phrase "third intifada." He promised that Israelis wouldn't be
killed and also tried to enlist some of us into the strategy of the
Palestinian struggle by calling on the "forces of peace" to "act against
the right wing in Israel." Rajoub has sounded moderate tones before
that are sweet to the ears of some Israelis, but Rajoub plays a
different tune when talking to his own people.
Just three years ago
(May 2010), Rajoub explained that he was "building a school to
strengthen the steadfastness of his people as a form of resistance and
that when there is a need to throw a grenade or launch a rocket, I will
also do this." Three months later (Aug. 2010), Rajoub reported that the
Sixth Fatah Conference had approved "struggle in any form, including
resistance and armed struggle."
Last May, Rajoub
explained to Arab sports journalists that "Israelis are devils and
Zionists — sons of dogs." After the U.N. granted non-member observer
state status to the Palestinians, Rajoub said on Palestinian television
(Nov. 29, 2012): "These settlers — their place is in the garbage cans of
history ... those who enter our region will leave on a wood panel
[i.e., a coffin] ... we won't return the sword to the sheath until the
establishment of a state. Resistance — in all its forms — is the
strategic choice of Fatah."
Recent comments by
Rajoub and other Palestinian officials outline what they expect will
occur. They are counting on a split within the Israeli people, with the
Left supporting the Palestinian "popular struggle." It is quite possible
that soon the Palestinians will try to test the Israeli public's
attitude toward attacks on settlers, based on the assumption that as
long the attacks take place on the other side of the Green Line, the
Israeli public won't be perturbed. We must not fall into this trap. We
cannot agree to this.
The Palestinians could have come
for talks with us long ago. They have now found an excuse, like the
other excuses they found in the past, to ignite the area and try to
cause us to give up on the few red lines we still have. This is a test
that we must meet. We cannot let violence pay off for the Palestinians.
Nadav Shragai
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=3521
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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