| Palestinian Media Watch has documented that the official maps of the Palestinian Authority erase the entire State of Israel
and replace it with "Palestine." These maps appear in the offices of PA
officials, in schools and on monuments, just to name a few examples.
Before his first election, US President Obama criticized such maps that
anticipate a world without Israel, calling them a threat to Israel's
security:
"I will never compromise when it comes to Israel's security... Not
when there are terrorist groups and political leaders committed to
Israel's destruction. Not when there are maps across the Middle East
that don't even acknowledge Israel's existence." (emphasis added)
[AIPAC Conference, June 4, 2008]
 After
the UN vote in November 2012, the PA built a monument in a central
square in Bethlehem called "The State Monument," which shows the "State
of Palestine." However, the model of "Palestine" also includes all of
Israel, thereby erasing it completely. The monument celebrates the UN
vote on statehood as well as the first PLO/Fatah terror attack against
Israel in 1965, which is seen as the beginning of the Palestinian
"revolution" and Fatah's anniversary date. The words on the map-shaped
monument are:
"Birth certificate of the State of Palestine - Nov. 29, 2012,
The outbreak of the glorious revolution - Jan. 1, 1965"
It turned out that the monument was on President Obama's route in
Bethlehem, so in order to prevent him from seeing it, the PA had the
monument removed before he arrived, the official PA daily reported.
This, however, outraged the local Palestinians who witnessed its
removal:
 "In
the city, there are those who not only welcome the visit of the
American President, but are willing to go even further... Residents were
surprised to find that a model of the map of Palestine engraved with
details about the Nakba ("Catastrophe" i.e., Israel's creation) and an
olive tree were removed from the Al-Karkafa Square, to be replaced by a
model of what was described as a peace dove. This enraged many people
who gathered there."
PMW has documented that the PA hides its ideology, activities and goals
from the US and European donors, in order to get political support and
funding. The temporary removal of the map-shaped monument, so Obama
would not see it, is consistent with this deception policy. (See PMW's
book Deception for extensive documentation.)
In response to the popular anger that the PA daily had reported, the PA
then tried to deceive its own people as to the reason for the removal of
the monument. Two days after the first story appeared, the paper
reported on a press conference held by the Bethlehem District Governor
with the Mayor of Bethlehem, at which they claimed that the monument was
removed in order to be "redone" and expanded. The fact that it was
immediately before Obama's visit was coincidental, according to the PA.
In the words of the District Governor: "Everyone knows that Americans do
not dictate any Palestinian decisions."
The following are the two articles that appeared in the PA daily.
The first describes the PA's deception of Obama and the second describes
the PA's deception of its own people:
 "Obama's
upcoming visit to Bethlehem weighs heavily on the City of the Nativity.
Every day, reporters asked residents their opinion about the visit.
Most of them expressed opposition to US policy regarding the Palestinian
issue...
Activists laid a large picture of Obama on the ground at the
intersection of Bab Al-Dir, not far from the Church of the Nativity.
Cars drove over the picture and then it was burned.
It seems that in the city, there are
those who not only welcome the visit of the American President, but are
willing to go even further... Residents were surprised to find that a
model of the map of Palestine engraved with details about the Nakba
("the catastrophe," the Palestinian term for the establishment of the
State of Israel) and an olive tree were removed from the Al-Karkafa
Square, to be replaced by a model of what was described as a peace dove.
This enraged many people who gathered there."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 19, 2013]
"Bethlehem District Governor, Minister Abd Al-Fattah Hamail, and Mayor
Vera Baboun, held a press conference yesterday [March 20] to clarify
details of what happened to the State Monument and why it was removed...
Hamail said that it has been decided to redo the monument at the Nisan
Square, known as 'Khaikhoun Square,' and place a monument symbolizing
the Palestinian people's pursuit of freedom and peace next to the State
Monument, according to the proposal submitted by the artist Akram
Nastas. He also noted that the map engraved on the monument is the map
of Palestine, which represents national symbolism and is implanted in
the hearts of all Palestinians. He added that it is forbidden to
infringe on the patriotism of even one Palestinian, whether he is a
senior official or not. Hamail denied that Americans had any connection
to the subject (i.e., the removal of the map), and said: 'Everyone knows
that Americans do not dictate any Palestinian decisions, as the
Americans fought until the last minute against the decision to appeal to
the UN, and President Mahmoud Abbas rejected this intervention and
achieved the UN resolution regarding the [Palestinian] state. This
monument illustrates this policy, and no one can remove it, no matter
what happens.'"
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 21, 2013]
| 
No comments:
Post a Comment