Israel Matzav

Israel fumes over US praise for Abu Bluff, Fayyad

Shavua tov, a good week to everyone.

Israel is said to be fuming over praise given to Abu Bluff and Salam Fayyad in US Special Envoy George Mitchell's interview with Charlie Rose on the Bloomberg network earlier this week.

Twice during the interview, on the Charlie Rose show, Mitchell called Fayyad an "impressive leader" and said that he and Abbas represented "strong and effective leadership for the Palestinian people."

Israel, in direct calls from the Prime Minister's Office to the White House and the State Department, has complained about both men.

The complaint against Abbas had to do with his sponsorship in late December of a ceremony celebrating the 50th birthday of Dalal Mughrabi, the terrorist who directed the 1978 Coastal Road Massacre, the worst terrorist attack in the country's history, where gunmen hijacked a bus and murdered 37 people, including 10 children. Mughrabi was killed during the attack.

On her recent birthday, the governor of Ramallah named a town square after her. A huge banner at the ceremony read, "Under the auspices of President Mahmoud Abbas, The Political and National Education Authority Ceremony on the anniversary of the birth of the bride of the cosmos, the shahida [martyr] Dalal Mughrabi."

Israel's complaint against Fayyad stemmed from his visit to the families of the three slain terrorists suspected of killing Chai near Shavei Shomron three weeks ago. The three men were killed by IDF soldiers on a raid meant to apprehend them.

Fayyad, according to what Israel told the Americans, referred to the men as martyrs.

Mitchell doesn't get it. Then again, he apparently didn't get it about Northern Ireland either. And he was considered so brilliant for that one.

The 'peace process' is in good hands. What could go wrong?

More on this story here.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:35 PM