Israel Matzav

Riots in Umm el-Fahm

70 Israelis went to Umm el-Fahm today for a protest that called for making the violent Islamic Movement, Northern Front illegal. Umm el-Fahm is a town that is within the 1949 armistice lines. It is located alongside a major Israeli highway (Highway 65), and for years, its residents have resisted attempts to move that highway in order to let traffic flow better, because they have strip malls set up along the highway from which they make a lot of money. Of course, that doesn't stop the residents from occasionally throwing stones at Israeli cars.

Like a similar protest there last year, the town was chosen because it is the home of Raed Sallah (pictured), the leader of the Islamic Movement, Northern Front. Like last year, the march was permitted because the Supreme Court ordered the police to permit it (a rare case of the law being consistently applied). The date was chosen because it was the day after Rabbi Meir Kahane's 20th yahrtzeit. Kahane called for 'transferring' Arabs out of Israel because he believed that they would never live in peace with Israel's Jews.

Here are some more details.

Police dispersed rioting Umm El-Fahm Arabs with tear gas and stun grenades Wednesday morning as 70 nationalists arrived on buses to demand that the Islamic Movement be outlawed as a terror group.

Arabs began throwing bricks and large rocks at security forces as the buses arrived, and the police immediately tried to prevent the possibility of any confrontation with the nationalists, led by Baruch Marzel and Itamar Ben-Gvir. Five policemen were wounded, and two Arab Knesset Members claimed they were lightly injured.

Police distanced the Arabs the moment the activists’ buses entered the city, located on the highway between the central Mediterranean Coast and the Jordan Valley.

An Umm El-Fahm resident told Voice of Israel government radio that the nationalists "have no right to be here” and that if hundreds of police were not on hand, the Jewish protesters ”would not return home” alive. The radio channel also reported that “one Arab threw one stone”, but a live video showed that dozens of Arabs threw a large number of rocks and foreign objects at police.

The High Court overruled a police denial of a permit for the nationalists’ protest. It allowed them to demonstrate in front of Islamic Movement headquarters but barred the rally from approaching the home of Raad Salah, head of the northern chapter of the Islamic Movement.

...

MK Ben-Ari said that the Islamic Movement, whose northern branch is headquartered in Umm El-Fahm, incites terror and should be determined illegal. Its northern branch leader, Raad Salah, is serving time in jail for previous violations and has been imprisoned several times.

He also was on board the IHH-sponsored Mavi Mamara ship, where IHH terror activists attacked Navy commandos last May 31 while trying to break the Israeli maritime embargo on Hamas-controlled Gaza. Salah gave a fiery and inciting speech before the attack.

As of this writing, there are only three videos online: Two from Press TV in Iran and one from al-Jazeera. I have all three of them for you. You will see that - for what it's worth - al-Jazeera (the last video) is much more truthful than Press TV.

Let's go to the videotape.



Let's go to the videotape.



You will note that the reporter refers to Umm el Fahm as being part of the northern occupied 'Palestinian' territories, but Umm el Fahm is within the 1949 armistice lines (it's part of the territory that Avigdor Lieberman wants to 'trade'). Note also that they refer to 'defending their town,' but all the protesters wanted to do was march through the town with signs calling for the disbanding of the violent Islamic Movement, Northern Front.

Here's another one. Let's go to the videotape.



Al-Jazeera seems a bit more fair than Press TV.... But note how they refer to 'Israeli Arabs' as 'Palestinians.' Funny - the residents of Umm el-Fahm keep saying that they don't want to become part of 'Palestine.' Hmmm.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:18 PM