Dahlan wants 'Palestinians' in Arab countries to be granted citizenship?
In an interview with the 'Palestinian' publication Maan, Fatah's former Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan hints that 'Palestinians' in Arab countries
should receive citizenship in the countries in which they reside.
Dahlan also criticized the PA and Fatah in particular for neglecting
Palestinian refugee camps in the Middle East, especially in Syria and
Lebanon.
"Why are we treating our people in those refugee
camps just as neglectfully as we treat our people in Jerusalem and the
Gaza Strip?" he asked."The PA spends only 0.003 percent of
its budget on the Palestinian refugees in Syria and Lebanon, and we are
talking about 600,000 Palestinian refugees living dire conditions and
deprived of the right to work, movement, education and medical
treatment, not to mention what Palestinian refugees in Syria have been
suffering as a result of the war," Dahlan alleged.
“I challenge whomever
to prove the opposite.”
Of course, the reason why 'Palestinians' are deprived of the right to work, movement, education and medical treatment is because they are not citizens of the countries in which they have lived for nearly 70 years. Here's
one example:
Lebanon
Around half of the 400,000 refugees live in camps, deprived of many
rights. Refugees don't have any property rights, no access to the
Lebanese healthcare system and there are certain restrictions on jobs we
are allowed to do. We are issued handwritten [travel documents](www.passport-collector.com/2011/08/10/lebanon-refugee-passport-for-palestine/)
of appalling quality (large size, cheap paper). The travel documents
don't even have a full date of birth, just the birth year. You probably
know about the Sabra and Chatila massacre (from the movie Waltz with
Bashir, perhaps my favorite animated movie) were 3000 Palestinian
civilians were killed in cold blood. These are at the top of my head,
I'm sure there's more. This is what a British MP Gerald Kaufman said in
2011 when he visited the camps:
When I went to Gaza in 2010 I thought I had seen the worst that could
be seen of the appalling predicament of Palestinians living in
conditions which no human being should be expected to endure. But what I
saw in the camps in Lebanon is far worse and far more hopeless. The
conditions are unspeakable, but for over 400,000 of our fellow human
beings this is their life: today, tomorrow and for a future that cannot
even be foreseen. At least in Gaza, frightful though the situation is,
the people are free within the confines of their blockaded prison. In
the camps of Lebanon they are not free.
UPDATE1: Since many here are blaming the PLO and its
involvement in the civil war. That's definitely true to a large extent,
however you're missing a few points. Most Palestinians refugees were
placed in camps in south Lebanon when they arrived. These camps were
gradually militarized and became the grounds for operations against
Israel and because the PLO had so much power back then, they started
making trouble and trying to control part of the country. So had the
Lebanon absorbed it's Palestinian population properly, this wouldn't
have happened.
But the reason that the Arab countries never absorbed their 'Palestinians' and made them citizens (except in Jordan - the article goes on to describe Syria, but they're not citizens there either) is because doing so would have meant giving up on holding them hostage to the Arab dream of destroying Israel - a dream that most of the Arab countries have themselves given up at this point, and that would no longer exist but for the Oslo Accords.
Even Dahlan himself admits that were it not for the 'Palestinian street,' the 'Palestinians' could live in peace in Israel.
The failures of PA leadership, in addition to repressive Israeli
policies in the occupied Palestinian territory, could have dire
consequences, Dahlan said.
"If this situation continues, we
will either yield to the occupation's conditions and rules -- which is
impossible at the popular level -- or have a popular uprising, which
will be very dangerous," he said, adding that the status quo could no
longer be sustained.
Because after seventy years of living the lie that they would one day return to their 'homes' in 'Palestine,' you can't quite tell these people in one day that the lie was a dream that's not going to come true. Of course, if you never start, you'll never be able to tell them either....
Dahlan strikes me as much more of a realist (although he is also a brutal murderer with
the blood of Israelis and Americans on his hands) than most of the 'Palestinian leadership.' But he still has a long way to go, and he's not very popular anyway, having been disgraced by Hamas when they took over Gaza.
Labels: Fatah, Mohamed Dahlan, Palestinian lies, Palestinian refugees, Palestinian state, PLO
Dahlan: Mahmoud Abbas is a Catastrophe; Negotiations Are "One Big Lie"
Mohammed Dahlan blasts Abu Bluff on Egyptian television. And he claims that Arafat wanted to accept the Clinton parameters in 2000, but that Abu Mazen and others prevented Arafat from doing so. Interesting theory, but probably revisionism.
Let's go to the videotape.
Faster, faster...
Labels: Abu Mazen, Fatah, Mohamed Dahlan
Abu Bluff declares himself a hero, because no one else will
Khaled Abu Toameh reports what's behind the
organized demonstrations in support of '
moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen (hint: they're not spontaneous) in
Ramallah. This is from the first link.
Before heading to Washington, Abbas instructed the PA to organize public rallies in the West Bank in his support.
PA employees and schoolchildren were sent into the streets to chant
slogans in support of Abbas, urging him not to succumb to U.S. pressure.
The rallies were intended to send a message to President Obama and
Secretary of State John Kerry that the Palestinian public is strongly
opposed to any concessions to Israel.
Upon Abbas' return to Ramalllah, the Palestinian Authority once again
organized rallies in support of him. On March 20 hundreds of PA
employees and schoolchildren were sent to welcome Abbas at his
presidential office and thank him for resisting U.S. pressure.
Bassam Zakarneh, chairman of the Palestinian Public Employees' Union, said that the rallies were aimed at thanking Abbas for resisting "pressure and conspiracies and upholding Palestinian rights."
The pro-Abbas rallies have drawn criticism from some Palestinians, who said they seemed reminiscent of demonstrations organized by dictators and their security agencies throughout the Arab world.
"These rallies are not real," complained West Bank university
professor Abdel Sattar Qassem.
"They are similar to what Arab
intelligence agencies have been doing -- using blackmail and
intimidation to force their public servants to show loyalty for the
ruler."
Abbas is now hoping to turn himself into a hero by telling his people
that he had the guts to say no to Obama and Kerry during his visit to
Washington.
Abbas is badly in need of public support, especially in light of
increased tensions inside his ruling Fatah faction. In the past few
days, these tensions have erupted into an all-out confrontation between
Abbas and ousted Fatah Central Committee member Mohamed Dahlan.
What could go wrong?
Labels: Abu Mazen, Barack Hussein Obama, John Kerry, Middle East peace process, Mohamed Dahlan, Palestinian state RIGHT NOW syndrome
Abu Mazen accuses Dahlan of killing Arafat
'
Moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen is accusing his Fatah arch-rival Mohamed Dahlan of
murdering Yasser Arafat.
Abbas lashed out at Dahlan, who is regularly cited as a possible
future president, during a Fatah meeting earlier this week, with his
comments later released to the press.
Abbas said an investigation
was carried out into Dahlan, for years Fatah's strongman in the Gaza
Strip, during the rule of former president Arafat. "It was found out
that six people were killed by orders from Dahlan," the president said.
He
added that Arafat had decided not to release the report. The iconic
Palestinian leader died in mysterious circumstances in 2004 and many of his supporters are certain he was poisoned.
Abbas
said he did not have any proof that Dahlan was involved, but he read
out several statements in which his 52-year-old rival had allegedly
criticized Arafat.
"Who killed Yasser Arafat? This is not
evidence, but indications that deserve consideration," said Abbas, who
has faced criticism from many Palestinians for pursuing apparently
gridlocked peace negotiations with Israel.
Dahlan isn't taking this lying down.
An angry Dahlan hit back on his Facebook page, saying Abbas's speech was
full of "lies ... stupidity and ignorance of the Palestinian reality."
He added that he would also "unveil the lies" surrounding the death of
Arafat, calling it "the most important and most dangerous issue of our
modern history."
There's much more.
Read the whole thing.
Faster, faster!
Labels: Abu Mazen, Fatah, Mohamed Dahlan, Yasser Arafat
Kerry's great 'moderate' hope doesn't represent Hamas... or Fatah either
Khaled Abu Toameh reports that as US Secretary of State John FN Kerry continues to 'negotiate' with '
moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen, it turns out that not only does Abu Mazen not represent Hamas...
he doesn't represent Fatah either.
Recently, Abbas dispatched a high-level Fatah delegation to the Gaza
Strip, prompting many Palestinians to speculate that the purpose of the
trip was to achieve reconciliation with Hamas. But it quickly transpired
that the Fatah delegation, headed by Abbas loyalist Nabil Sha'ath, was
sent to the Gaza Strip as part of Abbas's attempt to crush a
Dahlan-engineered rebellion against his leadership.
Many Palestinians were initially convinced that Abbas had resumed his
efforts to end the dispute between Fatah and Hamas. Reports in
Palestinian and Western media outlets even suggested that the two rival
parties had made progress towards achieving unity.
Fatah leaders, however, have now admitted that the visit was
primarily aimed at "restoring order" within their faction in the Gaza
Strip. Abbas, they revealed, was now seeking the help of Hamas help in
preventing Dahlan and other Fatah "rebels" from continuing to challenge
his leadership.
Some reports
have suggested that Sha'ath and members of his delegation had to flee
the Gaza Strip three days after their arrival following threats to their
lives from Dahlan and his supporters.
According to the reports, Sha'ath
even appealed to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to beef up
security at the hotel where he was staying in Gaza City, out of fear
that disgruntled Fatah activists might assassinate him or members of his
delegation.
Upon returning to Ramallah, Sha'ath rushed to accuse Dahlan and his supporters of plotting to overthrow Abbas. Sha'ath said
that Abbas was worried about attempts to create a schism within Fatah.
"All previous splits in Fatah ended in failure," Sha'ath said. "All
those who did break away from Fatah were eventually forced to become
agents for other countries."
In recent weeks, Abbas has taken a number of measures
that reflect his increased fear of Dahlan's moves to discredit him and
remove him from power. These measures include confiscating large sums of
money transferred from the United Arab Emirates to Dahlan loyalists in
the Gaza Strip.
...
Last week Abbas went further by threatening to expel all Dahlan loyalists from Fatah. Dahlan himself was expelled (by Abbas) from Fatah in 2011.
Palestinians in Ramallah said that the increased tensions in Fatah
mean that Abbas is beginning to lose his grip over the faction -- a fact
that Kerry and his team would not be able to ignore if and when they
force Abbas to sign any agreement with Israel.
Maybe when Abu Mazen quietly pushed to have
Marwan Barghouti stay locked up, he should have had Dahlan locked up as well. In any event, Kerry seems to have missed this completely. What a surprise.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Fatah, Gaza, Hamas, John Kerry, Marwan Barghouti, Mohamed Dahlan, Nabil Sha'ath, Palestinian state RIGHT NOW syndrome
Filling their sacks....
While I was in the US, there was a story, which I did not get to blog, that had Prime Minister Netanyahu secretly negotiating with '
moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen 's rival
Mohammed Dahlan.
If that story was true, I don't know why Prime Minister Netanyahu might have thought Dahlan to be any more pliable than Abu Mazen. In fact, Dahlan complains that the 'Palestinians' are negotiating from a weak position, and that
Abu Mazen is negotiating for his personal gain (well, the last part of that statement is almost certainly correct).
Speaking in an interview with Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida,
Dahlan, a long-time rival of Abbas and the former security commander in
the Gaza Strip, said that he was not against the principle of
negotiations, however the talks in their current form constitute "a
crime against the people fighting for freedom."
Dahlan said that Abbas had put together a negotiating team that was
ensuring him and a narrow circle around him Israeli and American support
without any regard for the plight of the Palestinian people.
He accused the Palestinian negotiators of "filling their sacks."
Dahlan
said that the Palestinians were "in a weak negotiating position"
because of Abbas and subject to "the cheap blackmail of the US
administration."
Dahlan knows all about
weak positions, doesn't he? On the other hand, he also knows how to take advantage of
American largesse as well as the next 'Palestinian' leader.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Middle East peace process, Mohamed Dahlan
Video: We've got a peace partner
John Kerry is negotiating 'peace' between Israel and '
moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen. Even if a 'peace agreement' were reached, would it be worth anything?
Let's go to the videotape.
Hmmm.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Gaza, Hamas, John Kerry, Judea and Samaria, Middle East peace process, Mohamed Dahlan
Hamas videos 'confession' of 'plotter' to reinstall Fatah's Dahlan in Gaza
Shavua tov, Gmar chatima tova v'Shana tova - a good week, a good finishing seal and a good year to all of you.
Hamas has posted a video of a 'collaborator' who 'confessed' to participating in an 'Israeli-Fatah' plot to reinstall Fatah's Mohamed Dahlan as the ruler of the Gaza Strip.
Let's go to the videotape (for those who don't have the patience to listen to eleven minutes of Arabic, there's a
summary below).
The man, whose identity was not revealed, claimed that Israel, the
Palestinian Authority and and some Arab countries were behind the plot.
He did not name the Arab countries.
The scheme, he added, envisages the return of the PA to the Gaza
Strip and appointing former Fatah operative Mohamed Dahlan as president
of the enclave. On Saturday, Dahlan, a former security commander in the
Gaza Strip, denied the allegation, saying Hamas was unable to face
growing popular anger against its oppression.
"I understood that
the goal was to stage a coup [against] Hamas," the man in the video
said, adding that PA officers belonging to the Preventive Security Force
had met with him in the Gaza Strip. "I was told that blood would be up
to the ankles in the Gaza Strip."
According to the man's
"confession," PA security agents who met with him in the Gaza Strip told
him that the mission of toppling Hamas should be completed in six
months.
"They instructed me to form cells in the southern Gaza
Strip," he added. "They told me that they have their own groups and
enough weapons in the northern Gaza Strip and that they are prepared to
put an end to Hamas's injustice. They also said that they have a lot of
money."
Islam Shahwan, spokesman for the Hamas-controlled Ministry
of Interior, claimed that the man was part of a group of "suspicious
elements" whose goal was to undermine the Islamist movement. Some of the
suspects were linked to Israel, he claimed.
Sounds to me like an invention of some vivid imaginations in Hamas.
Labels: collaborators, Fatah, Gaza, Hamas, Mohamed Dahlan
Pass the popcorn: Dahlan sues Abu Mazen for corruption in the International Criminal Court
Mohammed Dahlan, the man responsible for one of the worst terror attacks of the second intifada, in which three children in one family lost limbs in a
rocket attack on their school bus, is suing '
moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen for
corruption at the International Criminal Court in the Hague. He's being represented by an Israeli law firm (Hat Tip:
Mike P).
Dahlan, who currently resides in Dubai and
Europe, hired an Israeli law firm to file the complaint with the
International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily
reported on Wednesday. The firm is run by Zaki Kamal, the deputy
president of the Israel Bar Association, and his son, Kamal Kamal.
Dahlan claimed in his suit that Abbas was out
to get him because he was seen as a potential competitor for the
leadership of the PA.
Dahlan accused the Palestinian leader of
“tyrannical behavior the utter corruption of which, along with the
corruption of his family, is damaging to the Palestinian people and the
authority’s institutions,” the report said.
A copy of the suit was sent to Abbas, with no
response; copies were then sent to UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon, US
Secretary of State John Kerry, the Human Rights Commission, the
secretary of the European Union, and Quartet representative Tony Blair.
“I and my family have for a long time been
subjected to terror and harassment, persecution, arrests, defamation,
threats to life and damage to property,” Dahlan wrote. “The campaign
against me knows no moral or legal limits, nor even national
boundaries.”
...
Dahlan was a former Fatah leader in the Gaza Strip before the
organization’s ouster by Hamas in 2007. On his arrival in the West Bank,
he was blamed by colleagues for the loss of Gaza, sparking an intense
rivalry began between him and Abbas.
Two years ago he was expelled
from the territories after Abbas suspected him of organizing a coup.
Since then he has been become a wealthy businessman and one of the
closest confidants of the royal family in the UAE.
I don't know what makes him think the ICC has jurisdiction, but pass popcorn....
P.S. Did you all pick up on the fact that the deputy chairman of the Israeli bar is an Arab? Some apartheid state....
Labels: Abu Mazen, International Criminal Court, Mohamed Dahlan, Palestinian Authority corruption
Huge Fatah anniversary party in Gaza
Fatah is holding a huge 48th anniversary party in Gaza (see above), the first time since the Hamas takeover of the Strip in 2007 that Fatah has been allowed to have a party there.
A long hiatus in peace talks between Abbas's administration and Israel
has narrowed ideological differences between the two main Palestinian
factions. Solidarity has deepened since Israel's Gaza assault in
November, in which Hamas, though battered, declared victory.
Abbas remains based in West Bank, but several of his senior advisers
attended Friday's march in the Gaza Strip, festooned with yellow Fatah
flags rather than the green Hamas colors that have dominated such events
since Hamas fighters drove Fatah from the territory in 2007.
"The
message today is that Fatah cannot be wiped out," said Amal Hamad, a
member of the group's ruling body. "Fatah lives, no one can exclude it
and it seeks to end the division."
The demonstration marked 48
years since the secular Fatah's founding as the spearhead of the
Palestinians' fight against Israel. Its longtime leader Yasser Arafat
signed an interim 1993 peace accord that won Palestinians a measure of
self-rule.
The hardline Hamas movement, which does not recognize
Israel's right to exist, rejected the deal, but fought and won a
Palestinian parliamentary election in 2006. It formed an uneasy
coalition with Fatah until their violent split a year later.
A report from Gaza indicates that the rally is currently being
disrupted by supporters of Mohammed Dahlan, Fatah's former strongman in Gaza and a rival of Abu Mazen.
A Fatah-Hamas reconciliation would probably be the final straw in the 'peace process.'
Shabbat Shalom everyone.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Fatah, Gaza, Hamas-Fatah reconciliation, Mohamed Dahlan
'Palestinian Authority' plans to use 'human rights' group for espionage
The 'Palestinian Authority' wants to use a 'human rights group' called Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) to
conduct espionage operations, including against Amnesty International and 'Human Rights Watch' according to a report that appeared briefly on the WAFA ('Palestinian' news agency) website.
According to the documents, the PA’s General Intelligence Service in the West Bank is planning to use the Global Network for Rights and Development as a front for espionage activities.
GNRD was established in Geneva in 2008 with the aim of enhancing and supporting human rights and development by adopting new, creative strategies and policies to achieve lasting change.
The documents are said to be part of a “classified report” prepared by the PA’s General Department of Palestinian External Security.
The plan envisages using GNRD as a front for the establishment of an “effective and credible international human rights group that would be based in Geneva and whose goal would be to defend Palestinian causes” and collect information.
The cost of the project is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars.
The report points out the important role of NGOs’ in shaping public opinion and affecting decision-making worldwide.
“These NGOs have a green card to enter any place in the world and operate freely under various pretexts,” the report said. “But we in Palestine are lacking many elements of power.”
The report claimed that many Western countries, including France, Britain and the US, have been using human rights organizations as a “striking arm” to affect policies around the world and remove governments from power. The report referred specifically to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch and claims that they are funded and backed by Britain and the US, respectively.
The report recommended that the PA set up a similar “striking arm” that would operate out of Geneva and have representation in at least 50 countries. It said that the main mission would be to gather intelligence with the help of Western nationals.
The 'Palestinian Authority' is denying the story, and blaming it on Mohamed Dahlan and Mohamed Rashid, both rivals of Abu Mazen.
Labels: Abu Mazen, human rights, Mohamed Dahlan, Mohamed Rashid, Palestinian Authority
'Palestinians' looking for new patron?
This is rich. Elliott Abrams writes that the 'Palestinians' are so convinced that Obama has failed them that
they are looking for a patron other than the United States.
Here’s the thread: No three men were closer to the United States during the years of negotiations under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush than Fayyad, Abed Rabbo, and Dahlan. Developments in Palestinian politics appear to be reducing, not enhancing, their influence. Dahlan has been pushed to the sidelines, and it seems that Abed Rabbo will be next. Fayyad is, for now, protected by his reputation among donors: “Donor countries have warned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas against trying to replace Prime Minister Salam Fayyad or confiscate his control over the PA Finance Ministry,” the Jerusalem Post reported last week. But over time, it is likely that politics with the PLO and the Fatah party will turn against Fayyad, who is an official of neither organization. And it is unlikely that the successors to officials like Fayyad and Abed Rabbo will have ties to the United States like they do now or the respect among American officials that they have earned over the years.
Hmmm. Good riddance.
Labels: Mahmoud Abbas, Mohamed Dahlan, Salam Fayyad, Yasser Abed Rabbo
Eight years later no arrests in Gaza murder of American security contractors
Saturday marked eight years since the murders of Mark Parsons and two fellow security guards - John Branchizio and John Linde - by a roadside bomb in Gaza. There has been
no progress in resolving the case.
Those facts are not in dispute. But aside from the certainty that a bomb exploded on Oct. 15, 2003, on a road leading from a checkpoint at the Israeli-Gaza border to a nearby Palestinian refugee camp, and that Parsons perished along with two other Americans, little else is known.
On that day, Mark Parsons was assigned as a security guard to a convoy of three armored SUVs from the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Parsons was not a federal agent. He was employed a as a guard for DynCorp., a Virginia-based private security firm that had been hired by the State Department to provide security for embassy officials.
But why was he in Gaza?
Officially, the State Department says he was needed to guard U.S. officials who were on their way to interview Palestinian students who had applied for Fulbright teaching grants. The State Department has never disclosed the names of the U.S. officials who were conducting the interviews - not even their ranks. Nor has |the State Department ever explained why such heavy security was needed for what seemed like a low-key humanitarian and educational mission.
Yes, Gaza can be a volatile place - this columnist has reported from there. Gunfire can punctuate a colorful sunset and bombs can thump in the distance as children play soccer. But in 2003, Gaza was not enveloped in violence in the way it was several years later when Hamas came to power.
So why was Parsons' convoy targeted? And by whom?
...
Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Washington-based Investigative Project on Terrorism show that the FBI and State Department officials tried to respond quickly. A team of seven FBI agents arrived a day after the bombing.
But Palestinian authorities had not secured the crime scene, the documents say. As the agents tried to collect evidence, they were pelted with rocks by Palestinian youths. Fearing they might be harmed, the agents quickly scooped up as much material as they could and left.
The Associated Press reported that the Palestinian crowd chanted "Allahu Akbar" - God is great - as the U.S. agents retreated to their cars surrounded by rifle-toting Palestinian police.
The FBI documents offer no clues about possible suspects. But investigators are quite sure of one critical element of the story: The bomb, containing 150 to 200 pounds of TNT, was set off by a remote control device. In other words, the bombers targeted the convoy.
The rumors here - both at the time and subsequently - pointed to
Mohamed Dahlan, who was then an American favorite among the Fatah leadership, and his assistant,
Rashid Abu Shabak.
Who murdered John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde? This was written two months after the murders: Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center Director Nitsana Darshan-Leitner has written to United States Attorney General John Ashcroft alerting him to the fact the Palestinian Security Service commander assigned to investigate the October bombing attack on American personnel in Gaza was very likely the terrorist who planned it.
Gaza Commander Col. Rashid Abu Shabak's has been entrusted by the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation with hunting down the terrorist cell responsible for the October 15, 2003 bombing which left three Americans dead.
The three Americans, John Branchizio, 37, of Texas, John Linde Jr., 30, of Missouri, and Mark Parsons, 31, of New Jersey, were security personnel guarding a convoy of diplomatic vehicles which was attacked by Palestinian Arab terrorists who detonated a powerful roadside bomb at the Beit Hanoun junction in Gaza. The Americans were visiting Gaza to interview candidates for Fulbright scholarships.
Darshan-Leitner's letter accuses the Palestinian commander of being the mastermind behind numerous terror attacks perpetrated by Yasser Arafat's Fatah organization in Gaza. Shurat HaDin urges the Department of Justice to investigate Abu Shabak's involvement in prior roadside bombings.
Not surprisingly, there have been no arrests made by the Palestinians in the current investigation.
According to the Shurat HaDin letter, Abu Shabak, a protege of Palestinian leader Mohammed Dahlan, has an extensive terrorist past. Abu Shabak, along with Dahlan are the leading suspects in several other Gaza terror attacks.
...
In her letter, Darshan-Leitner writes: "It is a disgraceful that the individual assigned by the Palestinian Authority to investigate the murders of Branchizio, Linde and Parsons is himself a leading terrorist suspected of numerous other roadside bombings in Gaza. If the United States is sincere about making arrests then it must not tolerate Rashid Abu Shabak heading up this crucial inquiry. The similarities between the October 15th roadside bombing and the roadside bombing of the Kfar Darom school bus in November 2000 cannot be ignored. We urge the Department of Justice to initiate its own investigation of Abu Shabak and his role in prior Gaza terror attacks, some of which have seriously injured American citizens."
So now that Condi Clueless is no longer Secretary of State and Mohamed Dahlan has had a falling out with Abu Mazen, maybe the murderers of Mark Parsons and his two colleagues can be brought to justice?
Read the whole thing.
Labels: Gaza, John Branchizio, John Linde, Mark Parsons, Mohamed Dahlan, Rashid Abu Shabak
Wikileaks quotes Dahlan: 'We have to reform this piece of s--t called Fatah'
Wikileaks has released a cable sent by then-Jerusalem Consulate General (and now Assistant Secretary of State) Jacob Walles, who is very much in the 'Palestinians' corner, describing 'Palestinian' reaction on the morning after the January 2006 'Palestinian elections' won by Hamas. Here's what
Mohamed Dahlan - who has been
expelled from Fatah by
'moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen - had to say.
Successful Fatah candidate Mohammed Dahlan confirmed that Hamas would gain a majority. He opined that Hamas should form a government and that Fatah should stay out. Dahlan said "we have to reform this piece of s--t called Fatah." He was very angry with Abu Mazen for allowing the chaos in Fatah to continue in the runup to the campaign and for appointing the "incompetent Nabil Sha'ath" as Fatah campaign manager. Dahlan thought that "Abu Mazen should dismiss all the leadership in Fatah" and start over. He thought that Hamas would not actually be able to govern, but that he would rather have "one year of chaos" than "going on like this."
One year of chaos? Heh.
For those who have forgotten, Dahlan was Fatah's 'strongman' in Gaza, but he managed to be away during the Hamas coup in 2007.
By the way, both Dahlan and Abu Mazen are
Jordanian citizens.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Mohamed Dahlan, Palestinian elections 2006, Wikileaks
Heh....
In its continuing campaign to defame Muhammad Dahlan, the 'Palestinian Authority' is now accusing him of
murdering Yasser Arafat.
Fatah has accused ousted party strongman Muhammad Dahlan of "having a hand" in poisoning late President Yasser Arafat, Arabic-language media reported Saturday.
Arafat died in a Paris hospital in November 2004. The exact cause of his death remains a mystery, but popular belief among Palestinians holds that he was poisoned.
Of course, it's complete nonsense that Dahlan killed Arafat. Arafat
died of
AIDS. And the 'Palestinians' are still
denying it. But the accusation could not happen to a
nicer guy. Heh.
By the way, doesn't Dahlan in that picture look a bit like Tom Friedman (without the mustache)? Or is it just me?
Labels: AIDS, Mohamed Dahlan, Yasser Arafat
Fatah and Hamas make it official
So can we now officially
start the Civil War Watch?
Hamas on Sunday rejected their Palestinian rival Fatah's nomination for the next prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, Salam Fayyad, the Associated Press reported. Hamas has said in the past that they expect the prime minister to come from Gaza, effectively ruling out Fayyad.
"Hamas will not agree to grant Salam Fayyad the confidence to run the national unity government," Hamas official Salah Bardawil told the AP.
The latest - but not the first - rejection of Fayyad by Hamas comes just hours after Fatah announced its nomination of current PA Prime Minister Fayyad to remain prime minister in the new unity government with Hamas. Under the reconciliation agreement signed last month, both parties are supposed to nominate candidates to make up the unity government and then agree to its makeup.
Fatah representative Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of the team that hammered out the original unity deal, told the AFP on Saturday, "The two sides will meet this Tuesday to form a government and we hope that this will be the last round of talks needed to finalize the make-up of the government."
However, Hamas’s insistence on excluding Fayyad is now the major obstacle to the formation of the government, a different senior Fatah official in Ramallah said last week.
I know. Maybe Fatah can nominate
Mohamed Dahlan instead. He used to live in Gaza. He even headed up Fatah's security apparatus there until Hamas deposed him.
Heh.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Fatah, Hamas, Hamas-Fatah reconciliation, Mohamed Dahlan, Salam Fayyad
Abu Bluff: 'Do as I say, not as I do'
This is rich....
At a time when the 'Palestinian Authority' is urging Jordan to revoke the Jordanian citizenship of 'Palestinian refugees' who have lived in Jordan for generations - in order to 'consolidate their Palestinian identity' -
'moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen and Fatah's former Gaza thug in chief Mohamed Dahlan (who are themselves
rivals) have both taken out
Jordanian citizenship. And they're not alone. So has Abu Bluff's entire family and most of the 'Palestinian' leadership.
Atef Tarawneh, deputy speaker of the Jordanian parliament, denounced the decision to revoke the citizenship of thousands of Jordanians of Palestinian origin.
Tarawneh said that the decision was “harmful” to national unity and the constitution in Jordan.
He added that he recently met with King Abdullah II and warned him against the repercussions of revoking the citizenships. He said that the decision has harmed investment in the kingdom because dozens of Jordanian-Palestinian businessmen living abroad were afraid to return home out of fear that the authorities would confiscate their passports.
According to the Londonbased Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, a significant number of PA leaders are registered as full Jordanian citizens.
The paper pointed out that the leaders applied for Jordanian citizenship at a time when they were urging the Jordanian authorities to stop giving Palestinians Jordanian citizenship, in order to “consolidate their Palestinian identity.” The Jordanian government had justified its decision to strip Palestinians of their citizenship by using the same argument.
However, the Jordanians have long seen the Palestinian majority in the kingdom as a demographic threat.
The decision to rescind the citizenship of tens of thousands of Palestinians is seen in the context of this fear.
Al-Quds Al-Arabi quoted sources in Amman as saying that Abbas and his entire family carry Jordanian passports.
Other PA leaders who carry Jordanian passports include former PA prime minister Ahmed Qurei, Abbas’s spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh and Fatah’s Muhammad Dahlan.
The paper did not say when the Palestinian officials were given Jordanian citizenship. PA spokesmen in Ramallah refused to comment on the report.
A Fatah official, however, said that he was not surprised to hear that Palestinian leaders were carrying Jordanian passports. He said he believed most of the PA leaders had applied for and received Jordanian passports in the past 15 years.
In an editorial, Al-Quds Al- Arabi criticized the Palestinian leaders who applied for Jordanian citizenship.
“This is shameful for them because they and their families should be proud of their Palestinian citizenship,” the paper wrote. “If they don’t believe in their own citizenship and are not proud of it, this means that they are not loyal to the Palestinian Authority and don’t deserve to speak on its behalf.”
The paper noted that it was the PA leaders who had asked for Jordanian citizenship, and not the Jordanians who had offered it.
“They were the ones who applied for it, and perhaps they had embarrassed senior Jordanian government officials with the requests,” it wrote.
The Jordanians were unable to reject the applications “out of courtesy and generosity,” the paper said.
'Palestinian citizenship' is kind of like
American taxes: It's for the little people. No wonder Abu Bluff and his crew get along so well with the Obami.
Heh.
Labels: Abu Ala, Abu Mazen, Jordanian citizenship, Mohamed Dahlan
The 'Palestinians' look for a scapegoat
The 'Palestinian Authority' is looking for a scapegoat to blame for leaking all their secrets to al-Jazeera, and they have decided that
Mohammed Dahlan, with whom they already have
other issues, would be a great candidate. This is from the first link.
The PA suspects that one or two employees working for the PLO Negotiations Department leaked the secret maps, charts and documents to the Al-Jazeera TV network, a PA security source said on Monday.
The source told The Jerusalem Post that the employees, who were not named, “sold the material to Al-Jazeera in return for large sums.”
Palestinian security forces have interrogated a number of workers at the department, which is headed by Saeb Erekat, the PLO’s chief negotiator, the source revealed.
According to the source, it is “premature” to determine whether former Fatah security commander Muhammad Dahlan was involved in the scandal.
However, a number of Fatah and PA officials in Ramallah said that Dahlan – who has been at loggerheads with PA President Mahmoud Abbas for the past few months – was the prime suspect.
They claimed Dahlan, who has been accused of planning to overthrow the PA leadership, had leaked the documents to embarrass and discredit Abbas and his top negotiators.
Civil war anyone?
Labels: al-Jazeera, Mohamed Dahlan, Palileaks, Politics, World Politics
Could Dahlan's removal be a positive event?
Elliott Abrams believes that the
actions taken by the 'Palestinian Authority' against Mohamed Dahlan might have a positive side. To me, this episode is a reminder of two things:
First, that Fatah remains in disarray. All efforts at serious reform and modernization have failed. Last year, Fatah called off local elections in the PA once again, mostly because it was simply unready. Presidential and parliamentary elections are long overdue. If there is ever to be a stable and democratic Palestinian state, it will need democratic parties that can win elections. Fatah today is not able to do that.
Second, that the gap between Fatah and the Palestinian Authority remains significant—and indeed is growing. Dahlan was a Fatah security guy, who handled the various gangs Arafat had created and played off against each other. He never had a role in the increasingly professional PA security system. That system reports to Prime Minister Fayyad, has been trained mostly by the United States, has brought law and order to the streets of the West Bank, and works closely with the Israelis to stop terror. People like Dahlan and other former Arafat cronies, raised with the corruption and disarray of Arafat’s satrapy, have no role and no future in the PA. That’s why there remains considerable tension between Fayyad and Fatah, and great resentment toward him on the part of the Fatah grandees. Instead of claiming partial credit for his achievements, they try endlessly to grab PA jobs and get back to the good old days when they had a finger in the pie. If the Dahlan story helps show that the old days are over, it will be a positive event.
Well, maybe. Is Abu Mazen Fatah or is he Fayyad? If Abrams is right (and I believe he is), there is currently a huge difference between the two.
At the end of the day, will those American-trained troops be willing to go to battle against old Fatah cronies like Dahlan? Maybe. But based on past experience, it's far more likely that the Dayton forces (as the US-named troops are called) are brothers, sons, cousins and uncles of the Fatah cronies. While they would fit with Israelis and might fight with Hamas, they are unlikely to fight with Fatah cronies.
Labels: Dayton forces, Elliott Abrams, Mahmoud Abbas, Mohamed Dahlan, Salam Fayyad
The downfall of Dahlan
Here are a couple of choice quotes from an analysis of the fall of
Mohamed Dahlan.
Palestinian analyst Hani al-Masri said Abbas' moves against Dahlan are in a way the result of frustration with the lack of progress toward a Palestinian state, which leaves leaders like Abbas feeling vulnerable.
"There is a trend in the Palestinian Authority of being less tolerant due to the failure of the peace process," he said.
In other words, if only he had a 'state,' Abu Bluff would suddenly become a Democrat. Good luck with that.
Abbas himself has not addressed the issue in public.
But the case appears personal, brought on by the Palestinian leader's intolerance for criticism, said political analyst Mouin Rabbani.
"Abbas is extremely sensitive, exceptionally thin-skinned and has an exceptionally high opinion of himself, so the mere act of making personal criticism of him puts you beyond the pale," said Rabbani, who is a senior fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies.
That sounds like the perfect partner for a 'peace process.' What could go wrong?
Labels: egomania, Mahmoud Abbas, Mohamed Dahlan
