Pallywood via Bunuel

Wednesday, 6th February 2008

A propos the confusion I reported below about whether the Dimona human bomb attack was carried out by Hamas members from the West Bank entering southern Israel through non-existent border security or the Fatah-affiliated Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades members from Gaza entering Israel from Egypt (who claimed responsibility, along with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine), it turns out — bizarrely — that both Hamas and AAMB each simultaneously dispatched a pair of human bomb murderers to attack Dimona. The Fatah pair, who were indeed following the Egypt route, were arrested by the Egyptians before they got there. It was the pair from Hebron who got through (presumably via the West Bank route) and carried out the attack. This raises an intriguing incidental question. As Khaled abu Toameh laconically notes in the Jerusalem Post:

Fatah has also not commented on an explanation for the pictures of the grieving families in the Gaza Strip of the alleged suicide bombers from Fatah.

See picture above, captioned by photographer Mahmud Hams of AFP as:

Relatives of Palestinian suicide bomber Musa Aarafat, 23, hold his picture at his family house in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, February 4 2008.

Pallywood, anyone?

Pondering the uniquely bizarre nature of these events, Barry Rubin writes:

Fatah is essentially coming to the aid of a Hamas regime which threw it out of Gaza and killed, sometimes in cold blood, and represses its own people. Why? Because Fatah and the PA are competing for Palestinian popular support in the Gaza Strip and the way that one does this is to murder Israeli civilians. This is a very telling definition of Palestinian politics, ideology, and public opinion…

To summarize: Fatah acts as a terrorist group; the PA facilitates terrorism and includes people leading terrorist groups; Fatah views itself as an ally of a group that attacks it and murders its own members; the West aids Fatah and the PA with no attempt to discourage their behavior; Israeli Arab politicians side with terrorism; and Israelis, at the risk of their lives, try to save Arab lives, and would like to have a two-state solution if the other side is every able to make and implement such a deal.

Oh, yes, and guess who much of the world blames for the conflict.

Just another day in the Middle East madhouse...

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Fran

February 6th, 2008 9:08pm

Is there any more news on the Charles Enderlin trial in France?

field

February 7th, 2008 9:06am

I heard some of the Moral Maze where the subject of suicide bombing came up. I am not sure Melanie how you deal with the sort of brazeness on display from the representative from the Islamic Society of Britain who was claiming that Qaradawi - who has backed suicide bombings in Israel and Iraq - was in a minority of one among mainstream Islamic scholars! News to me and I am sure anyone else who has taken an interest in the subject. I am not sure what the word for that sort of statement is but I may know what letter it begins with...No doubt you have an inkling as well but it is difficult to deal with that sort of statement in the context of what is supposed to be an honest exchange of views. And wasn't it typical the way he kicked off clearly outraged that you should dare to have a view on Islamic teaching - as though most Muslims don't have a view on Christian and Jewish teaching (namely, that it is a corruption of the original teaching of God)! It would be interesting to have a post from you giving some further views on the programme, which I heard only in part.

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Melanie Phillips is a Daily Mail columnist. She also writes for the Jewish Chronicle and is a panellist on BBC Radio Four's Moral Maze. Her most recent book is 'The World Turned Upside Down: The Global Battle over God, Truth and Power', published by Encounter.

For a complete set of Melanie's articles click here