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Prevention of Incitement in the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process

Prevention of Incitement in the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process. Ministry of Strategic Affairs February 28, 2013 yosefk@pmo.gov.il .

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Prevention of Incitement in the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process

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  1. Prevention of Incitement in the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process Ministry of Strategic Affairs February 28, 2013 yosefk@pmo.gov.il

  2. Ending incitement to terror and hatred, and taking all necessary steps to build a culture of peace, has always been considered essential for the establishment of a viable and positive Israeli-Palestinian peace. • Nearly all of the agreements between the parties have included a call, primarily upon the Palestinians, to halt incitement. • Nevertheless, the Palestinian Authority has taken no steps to halt the pervasive incitement and indoctrination to hate, and to develop a culture of peace and mutual recognition.

  3. Two girls on PA TV: “I want to carry a machine gun and a rifle…and we shall strike Israel” PA TV presenter: “The Palestinian prisoner, Sanaa Shehadeh, has been [imprisoned] 9 years.” Prisoner's nieces: "I want to recite a song for you [Shehadeh]: [PA TV, May 28, 2010. Shehadeh transported a suicide bomber to Jerusalem in 2002 in an attack in which three civilians were murdered] View

  4. Characteristics of Official PA Incitement • The PA’s systematic incitement creates on the societal level both a psychological infrastructure and patterns of behavior which together provide the logic, justification and inspiration for acts of terror and violence. • Children and youth are a key target audience of the PA’s incitement and indoctrination. There is not even one single program in the PA educational curriculum meant to prepare Palestinian children for peace and co-existence with Israel. • The central message of PA institutions, bodies, media and officials reflects the core of the Palestinian narrative. This message is composed of four key components:

  5. 1. The dispute with Israel is not over territory, but over the very existence of Israel, let alone its existence as a Jewish state. 2. The ultimate goal is to eliminate the Jewish State and to establish a Palestinian state on all of the land. The conflict will not end until this is achieved, regardless of any agreements signed. 3. Demonization and dehumanization of ‘the Zionists’- Jews in general and Israelis in particular – and settlers above all. 4. All forms of struggle- including terrorism- are legitimate in pursuit of the ultimate goal. Terrorists are national heroes and role models. At times diplomatic or political struggle together with reduced violencemay be more expedient than terror. Agreements with Israel do not negate the legitimacy of all forms of struggle.

  6. This combination of messages- the legitimacy of violence, the glorification of terrorists, the demonization and dehumanization of Israel, and the dream of eliminating the its existence- constitutes both the central obstacle to peace and a trigger to acts of terror and violence

  7. Non-acceptance and Non-recognition of Israel’s Existence • The Ultimate Goal is to Eliminate the Jewish State and Establish a Palestinian State on All of the Land

  8. Palestine National Charter In spite of the Palestinian claim that the articles contradicting the Oslo agreements were removed from the Palestinian National Charter in 1998, for example: • Article 9: Armed struggle is the only way to liberate Palestine. This is the overall strategy, not merely a tactical phase… • Article 15: The liberation of Palestine, from an Arab viewpoint, is a national duty and it attempts to repel the Zionist and imperialist aggression against the Arab homeland, and aims at the elimination of Zionism… The original 1968 charter still appears in full on many PLO websites:

  9. PLO – Refugee Affairs Department http://plord.ps/ar/index.php?act=Show&id=500

  10. PLO Executive Committee–The National Office for Defense of the Land and for Resistance to the Settlements http://plord.ps/ar/index.php?act=Show&id=500

  11. Website of the Palestinian Mission to Germany http://www.palaestina.org/fileadmin/Daten/Dokumente/Abkommen/PLO/palaestinensische_nationalcharta.pdf

  12. The official facebook page of the Presidential Guard“A morning of return, Jaffa and Haifa will certainly be our meeting place at the end of the day” On Nov. 21, 2012 a link to a music video entitled “Good morning, O’my land” was uploaded to the official facebook page of the Presidential Guard. The closing lines of the songs, declare: “A morning of return, Jaffa, Haifa, Gaza, Ramallah will certainly be our meeting place at the end of the day” The phrase “Haifa will certainly be our meeting place” is given special emphasis and appears numerous times on the screen. View

  13. Jews have no connection to their homeland Palestinian narrator: "I'm from Jaffa, I'm from Haifa, I'm from Acre, I'm from Nazareth… Where are you [Israelis] from? Where are you from? Where are you from? Of course, you're from Ukraine; of course, you're from Germany, from Poland, from Russia, from Ethiopia, the Falasha (pejorative for Ethiopian Jews). Why have you stolen my homeland and taken my place? Please, I ask of you, return to your original homeland, so that I can return to my original homeland. This is my homeland; go back to your homeland!“ [PA TV, May 4, 2010] View

  14. PA Chair Abbas sits front row, center while performer declares: “We promise to stand behind you, Abbas” as we return to “Haifa, Rosh Hanikra and the Jordan Valley” Abbas and other PA and Fatah leaders sit front row at a musical performance broadcast on PA TV. The singer declares “ I am returning to you, the purest land, oh land of the free…From Rafah to Rosh Hanikra, north and south, are the picture's borders. From Haifa and Tantura to the [Jordan] valley." [This video aired dozens of times since 2011] View

  15. The Jewish and Israeli connection to the land is systematically erased in Palestinian school textbooks • A Mandate-era stamp of Palestine is distorted to hide the presence of Hebrew writing • “The Levant countries [Al-Sham] presently consist of the states of Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.” • History of Ancient Civilizations, Grade 5, (2012), p. 27

  16. Story in magazine of the PA Education Ministry: When we will be ready and equipped like the Israelis, then we shall return to Haifa “After the 2nd grade teacher read the Arabic Language lesson entitled "a journey to Haifa", Ahmed was amazed and asked: "Teacher, why does the school not take us on a trip to visit Haifa? We always go to Jericho, Ramallah or Tulkarem. From the moment that you begin to read us the story I am thinking about beautiful Haifa." The teacher sat in silence for a few minutes and then said "It is the Occupation." Ahmed: "What is the Occupation?" Teacher:" It is a group of people that attacked our land, scared the people, killed some of them and exiled them from the place where they lived." Ahmed: "Why didn't the people defend themselves?“ (continued…)

  17. Teacher: "They tried to with force, but the 'Israelis' were better equipped and better trained. One day we shall certainly return to our land, my students." Ahmed: "Do you know when we will return our land to ourselves-“ The teacher smiled and asked: "When, Ahmed?" Ahmed: "When we will be equipped and ready like they are.”” [El-Mesira, June 2012 (Issue 79), p. 18]

  18. The rifle as symbol of the liberation and return to Historic Palestine Only one way to Palestine- through the barrel of a gun Bridge of Return Fatah Facebook, administered by the Department of Communications in the Office of Recruitment and Organization (Ramallah), Left- Nov. 5, 2012; Right- Oct. 21, 2012.

  19. For the 63rd Nakba day: “Through the rifle we will return To Palestine” From the facebook page of the ‘Talfit’ high school for boys and girls, southern Nablus, uploaded May 15, 2011

  20. Maps from Fatah’s Facebook pages Inscription on left: “100% Arab” On the map: “Palestine” Administered by the Office for Internal Relations (headed by Azzam Al-Ahmad, Ramallah), right- uploaded Sept. 1, 2012, left- uploaded July 12, 2012

  21. Demonization and Dehumanization

  22. View http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GcoS0TIy7B4 [PA TV, July 13, 2012] PA TV dedicates segment to ‘artwork’ depicting Israel (symbolized by Jewish head covering) as a bloodthirsty beast

  23. Jerusalem (Al-Quds) is the apple being eaten by worms bearing the Star of David [Al-Quds daily, Aug. 29, 2012]

  24. PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 5, 2009 Der Stuermer February 1930 “logo of the Security Council”

  25. Zayzafuna, the PLO-sponsored and PA-funded children’s magazine presents Hitler as a role model In its Feb. 2011 issue the children’s magazine Zayzafuna published an essay by a girl who describes a dream in which she meets four prominent figures who are presented as role models. They are the 9th-century mathematician Al-Khwarizmi; the Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz; the 12th-century conqueror Saladin, and Adolf Hitler. Excerpt: "... and suddenly I saw four white doors in front of me…I opened the first door…I asked him, 'Who are you?'He said, 'I am Al-Khwarizmi.' I said: 'You're the one who invented mathematics and arithmetic?'. ..I turned to the next door; there Hitler awaited me. I said, 'You're the one who killed the Jews?'He said: 'Yes. I killed them so you would all know that they are a nation which spreads destruction all over the world. And what I ask of you is to be resilient and patient, concerning the suffering that Palestine is experiencing at their hands.' I said: 'Thanks for the advice.‘”

  26. On cover: “Part of the UNESCO-affiliated network” (UNESCO cut off its funding for the magazine following exposure of the essay on Hitler.)

  27. ‘Hitler’: “I could have killed all the Jews in the world, but I left a few so that you would know why I killed them” From the facebook page of the ‘Iktaba’ high school for girls in Tulkarem, uploaded May 22, 2012

  28. Hitler said: “I could have annihilated all of the Jews in the world, but I left a few so that the you would know why I annihilated them” From the facebook page of the ‘Anabta’ high school for girls near Tulkarm, uploaded Jan. 26, 2012

  29. Introduction to PA TV program on Palestinian prisoners depicts fictitious torture methods allegedly used in Israeli prisons (Jan. 11, 2010) Burning a prisoner's chest with an iron. Drilling a hole through hand. Burning into shoulder with a soldering iron. Hanging prisoner by arms while chains pull at his body. Squeezing a prisoner's head in a head press. Chopping off a prisoner's hand.

  30. Encouragement of Terror and Violence

  31. PA Education Ministry: Fight theJews and kill them “The fight against the Jews and the victory over them: The Messenger of Allah has already announced the end of the Jews’ oppression of this land and the removal of their corruption and conquest of it. “…[God’s Messenger said] The Hour of Resurrection will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews. The Muslims will kill them, and when a Jew would hide behind a rock or a tree the rock or the tree would say: ‘O Muslim, O worshipper of God! There is a Jew behind me; come and kill him’, except the salt bush (Gharqad), which is the Jews’ tree.”” [PA Education Ministry, Islamic Studies, “Foundations of Belief” textbook, Grade 11, 2011, pg. 94] .

  32. Illustration by Umaya Juha. The tree is saying “O Muslim, O worshipper of God! This is a Jew behind me; come and kill him” Front cover of the schoolbook and text ]From the Facebook page of the ‘Iktaba’ girls high school in Tulkarm, Jan. 22, 2012]

  33. The official Mufti of the PA quoted this Islamic tradition at a public ceremony celebrating the founding of Fatah. At the end he declared that this was the reason that many settlements have been surrounded by salt bushes. View [PA TV, Jan. 9, 2012]

  34. Poem: “Palestine,” by Ali Mahmoud Taha [Excerpts] My brother, the oppressors crossed all limits/ So Jihad is justified, and so is life-sacrifice (Fida) Are we to let them rob Arabism/ The glory of the forefathers and the honor? Only with the rattle of swords/ They answer us with voice or echo So pull your blade from its sheath/ It should not stay there any more My brother, Oh proud Arab/ Today is the time, not tomorrow …My brother, in Jerusalem we have a sister/ For her, the slaughterers prepared their knives The Reading and the Texts, Grade 8, Part 1, (2010), p. 66

  35. The song “Palestine” Official Palestinian Authority television Schoolbook’s text View [PA TV, Nov. 23, 2010]

  36. A girl on PA TV dedicates a song celebrating martyrdom and death to an Islamic Jihad commander serving a life sentence (Apr. 13, 2011) “When we die as martyr’s our souls will go to Paradise… You taught us the meaning of heroism” View The Facebook page of the ‘Palestine’ elementary school for boys in Qalqilya posted On March 19, 2012 an expanded version of the song in which children act out the lyrics View

  37. On PA TV: Glorification of Fogel family murderers Mother of Hakim Awad: "I thank you for connecting me with my son…My greetings to dear Hakim, the apple of my eye, from the village of Awarta, 17 years old, who carried out the operation in Itamar (i.e., killing of 5 Fogel family members among them a 3-month old baby, March 11, 2011)..."  Aunt of Hakim Awad: “…and to my nephew Hakim Awad, the hero, the legend."  Host: "We [PA TV], for our part, also convey our greetings to them."  View [PA TV - Aired Jan. 19 and rebroadcast Jan. 21, 2012]

  38. On Dec. 2, 2011 Abbas met in Turkey with the released terrorist Amna Muna, who was involved in the kidnapping and murder of a 16-year old Israeli boy. In 2001Muna lured Israeli teenager Ofir Rahum into meeting her in Jerusalem and then drove him to an area near Ramallah where her co-conspirators shot him 15 times. Amna Muna and Mahmoud Abbas, in their meeting in Turkey

  39. Speech by Abbas on day of Gilad Shalit prisoner release (18.10.11)    “…you are people of struggle and Jihad fighters for Allah and the homeland. We ask of Allah, may He be exalted, to fulfill our wish to see the rest of our brothers and sisters released like you, at this plaza, Allah willing. ..In the future, Allah willing, in the very near future, we will see here our brother Marwan Barghouti and our brother Ahmad Sa'adat, to whom we wish a speedy recovery. And we want to see, Allah willing, Ibrahim Hamed also, and Abbas Al-Sayed, and every male and female prisoner, returning, released, to the homeland, Allah willing.” View Marwan Barghouti - serving five life sentences for orchestrating suicide bombings against Israeli civilians. Ahmad Sa'adat –Head of terrorist organization PFLP. Believed to have planned murder of Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi Ibrahim Hamed – Hamas leader who orchestrated many suicide bombings (including attacks at Hebrew U., Cafe Moment and Cafe Hillel.)Abbas Al-Sayid – serving 35 life sentences for planning numerous suicide bombing, including the Passover Massacre at the Park Hotel in Netanya. Next

  40. May 2011 Expenditures of the PA: Payments to the families of shahids and terrorists

  41. Hamas education for children and youth Hamas' winter camps for youngsters (Hamas forum website, Jan. 27, 2013) Hamas rally (Hamas forum website, Dec. 9, 2012) Kindergarten children in the Square of the Unknown Soldier in Gaza City (Qudsnet website, November 25, 2012)

  42. The Culture of Peace and Incitement Index Central Findings The Index is a tool developed to methodically track levels of incitement and ‘peace-culture’ building in the PA. It tracks the messages and ideas promoted by PA officials, institutions, bodies, media outlets and education system. The Index has been prepared on a quarterly basis since October 2009. The Index’s findings demonstrate that the core of the conflict is the PA’s continued denial of Israel’s right to exist, let alone exist as a Jewish State, in any borders.

  43. The 4 Dimensions Over 11 Quarters

  44. Weighted Final Result for July-Sept. 2012: -40.27 Weighted final results over 11 quarters

  45. Conclusions and recommendations The Palestinian Authority continues to promote incitement against Israel and a culture of hate, terror, and non-acceptance towards Israelis and Jews. There are thousands of examples of such incitement. 2. The PA makes special efforts to inculcate these messages of hate, violence and delegitimization among children, via formal and informal educational frameworks, and television programs, magazines and cultural events aimed at children. The PA makes no efforts to educate for peace and co-existence with Israel.

  46. The continuous incitement leads to acts of terror and violence by the Palestinians, creates a culture of hate and perpetuates the conflict. It is in complete contradiction to the PA’s commitments under the Oslo Agreement. As long as Palestinian children are taught that terror is legitimate and Israel’s existence is not, a viable peace will remain beyond reach.

  47. Conclusions and recommendations • In order to create the conditions for a real viable peace, the Palestinian Authority must adopt a zero tolerance policy towards incitement, cease indoctrination to hate, particularly in educational frameworks and platforms, and begin building a culture of peace. • The international community should insist that the PA adopts this zero tolerance policy, and ensure that donor countries and international institutions do not in any way fund or otherwise support this incitement.

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