Abbas/PA Silent Over Brutal Murder Of Jewish Teenager While The Usual Terrorist Groups Heap Praise On Killers

Palestinians: In Need of a Mirror?

by Bassam Tawil

• The Palestinian Authority's silence over the murder of the Jewish teenager sends one clear message to the Palestinian public: It is fine to kill a Jew.
  
  
• Abbas's silence, in fact, encouraged many Palestinians to express joy over the terrorist attack.
  
  
• It was hard to find even one Palestinian who was willing to express his or her revulsion over the terrorist attack. But this makes sense. Why should any Palestinian come out against terrorism when their leaders are either silent or joyously celebrating the murder of a Jewish teenager?
  
  
• This is the hate that has been embedded in the hearts and minds of Palestinians toward Israel and Jews. When Palestinians run to link the Palestinian slaughter of a Jewish teen to a Muslim feast and the tradition of sacrificing sheep, it is clear that the time has come for Palestinians to take a hard look at themselves – and if they are nonetheless unwilling to do so, perhaps the international community might finally bring a mirror to them.
  
  
  Palestinians are again celebrating the murder of a Jew – this time 18-year-old Dvir Sorek, an unarmed off-duty soldier who was fatally stabbed and whose body was discovered August 8 on rocky ground in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc near Bethlehem.
  
  
  Not even a single Palestinian has condemned the ruthless killing of the teenager. The Palestinian Authority (PA), whose leader, Mahmoud Abbas, has previously said that he is opposed to terrorism, apparently does not see a need to denounce the killing of Sorek.
  
  
  Instead, the Palestinian Authority continued to issue multiple statements condemning Israel for "violating international law" for building new housing units for Jewish families in the West Bank. The statements, issued hours after the terrorist attack in Gush Etzion, made no reference to the murder of the Jewish teen.
  
  
  Just as Israeli security forces were conducting a manhunt for the terrorist or terrorists who killed the Jewish teenager, Abbas instructed his foreign ministry to file a complaint against Israel with the International Criminal Court over its policy of settlement construction. Abbas also instructed his envoy to the UN, Riad Mansour, to hold consultations with members of the Security Council in preparation for holding an emergency session to condemn Israel's settlement activity.
  
  
  The Palestinian Authority's silence over the murder of the Jewish teenager sends one clear message to the Palestinian public: It is fine to kill a Jew.
  Abbas's silence, in fact, encouraged many Palestinians to express joy over the terrorist attack.
  
  
  As soon as news about the fatal stabbing spread, Palestinian terrorist groups seemed to be competing with each other over heaping praise on the perpetrators. Islamic Jihad, Hamas and several PLO factions, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, were quick to issue statements "welcoming" the "heroic operation." The groups also urged Palestinians to increase their terrorist attacks against Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank.