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23 Tammuz 5762 - July 3, 2002 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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Opinion & Comment
Palestinian Incitement Must Stop

Now that the nature of Arafat and the Palestinian society that he built has become exposed to the world, the importance of many of the neglected paragraphs of the original Oslo agreements becomes painfully evident. Even many elements of the Israeli Left -- apparently the last to cling to the hopes raised in Norway almost nine years ago -- are beginning to admit that the constant, vicious incitement against Israelis and Jews that is practiced throughout the Palestinian Authority is a key factor in the constant tension and now escalating violence against us.

The first Oslo agreement included a paragraph obligating the Palestinians to refrain from incitement against Israel. A similar paragraph was pasted into just about every agreement signed with the Palestinians since then, propagating through the documents like a persistent tune, but completely ignored in practice. Some violations of the agreements were at least explained away or "honored" by devising loopholes, even if after the fact. But there was never any pretense of even restraining the vile tirades against Jews.

Maps used in PA classrooms do not show Israel. All of the area between the Jordan and the Mediterranean is marked "Occupied Palestine." The education controlled by the Authority teaches hatred of Jews. Not only do the Palestinian education institutions not educate Palestinian youth to peace and coexistence, but their message is one that leads to a deepening hatred and an inflammation of passions.

They glorify death and martyrdom. A worldwide symbol of the Palestinians has become the homicide (suicide) bomber. Children are taught in the schools that such deeds are admirable, with songs glorifying them. This poisons Palestinian society, focusing it entirely on death and destruction.

A few days ago during its searching in Hebron for criminal terrorists, the IDF found a photograph that has since been broadcast around the world. Shown is the toddler son of one of the terrorists, dressed up as a homicide bomber complete with an explosive belt. (It could not be determined if the explosives were live or not.)

Another recent find was a series of photographs of a Hamas "summer camp" in Gaza. The theme of the camp was murdering Jews, and the young campers enacted various mass murders that have taken place over the past two years. The central event depicted there was the particularly gruesome and bloody lynch of two Israeli soldiers that took place in Ramallah almost two years ago, and one young camper is seen with his hands colored red in imitation of the famous picture of the Palestinian celebrating death with the blood of the Jewish soldiers on his hands.

When the Right quoted Palestinian rhetoric in the years following Oslo, the Left dismissed them, confident that such expressions would fade away as peace took hold. Yet this incitement has been getting worse over the years.

Now it is clear that no peaceful resolution of the conflict with the Palestinians is possible under these conditions. It is clear that it is not only Arafat who is not a peace partner; Palestinian society as a whole is not willing to tolerate the Jews. Almost 80 percent (according to the polls) want to continue the homicidal attacks.

In their rhetoric about us, the Palestinians are the heirs of a long tradition that goes back to Homon and to Lovon. We cannot expect this sort of incitement to be entirely eradicated, but it must certainly be controlled if there is to be a possibility for a stable settlement.


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