Israel according to the PA
Israel according to the PAIsrael news photo

Senior Palestinian Authority clerics are still teaching Arabs that Jews are evil, that Jerusalem has no Jewish sites and that Jesus was a “Palestinian” and not a Jew. The incitement violates the American Roadmap, as noted succinctly by the Obama administration while it campaigns against Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

In a recent interview on PA television, the Authority’s chief religious justice, Tayseer Tamimi, taught Arab residents that the Koran states that Jews have been evil throughout their history, that Jerusalem has no Jewish holy sites and that the Israeli government is trying to destroy the foundations of the Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount.

A research report by Palestinian Media Watch’s Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik reveals that Tamimi said on television, "Concerning the Jews, the Holy Koran says that they lack understanding, are void of wisdom, know nothing, violate agreements, etc. However, the Jews were known - it was known about them throughout history- that they make false claims, lies, forgery, slander, and fabrications, in order to justify their aggression, land theft, defilement of holy sites, appropriation of land, destruction of homes, murder of children, women, and the elderly. 

"I know of Muslim and Christian holy sites in [Jerusalem]. I don't know of any Jewish holy sites in it... Israel has been excavating since 1967 in search of remains of their Temple or their fictitious Jewish history."

I know of Muslim and Christian holy sites in [Jerusalem]. I don't know of any Jewish holy sites in it.

He also alleged that Israel has injected “chemical acid” into rocks on the Temple Mount in order to dissolve the foundations of the Al Aqsa mosque, where “soil and the pillars [were moved] so the mosque is hanging in midair. There is an Israeli plan to destroy the Al Aqsa Mosque and to build the Temple."

The Obama administration’s public comments on trying to convince the Palestinian Authority to return to the negotiating table with Israel generally have been constructed to call on both sides to adhere to American Roadmap obligations. U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly last week told reporters, “You have heard me say many times from this podium that we believe that all parties have to meet their obligations under the Roadmap. And of course, you know for the Israelis, that means a stop to settlements, which means a freeze of all activity, including natural growth. The Palestinians have their own obligations under the Roadmap, and that’s stopping incitement and proving that they can improve security. We also have made it clear to Arab states in the region that they should take steps towards normalization.”

However, most of the meetings by senior Obama officials, primarily U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell, have been held with Defense Minister Ehud Barak over the issue of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.