Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is walking in the footsteps of his partner and mentor, Yasser Arafat. He, Abbas, of course, has inspired the Chairman of the PA Environment Authority, Dr. Youssef Abu Safiyeh, to spread extraordinary lies about Israel. These lies were revealed last week in the Jerusalem Post, in an article entitled: "PA Claims Israel Selling 'Carcinogenic Juice'". I later heard the same Palestinian lies reiterated on the American Fox News station.
Some of the lies spread by Abbas' Palestinian Authority:
1. The Palestinian security forces have seized a number of shipments from Israel that included canned juice containing a carcinogenic substance. These drinks are specifically produced for Palestinian consumers in the Gaza Strip.
2. Egyptian authorities have intercepted two Israeli trucks carrying children's toys that included carcinogenic and radioactive substances.
3. Israel is dumping toxic chemical waste in some areas of the West Bank with the intention of causing severe damage to the health of the Palestinians.
4. Settlers and IDF soldiers are setting loose many wild pigs in Palestinian villages as part of the campaign designed to destroy the Palestinian economy.
A senior official in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office said that with these type of allegations, the PA was resorting to the same type of lies that Yasser Arafat used to spread. He further said that, as PA officials stray from reconciliation to comments of this type, "there will be greater objection inside Israel about being able to move forward with the PA on the diplomatic track." Comments such as these, the senior official said, as well as PA Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Kidwa's remark previously that the PA had no intention of dismantling the terror organizations, would raise questions about moving forward with any type of diplomatic process with the PA.
Thus, we see again that President Mahmoud Abbas, who tries to play the "Democratic Moderate", is just a cleaner-looking carbon copy of Yasser Arafat, in word and in deed. This does remind us of the time when Bill Clinton was US president. His wife, Hillary Clinton, made a state visit to the Middle East and visited Arafat in Ramallah in November, 1999. At that time, Arafat's wife, Suha, made deliberately false allegations such as: "Our [Palestinian] people have been submitted to the daily and intensive use of poisonous gas and contamination of water sources used by Palestinians with 'chemical materials', leading to a large increase of cancer cases among women and children." Hillary Clinton did not react with outrage. She sat silently by and, when Suha finished speaking, gave her a big hug and a kiss.
Did Mahmoud Abbas repeat the PA's recent allegations to US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice?
It is difficult to understand why the Palestinian Authority, under Mahmoud Abbas, is leveling these serious accusations at Israel at the exact time when Condoleezza Rice is arriving in the Middle East. It is somewhat doubtful that Abbas wants to be compared to Arafat. President George W. Bush used to denounce Mr. Arafat as a corrupt politician who failed to crack down on terrorism. However, President Bush feels that Mahmoud Abbas' election as Palestinian president will help spread the US gospel of democracy in the Arab world. In this connection, Condoleezza Rice has recently stated: "There is no doubt that this is a different Palestinian leadership than we have had in the past. He is a committed person."
He certainly is a committed person. His commitments are to the same goals held by Yasser Arafat.
Are President George W. Bush and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice intent on being hoodwinked by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as was President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, by Arafat and his wife, Suha?
Mahmoud Abbas is trying to fool our American President as well as our senators and Congressmen. Why does the United States refuse to see the real Abbas, the con artist extraordinaire?
A famous American proverb comes to mind: "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me."
Some of the lies spread by Abbas' Palestinian Authority:
1. The Palestinian security forces have seized a number of shipments from Israel that included canned juice containing a carcinogenic substance. These drinks are specifically produced for Palestinian consumers in the Gaza Strip.
2. Egyptian authorities have intercepted two Israeli trucks carrying children's toys that included carcinogenic and radioactive substances.
3. Israel is dumping toxic chemical waste in some areas of the West Bank with the intention of causing severe damage to the health of the Palestinians.
4. Settlers and IDF soldiers are setting loose many wild pigs in Palestinian villages as part of the campaign designed to destroy the Palestinian economy.
A senior official in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office said that with these type of allegations, the PA was resorting to the same type of lies that Yasser Arafat used to spread. He further said that, as PA officials stray from reconciliation to comments of this type, "there will be greater objection inside Israel about being able to move forward with the PA on the diplomatic track." Comments such as these, the senior official said, as well as PA Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Kidwa's remark previously that the PA had no intention of dismantling the terror organizations, would raise questions about moving forward with any type of diplomatic process with the PA.
Thus, we see again that President Mahmoud Abbas, who tries to play the "Democratic Moderate", is just a cleaner-looking carbon copy of Yasser Arafat, in word and in deed. This does remind us of the time when Bill Clinton was US president. His wife, Hillary Clinton, made a state visit to the Middle East and visited Arafat in Ramallah in November, 1999. At that time, Arafat's wife, Suha, made deliberately false allegations such as: "Our [Palestinian] people have been submitted to the daily and intensive use of poisonous gas and contamination of water sources used by Palestinians with 'chemical materials', leading to a large increase of cancer cases among women and children." Hillary Clinton did not react with outrage. She sat silently by and, when Suha finished speaking, gave her a big hug and a kiss.
Did Mahmoud Abbas repeat the PA's recent allegations to US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice?
It is difficult to understand why the Palestinian Authority, under Mahmoud Abbas, is leveling these serious accusations at Israel at the exact time when Condoleezza Rice is arriving in the Middle East. It is somewhat doubtful that Abbas wants to be compared to Arafat. President George W. Bush used to denounce Mr. Arafat as a corrupt politician who failed to crack down on terrorism. However, President Bush feels that Mahmoud Abbas' election as Palestinian president will help spread the US gospel of democracy in the Arab world. In this connection, Condoleezza Rice has recently stated: "There is no doubt that this is a different Palestinian leadership than we have had in the past. He is a committed person."
He certainly is a committed person. His commitments are to the same goals held by Yasser Arafat.
Are President George W. Bush and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice intent on being hoodwinked by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as was President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, by Arafat and his wife, Suha?
Mahmoud Abbas is trying to fool our American President as well as our senators and Congressmen. Why does the United States refuse to see the real Abbas, the con artist extraordinaire?
A famous American proverb comes to mind: "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me."