Palestinian Civil Society Watch II - The Definition of Palestinian "Concern"
We tend to think that a society that consistently produces pathological people must be in some way fundamentally and deeply rotten in its core. Remember all of those articles about Palestinians "being concerned" about Sharon's health? There was even talk that Palestinians were beginning to recognize that Sharon was the only Israeli leader that had ever given the Palestinians land in the Gaza Strip or West Bank for a state (although no one bothered to point out that he was the only leader of any country - Egypt and Jordan included - that had ever given the Palestinians). Turns out, those reports neglected to mention the opinions of the Al Aksa Brigade, the armed wing of the ruling, moderate Fatah faction in control of the Palestinian government:
Senior members of the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades criticized the Palestinian Authority on Monday for conveying well-wishes for ailing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, according to Army Radio. Jihad Jaara, a Palestinian gunman who was banished to Ireland as a result of his taking part in a standoff with Israel Defense Forces soldiers at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity during Operation Defensive Shield in the spring of 2002, said that he hopes Sharon survives so that he would live out his days on his deathbed in paralysis "so he can feel death every day".
Charming. Ditto for all those moderate Palestinian intellectuals who are supposed to be the vangaurd of the New Middle East:
"I believe that he should not die before he is tried for the massacres he committed in the past decades - he should be tried in the present life, not in heaven," said Abdul Rahim al-Shaik, a philosophy professor at Birzeit University in the West Bank.
The most sympathy for PM Sharon could probably be found in the Palestinian street, where they can look around and know that their "moderate" officials and terrorist "leaders" are tiny and petty compared to the giant that Sharon was.
Senior members of the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades criticized the Palestinian Authority on Monday for conveying well-wishes for ailing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, according to Army Radio. Jihad Jaara, a Palestinian gunman who was banished to Ireland as a result of his taking part in a standoff with Israel Defense Forces soldiers at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity during Operation Defensive Shield in the spring of 2002, said that he hopes Sharon survives so that he would live out his days on his deathbed in paralysis "so he can feel death every day".
Charming. Ditto for all those moderate Palestinian intellectuals who are supposed to be the vangaurd of the New Middle East:
"I believe that he should not die before he is tried for the massacres he committed in the past decades - he should be tried in the present life, not in heaven," said Abdul Rahim al-Shaik, a philosophy professor at Birzeit University in the West Bank.
The most sympathy for PM Sharon could probably be found in the Palestinian street, where they can look around and know that their "moderate" officials and terrorist "leaders" are tiny and petty compared to the giant that Sharon was.
