Palestinian Civil Society Watch - If We Asked You "What Do Death Threats Really Mean", Would You Call Us Sarcastic?
Among the very, very many reasons why we think that the coming Palestinian elections are going to go somewhat less than fabulously, today's might be least funny and most obviously troubling:
Ten days ago a fax was received from the Al-Aqsa Brigades in Jenin recommending that international observers of the Palestinian elections stay away. Two weeks ago a Nablus hotel owner where the observers intended to stay was threatened if he hosted them. Less than three weeks ago an Italian aide to a European parliamentary delegation was kidnapped in the Gaza Strip and released hours later.
Farbeit from us to belabor the obvious, but there's no reason to try to kill election monitors unless you plan to rig an election. Which is what Palestinian terrorist groups are planning to do. And by terrorist groups, we mean the ruling, 'moderate,' internationally recognized Palestinian ruling party:
The key, said Michael Murphy, country director of the observer mission of the US-based National Democratic Institute, is to know if the threat is real. In an accusing interview with The Jerusalem Post, Murphy suggested that leaders in the Palestinian Authority are behind the recent chaos in the territories.
So while we're really glad to see that the EU is pretending to consider beginning to rethink the unaccountable billions they give to the Palestinians, maybe it's time for someone to point out that the current ruling party isn't exactly made up of eager little democrats either. Meanwhile, the election observers are spending their time trying to puzzle out what all those death threats are really trying to convey:
"All the threats and kidnappings have been of a political nature," said Murphy. "It appears that they are saying that international elections observers are not wanted here. But we want to understand beyond that."
International humanitarian organizers are always trying "to understand beyond" the obvious, brutal surface of terrorism. Rarely, however, is the deeply counter-productive silliness of their sensibilities so obviously. In an effort "to understand beyond" what the Palestinians are trying to convey with all of those death threats, Murphy is willing to entertain the possibility that "it appears that they are saying that international elections observers are not wanted here". Oh, you think so? Yes, it certainly does appear that way, doesn't it? Hey, you don't think - you don't think that maybe that's it? That maybe, instead of a some reason "beyond that", it's just that the Palestinians don't want the people they're threatening to kill to stick around?
Palestinian terrorists say "leave our land or we'll kill you because we don't like you", and the international looks for some meaning beyond that. The targets differ - Jews, election monitors, etc - but the strategies of denial remain the same.
Ten days ago a fax was received from the Al-Aqsa Brigades in Jenin recommending that international observers of the Palestinian elections stay away. Two weeks ago a Nablus hotel owner where the observers intended to stay was threatened if he hosted them. Less than three weeks ago an Italian aide to a European parliamentary delegation was kidnapped in the Gaza Strip and released hours later.
Farbeit from us to belabor the obvious, but there's no reason to try to kill election monitors unless you plan to rig an election. Which is what Palestinian terrorist groups are planning to do. And by terrorist groups, we mean the ruling, 'moderate,' internationally recognized Palestinian ruling party:
The key, said Michael Murphy, country director of the observer mission of the US-based National Democratic Institute, is to know if the threat is real. In an accusing interview with The Jerusalem Post, Murphy suggested that leaders in the Palestinian Authority are behind the recent chaos in the territories.
So while we're really glad to see that the EU is pretending to consider beginning to rethink the unaccountable billions they give to the Palestinians, maybe it's time for someone to point out that the current ruling party isn't exactly made up of eager little democrats either. Meanwhile, the election observers are spending their time trying to puzzle out what all those death threats are really trying to convey:
"All the threats and kidnappings have been of a political nature," said Murphy. "It appears that they are saying that international elections observers are not wanted here. But we want to understand beyond that."
International humanitarian organizers are always trying "to understand beyond" the obvious, brutal surface of terrorism. Rarely, however, is the deeply counter-productive silliness of their sensibilities so obviously. In an effort "to understand beyond" what the Palestinians are trying to convey with all of those death threats, Murphy is willing to entertain the possibility that "it appears that they are saying that international elections observers are not wanted here". Oh, you think so? Yes, it certainly does appear that way, doesn't it? Hey, you don't think - you don't think that maybe that's it? That maybe, instead of a some reason "beyond that", it's just that the Palestinians don't want the people they're threatening to kill to stick around?
Palestinian terrorists say "leave our land or we'll kill you because we don't like you", and the international looks for some meaning beyond that. The targets differ - Jews, election monitors, etc - but the strategies of denial remain the same.
