Every Israeli is a ‘settler’ and every ‘settler’ is a legitimate target.
By ITAMAR MARCUS, NAN JACQUES ZILBERDIKPro-Palestinian demonstrators light garbage bin on fire during protests in Jaffa, October 6, 2015(photo credit: Courtesy)
Why should anyone be shocked or surprised that Palestinian terrorism is hitting Jaffa, Petah Tikva and Kiryat Gat – all cities that have been part of Israel since its creation? Palestinian leaders are constantly indoctrinating their people with the message that Jaffa and all of Israel are also under “occupation,” eventually to be “liberated” and come under Palestinian rule.The reason the current attacks and riots have shocked and surprised some is that Israeli leaders and the Israeli public have unfortunately not been listening to what our Palestinian Authority peace partners are telling their people about our cities.The host on a popular weekly children’s program on official PA TV recently told children the following about Jaffa’s past and its future: Puppet “Marwan”: “This is Tel Aviv. Take a look. It was named Tel Aviv after Jaffa was occupied. Can you believe it? Jaffa was here and it became Tel Aviv....”PA TV host: “Good for you, Marwan, you went to see Jaffa and had fun there... My friends, I am telling you that for sure Jaffa, and not only Jaffa but also Haifa, Acre, Nazareth and all the Palestinian cities occupied in 1948 will return to us one day.” (Official PA TV, May 23, 2015) According to PA education, Jaffa was Palestine, today is “occupied” Palestine, and will again be Palestine.For years, the PA has been transmitting this message, which makes a mockery of the entire peace process, as a fundamental component of Palestinian ideology. Palestinians hear this through every framework the PA controls, including culture and music. One song among dozens like it that defines eight Israeli cities and the Galilee, as “ours” and “Palestinian,” has appeared on official Palestinian TV stations hundreds of times, including dozens of times this year: “Jaffa, Acre, Haifa and Nazareth are ours...From Bethlehem to Jenin is Palestinian, Ramle, Lod and Sakhnin are Palestinian. Nowhere is more beautiful than Jerusalem; no matter how much we travel, from Safed to al-Badhan [near Nablus] is Palestinian; Tiberias and Ashkelon are Palestinian.” (Official PA TV, broadcast hundreds of times since 2011 – most recently September 27, 2015) For years, even crossword puzzles in the official PA daily have presented all of Israel as an “occupation.” One crossword puzzle clue was “a port in occupied Palestine” and the solution was “Haifa.” Another asked for “a modern city in occupied Palestine” and the answer was “Tel Aviv.” (Al-Hayat al-Jadida, February 4, 2014 and February 10, 2009) That all of Israel is occupied Palestine is an explicit message coming from the PA government.Earlier this year, the Palestinian National Security Forces started a photo series on its official Facebook page called “A picture form Palestine.”Since then, it regularly posts pictures of Israeli cities and regions, always referred to as Palestine or “occupied” Palestine. Here are just a few examples: “A picture from Palestine: occupied Jaffa,” “A look at Palestine: the Negev,” “A look at Palestine: Safed district,” “A look at Palestine: Atlit, Haifa,” “A picture from Palestine: Upper Galilee,” “A look at Palestine: Tiberias,” “The occupied city of Acre.” (February-August 2015) Along with teaching that Jaffa is Palestine, the PA informs its people of the step-by-step strategy for liberating Jaffa and the rest of Israel from “occupation.” For example, Fatah leader Abbas Zaki, a close associate of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, stated that establishing a Palestinian state on the 1967 lines is being negotiated by the PA because everyone knows that Israel cannot survive in the 1967 lines and will “come to an end.”“Israel will come to an end. If I say that I want to remove it from existence, this will be great, great – it is hard. This is not a [stated] policy.You can’t say it to the world. You can say it to yourself.” (Al Jazeera TV, September 23, 2011) The Palestinian population has accepted the message that the leadership’s ultimate goal is to conquer Jaffa, Acre and all of Israel “in stages.” A poll conducted by the Washington Institute last year found that 60 percent of Palestinians believe that the “five-year goal should be to work toward reclaiming all of historic Palestine, from the river to the sea.” When asked about the Palestinian leadership’s objective, even more (almost two-thirds) said that the leadership’s final goal is “part of a ‘program of stages,’ to liberate all of historic Palestine later.”
(The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, June 25, 2014) So why is anyone surprised that Israelis in Jaffa, Petah Tikva and Kiryat Gat are also being attacked? To the majority of Palestinians, there is no legitimate Israel and no legitimate Israelis.Some areas were “occupied in 1948” and others were “occupied in 1967.” Every Israeli is a “settler” and every “settler” is a legitimate target.