Free Republic

I have been a student of Islam for five+ years because I wanted to know what motivates so called "Islamist" or "Radical" Muslims against Jews, Israel and the West. I now understand. The short article below sets out the argument why "Land For Peace" is simply impossible under Islam, owing to Koran Sura 2, Verse 191 — and it is for this reason (and Western and Israeli diplomats and negotiators' ignorance of it) that it has been, is, and will be impossible for Muslim Palestinians to make peace with Israel. This Palestinian position has been confirmed by the top Palestinian...

The Palestinian leader spoke in advance of the anticipated roll out of what US President Donald Trump is calling the “Plan of the Century” to resolve the Israeli-Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Trump Administration will allow Israel to annex portions of the West Bank and split the Gaza Strip from the West Bank so that it can be a state of its own, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday. Speaking at the Arab League summit in Tunisia, "What is coming from the US is more dangerous and serious,” he said. “The US will tell Israel, annex part of the Palestinian...

Taking charge of Group of 77, which encompasses 134 developing countries, Abbas slams Israel’s ‘occupation of the state of Palestine,’ condemns ‘terrorism in all its forms’ Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas assumed the chairmanship of the largest bloc of countries at the United Nations on behalf of “the State of Palestine” on Tuesday in New York City. The Palestinians are slated to serve as the leader of the bloc, known as the Group of 77, for the next year. In a speech at the UN headquarters, Abbas called the task of leading the Group of 77 “a great responsibility.” "I...

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Erdogan, Mr Abbas, members of the clergy, foreign guests, friends, Let me congratulate you from all my heart on the opening of Moscow’s rebuilt Cathedral Mosque. This is a big event for all Muslims in Russia. One of Moscow’s oldest mosques stood on this historical site and has undergone reconstruction that now makes it the biggest in Europe. It was given a magnificent modern new look worthy of the capital of our united, multi-ethnic and multi-confessional country. This new mosque is worthy of Russia, in which, I want to stress, Islam, under our country’s...

The Palestinian Authority President delivered his statement on Sunday as pressures mount on Saudi Arabia following the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas issued a statement on Sunday in which he voiced "full confidence" in Saudi Arabia and praised its leaders for their support for the Palestinians. The statement, which was published by the PA president's office, quoted Abbas as saying he has "absolute confidence" in Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman. "Palestine was - and shall remain - on the side of Saudi Arabia," Abbas said....

My words: "OOOH! LET'S SWORDFIGHT!" A senior Likud source on Saturday responded to former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The meeting took place in France. "Olmert, who offered Abbas the Western Wall, has now turned into his faithful mouthpiece," the source said. "In the US and many Arab countries, they already understand that Abbas is the true obstacle to peace, and that the reason for his extreme demands is not peace but rather the elimination of the State of Israel." MK Moti Yogev (Jewish Home) also responded to the meeting. "Olmert met with...

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met President Michael D. Higgins, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney today. Coveney had invited Abbas to come to Ireland at their meeting in Ramallah in January. To coincide with the visit, the Tánaiste announced additional funding of €1 million to the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). “Ireland is a longstanding supporter of UNRWA’s vital work in delivering healthcare, education and food to 5.3 million Palestine refugees. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East region has meant an increased demand for UNRWA’s services but funding has not kept pace...

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will visit Ireland next weekend accompanied by a high-level delegation, it has been announced. The stopover will come on President Abbas’s journey to the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York. President Abbas will pay a courtesy call on President Higgins before holding a formal meeting and working dinner with the Tánaiste Simon Coveney at Farmleigh. Among the topics expected to be discussed are the humanitarian and security situation in Gaza and the West Bank, the funding crisis for UNRWA, and the future of the Middle East Peace Process.

Secret KGB documents reveal just how deeply involved the Soviet Union was in the spilling of Israeli blood. The Russian spy agency provided Palestinian terror organizations with funds, training and arms, running agents like 'Krotov' - aka Mahmoud Abbas, 'Aref' - or Yasser Arafat, and 'Nationalist,' who was behind several plane hijackings long before 9/11. The genesis of the KGB’s developing ties with Palestinian terror organizations can be traced back to the end of the 1960s. The two most important KGB recruitments from the PLO during the second half of the 1970s were of people who still play a major...

The State Department officially announced on Friday that the United States is ending its funding to UNRWA, the UN agency for “Palestinian refugees”. “The Administration has carefully reviewed the issue and determined that the United States will not make additional contributions to UNRWA," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. “When we made a U.S. contribution of $60 million in January, we made it clear that the United States was no longer willing to shoulder the very disproportionate share of the burden of UNRWA's costs that we had assumed for many years. Several countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Sweden,...

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' office claimed that White House Adviser Jared Kushner's reported efforts to limit UNRWA activities are "a continuation of the subversive plots to eliminate the Palestinian problem." A statement from Abbas' office emphasized the need to "oppose" and "foil" the US plan. It is believed that US President Donald Trump's proposed peace plan will remove the question of PA "refugees" from the negotiating table. The peace plan, the contents of which have not yet been revealed, was by the PA as "aiming to eliminate the Palestinian problem and negate all of the Palestinian nation's legitimate...

The White House has confirmed that there has been a complete disconnect between the Palestinian Authority and the Trump administration. Former US secretary of state John Kerry met in London with a close associate of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Hussein Agha. Stall, play for time, do not break. Trump will not remain in office for a long, within a year Trump would not be in the White House. Kerry offered to help Sheppard his alternative peace initiative and promised to help garner international support from Europeans, Arab states and the international community. He promised to use all his contacts and...

Prince William arrived in Jordan on Sunday on the first stop of a five-day Middle East tour that will make him the first British royal to pay an official visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories. The Duke of Cambridge was greeted by Crown Prince Hussein, the son of Jordan's King Abdullah II, at the airport in Jordan's capital, Amman. The Jordanian prince then drove William to a technology-focused event for young people linked to the Crown Prince Foundation. Kensington Palace tweeted that Prince William was "looking forward to building a real and enduring relationship with the people of the...

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas blamed the new US embassy in Jerusalem and the US recognition of the holy city as Israel's capital for his recent hospitalization. Abbas released a statement attributing his hospitalization to stress from current events. “If the story of Jerusalem put me in the hospital, the I leave and say that Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine.” "The health of the state is good, we will achieve our goal which is an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital,” he said. Abbas, 83, has a history of health problems and smokes heavily. He was discharged Monday...

Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas was rushed to a Ramallah hospital Sunday, after he complained of chest pains and a high fever. Abbas, 82, was hospitalized last week for a “minor surgery”, the PA’s mouthpiece WAFA reported last week. On Sunday, Abbas was rushed to a Ramallah hospital for treatment of “pneumonia and fever” a source close to the PA chief said, Yediot Ahronot reported. According to a source which spoke with AFP, the PA leader also suffered from chest pains. .....

President Mahmoud Abbas was hospitalized with fever Sunday just days after undergoing surgery on his ear, an official said. The 83-year-old Abbas has endured a series of recent health scares which have revived anxiety over who will succeed him. A senior Abbas aide, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with protocol, said the Palestinian leader was diagnosed with a fever on Sunday. Abbas had an ear operation last week, and returned to the hospital late Saturday for a follow-up. Saed Sarahneh, of Istishari Arab hospital, said late Sunday that “all tests are normal and his condition is reassuring.” He...

As Philip Klein points out, it’s a good thing that this “history lesson” comes from the Left’s favorite Palestinian moderate. Lord knows how this would have unfolded with a less rational personage than Mahmoud “Abu Mazen” Abbas. The Palestinian leader opened the first Palestinian National Council in 22 years yesterday, hoping to firm up his credibility enough to establish his preferred line of succession as well as unite Palestinians under his leadership. And what better way to accomplish this than some unadulterated and absolutely bat-s*** crazy anti-Semitic conspiracy theories? In a long and rambling at speech in Ramallah at...

Jerusalem District Commander Yoram Halevi signed an order Thursday forbidding a conference of Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party in honor of terrorists. The conference was to be held in the Issawiya neighborhood of eastern Jerusalem to honor the mothers of shaheeds (martyrs) and those wounded while attacking Israelis. Following the issuance of the order and the instructions of the district commander, police forces arrived at the scene and prevented the event from being held. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan stated that "my policy is clear: to prevent any occurrence of incitement and support of terrorism in any way...

Iran's aspirations, Abbas and the "Palestinians," the Iran deal and the possibility of the U.S. pulling out, the Netanyahu bribery accusations, and the Saudi participation in the growing march toward war. Saudi Arabia may care more about stopping Iran even than Israel does. Quote from Netanyahu: "Iran must be stopped. and we are going to stop it."

In this week's update, entitled "On the Brink", John looks at the UN Security Council, in particular, the lies and deceit spewed by Abbas in regards to a Palestinian State, the increasing pressure on Israel from Lebanon to the north, the recent revelation that the Russians are testing new equipment in Syria, including their new stealth fighter the SU-57, plus the gathering of forces that have Israel in her sights for eventual destruction. John ends his message with a stunning revelation of a recent discovery in Israel, which further substantiates the accuracy and dependability of God's Word.