so for those of us who are driving, can someone summarize what he says?
A rare firsthand account from inside a Palestinian refugee camp reveals shocking truths about who the young residents blame for their suffering - and it’s not who most people think. Children playing soccer in the shadow of suicide bomber murals tell a complex story about martyrdom culture, political manipulation, and the surprising target of their frustration: the Palestinian Authority.
“I haven’t come here to get killed,” my friend protested as we made our way into the refugee camp. What we found inside challenged everything we thought we knew about the Palestinian narrative.
Playing soccer with local children in the shadow of disturbing propaganda - including a mural celebrating a female suicide bomber - I asked them a simple question: “Who is oppressing you?”
Their answer was surprising: “The PA” (Palestinian Authority).
The camp itself tells two stories. One through official channels - of perpetual refugee status and resistance - and another through the candid words of children who see through the political manipulation. There are no parks here, just murals of “martyrs” and a system that rewards violence against Israelis through payments and social status.
Hamas’s charter, which calls for the elimination of Jews, looms over everything: “The final day of Judgement does not come until every Jew is dead.” Yet on the ground, young Palestinians point to their own leadership’s role in perpetuating their refugee status.
“We will always be refugees because it benefits the PA,” one resident explained, highlighting how maintaining refugee status serves political interests rather than helping Palestinians build better lives.
Now, though, Robinson is in a world of trouble.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is currently serving 18 months after admitting to violating a 2021 High Court injunction. The case centers on his campaign against Jamal Hijazi, a 15-year-old Syrian refugee who was filmed being attacked at a school in Almondbury, Yorkshire. Robinson responded with Facebook videos, seen by nearly one million people, claiming Hijazi had attacked “young English girls” and threatened to stab another student.
The High Court ordered Robinson to pay £100,000 in damages in 2021 and banned him from repeating the claims. Instead, he created “Silenced,” a 90-minute documentary repeating the allegations, which he even screened at London’s Trafalgar Square in July 2024.
“All of his actions suggest he regards himself as above the law,” declared Mr. Justice Johnson at Woolwich Crown Court, ordering Robinson to pay £80,350.82 in costs. The judge offered to reduce the sentence by four months if Robinson removes the false claims from his social media accounts.
Elon Musk, fresh from being named Trump’s special adviser, has ignited a political firestorm in Britain by demanding freedom for Robinson.
Musk’s intervention comes amid his broader support for European right-wing figures, including Germany’s AfD party and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni. His posts have drawn sharp criticism from UK politicians, with Labour’s Stella Creasy telling Politico that “Musk’s support not just for Tommy Robinson, but also the AfD in Germany, shows just how big a problem he is for democracy.”
Robinson, who founded the far-right English Defence League in 2009, has a history of legal troubles, including convictions for assault (2005), mortgage fraud (2014), and previous contempt of court charges. Banned from Twitter in 2018, he returned to the platform after Musk’s takeover and now boasts over one million followers.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting dismissed Musk’s campaign as “misjudged and misinformed,” while Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe has promised to raise concerns about Robinson’s prison safety with the Ministry of Justice.
The first Palestinian camp I visited was near Jericho (Aqbat Jabr), which the UNRWA was administering. The residents are what you would expect, except the locals squeeze the UN in so many ways. I was talking with a local once and asked him how hard it was to make a living. He pulled out a roll of $100 American Dollar Bills that was thicker than my fist. There must have been 20,000 there, and that was in 1983. Now the interesting thing, I visited the same camp in 2005, and the children of the people I met were there, still running the camp. The only difference was all the Million+ Dollar Villas that had been built with UN (I mean US) money on the ridge to the east of it, and south of Jericho. I thought then, and now, what a racket the UNRWA is.
Bflr.
Anyone who refers to themself as “a Palestinian” in the modern sense has self-identified as someone who has embraced a fictitious and self-serving view of history.