President Bush Calls for Palestinian State, Gazans Call for Jihad
January 10, 2008
And the President wonders why most Americans think his calls to establish a Palestinian state--most recently in Jerusalem today--are pure folly? From the Jerusalem Post:
Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza staged protests against George W. Bush on Wednesday, burning Bush in effigy and underscoring the deep political split with West Bank moderates who welcomed the visit of the US president as an important gesture to the Palestinians.
Supporters of Hamas chanted "Death to America," and burned US and Israeli flags. A shadowy al-Qaida-inspired group appeared in public for the first time with rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and uttered vague threats against US targets....
...polls indicate that the vast majority of Palestinians are either indifferent to US peace promises or deeply skeptical a deal with Israel can be negotiated. The US administration is widely perceived in the Palestinian territories as a friend and ally of Israel, at the expense of the Palestinians.
Wait, it gets even better:
In the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis, about 20 masked supporters of an al-Qaida-inspired group calling itself the "Army of the Nation," displayed weapons in a first public appearance.
The men wore black robes over black pants. Some wore red headbands with the words "death squad."
A spokesman for the group, who only gave his nom de guerre, Abu Hafs, said Bush was "not welcome" in the Palestinian territories. "We are coming, not to Bush in Tel Aviv, but God willing to Washington," he said.
He described members of the terror network al-Qaida as "brothers," with similar methods and ideology, but added that "there is no complete connection" to his group.
Abu Hafs's group has claimed responsibility for several recent mortar and rocket attacks on Israeli border communities.
In recent months, several al-Qaida-inspired groups have emerged in Gaza, though their actual links to the terror network, if any exist, are murky. An almost complete closure of Gaza since the Hamas takeover in June has driven Gazans deeper into poverty, creating fertile ground for militant groups.
The President says he wants a two-state solution, not a "three-state solution" (meaning the West Bank and Gaza would be split into two separate enclaves adjacent to Israel) He thinks he can do it by the end of 2008. Good luck with all that.. He 's also now proclaiming that the Israelis must end the "occupation" of Arab land. Ah, to be "The Decider."
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