Abbas’s Fatah Full of Praise for U.S. Citizen’s Killer

(Arutz Sheva) Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction has heaped praise upon the Arab terrorists behind the string of attacks over the past 24 hours in Israel, which have claimed the life of an American tourist and injured scores of Israeli and foreign citizens.

Unusually, given the reticence by many world leaders to condemn Palestinian incitement outright, the degree to which official PA factions have celebrated the attacks even drew condemnation earlier Wednesday from visiting US Vice President Joe Biden.

As Arutz Sheva reported, apart from Hamas, the Palestinian Authority’s official TV station hailed the terrorist who murdered American Taylor Allen Force as a “martyr,” and praised his actions as “a complex operation” targeting “settlers,” despite the attack having occurred in Jaffa, inside the “Green Line.”

But Abbas’s Fatah faction, which regularly praises and encourages violence, has gone a step further, by glorifying and lionizing the attackers while calling for further attacks in a series of posts on its official social media outlets.

In one post on its official Facebook page shortly after the Jaffa attack, carried out by 22-year-old PA resident Bashar Masalha, Fatah uploaded a picture of a drawing of a hand holding a knife over the map of “Palestine,” which includes the entire State of Israel.

The text on the arm and map, translated by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), read “The heroic Martyr (Shahid)” and “Bashar Masalha,” respectively.

Netanyahu to Biden: Israel’s Ties with Arab States ‘Solid Base’ for Peace, Stability

(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) In a joint press conference with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s failure to condemn Tuesday’s Palestinian terrorist attacks in Israel.

Speaking of the largest of the attacks, in which 29-year-old American business school student Taylor Force was killed and 11 Israelis were wounded in Jaffa, Netanyahu noted that Abbas’s Fatah party “actually praised this murderer as a hero and a martyr. This is wrong, and this failure to condemn terrorism should be condemned itself by everybody in the international community.”

Netanyahu said that when he and Biden met privately, they discussed the security challenges Israel faces, including Palestinian incitement, the collapse of various regimes across the Middle East, the rise of the Islamic State terror group, and Iran’s growing regional and global aggression.

“But we also see the opportunities, and I think some of them stems from these great challenges,” Netanyahu said, noting that one of the opportunities is “to deepen ties between Israel and the modern Arab states, and this could help us build a solid base for peace and stability.”

America and Israel, said the prime minister, “are stronger when we work together, so I look forward to continue to work together with you and President [Barack] Obama, to strengthen the remarkable and unbreakable alliance between our two countries.”

Military and intelligence collaboration between Washington and Jerusalem has reached “unprecedented” levels, Biden said.

“It doesn’t mean we never disagree, but you never need to doubt that the U.S. has Israel’s back and we know Israel has our back as well. We’re committed to making sure that Israel can defend itself against all serious threats and maintain its qualitative edge….It’s critical because Israel lives in a very, very tough neighborhood,” he said.

Commenting on the American-brokered nuclear deal with Iran, an accord that Israeli officials vehemently oppose, Biden said, “We’re united in the belief that a nuclear-armed Iran is an absolutely unacceptable threat to Israel, to the region and to the U.S., and I want to reiterate—I know people still doubt this—if in fact they (the Iranians) break the deal, we will act….Together we are seeking ways to advance our shared security interests and address the new realities of the region.”

Regarding the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the vice president said, “The only way, in my view, to ensure the future of a Jewish, democratic state, is that the status quo has to break somewhere along the line here, in terms of a two-state solution. Even though it may be hard to see the way ahead, we continue to take steps to move back to the path of peace—it’s not easy—for the sake of Israel and for the sake of the Palestinians in the region.”

Pew Study: Israeli Jews United on Land but Divided on Religion

(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli Jews are united in the opinion that the land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people, but are divided on the matter of religion, according to a comprehensive survey on religion, state, and society in Israel that was conducted by America’s Pew Research Center.

The survey found that while more Israeli Jews are traditional or religious than secular, most still think halacha (Jewish law) should be separate from the laws of the state. The study also found that most of the Israeli Jewish population votes for the center-right, and most object to the lack of public transportation on Shabbat.

“Nearly 70 years after the establishment of the modern State of Israel, its Jewish population remains united behind the idea that Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people and a necessary refuge from rising anti-Semitism around the globe,” Pew researchers said.

According to the findings, 40 percent of Jews in Israel are secular, 23 percent are traditional, 10 percent are religious, and 8 percent are haredi. Most Israeli Jews (63 percent) said halacha should not be made into state law. The vast majority (94 percent) of secular Israeli Jews support public transportation on the Shabbat, most of the country’s Jews (72 percent) support conscripting haredi men to serve in the military. Almost half of Israeli Jews (45 percent) said they were in favor of letting women pray out loud at the Western Wall.

Meanwhile, the majority of secular Israeli Jews said they observe cultural aspects of religion. For example, 87 percent said they had participated in Passover seders and 53 percent said they light Shabbat candles at least occasionally. On the other hand, 62 percent said they drive vehicles on Shabbat.

Forty-eight percent of Jewish Israelis support the transfer or expulsion of Arabs from Israel, while 46 percent said they oppose such measures.

Lebanese PM Urges Hezbollah to Refrain From Attacks on Saudi Arabia

(JNS.org) Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam has urged the Hezbollah terror group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, to refrain from attacking Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.

In an interview with the Saudi-based Al-Arabiya television network, Salam criticized Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria, saying that it reflected negatively on Lebanon. Salam also noted Lebanon’s traditional warm relations with the Arab Gulf states.

Last week, the Saudi-dominated Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) declared Hezbollah a terrorist organization. Lebanon-based Hezbollah criticized Saudi Arabia for being responsible for the decision.

“The decision by the GCC is reckless and hostile and is condemned. The Saudi regime bears responsibility for its issuing and for the consequences,” Hezbollah said.

The six-nation GCC’s move came on the heels of a Saudi decision to freeze $3 billion in military aid to the Lebanese army. Saudi Arabia, which considers Iran its top regional threat and rival, has suggested that it might enact further sanctions against Hezbollah.