Palestinian Authority unity government chairman Mahmoud Abbas had up to that point fully incited — and for that matter, still continues to incite — those who live within the PA territorites and Arabs in Israel to commit terrorist acts. He sent a condolence letter to the family of Muataz Ibrahim al-Hijazi, the Islamic Jihad terrorist who attempted to assassinate Temple Mount activist Yehuda Glick in Jerusalem. Hijazi was killed in a shootout with security personnel while resisting arrest hours after he shot Glick four times at point-blank range. Yet:
“With anger and condemnation we received the message about the heinous crime committed by the murderous, terrorist gangs in the Israeli occupation army against Muataz Ibrahaim al-Hijazi, who rose to heaven as a shahid in the fight for the Palestinian people’s rights and for the holy sites,” Abbas wrote.
In the month prior, Abbas called on all PA Arabs 19 times over a three-day period to “protect” the Al Aqsa mosque by “any means” from invasion of Jews.
“It is not enough to say the settlers came, but they must be barred from entering the compound by any means,” he exhorted in a speech televised on official PA TV. “This is our Aqsa… they have no right to enter it and defile it.”
To his credit, Kerry referred also to the calls for “days of rage” by the Fatah faction led by Abbas. The problem is that not only the New York Times, but even Israel’s own mainstream media joins liberal U.S. media outlets in not carrying that message in its entirety.
What Kerry said, however, was correct and necessary and important to publish:
“To have this kind of act, which is a pure result of incitement, of calls for ‘days of rage,’ of just irresponsibility, is unacceptable,” Kerry said. “The Palestinian leadership must condemn this and they must begin to take serious steps to restrain any kind of incitement … and exhibit the kind of leadership that is necessary to put this region on a different path. This simply has no place in human behavior and we need to hear from leaders who are going to lead their people to a different place.”
So when will America’s media consider the words of their own leaders, spoken abroad in an honest efffort to bring peace and stem bloodshed, important enough to present to their readers, listeners and viewers in their entirety — as they were meant to be understood?