The Palestinians' New Terror Groups

by Bassam Tawil 

• If the Biden Administration were serious about de-escalating tensions and preventing further violence between Israelis and Palestinians, it could have achieved this goal by demanding that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas take action against the numerous armed gangs roaming Palestinian streets.
• Instead of holding a summit in Jordan or any other country, the Biden Administration needs to make clear to Abbas that he cannot have it both ways. He cannot turn a blind eye to the terror groups operating under his nose, and at the same time condemn Israel for launching counter-terrorism operations to protect Jews and prevent further terrorist attacks.
• The Biden Administration could at least have demanded that Abbas rein in the terror attacks against Jews instead of glorifying terrorists and rewarding them and their families financially as part of his "pay-for-slay" incentive to go murder Jews.
• Instead of condemning terrorism, Abbas and senior Palestinian officials... regularly castigate Israel for launching pre-emptive operations to prevent terror attacks that harm its people.
• The Biden administration seems not to understand that by failing to condemn the murder of innocent Israeli civilians, Abbas is signaling to his people that he has no problem with the terrorists so long as they target only Jews and not him.
• "Except for the Palestinian Police and Israeli military forces, no other armed forces shall be established or operate in the West Bank and Gaza Strip." — Oslo Accords Interim Agreement, September 28, 1995.
• [N]ot only do both the West Bank and Gaza Strip have dozens of militias and terror groups; worse, the Gaza Strip -- which was handed by Israel to the Palestinian Authority in 2005 -- is currently controlled by terror organizations such as the Iranian-backed Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
• Abbas is saying that the Israelis have no right to defend themselves or go after those who are planning to kill Jews.
• [I]t means that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization, which is backed by Iran, could penetrate the security forces of Abbas's Fatah.
• The US State Department, after the summit in Jordan, published a "joint communiqué" that totally ignored the role of the Palestinian terror groups in the latest flare-up of violence. The communiqué did not include a commitment by the Palestinian leadership to rein in the terrorists operating in Palestinian-controlled areas. It did not include a demand to the Palestinian leaders to halt their poisonous incitement against Israel. It did not even call for Abbas to stop financially rewarding terrorists for murdering Jews.
• The communiqué instead talked about the need for Israelis and Palestinians to "end unilateral measures for a period of 3-6 months." The only measure it mentions, however, is the building of new housing for Jews.
• The Biden Administration appears to believe that building a home for a Jew constitutes a greater threat than gangs and terror groups carrying out lethal attacks against Jews.

If the Biden Administration were serious about de-escalating tensions and preventing further violence between Israelis and Palestinians, it could have achieved this goal by demanding that Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas take action against the numerous armed gangs roaming Palestinian streets. Pictured: Gunmen from a number of terrorist groups, including the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Izaddin al-Qassam Brigades, Al-Quds Brigades, and Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, hold what they called a "joint press conference" in Jenin refugee camp on February 25, 2023. (Photo by Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP via Getty Images)

As part of its effort to de-escalate tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, the Biden Administration invited the two parties to a summit in Jordan on February 26 to discuss ways to "prevent further violence."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the meeting as a "positive step for Israelis and Palestinians." US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said:

"We recognize that this meeting was a starting point and that there is much work to do over the coming weeks and months to build a stable and prosperous future for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Implementation will be critical."

If the Biden Administration were serious about de-escalating tensions and preventing further violence between Israelis and Palestinians, it could have achieved this goal by demanding that Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas take action against the numerous armed gangs roaming Palestinian streets.

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