By Michael Widlanski, IMRA, October 16, 2005.

Voice of Palestine Radio, the official voice of Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian
Authority, declared Sunday night that both of today’s attacks on Israelis were
carried out by members of the Fatah organization headed by PLO leader Abbas.

At least three people were murdered and another five wounded – including
women and children – in the two drive-by shooting attacks that took place
within minutes of one another: one on a group of civilians at a bus-stop south
of Bethlehem, the other on the road between Jerusalem and Nablus.

“Both armed attacks were carried out by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades which
are part of the Fatah Movement,” asserted Voice of Palestine, which, along
with the other Palestinian media stressed that the attacks were on
“mustawtaneen” – the Arabic word for settlers.

The murders were not condemned by the official Palestinian media or any
Palestinian officials who have generally called such previous attacks on
“settlers” a legitimate form of “resistance” to occupation.

Dr. Abbas and his aides also did not condemn the kidnap murder three weeks
ago of a Jerusalem man, Sasson Nuriel, who was tortured by Palestinian
terrorists from the Hamas organization and then made to read a “confession”
that was filmed and distributed on Hamas websites.

The attacks have occurred during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan
which is often a time set aside not only for penitence but also for jihad, holy
war.

Indeed, official Mosque addresses as well television and radio shows during
recent weeks have been depicting Israelis and Americans as murderers and as
victimizers of Muslims, highlighting the need for more “resistance”
[muqawwama], “fighting” [kifaah] and “active struggle” [nidaal].

Palestinian leaders have repeatedly promised to curb violence and curtail
incitement to violence, but since Dr. Abbas came to power as PLO chairman
last December, there has been a general continuation of anti-Israeli and
anti-Western propaganda as under the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Although Abbas has removed some “martyr videos,” government-controlled
newspaper cartoons and television montage films habitually depict Israelis and
Americans as sadists.

A cartoon in the Al-Quds newspaper this month shows America turning the
Arab world into a human slab of beef with a US government stamp, while
staged “documentary films” show Israeli jailers torturing Palestinian prisoners or
Israeli soldiers gloating while killing Palestinian women and children.