Predictably, Land Day Protests Turn Violent
Tear gas, rocks, and stun grenades filled the air as Palestinian rioters and Israeli security personnel skirmished today — the Land Day protests unraveled into predictable anarchy and violence.
In Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and at the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel, hundreds of Palestinian protested, and later rioted, as they marched on Israeli border positions. In an abrupt contrast to the relative silence at the Qalandiya crossing between Ramallah and Jerusalem this morning, the attempt to “liberate” Jerusalem descended into chaos at the conclusion of Friday morning prayers.
Organizers of the Global March on Jerusalem boasted of a complex and thoroughly planned effort to flush Israel’s borders with two million activists, refugees, and militants from across the West Bank, Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan for Land Day. (March 30 is when Palestinian and Israeli Arabs commemorate deadly protests that took place in Israel over land rights in 1976.) The organizers included Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and leftist and extremist groups, and were backed by Iran and other Arab governments.
Protestors burned tires and threw Molotov cocktails at Israeli soldiers in Jerusalem, who were deployed to prevent large-scale violence and the possible infiltration of Israeli territory. In the West Bank and Gaza, Israelis responded with non-lethal countermeasures, such as tear gas, the Scream device (used to disperse crowds with projected audible dissonance), and the Skunk (a modified carrier that sprays a non-toxic foul-smelling substance at large crowds). At the Erez Crossing between Israel and Gaza, 14 injuries and one death were reported after Gaza protesters crossed into the no-man’s land close to the Israeli border. The rioters were fired upon after failing to heed warning shots by IDF personnel. Large groups of Palestinians gathered at landmarks in Lebanon and Jordan, but did not attempt to breach the border.
The protests were marred by conflicts amongst the various factions claiming leadership over the masses, which resulted in infighting. Hamas, Palestinian Authority, and Lebanese security forces also beat back attempts to approach Israeli border crossings with clubs and truncheons. In Bethlehem, Palestinian police formed a human chain to keep protesters from reaching the checkpoint. A protester threw a Molotov cocktail that lit a fire on an Israeli watchtower after Palestinian police withdrew.
The day’s planning was beset by division within the organizers’ ranks months before the protests were to begin. From the onset, Iranians and other proxy groups sought to interfere. The few calls for nonviolent resistance and discourse during the day’s events were drowned out by the more radical elements.
Shortly after the PLO was formed in 1964, the black separatists, Marxists, and Islamists who wrested the Civil Rights movement away from Martin Luther King and retain control of the remnants of that movement to this day made common cause with the newly-invented “Palestinians.” Indeed, King spoke out against the antisemitism and anti-Zionism which he saw growing in the movement after this common cause was made. King, however, was unsuccessful in stopping this trend and, after his death, sympathy for the “Palestinians” continued to grow among the increasingly racist “leaders” of the movement as it morphed into a “human rights” movement based on “gimme” rather than the civil rights movement King had led.
It is important to remember this as we watch the “Palestinians” engage, yet again, in a riotous kabuki play of faux-nationalism—for we are seeing the same drama enacted now across our own nation, centered upon Sanford, Florida. The race-hustlers of the United States rely for their existence upon a dependent populace nourished on grievance; the same is true for the race-hustlers of Hamas and Fatah. It is no accident that there is such kinship between the bogus “liberation movement” of the invented “Palestinian people” and the “no justice/no peace” lynch mobs periodically ginned up by Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.
Complete agree Buzzsawmonkey, great observation.
This is excellent….
….”..It is no accident that there is such kinship between the bogus “liberation movement” of the invented “Palestinian people” and the “no justice/no peace” lynch mobs periodically ginned up by Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.”
And, so is this which was your preface….
….”It is important to remember *this* as we watch the….” [ fill in here the protest du jour] ……*this* being recent History itself; it’s essential that we somehow re-acquire our attention spans amidst our marketing-inspired Tweeting and Messaging and I-Padding and I-Tabletizing of this-and-that, and by “recent” I mean the History since the 1960′s which was the gestation or pre-natal period of the entitlement mentality that was instantly absorbed by those targets of the vote gathering efforts of the Liberals.
Why am I so adamant here?
Because I spent the 1960′s in East and South East Asia and when I came home in January of 1969, it was a culturally shocking re-entry. One has to experience this to appreciate what so many now dismiss with a shrug of the shoulders as “That’s the way it is…” in those prescient and submissive words of CBS’s Walter Cronkite.
We simply must rid ourselves of the likes of these faux Affirmatively Actioned Obama clones. Easier said than done, of course, but we can start on Election Day.
Technically, it turns out MLK never wrote the famous letter about how anti-zionism is antisemitism in the form it is usually written. However, it is certainly true that this was his view.
Yes, I have seen this vacuous thinking first hand in the ME. Whenever the topic of Israel, USA support, or religion in general came up, their eyes would almost glaze over and immediately blame “the Zionist Jews” for all worldly ills.
They refuse to believe that if left alone (no attacks, suicide bombers, etc…) Israel and its neighbors would enjoy peace. If Hamas, MB, et all had their way, there would be a blood bath against all persons non-Muslim, then they would turn the sword on those who aren’t “Muslim enough.”
I had a quaint conversation in the West Bank with a young (early 20′s) fellow. He was very nice, but kept insisting that Jews must leave Palestine, but he could not state where they could go, as he couldn’t figure out where any boundaries should be. The rationale that they must go is “if somebody broke into and stole your home, would you want peace?” However, he couldn’t state which of his family lost land, and WHY they lost it if they had it in the first place.
Centuries of tit-for-tat, revenge, and faux honor run deep in ME blood, which is why when we said “Peace to you, and may you find peace,” the lad had no answer, just a confused look on his face.
A few hours ago I watched an Iranian TV propaganda piece rallying the morons for the march to the border of Israel. The rhetoric in the propaganda was absolutely
hateful, totalitarian and violent (the U.N. is fine with it though)… not to mention downright scary. Nobody mentioned that this ‘march’ started right after a little incitement in the local mosques. By the way … where exactly is “palestine” and who exactly are the “palestinians”?? Iran is funding much of this moronic and demonic parade. Buzzsawmonkey is exactly right, but I would add that participation with evil is the main cause of strife.
“The political leadership of Hamas and Fatah allow their citizens to wallow in mediocrity. The respective leaders of both organizations jockey amongst themselves for power, further the status quo by refusing to negotiate with Israel, and manage to distract their people by allowing the Palestinian street to vent its steam when needed, usually at Israel’s expense.”
I’m just surprised that, after all these years, the arabs and the Palestinians are still falling for all of this. Do they always want to wallow in mediocrity, eeking out a living from handouts from other arab nations, like Saudi Arabia? When will they get tired of playing victims and actually decide to end this, realize that Israel isn’t going anywhere, and simply try to co-exist with Israel? The Palestinians that co-exist with Israel (mostly on the West Bank) are finding that their economy is better, their standard of living is better, and their future looks a lot better if they decide NOT to fight and work with Israel for a better future. But it’s the people in Hamas and Hezbollah that have made a living off of violence and murder. And as long as these killers are around, the same leaders who have as little respect for Israel as they do for their own people, the arab and Palestinian people will always be wallowing in mediocrity.
You know the story about the Frog and the Scorpion, don’t you?
Culture matters. And they have a primitive culture based on revenge and personal honor. Their first choice is always, kill the enemy. They always respect the most radical suggestions. Times haven’t changed for them since Nasser, or maybe even since big Mo. It’s the reason why Palestinian Peaceful Demonstration is an oxymoron.
Don’t forget the incredible amounts of cash and goodies they receive from their enablers in the UN, The EU and the States and most of the world… where would all those bureaucrats get a job these days? they have a system to prop up and they make good money… and perks … and conferences in New York, Dubai, Paris, Geneva, Durban… Brazil…
To be honest, I thought this was going to be a heckuva lot worse, and a heckuva lot bloodier.
I think after the Israels killed 15-25 people last year in June when they tried storming the border, the Islamofascists realized that the Israelis were dead serious. (Pun fully intended.)