Monday January 15, 2018

I've Been Thinking:

One of the ugliest, yet non-crude Arabic curses, is "may your house come to ruin."

That is what Palestinian President Abbas wished upon US President Donald Trump yesterday at the two day conference about Jerusalem taking place in Ramallah.

Abbas said that he found out about the US pulling their United Nations aid to the Palestinians from a tweet. Abbas said: "I see a tweet on Twitter." He said the tweet read: "'We will not give the Palestinians money because they refuse to negotiate." And then, referring to Trump, Abbas continued by saying: "May your house come to ruin. Where did you offer that to me? On the phone? On television?"

Abbas then explained why Jerusalem is important to Islam by saying it was the first direction of prayer. That is true. But what Abbas did not explain is that the prophet Mohammed turned his back on Jerusalem when the Jews rejected his prophecy.

Abbas said "True, Jerusalem does not have the Kaaba (a structure in Mecca considered the holiest site to Islam), but it is the first direction for prayer and the third holiest site to Muslims."

"Jerusalem is our eternal capital," Abbas declared, "come what may. It is for this reason that we are gathered here - to defend it. We're in a sensitive position. What can we comprise on later? The state itself? Abu Dis as capital? We're done. Here we stay. We will not make the mistakes of the past - of 1948 and 1967 - again. Jerusalem and al-Aqsa, of which Mohammad spoke, are one of the holiest sites after Mecca and Medina."

The Palestinians are trying to stoke the flames of conflict. They want people to get excited. They are rejecting past agreements and past proposals. Abbas is r-writing the playbook on peaceful negotiations and diplomacy.

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