Arab Writers Group Syndicate

Hamas kills civilians, but not as many as Israel
By Ray Hanania — Reuters, which is slightly more objective in covering the Palestinian-Israeli conflict than most of its other Western counterparts, conservatively estimates that Israel’s military has killed “more than 100″ Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip during the past four months of this year. Palestinians put the number higher, at more than 250. B’tselem, the besieged Israeli human rights organization ostracized by fellow Jews, reports that Israeli soldiers have killed a total of 323 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the year. When it comes to counting Palestinian lives, the numbers are always fast and loose, often dictated by Israeli control and a pro-Israel Western news media that hesitates to criticize Israeli policies too harshly. Read more »

Hamas peace is an oxymoron
By Ray Hanania – Former President Jimmy Carter was sincere in his efforts to bridge the current conflict by bringing Hamas into a role as a participant in peace negotiations. But he is naïve is believing Hamas wants peace. Hamas is an extremist Islamist group that has succeeded in outdoing Israel’s government in committing violent acts and that has one goal, the creation of an Islamic Republic in Palestine. Hamas doesn’t want peace. It wants Israel’s defeat, something it will probably never have, at least not before wreaking a holocaust on its own people through escalating violence and conflict. Read more »

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Arabs driven by biases that mirror Israeli biases
By Ray Hanania – Last month, Hamas terrorists fired rockets into Israel and killed an Israeli girl. The attack provoked a massive response from Israel which claimed to target Hamas militants but ended up killing dozens of Palestinian civilians. Palestinians, Muslims and Arabs roundly condemned the Israeli attacks, but made no mention of the murder of the Israeli girl. Israelis were no different, condemning the murder of the little girl and then excusing away the murder of scores of innocent Palestinian civilians. As the back and forth escalated, the partisanship increased with Palestinians ignoring their attacks against Israel and Israelis ignoring their attacks against Palestinians. And people wonder why peace has been elusive so far in the Middle East. Read more »

Don’t allow Hamas to regain any control in Palestine
By Ray Hanania – The acronym FATAH is based on the Arabic words “Harakat al-Tahrir (Al-Watani) al-Filasteen,” a movement dedicated to the (national) liberation of Palestine. Hamas is based on the Arabic words “Harakat Al-Muqawama Al-Islamia” which is a movement dedicated to zealous Islam, not the liberation of Palestine. Many people say the Oslo Peace Accords failed because the differences between Israelis and Palestinians were huge. But that is a lie. In truth, the real problem was Hamas. The failure of peace has always been caused by Hamas, a religious terrorist organization that as soon as it is done wiping out all the Jews in Palestine and Israel will quickly turn its wrath on Arab Christians. Read more »

American hypocrisy in Ashqar political persecution

By Ray Hanania – Palestinian Muslim Abdelhaleem Ashqar was sentenced to 11 years in prison this week because he refused to testify against an organization he says is defending the rights his people. Ashqar was a part of the political persecution launched by disgraced former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft that also included Bridgeview car salesman Mohammed Salah. Like Salah, Ashqar was singled out for political convenience. Although neither man had anything to do with allegations of terrorism – a fact proven in their trials – they were instead vindictively punished because of America’s one-sided policies that prosecute Palestinian extremism but ignore extremism in Israel that also has undermined peace. Read more »