by Stephen Lendman

Illegitimate PA president Mahmoud Abbas and his corrupt cronies benefit hugely at the expense of their own people.

They serve Israeli interests, not theirs, virtually silent in the face of ongoing IDF and police rampaging, murdering Palestinians in cold blood, brutalizing hundreds of others viciously, operating unaccountably.

Are we witnessing a repeat of October 2000, the start of the Second Intifada? It began with Israeli police murdering 12 protesting Arab citizens and one Palestinian. The Orr Commission of Inquiry said police and other security forces must alter the way they treat Arabs. It called use of live fire, rubber bullets and similar tactics against demonstrators illegal.

It said police must renounce its culture of lying. It called for ending racist discrimination. Its report focused on Israeli Arab citizens. Its findings hold for persecuted Palestinians.

Israeli security forces commit cold-blooded murder with impunity. They freely brutalize Palestinians, ongoing for days in Occupied Palestine.

Abbas is a longtime Israeli collaborator in return for generous benefits he derives. He opposes vital BDS activism. He’s against legitimate Palestinian resistance. He supported three Israeli wars on Gaza.

He’s an installed puppet representing Israeli interests at the expense of his own people he’s done nothing to serve and protect. He enforces occupation harshness, opposing liberation struggles.

Former Israeli President Shimon Peres praised him earlier, saying:

He “condemned terror and has pledged that under his leadership there will not be a third intifada.”

Whether ongoing violence becomes one remains to be seen. Given Abbas’ opposition, he’ll collaborate with Israel to crush its potential emergence.

Over a week of Israeli instigated violence left five Palestinians dead, over 900 injured, some seriously - with no conflict resolution in sight.

A Reuters cameraman filmed around 20 Israeli undercover agents dressed as Palestinian youths, their faces concealed, throwing stones during a Beit El demonstration - then drawing guns, revealing their identity, and threatening to shoot Palestinians.

One protester was thrown to the ground, brutally beaten and shot in the knee, then dragged away bleeding for questioning - torture to confess and reveal other names, longstanding Israeli practice throughout nearly half a century of brutalizing occupation.

Last Sunday, undercover Israeli agents dressed as Palestinians kidnapped a wounded boy from his Nablus hospital bed, wanted for legitimately resisting occupation.

A recent poll showed most Palestinians believe a third intifada is the only possible way to end Israeli occupation. One youth said “(i)f there was leadership, there would be no intifada. But there is no leadership.”

A Palestinian civil servant told Maan News: “To achieve our national goals, we should raise an intifada against the Palestinian Authority, because they are the hand of Israel. Achieving that would be a big victory, an earthquake for Israel.”

Many Palestinians know Abbas and other PA officials are an “obstacle to freedom. (They’re) traitors.”

PA security forces are collaborating quietly with Israel to suppress ongoing protests. If things spiral further out-of-control, expect them to act more aggressively.

A student told Maan News: “All of the people now are with an intifada.” Another said: “Leadership? We don’t care about leaders. We will be the leaders.”

Most Palestinians are under age 20. Many support resistance for change. The Al Haq human rights group condemned Western silence, calling it “tacit approval of (vicious) Israeli practices and policies.”

Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat urged Israelis to carry guns. He was seen openly displaying one publicly, recklessly encouraging greater incitement.

Netanyahu promised harsher crackdowns. How much more Palestinian blood does he intend to spill? Obama said nothing about Israeli violence. His press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters:

“We call upon all parties to take affirmative steps to restore calm and refrain from actions and rhetoric that would further enflame tensions in that region of the world.”

Not a word condemning Israeli-instigated violence, murdering Palestinians in cold blood, brutalizing hundreds, pitting heavily armed soldiers and police against youths with stones, their bare hands and courage to resist occupation viciousness.

Clashes remain ongoing for over a week with no signs of ending.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III".

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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