Wednesday, February 12, 2014

The Media and the West Ignore Palestinian Human Rights Violations

Khaled Abu Toameh notes how Palestinian Authority Human Rights Violations Ignored by Media, West:
A report issued by the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) this week criticized the Palestinian Authority [PA] and Hamas for assaults on human rights and freedoms in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The report, which has been ignored by mainstream media and human rights organizations in the West, reveals that 10 Palestinians died in January 2014 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as a result of anarchy, lawlessness and misuse of weapons.


The report also lists cases of torture and mistreatment in PA and Hamas prisons. ICHR pointed to an increase in the number of torture cases in prisons belonging to the PA's much-feared Preventive Security Service in the West Bank.

During January, ICHR wrote that it received 56 complaints about torture and mistreatment in Palestinian prisons: 36 in the Gaza Strip and 19 in the West Bank. In addition, the human rights organization received innumerable complaints about arbitrary and unlawful arrests of Palestinians by the PA and Hamas.
Of course this would be front page news if this report was about abuses by Israel -- but because it is about Arab abuses by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, the media and self-described human rights advocates are silent. This is in line with the lack of media interest that Abbas has now entered the 10 year of his 4 year term as president of the Palestinian Authority.

The extent of the corruption, incompetence and brutality of the Palestinian leadership would be amazing -- if it were actually covered by the media and responded to by the West.

The hypocrisy of ignoring human rights abuses by the Abbas regime extends to the Obama administration in general and John Kerry in particular, as Bret Stephens points out:
How is it that Mr. Abbas's glorification of terrorists living and dead earns no rebuke from Mr. Kerry, nor apparently any doubts about the sincerity of Palestinian intentions? Why is it that only Israel faces the prospect of a boycott? When was the last time the U.S., much less the Europeans, threatened to impose penalties on Palestinians for diplomatic or moral misbehavior?

In 2011 the Palestinians defied the U.S. by making a bid for statehood at the U.N.; then-U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice warned there would be "adverse negative consequences" for the Palestinians. Of course there were none, and the administration fought behind the scenes to make sure there wouldn't be any. Type the words "Kerry condemns Abbas" or "Kerry condemns Palestinians" into a Web search and you'll get that rare Google event: "No results found."
Photo
Secretary of State John Kerry turns a blind eye towards Palestinian misdeeds

It is one thing to ignore the truth. In Kerry's case, he is fabricating a peace deal based on illusions and false promises.

We have already seen his handiwork in Syria and Iran.


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