Palestinian Leader Credits Terrorists for Israel’s Gaza Withdrawal and Vows Larger Jihad

It is no surprise that Palestinian terrorist groups have claimed responsibility for chasing Israel out of Gaza. Imams are getting in on the picture too, calling on their flocks to continue the work of the terrorists. For example, at the Caliph mosque in the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza, the imam had this to say:

He called the Israeli withdrawal an “achievement of resistance,” praised prominent “martyrs of Hamas” and declared, “God knows that when we offer up our children, it is much better than choosing the road of humiliation and negotiation.”

And now Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas—portrayed by the New York Times as a reasonable and peaceable negotiating partner for Israel—is crediting Palestinian “martyrs” for doing the job while his audience takes up the battle cry.

In his remarks, Mr. Abbas said, “What has been achieved here is due to the martyrs”…

…At the one point, a handful of young men in the audience chanted, “To Jerusalem we are going as martyrs in our millions.”

Yet the Times, continuing its pattern of ignoring Palestinian incitement or spinning it as something else, insists that Abbas’ praise of martyrdom is somehow different than Arafat’s:

Yasir Arafat, Mr. Abbas’s predecessor, had used this theme at times. By contrast, Mr. Abbas on Saturday looked down at the papers on his desk, and the young men fell silent.

The Times describes “jihad” terminology by Abbas as a mere co-opting of militant words for peaceful purposes:

In a speech here, Mr. Abbas appropriated the language of Hamas for his peaceful purpose of rebuilding Gaza, declaring, “the little jihad is over, and now we have the bigger jihad – the bigger battle is achieving security and economic growth.”

It then contrasts Abbas’ use of “jihad” with the message of Hamas members:

But at the same time, a few blocks away, Hamas gunmen in black masks held a news conference. For them, the jihad was not little and not over. Into a bouquet of microphones, one of them praised “the choice of jihad, which caused Israel’s security theory to fail.”

“We’re going to keep our weapons, because the battle with the enemy is a long one,” he said.

What is clear—regardless of the New York Times spin—is that the message reaching the Palestinian street from terrorist groups,imams and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is the same: Palestinian terrorism has won and Jihad against Israel will continue.