Former PLO Ambassador Calls Arab Journalist ‘Traitor’
Abu Toameh: Accused of being a ‘traitor’ for reporting on Palestinian corruption and violence
The Australian reports that Ali Kazak, a former PLO Ambassador to Australia, has labeled Israeli Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh a “traitor” for reporting on Palestinian corruption and violence::
Ali Kazak, a former ambassador for the Palestine Liberation Organisation, circulated an email this week accusing Abu Toameh of being an “Israeli propagandist” on the “Israeli payroll” and warning people not to be misled by him.
Kazak told The Australian: “Khaled Abu Toameh is a traitor.” These are dangerous words in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Kazak admits that many Palestinians are murdered in the West Bank and Gaza for being traitors.
He says he doesn’t agree with it but: “Traitors were also murdered by the French Resistance, in Europe; this happens everywhere.” . . .
Toameh responds: “It is absurd that this gentleman is calling me a traitor while the PLO whom he claims to represent is conducting security co-ordination with Israel and helping Israel crack down on Hamas and is even imprisoning Palestinians without trial in the West Bank. . . .
“. . . When he calls me a traitor he is actually sending a message to extremists that they need to kill me simply because I am demanding reform and democracy.”
This is not the first time that Abu Toameh, who writes for the Jerusalem Post, was threatened for covering stories that the Palestinian Authority would prefer to remain quiet. The Israeli Arab journalist also covered a major Palestinian corruption scandal earlier this year which was largely ignored or downplayed by the Western media.
For more on Palestinian intimidation of the media, see here, here and here.
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