The Hamas terrorist organization has told Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas it is ready to agree to national unity government in preparation for local and parliamentary elections.

The Jewish Press reported here on Monday that Hamas supreme leader Khaled Mashaal recently spoke with Abbas by phone and suggested the time has come to implement the unity plan that they agreed on in principle more than two years ago.

Sources told the Bethlehem-based Ma’an News Agency that Mashaal called a second time and that both leaders agreed to form a unity government that would last for at least six months.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has ignored the division between Hamas and Fatah, but his ideas for a future Palestinian Authority state have little relevance without Gaza being included. On the other hand, Hamas’ open opposition to the State of Israel would force Kerry to accept Hamas’ ideology or ditch his project.

Khaled Mashaal, the supreme leader of Hamas who lives in Qatar,  spent 10 minutes on the phone with Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas in what the official PA news agency WAFA said was a “warm” conversation.

Mashaal fled to Qatar from Syria, where he had been living in exile from Jordan until the Syrian civil war came between him and Syrian President Bassar al-Assad.

“Mashaal telephoned president Abbas to thank him for his efforts at different levels, particularly sending aid to the Gaza Strip,” WAFA reported, referring to the support sent by the PA to Gaza as it recovers following the major winter storm in recent days.

However, the most immediate and influential help came from Qatar, which donated diesel fuel, and Israel, which shipped it to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing.

The Fatah terrorist movement, headed by Abbas, and Hamas said more than two years ago they would patch up their differences and establish a unity government, but no actions have been  taken to confirm the announcement.

With the “peace process” considered dead by virtually all parties except  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the phone call gave Abbas the opportunity to promise Mashaal that  the “sacred and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people” are a state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, Palestinian refugees’ rights and the release of all Palestinian prisoners.”

Elite Palestinian Authority security forces rounded up suspected Salafist terrorists in Shechem this week but left untouched Mahmoud Abbas’ Al Aqsa terrorist arm, which recently branded their rifles in a march to commemorate the death of Yasser Arafat.

The apparent contradiction highlights the heart of the constant threat that worldwide supplies of heavy-duty weapons for the PA forces will be used against Israel, exactly like the rifles that Israel gave Yasser Arafat in the hey-day of the Oslo Illusions were weapons that killed and wounded hundreds of Israelis when the Oslo Accords exploded.

The Palestinian National Security Forces (NSF) has a new counter-terrorism unit called Special Operations Unit 101 (SOU 101), deployed in Jenin, and its “Brigade 9” in Shechem. The NSF rounded this past Sunday 20 Salafist terrorist members in Jenin, Shechem and Kalkilya.

Palestinian Authority sources insisted that the Salafists were not directly affiliated with Al Qaeda despite a shared ideology. Three days before the roundup, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the IDF killed three Salafist terrorists south of Hevron and whom the Mujahedeen Shura Council said were “the tip of the iceberg.”

“By the will of God Almighty, the global jihadist doctrine has reached the bank of pride, the West Bank, planting its foothold after all attempts to thwart its presence,” the Council said after their members were killed.

It was later revealed that the Palestinian Authority had arrested several other Salafists in an apparent coordinated effort with the IDF.

A Palestinian Authority official told the Bethlehem-based Ma’an News Agency that all of the Salafists who were arrested were former members of Hamas.

In October, the PA elite unit operated in Jenin. Its commander Major Sadam Amr, told IHS Jane’s that around 150 soldiers are in the unit and are armed with Zastava M70 assault rifles, fitted with picatinny rails so they can be used with the red dot, laser and night vision sites acquired by the unit.

“Each rifle upgrade cost us $1,000, “Major Amr told Janes, which added, “The unit is also equipped with a tactical communications system made by a UIS company called Tiger. The radios allow members of the unit to stay in contact with each other in their operations room.

“The unit uses Ford F-150 pick-up trucks, several of which have been fitted with protective armor…as well as 7.62 mm machine guns to provide fire support.

That should be a great relief to Israelis, now certain that Mahmoud Abbas deployed his forces to tear down the terrorist infrastructure,

The problem is that in the Palestinian Authority, “terrorists” are Hamas members and Salafists, while Abbas’ Fatah party “military” squad, quaintly named the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, simply is a group of resistance fighters.

With masks over their faces and assault weapons in their peace partner hands, they held a military parade between Ramallah and Jerusalem two weeks ago to mark the ninth anniversary of Arafat’s death.

The Oslo Accords are not relevant any more. The Palestinian Authority has broken word after word and clause after clause, but some of the text bears repeating.

The number of armed forces in the Palestinian Authority is way beyond the limit stated in the Accords, which also declare, “The Palestinian Police will act systematically against all expressions of violence and terror. The Council will issue permits in order to legalize the possession and carrying of arms by civilians. Any illegal arms will be confiscated by the Palestinian Police.”

The agreement also states, “The Palestinian Police will possess the following arms and equipment: up to 4,000 rifles;  up to 4,000 pistols; up to 120 machine guns of 0.3″ or 0.5″ caliber; and up to 15 light, unarmed riot vehicles.

The Americans, the Europeans and the international community in general are constantly demanding the implementation of a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders. For example, when French President Francois Hollande spoke at the Knesset recently, he stated, “We need a compromise through a two-state solution.” He emphasized that Jerusalem should be a shared capital city of both the Jewish and Palestinian peoples and stressed that settlement construction should come to an end. Statements by US President Barack Obama, US Secretary of State John Kerry, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, and Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron are very similar to Hollande’s.

However, any political analysis of the current situation on the ground in the Holy Land would suggest that such models are an obsolete way of thinking. For starters, the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority are not controlled by the same political entity. The Gaza Strip is controlled by the Hamas terrorist organization, who to date refuses to reconcile with the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority. By refusing to sign a reconciliation agreement with Fatah, Hamas has essentially ensured that there can be no united Palestinian leadership. If there is no united Palestinian leadership, there can’t be a unified Palestinian state.

History is full of examples of entities that broke up because they were separated by geographic distance and cultural differences. Bangladesh used to be East Pakistan. However, the culture in Bangladesh is very different from the Pakistani mentality. In Pakistan, they primarily speak Urdu, while the language in Bangladesh is Bangla. The Bangladeshi people felt oppressed by Pakistan. Some Bangladeshis accuse them of committing genocide against them. Furthermore, Pakistan was geographically disconnected from them and so they decided to break off to become a separate country.

The situation is quite similar in regards to the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority and the Hamas-dominated Gaza Strip. Fatah supporters in the Gaza Strip feel oppressed by Hamas and Hamas supporters within the Palestinian Authority view the Fatah leadership with disdain. Furthermore, the populations in Gaza and Judea and Samaria are very different from each other culturally speaking. The Arabs living in Judea and Samaria are more liberal and cosmopolitan than the ones living in the Gaza Strip. To add insult to injury, the two territories are geographically disconnected from each other and the two populations rarely intermarry with each other.

The Fatah-Hamas divide in itself should have killed the idea of a two-state for two peoples’ paradigm. This should be the case especially given the fact that Hamas refuses to recognize the existence of the Jewish state as well and states specifically in their charter that they are opposed to all peace negotiations. They support waging a violent jihad until Israel ceases to exist. For them, it is war until either Israel vanishes or they cease to exist.

Even if Fatah recognizes Israel’s right to exist, in the absence of a military defeat of Hamas, two-states for two peoples living in peace is a fairy tale for children. Yet interestingly enough, even Fatah remains committed to destroying Israel in phases, refuses to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and views the two-states for two-people’s paradigm merely as the first phase towards liberating all of Palestine. Given this reality, it is time for the international community to consider other models for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the absence of paradigms that have been proven to be unworkable.

Marwan Barghouti, imprisoned by Israel in 2002, is serving five life sentences for his role in multiple terrorist attacks within Israel. He is one of the legendary leaders of what is widely known as the Second Intifada, in which more than a thousand Israelis were killed and many thousands were injured.

But Barghouti is a very charismatic figure. Some call him the “Palestinian Mandela.”

The Fatah Central Committee, of which Barghouti remains a member, is probably aware that “President” Mahmoud Abbas’s term officially ended nearly five years ago. Abbas will have to be replaced at some point by someone who is elected and not just serving as a matter of inertia. And despite Abbas’s frequent claims that he will not run for re-election and his coy, semi-regular “threats” to withdraw from public office, the real problem for Fatah is that if there is an election, Hamas will be the likely victor.

If Hamas wins the next Arab Palestinian election, they will win not just in Gaza, but in the area referred to as the “West Bank.” At least one major reason that would be a terrible result for Fatah members is because all that delicious foreign aid money would dry up.

Enter Barghouti.  Or, rather, exit Barghouti.

At least that is the hope.

A new committee was formed in South Africa to campaign for Barghouti’s release from prison.  That committee, launched earlier this week, includes the anti-Apartheid activist Desmond Tutu.

This group issued a declaration, referring to Barghouti as “the most prominent and renowned Palestinian political prisoner, a symbol of the Palestinian people’s quest for freedom, a uniting figure and an advocate of peace based on international law.”

Barghouti clearly is a symbol, but surely reasonable people may quibble about whether he is a symbol of the Arab Palestinians’ quest for freedom and an advocate for peace.

Nonetheless, it is said that Barghouti’s popularity transcends merely the Fatah party, and extends even beyond Hamas and Islamic Jihad. In 2006, when Hamas and Fatah split, Barghouti was in the forefront of reunification efforts. While those more brazen advocates of violence support Barghouti, yet Barghouti is still a member of Fatah, thus allowing the western aid spigot to remain open.

Barghouti’s wife, Fadwa, believes her husband has not yet been a part of any of the prisoner swaps because she thinks the “old guard” of Fatah fears Barghouti’s political power.  But it may be that the old guard is finally realizing that Abbas cannot keep up his long running tap dance, and without new blood Fatah is doomed.

Or maybe others in the party see the handwriting on the wall, and are prepared to allow Barghouti to take his place in the limelight in order to ensure the steady flow of western aid.

A delegation of Fatah officials is scheduled to visit Barghouthi in the Israeli prison, according to the Arab Palestinian media outlet, Al Quds.

Mahmoud Al-Aloul, a member of Fatah’s central committee, said “We have intensified our efforts to design a practical plan which puts pressure on Israel to release Barghouti.”

“If Barghouti is appointed as Vice President to Abbas, and with sufficient international, Palestinian and Arab pressure, then the Israelis must release him, being as he would be a senior Palestinian official.”

Will the West embrace Marwan Barghouti, convicted mass murderer and darling of the Hate Israel crowd, as a legitimate candidate for office, and then force Israel to release the elected leader of the Arab Palestinians?

Sounds like a plan. One likely to succeed.

Note: Barghouti’s role in numerous terrorist activities leading to the deaths of Israelis and others is not in dispute, but this article has been changed to remove the suggestion that his convictions were for two suicide bombings. H/T DG.

Palestinian Authority “special” security forces swooped down on Jenin, in central Samaria, an impressive show of force that would convince someone who does not know any better, such as the U.S. State Dept.,  that it is working to clear the city of terrorists,

However, their targets were not terrorists but were those “involved in lawlessness and chaos,” according to the official Palestinian Authority WAFA news site, quoting Jenin Governor Talal Dweikat.

He said that the “special National Security force” entered Jenin on Wednesday to help police restore law and order. Lest anyone think that the local Arabs are simply criminals, WAFA pointed out that a “number of people wanted for justice…were involved in chaos, lawlessness and riots that broke out following the Israeli army’s cold blooded killing of Islam Toubasi,” a terrorist who attacked IDF forces trying to round up his colleagues last month.

Once again, Israel is to blame, this time for killing a terrorist who was not interesting enough to be arrested by the “special” security forces.

The WAFA report exposes unrest within the Palestinian Authority. It reported that Dweikat “said that those who were involved in shooting and throwing firebombs at the governor’s headquarters, damaging cars for Palestinians from inside Israel, destroying public and private property, uprooting trees and spreading chaos and fear among the people will be brought to justice.”

The Arab street is heating up, but the Palestinian Authority has not been able to garner up the courage to crack down on terrorists.

Hamas is working furiously to establish small cells through Judea and Samaria, Israel’s Voice of Israel radio reported Sunday morning.

The Gaza-based terrorist organization has one single immediate objective – kidnapping an Israeli and using him as barter for freeing more Palestinian Authority terrorists and security prisoners.

IDF intelligence may help the PA forces to break up the cells, giving Abbas a chance to prove he is cracking down on terror.

So far, he not only is not doing so but also continues to incite terror.

On same day that Abbas preached peace at the United Nations, a Fatah party official read his speech in Samaria in praise of a terrorist who killed 15 Israelis, according to the Palestinian Media Watch, which translated and exposed the incitement.

Abbas called the terrorist “the most noble among the noble…(with his death) Fatah lost a beacon. He lived as a giant and died as a giant. He should remain in our hearts with this glory, this greatness.”

The young woman who wrote the article, “The Problem with Band-Aids,” is a junior at the University of Pennsylvania.  Her article appeared in Penn’s highly regarded newspaper, the Daily Pennsylvanian, on September 8.  The subtitle of O’Conor’s article is: “From Palestine to Penn/ When Talking About Dialogue, Empowerment and Reform Does the Rhetorical Work of Oppression and Injustice.”  At Penn, Clarissa O’Conor focuses on Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies and Modern Middle East Studies.

But O’Conor, who presents herself as an advocate for those who are disempowered, is fed up with what she claims is the oppressive force behind the term “empowerment.” This fall O’Conor is studying at al Quds University, in a place she calls, without quotation marks, “Palestine.”

In this article, O’Conor explains why Penn, which apparently gives her college credit for studying at al Quds, and Bard College, which  created at al Quds “a small honors college at which Palestinian students can earn a dual-degree with American accreditation,” earn her contempt.

Why?

“Especially at Penn, we like to ‘empower’ people.  We have all sorts of organizations and initiatives to do this.  We really like to ‘empower’ communities and women,” she writes, but O’Conor is above all that.  She disdains the Western efforts to empower her comrades in “Palestine.”

Bard’s program is going about things in a contemptible way, O’Conor contends.  You see “the discourse of empowerment makes us feel good about putting a Band-Aid on something while avoiding actually questioning our role in systematic racism, oppression and injustice.”

You’ve probably guessed it by now: O’Conor thinks that Western efforts to “swoop in and empower” the Arab Palestinians, ignores that what oppresses them is the “worldwide systems of white supremacism and colonialism in which we are complicit.”  That’s you and me.  Also her.

O’Conor crams in all the invective she can into a college newspaper op-ed.  She describes the “26-foot-high Apartheid Wall” built by Israel which is a “settler-colonial apartheid state whose modus operandi is and always was policies of ethnic cleansing, displacement and systematic racism.”  And O’Conor thinks places like Penn and Bard and, indeed, all universities and the U.S. government itself should cut all ties to Israel.

So, rather than yawn about an undergraduate thinking and writing like an undergraduate, here’s the part that should…empower you readers.

It is not a surprise that an undergraduate from the middle of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania knows little to nothing about the history of the Middle East.  But why is a school like Penn giving credit to a student to be spoon fed hatred?

Here is a more interesting question: why is it that someone who holds herself out as a defender of the oppressed has no problem aligning herself with the brutal, murderous history and affiliations of the university she so proudly attends?  And again, why would Penn and schools like it countenance such an association?

Al Quds University is a place where terrorists are honored not only by the students, but officially, by the university administration, as heroes.

Let’s pick a few discrete moments through al Quds history, and see whether it is an institution worthy of Ms. O’Conor’s protection, and whether the many installments of her pleas on its behalf – her blog “From Palestine to Penn” appears every other Tuesday in the Daily Pennsylvanian – are trustworthy sources of information for the collegiate, as well as the wider, community. (No less an actively and acidly anti-Israel media source than Mondoweiss eagerly laps up her content.)

So we’ll start at the top.  The current president of the school, Sari Nusseibeh, is generally considered to be a moderate, but there is certainly evidence to the contrary.  This evidence includes his praise of homicide bombers; calling Israel a “racist, Zionist entity”; and helping Iraq direct scud missiles at Israel during the first Gulf War.

For those disinclined to count Nusseibeh as a promoter of violence, there’s much better evidence about where al Quds stands on the issue of the sanctity of human life.

For example, there’s the case of Sami Salim Hammad, an al Quds dropout who carried out a homicide bombing in Tel Aviv during Passover, on April 17, 2006. In this bombing, 11 innocent people were killed, including a 16 year old American, Daniel Wultz.  While it is true that Hammad dropped out of al Quds, that didn’t stop the students there from claiming him as their own.  Immediately after the bombing, once Hammad’s “martyr’s video” was released, they hung a huge poster of Hammad in one of the al Quds University buildings.  They were so proud of their “shahid.”

Hundreds of Gazan residents joined protest marches organized by the terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad on Friday, August 23, AFP reported.

Upon completion of Friday services, protesters gathered and marched to a central square in Gaza City.  Signs reading “no to negotiations” and labeling Mahmoud Abbas a “political failure” were held aloft by the protesters.

Hamas’s religious affairs minister Ismail Radwan condemned Mahmoud Abbas for engaging in negotiations with Israel and for considering any compromises of core Arab Palestinian demands in his speech to the protesters.

“All the Palestinian factions say you don’t have the right to relinquish any piece of our land, or to give up Palestinian rights,” he said.

“Returning to talks is a blow to the jihad and to the sacrifices of our people, the blood of our martyrs and to our prisoners behind bars in Israel,” Radwan declared.

“No to these absurd negotiations, no to returning to the negotiating table, no to security cooperation, no to the exchange of land, and not to giving up on the right of return,” Radwan shouted into the microphone.

Israeli and Arab Palestinian negotiators held the third in their series talks on Tuesday in Jerusalem.  The next session will take place in Jericho.

There has been an ongoing effort by Fatah and Hamas to form a unity government which would represent all the Arab Palestinians.  The Palestinian Authority unity government was disbanded in 2007 by Abbas, whose term officially ended in 2006.  Since that time Hamas has been the de facto government in Gaza while Fatah has been the de facto Arab Palestinian ruling government over Areas A and B of the disputed territories.

During the past week, Abbas offered to hold general elections, ostensibly as a move to unify Fatah and Hamas.  That offer was rejected by Hamas which demanded more issues to be placed under consideration, while Fatah wished the items to be more carefully circumscribed. In addition, Hamas strongly supports the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt – Hamas is an outgrowth of the Brotherhood – while Fatah favors the military’s control over Egypt and supported the overthrow of former president Mohamad Morsi.

The Arab Palestinian negotiators engaged in the current rounds of U.S.-moderated ‘peace talks’ solely represent Fatah.  Whatever concessions or agreements entered into by Fatah would surely be rejected by Hamas, if those parties ever succeed in creating a unity government.

On the other hand, the Arab Palestinians, the U.S. and the global community will undoubtedly demand that Israel honor  whatever concessions, if any, the Jewish State makes during these talks.