The US House of Representatives passed a resolution unanimously condemning the Palestinian leadership’s incitement to violence.

The US House of Representatives unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution condemning anti-Israel incitement in the Palestinian Authority (PA) on Monday, JTA reports.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), chairwoman of the House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, and Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), ranking member of the subcommittee, sponsored the resolution.

“The House has sent a clear message to the Palestinian leadership that its anti-Israel incitement causing so much of the recent tension, violence, and terror will no longer be tolerated,” Ros-Lehtinen stated.

“There should be no doubt that the Palestinian Authority sets the tone with its incitement, resulting in the recent wave of attacks that we’re seeing against innocent Israeli civilians.”

The intensive terror in Israel over the past couple of months “is a direct result of incitement by Palestinian leaders accusing Israel of changing the status quo on the Temple Mount,” Deutch said. “These false accusations send a dangerous message that violence and acts of terrorism are acceptable and even justified. It is well past time for President Abbas to stand up and condemn all acts of violence, rather than encouraging violence by glorifying terrorists and teaching children to view Israelis as animals.”

Palestinian incitement, with the help of Abbas, did not begin only recently, although it has become increasingly fierce. The intense anti-Semitism and anti-Israel indoctrination in Palestinian schools and cultural events, including the glorifying of terrorists, has been ongoing for years, as documented by Palestinian Media Watch, among other sources.

Exactly a year ago, in October 2014, for instance, visitors to the Temple Mount were greeted with graffiti that included swastikas alongside the Star of David, the ancient Jewish symbol. This act of anti-Semitism following incitement two days earlier by Abbas, who called on Palestinians living in east Jerusalem to maintain a large presence on the Mount in order to resist the “fierce onslaught” of Jewish visitors.

“It is not enough to say the settlers came, but they must be barred from entering the compound by any means. This is our Aqsa… and they have no right to enter it and desecrate it,” Abbas stated in a Fatah party address on Friday, referring to Jewish visitors as “settlers” and “herds of cattle.”

This past September, ahead of the new wave of terror, Abbas praised the Arab violence against Jews on the Temple Mount, saying, “Every drop of blood that has been spilled in Jerusalem is holy blood as long as it was for Allah…Al-Aqsa is ours, and they have no right to defile it with their filthy feet.”

Most recently, Abbas ordered full military honors at the terrorists’ funerals and financial grants to their families.

Defends Israel’s Right to Self-Defense

To summarize, the resolution:

– Condemns these brutal attacks in the harshest terms possible;

– Welcomes Israel’s commitment to the continued maintenance of the status quo on the Temple Mount;

– Urges the [US] President and the international community to join in forcefully condemning these Palestinian terror attacks;

– Clarifies that there is no justification for these types of attacks and that there is a direct correlation between the recent upsurge in violence and Arab incitement regarding the Temple Mount;

– Stands with the people of Israel during these difficult days;

– Supports Israel’s right to self-defense and rejects any suggestion of the moral equivalence of Israeli security personnel protecting its citizens from senseless violence and terrorists intent to deliberately take innocent lives;

– Supports the agreement reached to install surveillance cameras on the Temple Mount according to the arrangements to be determined between the parties;

– Calls upon President Abbas to stop all incitement by Palestinian officials and by Palestinian media, to strongly and unequivocally demand an end to the violence, and to take all steps necessary to halt these attacks;

– Expresses support and admiration for individuals and organizations working to encourage cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians;

– Encourages Abbas to continue strengthening and maintaining security cooperation with Israel;

– Reiterates that Palestinian political goals will never be achieved through violence; and

– Calls on all parties to return to the negotiating table immediately and without preconditions.”

By: Terri Nir, United with Israel

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