Will the Real Palestinian Authority Please Stand Up?

JERUSALEM, Israel – "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" seems a fitting description of the rhetoric emanating from the Palestinian Authority for more than two decades.

While P.A. officials talk of their desire to forge a peace deal with Israel, their actions fall far short of their words.  

A recent example – and there are many – was the arrest 10 days ago of Muhammad Jabir, a resident of the P.A.-controlled city of Hebron – who hosted Israeli MK Yehuda Glick in his home on September 3.

Glick, an American born Orthodox rabbi, advocates for equal rights, especially the right to pray, on the Temple Mount for Jews. In October 2014, Glick was almost killed when a would-be assassin shot him repeatedly in the chest at point blank range outside the Begin-Sadat Center in Jerusalem. He was heading home after delivering an address there. He and his wife and their eight children live in the community of Otniel south of Hebron.

Glick visited his friend and neighbor on Eid al-Adha, called the "holiday of sacrifice."

Muslims celebrate a non-biblical version of Abraham's sacrifice recorded in Genesis 22. They're taught it was Ishmael, Abraham's son by Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian handmaiden, he was willing to sacrifice. The Bible names Sarah's son, Isaac, the son or promise and part of the line of David from which Israel's Messiah would be born.

Despite their religious differences, Glick and Jabir are friends, but the Palestinian Authority apparently doesn't sanction their friendship.

Glick posted photos of the visit on Facebook and Twitter, writing "Feast of Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha) at home of my friend Muhammad Jabir in Hebron. God willing we will all live here in peace. Happy Eid."

That seems to have been reason enough to arrest him. His crime? Opening his home to the "ultra-nationalist Israeli parliament member," the P.A.'s official Ma'an news agency reported.

According to the report, members of Jabir's extended family "disassociated" themselves with him following his arrest. Whether fearing arrest themselves or agreeing  with the authorities may never be known. What is known is that the Palestinian Authority has increasingly cracked down on journalists perceived as discrediting President Mahmoud Abbas.

Many more examples of the P.A.'s deception can be found on the Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) website.

Established in 1996, PMW has devoted its resources to exposing Israel's "peace partner's" true agenda: a Palestinian state "from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea.