By Stan Goodenough
Mar 14, 2008
PLO/PA chief Mahmoud Abbas - who has, by his own proud admission, used violence for decades to generate global support for a Jew-free Palestinian state - Thursday charged Israel with "ethnic cleansing" Jerusalem by banning Arabs from building homes in the city.
The remarks, which Israel slammed as "inflammatory," were made in Senegal at a summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
"What is taking place on the ground today is in total violation of [the peace process]," Abbas said, according to the Israeli daily Ha'aretz.
He was not speaking about his people's firing of dozens of rockets at Israeli Negev towns.
"Our people in [Jerusalem] are facing an ethnic cleansing campaign through a set of Israeli decisions such as imposing heavy taxes, banning construction and closing Palestinian institutions in addition to separating the city from the West Bank by the racist separation wall."
Historically it is the Palestinian Arabs, and the Arab states in general, that have employed ethnic cleansing policies against the Jews.
The international community assisted in this process by demanding Israel's complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip - which took place in 2005.
An American special envoy is presently in Jerusalem drawing up security plans for how things will be after the Jews have been driven out of Samaria and Judea to make way for the creation of Palestine.