By all accounts, Sheikh Abdullah Tamimi, who hails from an influential clan in Hebron, is an extraordinarily courageous and unique Palestinian. His bravery lies not in rescuing a child from a burning house, and his singularity lies not in donating his salary to an orphanage.

Tamimi’s courage and exceptionality showed up in a different sphere: he recently spoke at a seminar organized by Jewish residents of the settlement of Efrat, in Gush Etzion (south of Jerusalem). The seminar was held under the title, “Relations between Jews and Arabs in Gush Etzion.” The event was attended by another courageous Palestinian, Khaled Abu Awwad, General Manager of the Israeli-Palestinian Bereaved Families Forum, a grassroots organization that promotes reconciliation as an alternative to hatred and revenge.

Sheikh Abdullah Tamimi (left) speaks at a seminar on relations between Jews and Arabs in the Gush Etzion area, on August 2, 2016.

Thanks to this courageous move, Tamimi has now been “disowned” by his clan. This is one of the most humiliating forms of punishment in tribal systems: the individual loses the support and protection of the clan and is boycotted socially — weddings and funerals become very lonely affairs. Moreover, Tamimi is being labelled as a “traitor” and a “collaborator” with Israel.

Tamimi did indeed participate in the seminar. But that is not all. He took with him several Palestinians from the town of Yatta in the Hebron area and the Jelazoun refugee camp near Ramallah.

Encounters between Jewish settlers and Palestinians are not unheard of. Thousands of Palestinians work in most of the settlements and many others maintain close relations with settlers and do business with them on a daily basis. These Palestinians could not care less about the anti-Israel boycott movement or the “anti-normalization” groups operating in the West Bank.

For them, the need to earn their families’ bread far outweighs the voices calling for boycotts and divestment. These ordinary Palestinians strive to get on with their lives without the fear of boycott activists’ threats.

Tamimi and his colleagues do not believe in boycotts and divestment. They are convinced that real peace can be achieved through dialogue between Palestinians and all Israelis — not just those who are affiliated with the left-wing. The Israeli left-wing, they contend, does not have a monopoly over peace-making.

For Tamimi, real peace begins between the people and through economic cooperation and improving the living conditions of the Palestinians. This, he explains, is more important than the talk about the establishment of a Palestinian state, which he believes, under the current circumstances, is not a realistic option.

In his speech at the seminar, Tamimi pointed out that peace and calm do not always come from “peaceniks” and leftists.

“In our work, we search for the right-wing in Israel, the hardliners in Israeli society and the settlers to sit and talk with them,” he said. “There are many things that they need to know about Islam and the Quran. This dialogue should be the basis for any future solutions.”

Insisting that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is political, and not religious, Tamimi told his Jewish audience that many Palestinian groups that claim to represent Islam are not authentic representatives of Islam. “They are using Islam as a bridge to achieve their goals, but in reality they do not represent Islam,” he stressed. Tamimi was clearly referring to Hamas and other radical Palestinian Islamist groups, although he did not mention them by name.

Tamimi disclosed that he is currently in touch with thirteen leading Islamic clerics in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, to address the daily humanitarian needs of the Palestinian population and bring it to the public’s attention. “The humanitarian needs of the people are at the top of our list of priorities,” he said. “We do not want bloodshed. We have needs that we are demanding with all available methods.” He believes that both Israelis and Palestinians should invest in dialogue, especially between religious leaders from both sides, to talk about shared interests. “We need to sit together and understand each other,” he added. “This will help the leaders make decisions. We want both peoples to live a dignified life.”

Tamimi’s is not a lone voice in the desert. He represents an increasing number of Palestinians who have lost confidence in their leaders’ ability to improve their living conditions and achieve peace and stability in the region. These Palestinians support the idea of “economic peace” between the two peoples — a notion that goes against the ideas of the advocates of “anti-normalization” and others in the West obviously acting against the true interests of the Palestinians by promoting boycott and divestment against Israel.

Ironically, while those hoping to destroy Israel are campaigning for boycotts and other economic harm to it, a growing number of Palestinians are marching in the opposite direction.

Tamimi is not just another ordinary Palestinian. Besides being an Islamic cleric, he also belongs to one of the largest Palestinian clans in Hebron. In these days of unrelenting incitement and indoctrination by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA), it is refreshing to see and hear an Islamic cleric stand up and utter words of true peace. The only Islamic clerics we have seen in recent years are those who preach hate against Israel, Jews and “infidels.”

Yet, of course, Tamimi’s bold stance does not come without a price. Shortly after the news of the seminar and Tamimi’s remarks were broadcast on Israel’s Channel 10 TV, a man who claimed to be the leader (mukhtar) of the Tamimi clan issued a statement strongly condemning the “corrupt” cleric for meeting with Jewish settlers.

The man, Hijazi Tamimi, wrote on Facebook that, as the leader of the Hebron clan, he did not authorize any of his family members to meet with settlers:

“As long as I am alive, I will not permit any member of my clan to meet with settlers, no matter what the circumstances. On behalf of myself and the Tamimi clan, we announce our decision to disown the above-mentioned [Abdullah Tamimi], condemn what was mentioned in the TV report and question his credibility. Anyone who wants to discuss political matters should go to the elected president of the Palestinian people, Mahmoud Abbas.”

What the clan leader neglected to note was that the “elected” president is now in the 11th year of his four-year term in office. He also forgot to mention that not all Palestinians agree with the policies of Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority, and consider boycotts and divestment harmful to the interests of their people. Abbas’s repeated rejection of offers to return to the negotiating table, or hold a summit with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu without pre-conditions, was also not noted.

Other members of the clan joined the attack on Abdullah Tamimi and called for punishing him for meeting with settlers. “Who is this guy who claims to be a sheikh?” asked Qassem Tamimi. “This is Rabbi Abdullah. He is not one of us and he has no connection to our clan.”

Tamimi is a rare voice of sanity among Palestinian Islamic clerics, most of whom are busy spewing hate towards Israel and Jews from mosques and media outlets.

But Abdullah Tamimi’s message reflects the growing discontent with the way Palestinian leaders are handling the affairs of their people. Last week, Palestinians received yet another reminder of the malfeasance of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas governments, with the decision to suspend local elections scheduled for October 8. The decision, taken by the Palestinian High Court, came as no surprise to many Palestinians. It followed weeks of mutual accusations and tensions between the two rival parties, with each side targeting each other’s candidates by arresting them, harassing them or disqualifying their lists.

An article published here in July questioned the Palestinians’ ability to hold fair and free elections, especially in light of the ongoing tensions between Abbas’s Fatah faction and Hamas, and internal squabbling within Fatah. The article also noted that Abbas was embarking on a gigantic gamble by authorizing the local elections.

The Palestinian Authority and Hamas have once again failed their people; they are not even capable of ensuring a free and fair election. Venal leadership has always been the main tragedy of the Palestinians. But it has created a vacuum that provides an opportunity for Palestinians such as Tamimi to search for other alternatives. This, of course, comes as bad news for those who hate Israel and keep hoping to destroy it with boycotts, stabbings, car-rammings and the like. Now the question is, who will triumph: Palestinians and their Jewish neighbors in the West Bank who wish to live in peace, or the anti-Palestinian, anti-Israel, “anti-normalization” activists who seek to derail a true peace at any cost?

Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.

Palestinians fear that their communities may be facing a return to anarchy and falatan amni, or “security chaos.”

Recent incidents are yet another sign of the Palestinian Authority’s failure to enforce law and order, especially in refugee camps such as Balata (near Nablus) Qalandya (near Ramallah) and the Jenin refugee camp.

Moreover, these incidents are an indication of mounting tensions among rival camps inside Fatah and between the refugees and the Palestinians living in the big cities surrounding the camps.

These camps, which are hotbeds for gunmen and terror groups, have long been off-limits to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces. Tens of thousands of Palestinians live in these three major refugee camps in the West Bank. Although the refugee camps there located in areas controlled by the PA, the Palestinian security forces do their best to steer clear of them. Attempts by Palestinian security forces to arrest camp residents wanted for various crimes have often resulted in armed confrontations.

Disgruntled members of PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction are mostly responsible for the anarchy and “security chaos.” Many of the Fatah members once belonged to Fatah’s armed wing, the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which was officially dismantled several years ago under pressure from Israel and the international community, specifically the Americans and Europeans, the biggest funders of the Palestinian Authority.

These men regularly accuse the PA leadership of turning its back on them and ignoring their demand for jobs and money. A quick chat with young Palestinians, including Fatah members, in any refugee camp in the West Bank will reveal a driving sense of betrayal. And no, they are not afraid of speaking out against President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority in front of any stranger. In these camps, the PA seems as much the enemy as Israel. They speak of the PA as a corrupt and incompetent body that is managed by “mafia leaders.” Others see the Palestinian Authority is a pawn in the hands of Israel and the US. More importantly, many of the camp activists believe that it is only a matter of time before Palestinians launch an intifada against the PA.

Make no mistake: these individuals have no love for Israel. Not a single one is prepared to relinquish the “right of return” to Israel, even if and when a Palestinian state is established supposedly within the pre-1967 lines. And many are fully in favor of an “armed struggle” against Israel.

But hostility towards the Palestinian Authority seems to have reached unprecedented heights among refugee camp residents. The feeling is that the PA leadership has done virtually nothing to improve their living conditions and that the real money is going to big cities such as Ramallah, Nablus, Bethlehem and Hebron.

“The Palestinian Authority is controlled by thieves who do not care about us,” complained Hassan Abu Ayyash, a young man who describes himself as a “Fatah activist” from the Al-Amari refugee camp near Ramallah.

“They are getting hundreds of millions of dollars from the international community and distributing them among themselves and their sons. Look at all the big buildings and fancy restaurants and bars in Ramallah. Where do they get all the money to purchase expensive cars?”

The camp residents are not even afraid to vent their anger against senior representatives of the Palestinian Authority.

Earlier this week, unidentified gunmen intercepted the car of the Palestinian Authority Minister for Social Welfare, Ibrahim Al Shaer, as it was making its way from Ramallah to Jerusalem. When the car reached the Qalandya refugee camp, on the Ramallah-Jerusalem highway, the gunmen stopped it and forced the driver out. The gunmen, who are believed to be members of Fatah, fled with the car. Hours later, the PA security forces managed to recover the minister’s stolen vehicle. Palestinians described the carjacking as a severe blow to the Palestinian Authority’s “prestige.”

In an incident that reflects similar sentiments, unidentified gunmen opened fire at a Palestinian Authority police station in the village of Al Yamoun in the northern West Bank. Again, the suspects are believed to be disgruntled Fatah activists. Residents of Jenin said that the shooting reflected the growing state of “security chaos” in the area and the weakness of the PA in tackling the problem. The attack was the second of its kind against the same police station in recent months.

In April of this year, a fierce gun battle erupted between Palestinian Authority security officers and members of the Jaradat clan in the refugee camp of Jenin. The clash started during an attempt to arrest a clan member. Two people were wounded.

In April of this year, a fierce gun battle erupted between Palestinian Authority security officers and members of the Jaradat clan in the refugee camp of Jenin. The clash started during an attempt to arrest a clan member. (Image source: Palestinian Press Agency)

Last month, masked gunmen from one of the refugee camps stole a Palestinian police car in broad daylight from the center of Ramallah. The stolen car was returned to the police hours later, but no one was arrested because that would have stirred more trouble for the Palestinian Authority and resulted in a violent confrontation with the camp residents.

Nablus, the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank, exemplifies the growing West Bank anarchy. The city is surrounded by a number of refugee camps that are effectively controlled by dozens of Fatah gangs that have long been terrorizing the city’s wealthy clans and leading figures.

But there are also instances where it seems that rival Fatah leaders hire the unruly gunmen from the refugee camps to settle scores among themselves. Earlier this month, for example, gunmen opened fire at the home of Ghassan Shaka’a, the former mayor of Nablus and a senior PLO and Fatah official. No one was hurt in the attack, which was apparently only aimed at sending Shaka’a a warning message.

Shaka’a later announced that the attack on his home was in the framework of “internal rivalries” among the top brass of the Fatah leadership. He said he believed that the attack was aimed at dissuading him from running again for mayor of Nablus. Expressing his deep frustration with the lawlessness in his city, Shaka’a said that the “security situation in the (Hamas-controlled) Gaza Strip was better than that in the West Bank.” His last remark is seen as being a direct criticism of the Palestinian Authority for failing to rein in the gunmen from the refugee camps.

According to some of Mahmoud Abbas’s top aides, the scenes of lawlessness are far from spontaneous. Rather, they say, they are being orchestrated by ousted Fatah operative Mohamed Dahlan, who is based in the United Arab Emirates. The aides claim that Dahlan has been funding many Fatah gangs in the West Bank refugee camps, as part of an effort to buy loyalty and establish bases of power for himself.

Dahlan, they argue, is eager to succeed President Abbas. Thus he has been working hard to undermine the Palestinian Authority and sow anarchy and dissent in the West Bank. He wants to show that Abbas is losing control and that only a “powerful” figure such as Dahlan would be able to restore law and order. Dahlan, for his part, has strongly denied the allegations.

The return of anarchy to the streets of West Bank cities and refugee camps is a bad omen for President Abbas and his regime. It’s also a natural result of the failure of the Palestinian Authority over the past two decades to offer the residents of the refugee camps any realistic hope for a better life.

The PA, like most Arab countries, has spent years upon years lying to the camp residents, telling them that they should remain in their misery because one day they will return to their families’ former homes inside Israel. Adding to this extraordinarily extended effort of deceit, the Palestinian Authority has marginalized the refugee camp residents, cutting them out of any process of state-building. It appears that the residents have had enough. Abbas’s talk of establishing an independent Palestinian state is hard to reconcile with the “security chaos” in the territories under his control. Hamas, of course, is cheering on the sidelines as it watches the PA-controlled territories going to hell.

Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas is facing a barrage of criticism for attending the funeral of former Israeli President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem. The fury directed towards Abbas comes as no surprise to those who are familiar with the unrelenting campaign of anti-Israel incitement that has been taking place for many years in Palestinian society.

If attending the funeral of an Israeli leader, especially one who devoted the past two decades of his life to peace between Israel and the Palestinians, draws such condemnation, it is easy to imagine the result of a Palestinian leader making a peace overture to Israel.

President Abbas is now receiving a dose of his own medicine. This is what happens when you unleash a tidal wave of hate against Israel and its leaders in the media, mosques and public rhetoric. This is what happens when you inform your people that Israeli leaders are “war criminals” who ought to be prosecuted before the International Criminal Court. This is what happens when you drive into your people that Jews are desecrating with their “filthy feet” Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem. This is what happens when you accuse Israel of “ethnic cleansing”, “extra-judicial executions” and “poisoning” Yasser Arafat.

In light of this brainwashing, how do you expect your people to respond when you, in any way, associate with an Israeli leader?

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at the funeral of Shimon Peres, a former president of Israel, on September 30. Abbas is facing a barrage of criticism for attending the funeral, with members of his own party calling it “treason.” (Image source: Ruptly video screenshot)

It is hard to believe that Abbas and his cronies were surprised by the current wave of reprobation. But the degree of vitriol was perhaps not predicted.

Abbas is now getting it from all quarters. The denunciations are coming not only from his political foes in Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), but also from groups and figures belonging to his ruling Fatah faction.

Palestinians say that the 81-year-old Abbas, who is now in his 11th year of his four-year term in office, is facing his most serious challenge to leadership. And there are no signs that the recriminations are subsiding. On the contrary, each day brings with it yet another flood of reproof, prompting Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah to issue a stiff warning to those who are exploiting the situation to “incite” against Abbas. However, the threats have failed to deter his critics from proceeding with their attacks on him and calling on him to step down.

One of those who have already paid a price for criticizing Abbas’s attendance of the Peres funeral is Lieutenant Colonel Osama Mansour, who holds a senior position in the PA’s Military Liaison Apparatus. In a post on Facebook, the PA officer strongly condemned Abbas’s move:

“If you alone decided to participate in the funeral of the killer of our sons, then you erred. And if you took the decision on the basis of what you were told by your advisors, then they have misled you.”

Hours after the post appeared on Facebook, Mansour was suspended from his job. Later, he was arrested by PA Military Intelligence Service officers who raided his house and conducted a search, during which they destroyed furniture, according to his family. A PA court has since ordered Mansour remanded into custody for fifteen days.

The suspension and subsequent arrest of the officer sparked a new wave of rage against Abbas and his security forces. Palestinians took to social media to protest the crackdown on the officer, hailing him as a hero and denouncing Abbas as a “dog” and Israeli “collaborator.” Some suggested that the officer was worthy of being appointed as a minister in the PA Cabinet for his courageous remarks.

But the move against the senior officer did not deter many Abbas loyalists from coming out against him for going to the funeral of Peres.

Fatah’s “Youth Movement,” known in Arabic as Al-Shabiba, issued a statement calling on Abbas to “apologize” to the Palestinians for committing a “grave mistake.” Abbas’s participation in the funeral was “humiliating and degrading” for the Palestinians and a form of “treason,” according to the statement. The group pointed out that Abbas’s move was in violation of Fatah’s regulations, which envisage the “full liberation of Palestine and eliminating Israeli occupation economically, politically, militarily and culturally.” Addressing Abbas, the group stated:

“Mr. President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas. You have committed a crime against our people by equating the executioner with the victim. We will not allow treason to become a viewpoint.”

Several senior Fatah officials sought to distance themselves from Abbas’s decision to attend the funeral of Peres by claiming that they had not been consulted beforehand.

One of them, Tawfik Tirawi, who previously served as commander of the Palestinian Authority’s General Intelligence Service in the West Bank, announced that he was personally opposed to Abbas’s gesture. He clarified that Abbas did not seek the opinion of the Fatah leadership before he went to the funeral:

“Had I been personally consulted as a member of the Fatah Central Committee, I would have made it clear that I am against participation in principle, because this is a funeral of a Zionist who wallowed, from head to toe, in the blood of our people and other Arabs.”

Tirawi went on to describe Peres as the “engineer of the Israeli nuclear project which is designed to foil any plan to retrieve our land.”

The widespread protests against Abbas’s decision to participate in Peres’s funeral took a violent turn on October 3, when PA policemen used force to break up a peaceful demonstration in Ramallah. Organized by the PFLP, the protest was yet another sign of the strong sentiments many Palestinians harbor not only against Abbas, but also Israel.

Palestinian lawyer Muhanad Karajeh, who works for a Ramallah-based human rights organization, reported that he was asked by the organizers to be present in order to document the event. The lawyer stated he was severely beaten by PA security officers during the protest. “I was repeatedly beaten in the face and different parts of the body,” he recounted. “I know some of the officers personally. They tore my suit although I told them I am a lawyer. They humiliated me and cursed me and my profession.”

In a desperate act to counter the spreading protests, Abbas’s aides organized impromptu marches in support of the Palestinian Authority president. The PA leadership summons Fatah activist-thugs to take to the streets whenever it feels the heat. Carrying photos of Abbas and the yellow Fatah flags, scores of Fatah members marched in the streets of Ramallah in a show of force and as a message of warning to those who would censure Abbas. “We stand behind our historic leadership and President Abbas,” declared top Fatah activist Osama Qawassmeh. “Fatah is a red line and it is facing a conspiracy.”

On social media, the attacks on Abbas were quite ruthless. Palestinian activists circulated cartoons ridiculing Abbas. One of them depicted Abbas as a rabbi in Israeli military uniform and a Jewish skullcap weeping next to Peres’s grave. Another cartoon featured an Arab laying a wreath on a boot next to Peres’s photo.

On Twitter, activists launched hashtags called, “Offering Condolences On the Death of Peres is Treason” and “Normalization is Treason.”

Hamas was not silent about Abbas’s “treason.” Mahmoud Zahar, one of the leaders of the Islamist movement in the Gaza Strip, opined that according to Islamic teachings, Abbas qualifies as a Jew. “We hope that he will join Peres in Hell,” Zahar said. “Abbas is an Israeli product. The man who claims to represent all the Palestinian people has stood up against all Palestinians and Arabs.”

A large group of Palestinian and Arab academics, journalists and political activists signed a petition calling on Abbas to apologize for attending the Peres funeral, characterizing the move as an “historic and political mistake.” At least 150 Palestinians and Arabs signed the petition, which stressed that Abbas’s decision came as a “shock” to Palestinians.

The protests have, meanwhile, spread to Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and neighboring Arab countries. At the Balata refugee camp near the West Bank city of Nablus, thousands of Palestinians chanted slogans calling for the removal of Abbas from power. The protest came during a funeral of a Palestinian man who had been shot dead a week earlier by Palestinian Authority policemen.

The unprecedented outcry over Abbas’s participation in the funeral of an Israeli leader is further proof of the degree to which Palestinians have been radicalized. Frustration with Abbas and his policies is not new. More and more Palestinians have in recent years expressed rage over his “lenient” policies towards Israel. A particular bone in their throat is the continued security coordination between PA security forces and Israel. They perceive this cooperation with the Israelis as “treasonous”. Many Palestinians are also angry with Abbas for his refusal to share power and pave the way for the emergence of new leaders.

The blame for the radicalization of the Palestinian people lies squarely at the feet of Abbas and the rest of the PA. If you promote boycotts of Israel, expect to be attacked when you break that boycott by associating with any Israeli, alive or dead. Protests tend to subside, but even if the current condemnation eventually does die down, it will have sent a message to future Palestinian leaders. The message is: “No peace with Israel, not in our time, and not in any time.”

Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden visited Ramallah last week, and Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and his top officials are laughing their heads off.

Why not laugh? Biden arrived in the region hoping to persuade the Palestinian leaders to issue a “condemnation” of the reign of terror, which they continue to describe as a “popular and peaceful uprising.” This in itself reeks of gallows humor.

But what Biden got was even funnier, from the point of view of Abbas and his friends.

The Palestinian president offered “condolences” over the killing of a U.S. citizen in Jaffa the previous day: “The President [Abbas] offered his condolences over the killing of the US citizen, while stressing at the same time that the occupation authorities have killed 200 Palestinians over the past five months,” according to a statement released by the PA leadership in Ramallah.

Abbas’s crocodile tears were shed for Taylor Force, a West Point graduate from Texas who was stabbed to death by a Palestinian during a rampage on the Jaffa beachfront promenade. Abbas is doubtless also upset because Israel has killed Palestinian stabbers and shooters.

Just before Biden arrived in Ramallah, Abbas’s Fatah faction praised the murderer of Force, calling him a “martyr.” But Fatah was quick to delete the posts to avoid embarrassing the Palestinian leadership during Biden’s visit.

It seems that the murder of an American visitor is condemnable, but the murder of some 34 Israelis since last October, including a pregnant woman and civilians, is somewhat less so.

Where was the condemnation of the wounding of nine Israelis in the attack that killed Taylor Force? Where was the condemnation of the attacks the took place on that very day in Jerusalem and Petah Tikva?

But Abbas explained everything to Biden: Israel was in fact fully responsible for the “violence and bloodshed” because of the “occupation” and “settlements.”

Here is a dirty little secret: the Palestinian attackers were not driven to murder Jews because of “settlements” and “checkpoints.”

Check their Facebook accounts: what fueled their hatred were the lies they had been fed for the past few years by President Abbas and other Palestinian leaders, concerning Jews “desecrating” Islamic holy sites and plotting to destroy them. No checkpoint snags, no settlement issues, no protests against construction of new apartments in Jerusalem for Jewish families.

Many of these Palestinians went for Israeli blood because they have been taught — by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority, Hamas and other Palestinian groups — to hate Israel. And they do not give a damn whether that Jew lives in Jaffa or in the West Bank. They also do not give a damn if some of their victims are Arabs.

Yet the comedy continues. Biden is reported to have urged Abbas and the Palestinian leadership to stop the anti-Israel incitement in their official media and on social media. Abbas vehemently denied that this incitement was taking place, and indeed, explained that the US leader had gotten things mixed up entirely: it was Israel that was guilty of incitement against the Palestinians.

While Abbas was busy offering his condolences for the killing of the U.S. citizen, his ruling Fatah faction was busy glorifying Palestinian assailants who killed Israelis.

In one instance, Fatah published an announcement inviting Palestinians to mark the 38th anniversary of the “martyrdom” of Dalal Al-Mughrabi.

Al-Mughrabi was a Fatah member who participated in the 1978 Coastal Road massacre in Israel, in which 38 civilians were killed, including 13 children.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden visited Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on March 10, hoping to persuade Abbas to issue a “condemnation” of the wave of terror attacks against Israelis. The next day, Abbas’s Fatah party invited Palestinians to commemorate the 38th anniversary of the “martyrdom” of Dalal Al-Mughrabi. Al-Mughrabi was a Fatah member who participated in the 1978 Coastal Road massacre in Israel, in which 38 civilians were killed, including 13 children.

The condolence message was also long enough for Fatah to praise Palestinian assailants, including Abdel Malek Abu Kharoub, who carried out a recent shooting attack in Jerusalem. In a post on its official Facebook account, Fatah hailed Abu Kharoub as a “hero and martyr.”

Of course neither Biden nor any of his advisors and aides saw these posts. They prefer to continue burying their heads in the sand and pretending that once the “peace process” is revived, everything will be fine.

So it is business as usual for Abbas and crew. As in any comedy, there is a clown, and Biden was played for a fool by a PA leadership that finds that it pays to point its finger at Israel.

In Arabic, a language in which Western leaders are perhaps not fluent, Palestinian media outlets and spokesmen vomit poison against Israel. Condemnation of attacks on Israelis would be rather unlikely in such a drama.

And so the curtain rises on another act of the ceremonial, make-believe theater of the Middle East. In Abbas’s sneaky script, it is about settlements. In reality, it is about the refusal of the Americans to read, speak or even translate Arabic.

Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.