• The Palestinian Authority (PA) sees no need for international intervention to halt its own crackdown on freedom of speech. Nor does it consider the closure of a newspaper office and the detention of journalists as a “war crime.”

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• The report reveals that Palestinian detainees have been undergoing severe torture while in PA detention. During the past few years, ten people have died in Palestinian prisons. As far as we can see, no one from the European community has taken the slightest notice.

• The detention of Khalil is seen in the context of the PA’s continued effort to silence and intimidate Palestinian journalists who dare to criticize the Palestinian leadership and its institutions.

• The PA clearly wants a media that reports only against Israel. The only incitement permitted is the one directed there.

• Western human rights groups that regularly condemn Israel for its actions against Palestinians have, as usual, failed to respond to this latest assault by the PA on public freedoms. The PA’s crackdown on the media is not going to attract the attention of the mainstream media in the West: the story lacks an anti-Israel angle.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) recently and not surprisingly announced that it was planning to file a complaint with international organizations over Israeli “assaults” and “crimes” against Palestinian journalists.

The Palestinian Ministry of Information condemned the “assaults” as a “war crime” and said it would urge the International Federation of Journalists to send a commission of inquiry to the Palestinian territories to launch an investigation against Israel.

Ironically, the PA’s announcement came only a few days after it ordered the closure of a newspaper office in Ramallah and the detention of a female journalist, Naela Khalil. The announcement also coincides with the PA’s ongoing crackdown on freedom of expression in the West Bank, where Palestinians are being arrested for posting critical remarks on social media.

The Palestinian Authority, of course, sees no need for international intervention to halt its own crackdown on freedom of speech. Nor, apparently, does it consider the closure of a newspaper office and the detention of journalists a “war crime” when it does it.

Earlier this month, the Palestinian Authority ordered the closure of the Ramallah-based Al-Araby Al-Jadeed online newspaper on the pretext that it was operating without a license from the Palestinian Ministry of Information. The decision to shut the newspaper came after Palestinian security officers had raided its offices several times and questioned employees about the nature of their work.

The management of Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, however, said that it had applied for a license in December 2014, but had never received an answer from the Palestinian Ministry of Information.

A senior official with the Ministry later admitted that the decision to shut down the newspaper was taken after the publication of an article that was considered “offensive to the State of Palestine and its security institutions.” In other words, the decision had nothing to do with the newspaper not having obtained a license from the Ministry of Information in Ramallah.

The Palestinian Ministry of Information sent a letter to the Palestinian prosecutor-general urging him to authorize the closure of the newspaper. The letter explained why the newspaper had to be shut. The letter read: “A London-based newspaper that has an office in Ramallah recently published a report that offends the State of Palestine and its security agencies. The report portrayed our security forces as if they have nothing to do but arrest people and conduct security coordination with the occupation state (Israel). This is incitement against the Palestinian Authority and its security institutions. We therefore hope you will issue an order to close this unlicensed office.”

According to Palestinian journalists, the report that enraged the PA and prompted it to take action against Al-Araby Al-Jadeed was actually written by an Egyptian journalist, Shaima Al-Hadidi.

The report criticizes the Palestinian Authority for clamping down on journalists and political opponents in the West Bank and refers to security coordination between the Palestinian security forces and Israel.

“The Palestinian Authority does not hesitate to open the doors of its cells for [to hold] its opponents,” the report charged. “The Palestinian Authority prisons in Ramallah are full of dozens of political detainees accused of resisting occupation.”

The report reveals that Palestinian detainees have been undergoing severe torture while under Palestinian Authority detention. In just one month last August, there were at least 12 cases in which detainees complained that they had been tortured by Palestinian Authority interrogators. Some detainees were denied medical treatment, the report said, and pointed out that during the past few years, ten Palestinians have died in Palestinian prisons. As far as we can see, no one from the European community took the slightest notice. Such information is presumably considered, in journalistic terms, “dog bites man:” The Palestinian leadership is abusing its own people again? Who cares, glad it’s not us.

Some of the Palestinians who died in detention were identified as Majd Barghouti of Ramallah, Fadi Hamadneh of Nablus, Arafat Jaradat of Hebron, Ayman Samara of Jenin, Nawaf Kawazbeh of Bethlehem, Rabi Mahmoud al-Jamal of Hebron and Raed al-Hitleh of Tulkarem.

In another case, Palestinian Authority security officers arrested the journalist Amer Abu Arafeh after raiding his home and confiscating documents, cameras and computers. Abu Arafeh latersaid that he was interrogated about Facebook entries he had posted, in which he had reportedly criticized the Palestinian Authority.

The report about Palestinian Authority human rights violations in Al-Araby Al-Jadeed angered the Palestinian Authority to a point where it felt that closing the newspaper’s Ramallah office was not enough. Last week, the newspaper’s correspondent, Naela Khalil, was detained for interrogation. After protests by her colleagues, the PA agreed to release her on bail.

Journalists Amer Abu Arafeh (left) and Naela Khalil (right) were recently arrested by Palestinian security services for criticizing the leadership of the Palestinian Authority.

The detention of Khalil is seen in the context of the Palestinian Authority’s continued effort to silence and intimidate Palestinian journalists who dare to criticize the Palestinian leadership and its institutions.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate and a few human rights groups in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have since condemned the decision to detain Khalil and shut the offices of her newspaper.

However, most Western human rights groups that regularly condemn Israel for its actions against Palestinians have, as usual, so far failed to respond to this latest assault by the Palestinian Authority on public freedoms. It is a punishment for freedom of expression that apparently bothers no one apart from us.

The cases of Al-Araby Al-Jadeed and Naela Khalil, the female journalist detained in Ramallah, show that the Palestinian Authority leadership effectively does not tolerate any form of criticism. Palestinian officials have accused the newspaper and its journalist of “incitement” against the Palestinian Authority. But this is the same Palestinian Authority that has long been engaged in a massive campaign of incitement against Israel, especially during the past few weeks.

The Palestinian Authority clearly wants a media that reports only against Israel. The only incitement permitted is the one directed there. Palestinian journalists who incite against Israel are safe; they do not face any form of harassment by the Palestinian Authority security forces. But once a journalist or a media outlet dares to publish anything that is considered “offensive” against the Palestinian Authority, they quickly find themselves behind bars in Ramallah.

It is forbidden to criticize President Mahmoud Abbas or any of his top officials. It is also forbidden to report about human rights violations and torture in Palestinian Authority prisons.

During the past few years, several Palestinians have been arrested or summoned for interrogation for posting critical remarks about Abbas and other Palestinian officials on Facebook.

But this is not a story that most Western journalists or supposed human rights groups are interested in covering. A story that reflects negatively on the Palestinian Authority or Hamas is not “news that is fit to print.” The Palestinian Authority’s crackdown on the media is not going to attract the attention of the mainstream media in the West because, as noted by the left-wing Associated Press reporter, Matti Friedman, the award-winning journalist Khaled Abu Toameh and a few others, such stories lack an anti-Israel angle. Had Al-Araby Al-Jadeed been shut by Israeli authorities, the story would probably have made it to the front pages of most newspapers in the U.S. and Europe.

As such, the Palestinian Authority and President Abbas have no reason to be worried about the response of the international community to their continued assaults on freedom of expression. They can continue to arrest as many journalists as they like and close newspaper offices without having to worry about a backlash from the media, so-called human rights groups or the international community.

The Palestinian Authority is now demanding international protection for its journalists against Israeli “assaults.” But the real question that the international human rights organizations need to ask the Palestinian Authority when its leaders come calling to complain about Israeli “violations” is:

Who is going to protect Palestinian journalists from the Palestinian Authority and its security forces?

Bassam Tawil is a scholar based in the Middle East

According to Islamic sources, one of the signs of yawm al-qiyamah (Judgment Day) and redemption is the appearance of the False Messiah, masih dajjal, sent by Satan in the guise of the True Messiah. He is charismatic and powerful, his skin is the color of bronze, his hair is curly and his eyes flash fire. He pretends to do good deeds, drawing people to him and making them blindly follow him.

According to the tradition, the False Messiah sows disaster around the world, marking the stage before redemption. The Qur’an says, “You may love something that is bad for you and hate something that is good for you,” a convenient way of cajoling people into doing things they might find distasteful, such as blowing themselves up.

When U.S. President Barack Obama began his presidency and bowed down before the Islamists at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, we thought he would bring redemption to the Arab world. But his meddling in the Middle East has led to the final dissolution of most of the Arab states. The United States has muscled through a “nuclear deal” that the Iranians will not sign. How could one even expect Iran to sign anything with a country they call “the Great Satan?” Would you?

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, on June 4, 2009. (Image source: White House)

As an additional advantage, since Iran has not actually signed anything, they cannot be accused of cheating — not that it would matter to them if they were, given their track record of breaking the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The expected infusion of astronomical amounts cash will enable Iran to complete its nuclear weapons program and intercontinental ballistic missiles along with it; arm Hezbollah even more; spread greater terror and further the Shi’ite takeover of the Sunni regions.

The delusions of the Carter administration resulted in the overthrow of Iran’s Shah. This experience should have taught the Americans not to allow the overthrow of Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak. The man was undone by Obama’s comic-book fantasies and unworkable, starry-eyed demands. The rise and survival of Egypt’s current President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi — despite the attempt of the U.S. administration to reinstate Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood’s regime — is only due to the will of Allah.

By withdrawing prematurely from a stable, if imperfect, Iraq, Obama caused much chaos in the Middle East. His wishful thinking and rambling concepts — from America’s great followership to resolving conflicts by surrendering — have stripped America of all deterrence and sucked the Middle East into an ocean of blood. His adolescent worldview, idealizing Islam, is nothing more than nostalgia for the days of his youth. His daydream of a peace-seeking “political Islam,” divorced from violence, has brought the Middle East devastation, wretchedness and death.

As Palestinians, our reactions are sorrow and frustration. We have to tell the truth and say that nothing is left of our dreams that the Arab armies would conquer Israel. Those of us who once thought that Islamist terrorist organizations would save us have now realized that this is not going to happen.

The Arab leaders who used to blame the miseries of our people on Jews and Zionists are now left with nothing but their empty words. Their hearts are full of envy, hatred and frustration as they look at the blossoming of Israel, the land Allah promised the Jews in the Qur’an, a flower in a burning field of weeds.

The Muslim clerics who claimed it was forbidden for Muslims to live under the shadow of infidel European Christianity sent our young people to blow themselves up to kill Jews and Christians, to frighten and conquer Europe. They now have to watch as Muslims grovel at Europe’s feet and beg the infidel Christians for a safe haven and shelter from… other Muslims.

The leaders of the wealthy Arab states are apathetic and have no solution, or even advice, for the millions of Syrian Muslim refugees who have lost their homes and families; yet the European “Crusaders” have opened their gates to thousands of desperate Muslims who reach their shores. There will always be Muslim sheikhs who will claim that the wave of Muslims seeking salvation in Europe will eventually join those mujahidin [jihad warriors] who for years have been organizing in the European ghettos.

The prophecies of the Qur’an are coming to pass: the Noble Qur’an prophesies that the Jews will return to Beit Almakdis (Jerusalem) and the land around it from the four corners of the world to live there, and it gives the Jews the Blessed Land and Jerusalem.

The Iranians promised us they would liberate Al-Aqsa Mosque, but all they really want is to lull us into a false sense of security, then take over the Arabian Peninsula. They have infiltrated and subverted Yemen and Bahrain, and taken control of the Straits of Bab al Mandeb, Hormuz and countries between Tehran, Baghdad, Damascus and Beirut.

While the Arabs are weak and divided — thanks to America’s policy of divide and conquer — the Iranians keep on getting stronger. In light of the catastrophe Obama has caused the Arab world — with millions of refugees flooding the Middle East and invading Europe from Africa and the Arab countries — the dream of returning to Palestine has vanished.

It has long been obvious that there is no connection whatsoever between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the chaos in the Middle East. Every Arab regime has, at one time or another, used the conflict as an excuse to oppress its people by telling them they were fighting a common enemy. We have been betrayed by them as much as by the Europeans.

Our fellow Muslims have been happy to use us as a pretext, to have something to point at and complain about: We are waging war; it is because of the Palestinians. We refuse to fight; it is because of the Palestinians. We cannot do what you want; it is because of the Palestinians. At no time did they ever seriously seek to resolve the conflict, nor did they ever want to.

The great benefit we have is that the Israelis no longer rule us. We now have an autonomy. If the Americans and Europeans continue meddling and pressuring one side or the other in our conflict with the Israelis, eventually the stable but still fragile Palestinian social fabric in the West Bank will tear, and at the first sign of weakness Hamas and ISIS will rush in — as they have long been planning — to take over.

All we can do is comfort ourselves with the thought that given all the signs, the redemption of the world is coming and the Mahdi everyone is waiting for will soon be here.

Bassam Tawil is a scholar based in the Middle East.

• As Hamas’s power increases, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its security services are gradually losing their control of the West Bank.

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• Both the Israelis and the Palestinians know that if the PA falls, the best case scenario is that Hamas will take over the West Bank. The worst case scenario is a welcome mat for ISIS.

• The refugees are the collateral damage in Australia’s widely criticized “Stop the Boats” policy, the rule that asylum seekers who try to reach Australian shores by sea will never “make Australia home,” even if they are genuine refugees, are children or have skills. — Los Angeles Times.

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• “[T]he arrivals by sea seem to prompt anger. One reason for this could be that migrants and refugees who try to reach Australia by sea are, in fact, coming illegally. Those that are being resettled through its Humanitarian Programme, meanwhile, are registered refugees being accepted under Australia’s international obligations.” — J. Weston Phippen, in The Atlantic.
• Then-Secretary of State John Kerry worked out the deal with Australia to “fast track” the immigrants, but did not tell Congress. It would be illegal if the deal was considered a treaty negotiated by Kerry. According to the Constitution, it would have to have been sent to Congress for ratification.