New Palestinian conspiracy theories: Israel and US behind major crises in Arab world

Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

Blaming Israel, the Jews and America for the Arab world's problems, is a recurring theme of Palestinian ideology.

The latest Palestinian Authority libel accuses Israel of involvement in major international conspiracies to undermine Arab and Muslim countries, from Yemen to Sudan, all in order to distract international attention from what Palestinians call the "Palestinian cause." These conspiracy accusations were expressed by a senior PA official, the Director General of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's office, Abd Al-Rahim.

According to Abd Al-Rahim, Israel has orchestrated all of the following major destructive events in the Arab world:
1- the civil war in Lebanon
2- the division of Sudan
3- the civil strife in Yemen
4- the massacre of Christians in Iraq
5- the persecution of Palestinians in Iraq

Also blaming Israel for Arab world troubles, the General Union of Palestinian Writers, following the murder of Christian Copts in a bombing in Egypt, said that Israel was behind conspiracies against the Arab world, including Egypt:
"The conspiracies that are being concocted against Palestine, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and anywhere else in the world are proof that the Israeli occupation and the imperialist circles are still damaging the spirit of the [Arab] nation and its unity."

Joining the chorus of conspiracy accusations, Tawfiq Tirawi, member of the Fatah Central Committee, accused America of collaborating to attempt "to stir up civil strife" "in Arab countries, from Yemen to Sudan."

The following are excerpts from the three news items accusing Israel and America of conspiring against the Arab world, all from the official PA daily:

"There are other conspiracies which the occupation [Israel] plans so as to cause a decrease [in attention] to the Palestinian cause and to turn it into a secondary matter with no priority, such as the ethic-religious battle going on in Lebanon. There is a third [Israeli] conspiracy, which is the division of Sudan. In addition, there are Arab countries which are facing dangers, such as what is happening in Yemen and the existence of the so-called Southern Movement, the Houthis, and Al-Qaeda in Yemen... There are also the massacres being carried out against the Christian communities in Iraq, and what some regional groups have done to Palestinians in Iraq." He warned of additional [Israeli] conspiracies, whose aim is that our [Palestinian] cause will not be a top priority, all in accordance with a precise plan."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 4, 2011]

Headline: "The Writers' Union denounces the attack on the church in Alexandria"
"The General Union of Palestinian Writers, and Palestinian intellectuals both inside and outside [of Palestine], denounced the attack on the church in Alexandria, describing it as a cowardly attack aimed at lighting the fuse of strife and fighting between Muslim and Christian brethren in Arab Egypt...
The union said that the conspiracies that are being concocted against Palestine, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and anywhere else in the world are proof that the Israeli occupation and the imperialist circles are still damaging the spirit of the [Arab] nation and its unity, with the aim of ripping apart, dividing, and deflecting attention from what is most important."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 6, 2011]

"[Tawfiq] Tirawi [member of the Fatah Central Committee] denounced what happened in Egypt [reference to the terror attack at the Coptic Church in Alexandria, in which more than 20 people were killed, -Ed.] and what is happening in Arab countries, from Yemen to Sudan, carried out by foreign elements and with American collaboration, in an attempt to stir up civil strife, which our nation decries."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 5, 2011]
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