By J.M. Phelps (One News Now)
In response to President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century,” Islamic leaders and organizations are threatening the world and vowing to target Israelis and Americans worldwide.
Prior to the January 28 announcement of Trump’s “deal of the century,” Palestinians rushed to dismiss the plan. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas continues to vehemently reject the attempt to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict.
At an emergency meeting of Arab League foreign ministers in Cairo, Egypt, Abbas severed all relations with Israel and the U.S., showing a blatant disregard for the “Peace to Prosperity” plan.
“We informed them that Israel has abrogated the agreements signed with the Palestinians and violated the international legitimacy on which these agreements are based,” Abbas said on Saturday.
Yesterday, hundreds of protesters gathered near the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in opposition of the plan for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Phil Haney, a founding member of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, tells OneNewsNow that any forward movement on the deal depended almost entirely on the Palestinians.
“Deciding against good faith in the proposal exposes an advantage to Israel,” Haney explains, “because the Palestinians have shown to the whole world that they really don’t have any sincere desire to make peace with Israel.
“Abbas’ refusal to accept the plan is going to marginalize him forever by history,” the author of “See Something, Say Nothing” states. “Now is his moment. He’s checked; he cannot move.”
The former homeland security official continues: “There are a lot of internal fractures and fissures within the Palestinian community, namely Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). These fractures stake their whole existence on not recognizing the State of Israel.”
Any criticism by the Palestinian people to the leadership of Hamas, PIJ, the PFLP, or the Palestinian Authority leads to being dealt with “brutally” by the organization, Haney states. Because freedom of expression does not exist in the Palestinian society, he says “the people do not have an outlet for even considering peace, and this puts more pressure on their entire social structure.”
“The Palestinian people are under intense pressure and do not really have a lot of options – and that’s going to become more evident in the near future,” Haney determines.
Haney points out “a number of other dangerous undercurrents bubbling below the surface.” For example, one day prior to Trump’s historic offer for peace in the Middle East, the Islamic State (ISIS) released a number of statements made by its spokesman Abu Hamzah Al-Qurashi through their media arm Al-Furqan.
Speaking on behalf of the new ISIS Leader, Abu Ibrahim Al-Hashemi Al-Qurashi expressed his disapproval of the peace deal:
“Oh soldiers of the caliphate everywhere, especially in beloved Sinai and blessed Syria, go for the Israeli settlements and marketplaces. Turn them into lands for testing your weapons and chemical rockets and other types [of weapons]. To the Muslims in Palestine and all countries: Be a spearhead in the war against the Jews and in thwarting their plans and their ‘Deal of the Century.'”
The ISIS spokesman urged Muslims worldwide to join the fight against Israel and the United States:
“We call upon you to join the soldiers of the caliphate, who are exerting themselves to remove the borders and the obstacles standing between them and fighting the Jews, who are determined, with Allah’s permission, to topple the armies and bring down the thrones, formed by the Crusaders to be a protecting force for the Israelites, and incite their brothers everywhere to attack the Jews and slaughter them, inside Palestine and outside Palestine, and kill them wherever they can find them …”
Although ISIS has suffered a loss of its territory and the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the war against ISIS is far from over.
“They still exist as an organization and the pieces are still there,” Haney contends, emphasizing that the alliance formed between ISIS and other jihadi groups in the near east as well as in Africa still exist. “Their infrastructure remains and there are plenty of affiliated organizations within their reach,” he adds.
Additionally, in the midst of so-called called peace negotiations with the Taliban, the group has condemned President Trump’s deal. Haney says the Taliban’s level of violence in Afghanistan is higher now than it’s ever been.
“The Taliban itself is coming out declaring Jerusalem is the rightful home of the Palestinians and Muslims everywhere in the world should rise and oppose the deal,” he offers.
“And don’t forget about the direct threats of Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS),” he adds. “Their goal – which is plainly stated in their Code of Conduct – is to target Israelis and Americans everywhere in the world.”
Following the precision strike against Qassem Soleimani, Haney also says he isn’t surprised the Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has also called upon Islamic countries to oppose Trump’s proposal. Haney draws attention to the threats of suicide bombing attacks against Americans in the Middle East, stating the rhetoric is exactly the same.
“They called for jihad because we took out Soleimani, and now they’re calling for jihad because we’ve proposed a peace deal for Israel,” he notes.
The declarations and statements issued by all these organizations are “virtually identical,” according to Haney. “They’re all issuing statements that are direct threats – and these threats are not subtle,” he tells OneNewsNow.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) also reject the plan for peace, he adds.
“If there was any question in people’s minds about the real nature and personality of these global groups, they now have their answer,” Haney states. “The masks are off and they’re revealing exactly who they have been all along – and Trump’s peace proposal helped bring it all out into the wide open for all to see.”
In a concluding thought, Haney suggests the world should “watch carefully” how the U.N. decides to respond.
“Will they participate in good faith – or will they do what they often do and issue resolutions condemning Israel for x, y, and z crimes?” he wonders. “This is a moment for the entire world to clearly see exactly where the U.N. stands on Israel’s security as the State of Israel.”
J.M. Phelps is a counter-terrorism specialist, suicide bombing expert, and freelance journalist, focusing on national security for OneNewsNow. He is also editor and publisher of the website Lantern of Liberty.
Originally published by One News Now on Monday, February 3, 2020.
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