Palestinian incitement sees violence as a good thing. Illustrative banner of terrorists and Dome of the Rock. By Joshua Spurlock
There’s freedom of speech, and then there’s calling for terror attacks. The Al Hurra Palestinian radio station crossed that line and was shut down, less than 24 hours after an elderly Israeli civilian was stabbed by a Palestinian terrorist in another violent day. An IDF press release reported that Al Hurra was shut down “in order to prevent the incitement which has caused a flare of violence in the region over recent weeks.”
Israeli security forces confiscated broadcasting equipment from the station, which the press release noted had an agenda that “encourages stabbing attacks, violent riots and reports false and malicious claims of security forces executing and kidnapping Palestinians in order to provoke violence. The station glorifies attacks against Israelis and congratulates the families of attackers who died while executing attacks.”
Al Hurra had been shut down twice before, in 2002 and 2008. It was started by Fatah, the political faction led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The press release noted that incitement has been a key element of the current terror wave, in which dozens of attacks have been launched on Israeli civilians and security forces in the last month alone.
In a separate press statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted that the Israelis have “increased our forces and are investing in various means” to battle the terrorism, without referencing the radio station shut down directly.
Said Netanyahu in comments released by his office, “While we do not shrink from the steps necessary to defeat this terrorism, we know that in the end we rely on willpower, the iron willpower of our people who have been here over the past 100 years, which overcomes all obstacles and is developing the country in a way that inspires the world.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, November 3, 2015)