PLO news

[Mediocrates]

PA settles with Jewish family for 1996 terror attack


From AP:

The Palestinian Authority has settled a federal lawsuit in Rhode Island over the shooting deaths 15 years ago of a couple returning home from a wedding in Israel, according to court papers filed Monday.

The documents don't reveal the terms of the settlement, and it's unclear how much, if any, money the Palestinian Authority offered to resolve the case. A federal judge in 2004 had entered a $116 million default judgment against the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization for refusing to respond to the lawsuit, but that punishment was vacated as part of the settlement.

U.S. citizen Yaron Ungar and his pregnant wife, Efrat Ungar, were killed by gunmen from the Islamic militant group Hamas while returning from a wedding near Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem. Several Hamas members were convicted in the attacks.

The Ungars' relatives sued in Rhode Island, where their lawyer practices, under a federal statute that allows the estates of U.S. citizens killed by terrorist attacks overseas to recover damages.

Islamic Jihad is very upset at the PA for agreeing to a settlement. Sheikh Khader Habib called the agreement "rubbish" and is demanding that the PA apologize to the Palestinian Arabs for even considering payment. He called it "a stab in the heart of Palestinian struggle."

Interestingly, the victims were murdered by Hamas, not the Fatah Al Aqsa Brigades.

Notice also that this terror attack occurred while the Oslo "peace process" was in full swing. Somehow, Israel seems to have made itself safer when the "peace process" is moribund. Just one of the ways in which "peace" means something completely different in the Middle East than it does in English.

UPDATE: Here is what the complaint stated about the PA/PLO:

Plaintiffs allege that the PA and PLO: refused requests for the surrender of terrorist suspects, see id. ¶ 31; granted material and financial support to the families of members of Hamas who have been killed or captured while carrying out terrorist violence against Jewish civilians in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, see id. ¶ 33; assisted Hamas and its members in avoiding apprehension and punishment, see id. ¶ 34; and solicited Hamas and the individual Hamas Defendants to commit the attack on the Ungars’ vehicle, see id. ¶¶ 17-18, 36. Plaintiffs also claim that the PA employed several members of Hamas and other terrorist groups suspected of or charged with the murder of U.S. citizens as police officers and/or security officials. See id. ¶ 32.

http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/201...-for-1996.html

[Mediocrates]

PLO closes down negotiation unit

http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/201...it-funded.html
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=360186

From Ma'an:

The Palestine Liberation Organization has decided to wind up its Negotiations Support Unit after damaging leaks about the concessions it was prepared to make to Israel, an official told AFP on Monday.

The decision by the PLO Executive Committee will take effect next month, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Committee member Ahmad Majdalani told AFP that the unit would be restructured and placed under the direct supervision of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

Formed in 1999 to provide technical assistance to the Palestinian negotiating team, the unit had received funding from a number of European governments, particularly Britain and the Scandinavian countries.

The leaked papers reveal how exactly the NSU was trying to manipulate world opinion and influence the US towards their position and against Israel.

Is it appropriate for European countries to fund a group whose entire purpose is to go against Israel in negotiations? Would they have funded an Israeli negotiations unit? Why is it not considered a conflict of interest when some members of the Quartet are openly supporting one side in negotiations?

Furthermore, are these countries reviewing the papers to see if their money was spent appropriately?

When the PLO, through the NSU, says that there is no such thing as a Jewish people - does that reflect the intent of the Scandinavian and British funders of the NSU?

There are a lot of issues that the leaks bring up, and these issues are being ignored by the media.