Speaking to reporters after meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad this week, US envoy George Mitchell stated that the US administration under Barack Obama is determined to secure a “truly comprehensive” Arab-Israeli peace deal.
“That peace means between Palestinians and Israelis, between Syria and Israel, and between Lebanon and Israel,” Mitchell stated.
Mitchell also called for the full normalization of relations between Israel and all the countries in the region.
The term comprehensive peace came up often in Mitchell’s outlining of US expectations for the Middle East. “Comprehensive peace is the only way to guarantee stability, security and prosperity for the states in the region,” Mitchell said in an AP report.
Yet the positive attitude and optimistic language that has characterized the Obama administration’s quest to achieve peace is lacking. Until now, there has been no official US address of realities on the ground. What is being said during these political visits and what is actually taking place on the ground to promote regional peace, are vast oceans apart.
The June edition of Al-Fateh, Hamas’ bi-weekly publication for children, is perhaps one of the best indicators of this massive par. According to the Israel Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (IICC), Al-Fateh, a London-based publication, inculcates Palestinian children with the ideas of radical Islam, hatred of Israel and the Jewish people, and even the West. Every Al-Fateh issue praises a shahid (martyr) belonging to the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Martyrs Brigades, Hamas’ military-terrorist wing.
June’s issue featured a photograph of the 61st anniversary of the Nakba. The image shows killed Palestinian children beneath a blood-dripping Israeli-American handshake. The issue also features a poem where an angry Palestinian child calls to avenge and liberate Palestine.
Photos of Palestinian children dressed as Hamas soldiers have appeared in earlier issues during 2009 and martyrdom is a reoccurring theme.
In praise of martyrdom
In the past, Al-Fateh has praised suicide bombers responsible for the murder of Israeli citizens including Sa’id al-Hutari the perpetrator of the suicide bombing attack in Tel-Aviv’s Dolphaniarium disco, where 21 people, mostly Israeli teenagers were killed and 83 injured.
Al-Fateh’s editor and founder is believed to be Abdallah al-Tantawi, a senior figure in Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood in the mid-1990s, who goes by the name of Sami al-Halabi. According to the IICC, an article published in an Islamic newspaper in Germany (Al-Ra’ed, February 2005) noted that al -Tantawi founded the Al-Fateh publication in 2002 while cofounding several other children publications.
Meanwhile, Hamas’ first full-length movie premier was held on July 17 in the Gaza Strip and was attended by Hamas PM Ismail Haniya. Written by Hamas' Mahmoud al-Zahar, the movie recounts the story of Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades commander killed in battle with IDF forces in 1993. Production costs for the movie reached $200,000.
Elsewhere, shortly before Operation Cast Lead, Hamas leadership in Damascus launched Al-Quds TV in Beirut, which is owned by the Al-Quds radio and TV Company in London and is comprised of Arab and Palestinian businessmen and media personnel. Al-Quds TV recently dismissed an Algerian journalist, Yehya Abu Zakaria, for revealing that the station received Iranian funding. He also accused its directors of low-level programming while using funds to lead “lives of luxury.”
In the realm of Islamic media, the Obama administration’s visions of Middle East peace are not a welcome news item. If a truly “comprehensive of peace” for Israel and her neighboring countries is to transpire, the Islamic media must embrace Mitchell’s vision. This has yet to happen.
Anav Silverman is the international correspondent for Sderot Media Center .She is a graduate of Bar Ilan University and made aliyah from Maine in 2004