“I am Yahweh; that is My Name!  I will not give My glory to anyone else, nor share My praise with carved idols.” (Isaiah 42: 8)

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Khaled Abu Toameh—How Palestinians Silence Palestinians: 

Most people probably do not know him by name, but the image of Mohammed Al-Dayeh was a public one for many years. The tough-looking, mustachioed man in military garb served as the trusted bodyguard of former PLO leader Yasser Arafat.

His proximity to Arafat turned Al-Dayeh into one of the most powerful figures in the PLO leadership, especially during the 1990s and 2000s. If you wanted anything from Arafat — from money to springing your son from prison — Al-Dayeh was your man.

He was glued to Arafat night and day. He accompanied him on his persistent globe-trotting. You can hardly find a photo of Arafat without Al-Dayeh. Insiders say Arafat “adopted” him after he was orphaned from his parents during the civil war in Lebanon.

Al-Dayeh’s fall from grace was rapid once his boss, Arafat, died in 2004. This is typical for dictatorial regimes that are run as a one-man show. Arafat managed the Palestinian Authority (and PLO) as if it were his private fiefdom. When the emperor falls, so do many of those around him, particularly his personal picks.

In the past week, Palestinians were surprised to learn that the man who was an icon of power of the Arafat era was now being held in detention in a Palestinian Authority prison in Ramallah. Reports about the incarceration of Al-Dayeh first appeared on social media, and many Palestinians were convinced that these were just rumors and gossip. How could the man once so loved by Arafat be behind bars? What crime did Al-Dayeh, who holds the rank of “brigadier-general” in the Palestinian Authority, commit? It would have to have been quite a misstep on Al-Dayeh’s part.

The talk that Al-Dayeh would soon be prosecuted before a Palestinian Authority “military” court aroused further surprise. Was the former bodyguard arrested, many wondered, for committing a serious security-related offense?

Speculation on the Palestinian street even reached the point of considering whether Al-Dayeh was being charged with spying for Israel. Or, perhaps this was the man who had put the “poison” in Arafat’s soup and which, according to the conspiracy theorists, led to the death of their beloved leader and hero – Arafat.

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SnyderTalk Comment:

Palestinians are a serious problem.  Thinking and informed people know that that’s true about Palestinian leaders, but I’m not talking about them.  I’m talking about the ordinary Palestinians that you meet on the street.

There are many data points that support my conclusion, but the most convincing one is what happened in 2005 when Israel withdrew from Gaza lock, stock, and barrel.  That gave Gazans an opportunity to elect leaders who could make their lives better.  Instead, they elected Hamas, a terrorist organization that is committed to Israel’s annihilation.

Since Gazans elected Hamas, they have been in a virtual state of war with Israel.  The occasional flare-ups that Israel calls “operations” are the things that most Westerners hear about, but it’s a 24/7 thing 365 days a year.

The daily lives of Gazans are tied closely to a rhythm that works like this: preparation for war, war, defeat, licking wounds, preparing for war, war, defeat.  That’s been the pattern for almost 13 years.

Gazans suffer from terrorism within their ranks, too.  Hamas rules with an iron fist.  Brutality, torture, and murder are part of their everyday routine, yet Gazans keep asking for more by accepting Hamas’ atrocities.

The only difference between Hamas leaders in Gaza and Fatah leaders in the West Bank is where they live and the openness with which they conduct war with Israel.  In every respect, they are practically identical.

I’ve been exploring Israel for 2 decades.  Over the years, I have witnessed ordinary Palestinians become more belligerent and more outspoken about their desire to see Israel wiped out.  Palestinian leaders don’t walk the streets of Jerusalem, for instance.  They don’t meet you in the Old City and try to sell you their wares.  Palestinians that you meet in Israel as you go about your normal daily activities truly are ordinary Palestinians.

Israel is the best friend that ordinary Palestinians have.  Their leaders are their worst enemies, but they won’t throw them out.  That speaks volumes about ordinary Palestinians.

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“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17: 22-24)

See “His Name is Yahweh”.