No doubt Obama appointees and loyalists are responsible for this report, but it came from Trump’s State Department nonetheless, and he owns it. This is a swamp that should long ago have been drained.
“State Dept. Blames Israel for Terrorism, Claims Palestinians Rarely Incite Attacks,” by Adam Kredo, Washington Free Beacon, July 20, 2017:
The State Department is facing harsh criticism for claiming in an official report that Israel is to blame for terrorism attacks committed by Palestinians and accusing the Jewish state of being largely responsible for an impasse in peace negotiations, according to a leading member of Congress who is calling on the State Department to correct its “inaccurate and harmful” characterization of Israel.
The State Department, in its latest annual report on the global terrorism situation, blames Israeli security policies for stalling the peace process and claims that Palestinians rarely incite terror attacks.
The claims are coming under fierce criticism from pro-Israel advocates and have prompted one leading member of Congress to formally call on the Trump administration to amend the report to more accurately reflect the situation.
Rep. Peter Roskam (R. Ill.), co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus, criticized the latest report in a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and called on the administration to immediately amend it to portray Palestinian terror attacks as a primary reason for the impasse in peace talks.
The State Department’s current characterization, Roskam claims, is harmful to Israel and likely to impede efforts by the Trump administration to renew peace talks.
“The State Department report includes multiple findings that are both inaccurate and harmful to combating Palestinian terrorism,” Roskam wrote in a letter sent Thursday to the State Department, a copy of which was exclusively obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. “This report wrongly insinuates Israeli security measures on the Temple Mount and a stalled peace process as key forces behind terrorism.”
“Most egregiously,” Roskam adds, “it portrays the PA as innocent peacemakers far removed from being the source of terrorist activity.”
The State Department characterizes Palestinian calls for terrorism and violence against Israel as “rare,” stating: “Explicit calls for violence against Israelis, direct exhortations against Jews, and categorical denials by the [Palestinian Authority] of the possibility of peace with Israel are rare and the leadership does not generally tolerate it.”
“This assertion is demonstrably false,” Roskam writes. “The PA does not only tolerate terrorist attacks against Israelis but it also incites, rewards, and memorializes those who carry out these horrific attacks.”
Regional organizations monitoring the situation routinely cite the Palestinian Authority and its senior officials as calling for violence against Israel and glorifying past terror acts.
Palestinian television programs also promote violence against Israel and Jews, with some aimed at children promoting hatred of the Jewish state.
The Palestinian government also uses U.S. taxpayer aid to pay salaries to one-time terrorists who are imprisoned in Israel. This issue has become a particular sticking point in peace talks with Israel, and Congress is currently considering legislation that could cut all aid to the PA until it formally ends this terror payment policy.
In late 2015, during a massive wave of Palestinian terrorism, attackers carried out 181 stabbing attacks on Israelis, 159 shooting, and 60 vehicular ramming attacks, which called more than 50 Israelis and injured nearly 1,000.
Roskam notes this statistic in his letter to Tillerson.
“I write to express my concern about numerous mischaracterizations found in the 2016 State Department Country Reports on Terrorism, which undermine the prospect for Israeli-Palestinian peace and wrongly blame Israel for Palestinian terrorism against Israeli civilians,” Roskam writes.
“At the highest level, the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership directly incites, rewards, and, in some cases, carries out, terrorist attacks against innocent Israelis,” the letter states. “In order to effectively combat terrorism, it is imperative that the United States accurately characterize its root cause—PA leadership.”
Roskam calls on the Trump administration “to modify this report to accurately characterize and hold accountable the root causes of Palestinian violence—PA leadership, and clarify the longstanding issue of Palestinian support for terrorism as the leading impediment to Israeli-Palestinian peace.”…
Voytek Gagalka says
Who in hell is in control of the State Department now?! When the cat is asleep (or under the influence of Valerian herb – Valeriana officinalis) then mouses are dancing! DRAIN THE SWAMP!
Steve Klein says
Rex Tillerson but ultimately his boss, President Trump.
Debi Brand says
“Rex Tillerson but ultimately his boss, President Trump.”
Indeed.
TassieR says
Indeed, indeed, unfortunately! Since FDR times the State Department was no less anti-American and pro-Communist organization, as the Soviet Politburo (and often even more, sincerely astonishing even the Kremlin comrades themselves). It never had anything common with the American voters. Whatever the name of the current President was, the State has been remaining true to their vile Department’s traditions only…
Jim says
Tillerson is being overwhelmed by the snowflakes and buttercups he should have sent packing on day one. They put this horsepookey out because their Moslem colleagues and secret paymasters (butt humping Arabs) made it happen.
Gae says
All those apologists for Muslim terrorism should be booted out as they clearly do not belong to US government. We had a traitor Obama and Clinton seeding these rs.
deep state traitor. US Embassy must be moved to Jerusalem ASAP!
Debi Brand says
“US Embassy must be moved to Jerusalem ASAP!”
Trump did that—did he not…
He sure as “dicken’s” promised to.
John C. Barile says
Continuity with the past over at Foggy Bottom spans Presidential administrations and generations.
JeffS says
Next, the State Department will be flying a Palestinian flag outside their building in solidarity with the “oppressed people of Palestine”.
Nigel GFF says
Yep, ‘the bullshit lies so deep, you need wings to stay above’. Mr President please grow a pair. God Bless America.
Jim says
Before I retired from STATE, there were Palestinian flags in the offices of their fellow travelers and supporters.
balam says
Trump should tell the BAD EGGS in the State Department: YOU ARE FIRED .Do these people want America to be under I.S.I.S control?
Steve Klein says
Like the president’s Secretary of Defense who is decidedly anti-Israel, it looks like Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s true colors are coming out.
Westman says
Let’s see, there have been three identifiable intifadas, Israelis run down in the street, shot, stabbed (knife-intifada), thousands of rockets, multiple attempts to defeat Israel from surrounding Muslim nations and they all failed.
Frankly, the internet has allowed us all to see past the spinners, whether government, media, or higher “education”. The swamp needs draning and reseeding with productives, red, white, and blue instead of rotting globalists who would never pay a personal cost to retain their rights and want to diminish yours.
The one factor, not effected by voting citizens, with the most control of government is multi-national business that wants globalization regardless of the cost to our citizens, or Israel. They are so powerful that they successully rob us all by avoiding taxes, keeping profits offshore, that we must subsidize. They want private profits and the public to carry the liabilities. They might have to be stopped by grass-roots avoidance of their products since they have government, and our representatives, in tow.
Let’s hope that Trump will see this canard as an attack on Israel and clean house in the State Dept.
mgoldberg says
“…This report wrongly insinuates Israeli security measures on the Temple Mount and a stalled peace process as key forces behind terrorism.”
To address this: Islam is the key force behind terrorism. It is the key force in every nation where Islam wishes to impose it’s will and all others are forced to bend to the victimization Islam and the nations are forced to accept thru threat, innuendo, and the thugocracy that are the OIC, the UN, the EU and the globablists. It’s never the call to Jihad, the call to submit all others that is the force of Islam that no one may utter without recrimination. The ‘Palestinians’ have no interest in peace except to rule as the ruler- to take what is not theirs. Let’s see how strong Tillerson is when confronted by this reality, this report that has the stink of all his predicessors and see if has has some of the integrity to throw this report out as the garbage it is. One can only hope.
Lee Hicks says
Let’s see if Trump or his surrogates in the State Department modify this report, or approve it passively in silence. If the former, good and well…if the latter, then a huge red flag goes up regarding Trump. It doesn’t matter that it was originated in Obama’s administration, It’s Trump’s to own or disown now. This report, and the attitude of the current administration regarding Israel and Palestine is a very big deal, and will signal an indicator as to how much hot water we as a nation may be in, regarding Trump and his leadership (or the lack thereof).
Vann Boseman says
Lee Hicks,
I agree that Trump’s states department is a mess and that it is Trump’s state department to own. Trump was not a politician before he ran for the most important political office in the country. I knew there would likely be issues associated with this when I voted for him.
Trump obviously believed that once elected that republicans would have to work with him to get things done. I hope that he now realizes that this is not going to happen. There are other problems too. Trump has the holdovers from Obama, and cannot get appointment through congress. There are plenty to blame in Congress too even if the ultimate responsibility lands on Trump.
I hope that Trump will go around the established way of doing things and do things on his own. I trust Trump’s decisions more than I would trust an Obama holdover even though Trump might not have all the facts. Trump needs to become ruthless as a politician in ways different from being ruthless as a businessman and seize control of his administration. Unless or until he does that, he should be willing to go around or through anyone in his administration that gets in his way.
I voted for Trump with all the rough edges ready for a fight. I didn’t vote for Trump trying to be or appear to be everyone’s image of “presidential.” Obama holdovers must know that their days are numbered and so probably do not care that their actions might get them fired. Trump needs to deal with this. It might be that Trump could take lessons in being politically ruthless from Boehner.
Smarty says
I would be emailing whitehouse.gov and communicating to DT directly. He needs to hear this bigly
Guy Jones says
What blows my mind (but, perhaps it shouldn’t) is how, even taking into the account the Left’s intellectually dishonest and fallacy-rooted Islamo-flattery, Islamo-victimology and Islamo-whitewashing/historical revisionism, which bleeds over into the Left’s comprehension of the Israeli-“Palestinian” conflict, I never see an assessment of how the sundry pathologies and belligerence that are inherent to Islam completely color the “Palestinian” mindset and attitude vis-a-vis Israel and Israelis.
Once one understands the intolerance, belligerence towards non-Muslims and theological/idelogical supremacism that are inherent to Islam, it reduces the allegedly complicated “peace process” to a very simple calculus — the “Palestinians” are incapable of making peace with the Israelis, because they are Jews, and, the Koran instructs Muslims to kill or subjugate Jews. It’s really that simple.
Louis Schwartz says
Guy Jones: Your analysis is simple, succinct and absolutely correct. You’ve reduced the “complex” fractional math to the lowest common denominator. Koran=kill all Jews (or sometimes called “the spawn of dogs and pigs”) especially during the “last days”. Very simple, indeed!
gravenimage says
Trump State Department blames Israel for terrorism, claims “Palestinians” rarely incite attacks
………………….
Repulsive, false, and very troubling. One of the things I have liked best about Trump has been his support for Israel.
Debi Brand says
“Trump State Department blames Israel for terrorism, claims ‘Palestinians’ rarely incite attacks”
Boy, they are right on target, are they not?
Got their “facts” straight, their ducks in a row, their loyalties, like their goals, clear as day.
As did Secretary Tillerson in his claim of the damning of the souls of the London Bridge jihadis, when Imams—of all things to do to those martyred fighting in the cause of Allah—withheld from them, the Funeral Salat.
Richie says
The mask slips again, and we see Trump as the RINO he really is
Baucent says
Without doubt this type of report churned out by the State Department is the work of middle level career civil servants. This type tend to have an attitude that politicians come and go but they run the show. Clearly Obama era loyalist that Tillerson will need to weed out, but that won’t be easy as they may not be political appointees.
Steve Klein says
‘House rejects proposal identifying “Islamic religious doctrines” that could be used by terrorist groups’
JULY 14, 2017 3:14 PM BY ROBERT SPENCER
‘Trump State Dept Unsure Why Palestinian Terrorists Kill Israelis’
Stands by report blaming Israel for terror, downplaying Palestinian incitement
BY: Adam Kredo
July 21, 2017 6:55 pm
Leon says
I don’t understand what is the delay in sending all Obama appointees home by executive order…
If you can fire VA personnel you can fire State Dept personnel as well…pass this law in congress!
Dick Bulova says
The State Dept. liberals pushing this are left over from the Obama, Clinton and Kerry administration. The present Secretary needs to get rid of them now!
Gloria Wedemeyer says
Apparently they are watching or reading the fake news because this is not what I have understood for many years.