David Bedein. Photo: Facebook.
A Glimpse Into the Palestinian Authority
by Amram Sherby/The Algemeiner
An article about our long-time friend and colleague David Bedein.
For 30 years, David Bedein has covered the Israel-Arab conflict, establishing establishing the Israel Resource News Agency at Beit Agron in 1987 to accompany foreign journalists in their coverage of Israel, and balance the media lobbies established by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and its allies.
However, during the “peace process” between Israel and the PLO, Bedein’s credibility and integrity was called into question as he became among the most prominent whistleblowers of the proceedings. For example, one of the more interesting and telling moments of the peace process was Yasser Arafat’s answer to Bedein’s question right after the signing of the Oslo accords, in which he revealed his true intentions regarding the disarmament of Hamas. Arafat said, “Hamas are our brothers. I do not understand the question.”
More than 20 years after being shunned and ignored by the same media outlets he had previously assisted, Bedein has finally been vindicated, as stories that were not given airtime or coverage because they disturbed the peace narrative have become mainstream news. In his new book, Genesis of the Palestinian Authority, Bedein has compiled many of his key stories of the past two decades, aimed at informing policy makers on what the mainstream media and most governments had spent the years ignoring: the lack of real desire for peace and co-existence with Israel by the Palestinian Authority (PA), and the terror entity in the making that is a potential Palestinian state.
Here are a couple of topics that Bedein’s book sheds light upon:
The PA and Fatah
Bedein hired the only Arab TV crew to film a PNC (Palestinian National Council) session in which the PLO covenant — which called for Israel’s destruction — was to be discussed, and became the first reporter to reveal that the covenant was never cancelled.
Through extensive documentation, Bedein demonstrates that the “moderate” faction of the PA is not so moderate after all, as its leaders still facilitate terror and do not regret their terror activities, which include the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre and many attacks that have taken place since the beginning of the peace process.
His research into the PA constitution and security forces was groundbreaking, as he exposed the transformation of the PA into a radical Islamic entity. Those revelations did not sit well with those hopeful for peace.
UNRWA
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNWRA) has refused to search for a permanent living solution for the 650,000 refugees created in 1948, limiting them to refugee status, and passing on that status to some five million descendants. UNRWA was formed in order to promote the supposed “inalienable right” of Arab refugees to return to villages where they lived prior to Israel’s War of Independence, yet to this day UNRWA continues to keep hundreds of thousands of Arab descendants languishing in refugee facilities, under the premise of a promise to obtain for them a “Right of Return” to villages that no longer exist.
Bedein provides voluminous research documenting how UNRWA camps have become breeding ground for terrorists, largely due to the education at UNRWA schools. The Hamas terror organization’s takeover of UNRWA — including using the organization’s schools and facilities to store and fire rockets at Israel — is particularly well-documented.
Palestinians are quoted throughout the book describing UNRWA’s assistance as “meaningless,” as the organization does nothing to improve their day to day lives and instead fans the hope that Israel will eventually be destroyed and refugees allowed to return to their villages.
Numerous articles in the book point out how the media, along with successive American and Israeli administrations have turned a blind eye to Arab incitement and terror, instead attempting to push forward the peace process while the Palestinian leadership has done everything besides promote peace.
This book should serve as a guide to policy makers about which mistakes should not be repeated in the pursuit of a lasting peace. It is an important read for anyone who is curious as to why there is no peace in the region. It is a well written and highly recommended book which paints a brutally honest – and often disturbing – picture of one of the world’s most misinterpreted conflicts.
