Schmoozing With Terrorists: From Hollywood to the Holy Land, Jihadists Reveal Their Global Plans-To a Jew!

by Aaron Klein

  But Eita maintained: "Israeli occupation is responsible for this bad situation [in Bethlehem]. Every day we see these soldiers here. When Arafat came at the beginning of Oslo, the security situation was very solid. We ruled and created stability."

  I countered that Arafat brought nothing but horror to Bethlehem. As soon as he got his grimy terrorist hands on Bethlehem, Arafat unilaterally fired the city's Christian politicians and replaced them with Muslim cronies. He appointed a Muslim governor, Muhammed Rashad A-Jabar and deposed of Bethlehem's city council, which had nine Christians and two Muslims, reducing the number of Christians councilors to a 50-50 split.

  Arafat then converted a Greek Orthodox monastery next to the Church of Nativity into his official Bethlehem residence.

  Suddenly after the Palestinians gained the territory, reports of Christian intimidation by Muslims began to surface. Christian women were reportedly raped and stoned. Armed factions stirred tensions by holding militant demonstrations and marches in the streets. The armed Muslim intimidation demonstrations now happen regularly.

  Arafat's PA was accused of stealing Christian land, a major problem still going on today.

  "There are many cases where Christians have their land stolen by the Muslim mafia," said Samir Qumsiyeh, a Bethlehem Christian leader and owner of the Beit Sahour-based private Al- Mahd (Nativity) TV station.

  "It is a regular phenomenon in Bethlehem. They go to a poor Christian person with a forged power of attorney document, then they say we have papers proving you're living on our land. If you confront them, many times the Christian is beaten. You can't do anything about it. The Christian loses and he runs away," Qumsiyeh told me.

  A 2007 Jerusalem Post article cited the case of Fuad and Georgette Lama, Christian residents of Bethlehem who said their land was stolen by the PA and when they tried to do something about it, Fuad was beaten by gunmen.

  In America, if someone showed up at my home with a forged deed and threw me off my property, I'd go to the police and have the perpetrators immediately arrested. So why don't the Christians just complain to the authorities?

  "What authorities?" asked Qumsiyeh, rhetorically. "You mean the security forces controlled by the Palestinian government, which is allowing this to happen? You mean the courts, which are controlled by the Palestinian government? It takes years to petition the court system and many times a verdict isn't even reached."

  Qumsiyeh was one of the few Christian leaders in Bethlehem I met with who was willing to talk on the record about the jihad being waged against his religion in Jesus' believed birthplace. He has heroically delivered public speeches on the topic, but has paid the price. Locals recently attacked his home with Molotov cocktails.

  "It was an absolute miracle I wasn't killed. Also my wife was outside at the time. My home has a big gas line that could have exploded. This is the price of speaking out in Bethlehem," he said.

  Multiple Bethlehem Christians complained to me about land confiscations, saying several of their friends emigrated from Bethlehem after having their property stolen by Muslim thugs. I was told of instances in which Christians fled after they were falsely accused of selling property to Jews, a crime punishable by death in some Palestinian cities.

  One religious novelty-store owner I met told me Muslim gangs regularly deface Christian property.

  "We are harassed but you wouldn't know the truth. No one says anything publicly about the Muslims. This is why Christians are running away."

  What? Muslim persecution is driving the Christians out of Bethlehem? One would never know that from the Christmas coverage by my colleagues in the media. Every year they spew the same "human interest stories" blaming only Israel. G-d forbid they should actually tell the world the true face of militant Islam. It doesn't take too much investigating in Bethlehem. Just walk around and ask the Christians.

  During our meeting, Fatah's Eita told me Christians were making up stories about persecution.

  "Most of those Christians who left Bethlehem gave the impression of persecution just as an excuse to justify why they left Bethlehem."

  Thing is, Eita, I once personally witnessed the Muslim persecution of Bethlehem's Christians.

  In one of the scariest terror interviews I ever conducted, in April 2006, I met the senior leadership of Bethlehem's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades together with my friend, popular U.S. radio host Rusty Humphries. Humphries routinely travels to Israel for his show; together we do some pretty crazy things during the day and at night we host his show from a radio studio.

  That particular day, we were supposed to meet Raad Abiat, leader of the Brigades in Bethlehem, to discuss with him the claims of Christian persecution at the hands of his terrorist group. But just minutes before we entered the city, Israel conducted an anti-terror raid in which Abiat was killed.

  I received a phone call from the Brigades telling me of the killing. Since they like me, they offered a meeting instead with Abiat's second in command and cousin (they are all cousins), Abu Philistine, who immediately became Bethlehem's Brigades leader upon Abiat's death. I accepted.

  After Abiat was killed, the mainstream media reported Bethlehem's Christians, in solidarity with the Brigades, closed down all schools, shops and institutions and declared a day of mourning and of anger toward Israel.

  Actually, what really happened was the Brigades and other Palestinian law enforcers went up and down the streets and demanded all the Christian stores, restaurants, and schools close. Intimidating terrorists with guns ensured Christian institutions complied.

  "We don't put up a fight. We just close the schools so there are no problems," a local Christian teacher told me.

  But you'd never read that in the NY Times.

  To further illustrate the biased, lying coverage of the media, Reuters and other news agencies reported Abiat, who they labeled a "militant," was gunned down by Israeli troops. They parroted claims by the PA that Abiat was unarmed and that he was chased from a local street to the roof of a Bethlehem building, where Israeli officers shot the unarmed Abiat to death and threw his bullet-ridden body off the roof to the ground below.

  This was the same story Brigades leaders told me.

  Well, Rusty and I showed up at the site where Abiat was killed. We watched family members enter a building and ascend to the roof to view the body.

  I found an Abiat family member who spoke English.

  "Why are you going to the roof to see the body? I thought he was thrown to the ground by the Israelis." I asked.

  "No he wasn't. The body is still on the roof, where he was shot defending Palestinian honor," the family member told me proudly.

  Outside the building were several witnesses to the violence. Rusty asked one of them if Abiat was armed when he was killed.

  "Sure, he was carrying a machine gun and shooting at the Israelis. He also had something I am sure was an explosive device," said the witness.

  The Israeli Defense Forces clarified they conducted a raid to arrest wanted terrorists, including Abiat, when Abiat opened fire and ran into the building. On the roof, Abiat was killed after firing several times at Israeli troops, who said he was carrying an explosive device.

  Many English news media reports of Abiat's death cite the Palestinian claims unchallenged, and at the end of their absurd, lying articles, in a closing-note paragraph, stated the IDF version of events. Not one reporter bothered to simply check with Abiat's family or with witnesses. This is the state of most of our news media today.

  Abiat was buried within two hours of his killing. Rusty wanted to attend the funeral, but the Brigades leaders said there would be a lot of anger expressed at Israel and America. They said if we attended they couldn't guarantee one of Abiat's relatives, many of whom are terrorists, wouldn't kill us in a moment of passion. Instead we watched from a main street as the funeral procession marched by. Dozens of cars brandishing Hamas and Fatah flags were followed by over a hundred gunmen, some shooting into the air.

  After Abiat's funeral, Rusty
and I set out to meet the new Bethlehem Brigades chief and his comrades. The terrorists told us to drive to a particular spot, pull over and stand near my Land Rover. We complied. A man who seemed in his mid-twenties passed us by, it turned out to scope the area for Israeli troops. The man was a new member of the Brigades; his face was likely unknown to the Israelis so he was sent to check for soldiers.

  The young man returned and introduced himself to us as a member of the Brigades. He asked us to remove the batteries from our cell phones. Israel routinely uses cell phone signals to track wanted militants. The man, who was wielding a small black pistol, led Rusty and I about three hundred feet down a narrow Bethlehem ally, where he said his comrades would meet us.

  While waiting, Rusty turned his back toward us and started taking pictures of the area. Then two terrorists armed with machine guns emerged and introduced themselves to me. One was the new Brigades leader, Abu Philistine. Rusty, though, was busy taking pictures. He didn't know the terrorists had arrived until he heard one of them cock his gun.

  "As I'm taking a picture, I hear behind me click-click of a gun being cocked," Rusty relates. "It's a sound you never forget. And I'm thinking, oh no, we're dead. Then I turned around... They say you can't judge a book by its cover. Oh yeah you can. When I turned around I saw two of the meanest, scariest, dirtiest looking men I have ever seen."

  They cocked their guns to be prepared. They were visibly jumpy, looking in all directions, scoping for Israelis. They told us they were extremely nervous about being assassinated after the Abiat killing.

  All three terrorists were in their mid-twenties. Two were wearing jeans, one had on army fatigues. Their faces were grizzled and lightly bearded.

  Abu Philistine told us the recorded interview could only last about ten minutes and that it had to take place outside.

  My heart was pounding. I only fully realized upon arrival what a stupid idea it had been to meet nervous, armed terrorists whose leader had just been assassinated, but it was too late to go back.

  Just before the start of our interview, we heard a door slam and all the terrorists quickly jolted, pointing their loaded weapons in the direction of the sound. I nearly had a heart attack. A young boy emerged, playing with a big red ball. The terrorists eased a bit. The boy saw the militants and the drawn guns but wasn't even mildly fazed. He stuck around. Life in Palestiniancontrolled Bethlehem is full of terrorists and guns.

  I began the interview formulaically, not even caring what I was asking. I just wanted to get out of Bethlehem.

  "Are you persecuting Christians?" I asked, citing the rampant reports of intimidation and the history of Christianity's decline.

  "Everything you say is Israeli propaganda. There is no Christian persecution anywhere. Christians and Muslims are all part of the Palestinian people and we have the same goals to live in freedom and solidarity," replied Abu Philestine.

  When he finished responding, we heard a rustling noise. Abu Philestine pointed his gun in the direction of the sound. A stray cat emerged. Israel is filled with stray felines. Rusty and I were both freaked out.

  "You know, I saw gunmen today march through the streets. I was told they were ensuring all the establishments were closed for the funeral," I said, biting back my words.

  "We have our rules in Bethlehem and one of them is shops must be closed if one of our heroes is killed by the Zionists. We don't enforce anything. All the people here are on our side," Abu Philestine claimed.

  Sure, they're all with you, I thought. Then why do you need intimidating men with guns enforcing a closure? I didn't ask because I was scared. I just allowed him to continue speaking.

  Abu Philestine gave me the usual party lines for the remainder of our very brief, nerve-wracking interview -the Jews drove out the Christians; everything is honky dory in Christian town; Muslim intimidation is all a bunch of Israeli propaganda.

  Rusty and I raced out of that interview while the Brigades leaders went about their business of intimidating Christians, stealing property, and shooting at Israelis from Christian neighborhoods.

  Though I departed Bethlehem, my heart remained there. On the drive back, I told Rusty I couldn't help but feel partially responsible for the plight of the Christians we had just visited. After all it was my American government that backed the Oslo Accords and brokered the deal that compelled Israel to withdraw from Bethlehem and turn the sacred city over to some of the most anti-Christian thugs ever to grace planet earth.

  Though they would not say it on the record, every Christian in Bethlehem I spoke to affirmed they want Israel to retake Bethlehem.

  Qumsiyeh told me he appealed to U.S. Christian leaders to help initiate housing projects and find ways to fortify and strengthen Bethlehem's Christian population.

  "The way things are, soon there will not be a single Christian living in the land of Jesus," he said.

  Muslims Shout at Jesus' Home: "Islam Will Dominate the World!"

  Young Muslim men, some in battle gear marched down Nazareth's main thoroughfare beating drums as a man on loudspeaker repeatedly exclaimed in Arabic, "Allah is great." Leaders of the Islamic Movement, a major Muslim political party, paraded down the street brandishing their party's green flag. Hundreds of activists strutted screaming Islamist epithets, including "Islam is the only truth" and "Islam shall rule all."

  Tens of thousands, seemingly mostly Muslim residents of Nazareth, congregated on the streets as the march passed, cheering on the parade.

  The Islamic Movement said it organized the march, which took place the night before 2007's New Years Eve, to celebrate Eid ul-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice, which commemorates the Muslim belief Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Ishmael for Allah. (Of course, I reject this-it was Isaac, not Ishmael, whom Abraham almost sacrificed.)

  While the march was billed as a celebration, its militant virtues were clearly visible. The event seemed more a show of Islamic force than a street party.

  It took place in one of the holiest cities for Christians. Nazareth, which just one hundred years ago was almost entirely Christian, is described in the New Testament as the childhood home of Jesus. It contains multiple important shrines and churches, including the famous Church of the Basilica of the Annunciation, the site at which many Christians believe the Virgin Mary was visited by the Archangel Gabriel and told that she had been selected as the mother of Jesus.

  Most of Nazareth's dwindling, nearly extinct Christian population stayed away from the Muslim march, with the exception of a few Christian shopkeepers who worked on the main street, where the militant parade was taking place.

  I marched alongside the front of the parade, with quite a few marchers assuming I was Muslim. After one of the participants heard me speak English with my thick American accent, he inquired where I was from and asked which mosque I attend in the U.S. I pretended I couldn't hear him above the sound of the gathering. He continued beating his drums.

  I bore witness as the march reached its crescendo at the main shopping area, just outside a series of Christian stores. The Christian shopkeepers observed from inside their boutiques as the militant Muslim parade proclaimed the exclusivity of Allah and Muhammad on loudspeakers. I will never forget the look of abso lute horror on most of the shopkeepers' faces. Their glares for me are frozen in event and memory, calcified and motionless in a story of centuries-old intimidation and persecution that was highlighted on that night. The Christians didn't have to say anything. Their expressions said it all. They know the tide in Nazareth is quickly rising against them.

  I observed and quickly snapped a picture as several Muslim youth marching in the parade started to charge at three local Christian shopkeepers who courageously stood outside their shops. But the youth stopped short.

  The Muslim children were a rowdy bunch. They were running back and forth. Some were launching firecrackers into the sky, occasionally misfiring, sending the small explosives shooting dangerously close to the crowds. Kids who could not have been above the age o
f ten were activating firecrackers. I was frightened one would take my eye out. Actually, I was more afraid of the kids misfiring the explosives than I was of most of the terrorists I ever met.

  Earlier in the day I met with Saleem, a Nazareth Christian resident who asked that his last name be withheld for fear of what he said was "Muslim retaliation" for speaking out. We had coffee in a Christian-owned shop, where he felt more at liberty to talk.

  "Tonight's march is meant to intimidate Christians. It's part of the methods used by the Muslims in very obvious ways to create an atmosphere where the Christians should know the Muslims are the main power and we are not welcome anymore," said Saleem.

  Saleem and several other Christians in Nazareth spoke of attacks against Christian-owned shops and told stories of Christian women being raped by Muslim men. They noted several instances of interreligious violence and Muslim riots they said began when Muslims attacked Christian worshippers. The Muslims claimed Christians started the violence.

  Israeli security officials say the majority of anti-Christian violence in Nazareth goes unreported because local Christians are too afraid to report crimes.

  One Christian resident said violence and intimidation tend to increase around the time of local elections. The Islamic parties, once in the minority, are now one seat away from dominating Nazareth's city council.

  "During the last elections, Muslims on the streets were threatening the Christians. They tried to stop some of the Christian cars from voting," said Saleem.

  In October 2000, the Arab Christian mayor of Nazareth, Ramiz Jaraisy, was reportedly beaten by members of the opposing Islamist party.

  Ahmed Zohbi, a member of Nazareth's municipal council and the leader of an umbrella group consisting of the city's Islamic parties, denied Saleem's accusations, claiming there is "no problem" between Christians and Muslims in Nazareth.

  "We just want to celebrate," Zohbi told me. "The Muslims have nothing against our Christian brothers. Our communities may have differences but we live a peaceful coexistence."