Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton A. Klein and ZOA Director of Research & Special Projects Liz Berney, Esq. released the following statement:

ZOA urges U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides to condemn the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the PA President Mahmoud Abbas and PM Mohammad Shtayyeh’s infuriating condemnation of Israel, after Israeli forces and fast-acting Israeli citizens eliminated Palestinian Arab terrorists, preventing them from murdering still more innocent Israeli civilians. Arab terrorists murdered eleven innocent people in Israel and wounded other innocent Israelis in multiple stabbing, ramming, and shooting terror attacks throughout Israel last week. U.S. officials must take action against the PA, for the PA’s outrageous condemnation of Israel for killing Palestinian terrorists, by ending projects that free up monies for PA “pay to slay” payments to terrorists for murdering Jews.

On Thursday (March 31), a Palestinian Arab terrorist on a bus in Judea suddenly stabbed and seriously wounded an innocent Jewish civilian passenger with a screw driver, millimeters from the Jewish passenger’s heart. Another Israeli civilian passenger stopped the attack from becoming even worse by then shooting and killing the Arab terrorist. Official PA television promptly distorted and falsified these events, and accused “the occupation forces” of executing a “Martyr” “in cold blood.”

Early Saturday morning (April 2), Israeli security received information about an imminent massive attack by a Palestinian Arab terrorist cell affiliated with the PA ruling party Fatah’s Tanzim Brigades and the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The terrorist cell was responsible for multiple prior terror attacks, including one near Tulkarem. After surveilling the terrorist cell for several hours, an Israeli counter-terrorism unit attempted to peaceably arrest the Arab terrorists en route to their planned terror attack, near Jenin. The terrorists opened fire at the Israeli unit, wounding four Israelis, one very seriously. The Israeli counter-terrorism unit then fired back, killing the three Arab terrorists.

The terrorists’ vehicle contained an M16 assault rifle, at least two 30-round magazines (high-capacity military devices used for mass shootings), a grenade, and a last will from one of the terrorists planning “something big” to justify PIJ rocket attacks on Israelis. The terrorists will also be calling for more attacks on Israelis. PIJ later posted a video on social media of one of the terrorists reading the will before setting out on the planned mass attack. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the elimination of the terrorist cell “thwarted a ticking time bomb.” (See, e.g., “Major Terror Attack Foiled, 4 Soldiers Wounded, 3 Terrorists Dead,” by Hana Levi Julian, Jewish Press, Apr. 2, 2022; and “3 Gunmen Killed en Route to Attack, Police Say; 4 Israeli Troops Hurt in Clash,” Times of Israel, Apr. 2, 2022.)

Yet, once again, despite the fact that the Arab terrorists opened fire on Israeli counter-terror forces, and were about to commit a mass attack on Israeli civilians, the Palestinian Authority promptly publicly threatened and made false accusations against Israel in the official PA media outlet WAFA. For instance:

• PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh falsely accused the Israeli army of committing “extrajudicial murder” and a “horrific crime” against “Palestinians” (and never mentioned that these “Palestinians” were terrorists en route to committing a mass terror attack who fired on an Israeli unit). Shtayyeh also demanded that Israeli “perpetrators of this crime and other similar earlier ones be held accountable before the International Criminal Court.”

• PA dictator President Mahmoud Abbas’ spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, falsely accused Israel and the “Israel occupation army” of carrying out a “premeditated attack” and killing what he described as “three civilians” and “three Palestinian young men.” (Abbas’ spokesman never mentioned that these “young men” were active Palestinian terrorists.) Abbas’ spokesman also falsely asserted that Israel’s actions constituted “a threat and a flagrant challenge to international legitimacy and international law”; falsely accused “Jewish extremists” of “provocative visits” to Al-Aqsa mosque (a statement intended to incite more anti-Israel violence); accused Israel of “escalation”; and threatened: “Israel should bear the consequences of this dangerous escalation, whose repercussions will be dire and dangerous for everyone and the entire region.”
• The PA “Foreign Ministry” likewise falsely accused the “Israeli occupation army” of shooting and killing “three Palestinian young men” and “escalation”; and absurdly asserted: “This crime is an integral part of the series of daily killings against our people with the approval of the Israeli political echelon, and are an explicit call to explode the situation and agitate violence and chaos during the holy month of Ramadan.” The PA “ministry” also called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) “to immediately start its investigations into the crimes and human rights violations of the Israeli occupation and settlers.” (See also, PA statements collected by IMRA – Independent Media Review and Analysis, by Dr. Aaron Lerner, Apr. 3, 2022; and in “PA Sides With Terror Organizations – Rejects Israel’s Right to Stop Terror,” by Itamar Marcus, Palestinian Media Watch, Apr. 3, 2022.)

A few weeks ago, Ambassador Nides undiplomatically denounced Jews who simply lawfully build homes in and around Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria as “stupid” and “infuriating,” during Nides’ webinar with the extremist left wing BDS group Americans for Peace Now. (See, “ZOA Condemns U.S. Amb. to Israel Nides Calling Israel & Jews Who Legally Build Homes in Jerusalem/Judea/Samaria ‘Stupid’ & ‘Infuriating’: Yet Nides Calls Palestinians Paying Arabs to Murder Jews Merely ‘Not Perfect’,” Mar. 18, 2022.)

Where are Nides’ and Blinken’s fury now, when the PA is falsely accusing Israel of “extrajudicial murder” and “horrific crimes” and threatening consequences for simply appropriately preventing more Arab terror attacks?

For additional information on the horrendous terror attacks against innocent Israelis and others this week, and specific actions that Israel and the U.S. should take to stem this terror, see “ZOA Mourns Five More Israelis & Others Murdered By Palestinian Arab Terrorist in B’nei Brak; ZOA Urges Israel and U.S. to Take Specific Actions Against Arab Terror,” Mar. 31, 2022; and “ZOA Mourns Jews & Druze Murdered by Islamist Terrorists; and Condemns Sec’y Blinken for Promoting Policies Encouraging Anti-Jewish Terror,” Mar. 28, 2022.