Meanwhile, Saudis Lash Blogger for "Insult" to Islam

For sheer brutality, it pales in comparison to the massacre of journalists and cartoonists Wednesday at the Paris office of Charlie Hebdo, but Saudi Arabia's flogging of a liberal blogger Friday further shows how rooted the concept of violence is in response to any insult of Islam.

Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1,000 lashes – he received the first 50 in a public square in Jeddah Friday – along with 10 years in prison and a fine equal to $266,666, Reuters reports. His crime? Creating a website called "Free Saudi Liberals," which advocated greater religious freedom. Saudi Arabia found this "insulting to Islam."

In a statement, the International Humanist and Ethical Union called Badawi's punishment "savage, and an absolute violation of human rights and dignity" intended to cow other potential free thinkers into silence.

"Only yesterday it was reported that Saudi Arabia condemned the Charlie Hebdo shootings, and yet the authorities choose this week to brutalize a young man because he had the audacity to stand up and say that his countrymen should have greater liberty," Union spokesman Bob Churchill said. "The Saudi state's condemnation of terror in Paris is hypocrisy of the highest order."

Amnesty International also condemned Badawi's treatment as "a vicious act of cruelty which is prohibited under international law" showing Saudi Arabia's "abhorrent disregard for the most basic human rights principles."

The Paris jihadists acted on their own belief that Charlie Hebdo's cartoons were a crime against Islam warranting mass slaughter in response. Badawi was flogged at the demand of a national government, one which was invited to join the United Nations Security Council just two years ago and turned it down.

This has been a horrible week for violence waged in defense of Islam. It's not a great week for those who insist this violence is rooted in anything but theology.

Palestinian Authority Daily Praises Stabbing of Israeli Soldiers

A Palestinian Authority newspaper praised the Dec. 25 stabbing of two Israeli soldiers, referring to the act as Palestinian "pride," a Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) translation of a story in Al-Asima shows.

"Every Palestinian has the right to feel proud of what is seen in the video of the stabbing of the two soldiers in Jerusalem. The Arab has the right to hold his head high and to assert with confidence: There are people among our nation such as this young man, who armed himself with a kitchen knife and attacked Israeli soldiers face to face…," Hamas affiliated columnist Faiz Abu Shamala wrote for the official PA daily.

The Al-Asima article also glorified the terrorist who tried to kill the Israelis and called for similar attacks in the future.

"These kinds of confrontations which frighten the enemy are excellent Palestinian examples of willpower and determination to win... The video of the Palestinian storming and stabbing of Zionists serves as a school... Now, every Palestinian raises his hand holding a knife together with this young Palestinian, and stabs the Zionists."

In recent months, Palestinian Authority and Fatah affiliated media outlets and officials have increasingly resorted to inciting violence against Israelis and glorifying the terrorists who commit attacks.

Click here for an Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) compilation of recent Palestinian attacks and incitement to violence.

Palestinian Media Glorifies Synagogue Attack Terrorists

The Palestinian Authority's (PA) official news agency, WAFA, and Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party glorified the two terrorists who killed five Israelis in a Jerusalem synagogue last month, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) reports.

Fatah's official Facebook page posted a picture of the two terrorists' graves last Thursday and referred to the murderers as Shahids – Martyrs.

"This is the place of eternal rest of Martyrs (Shahids) Ghassan and Uday Abu Jamal of Jabel Mukaber in occupied Jerusalem, who ascended [to heaven] a month and a half ago during an operation (terrorist attack) at an occupation synagogue in occupied Jerusalem," the Fatah Facebook page posting said.

Even though the terrorist attack occurred in the western part of Jerusalem, Fatah still referred to the scene of the murder as "occupied Jerusalem."

Two Palestinian terrorists from East Jerusalem attacked worshippers in the synagogue Nov. 18 with guns, knives, and axes. Four worshippers were killed, along with a police officer, and seven civilians were injured.

The PA's WAFA news agency also honored the terrorists as martyrs in reporting on their funerals.

This is just the latest example of explicit Palestinian Authority and Fatah glorification of Palestinian terrorists who killed Israeli civilians. In recent months, rising Palestinian incitement to violence against Israeli Jews has been coupled with increased Palestinian terrorist attacks.

Click here for a comprehensive Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) report outlining recent Palestinian incitement and attacks.

But the latest glorification of cold-blooded killers comes as the PA is renewing attempts to win international recognition for a Palestinian state without negotiating a peaceful settlement.

A Washington Post Tuesday editorial criticized PA President Mahmoud Abbas's diplomatic push as futile and counterproductive, citing his refusal to respond to a U.S. proposal that envisions a Palestinian state based on Israel's 1967 borders.

Instead, Abbas continues to ask the U.N. Security Council to force Israel to withdraw from the West Bank in one year. Because of a likely U.S. veto, it has no chance of being passed, the Post editorial said, and it "wouldn't bring Palestinians any closer to statehood."

Washington insists that the draft is counterproductive and fails to address Israel's security concerns. Britain also will not support the new Palestinian resolution, Reuters reports.

Abbas fails to respond to a U.S. peace proposal while trying to force a flawed unilateral move. All the while, his party and his government continue to glorify terrorist killers. Somehow, the PA is still supposed to represent a partner for peace.

CAIR, MAS Join with State Department to Protest UAE Terror Designation

State Department officials met with leaders of the Hamas-linked Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) to discuss the group's inclusion on list of terror groups issued by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a CAIR news release issued Monday said.

The UAE listed CAIR and the Muslim American Society (MAS) among 80 Islamist groups worldwide it linked to terror last month. The State Department questioned the designation, saying it wanted "more information from the Emirati authorities" justifying the designation, with a spokesman adding that "the U.S. does not consider them to be terrorist organizations."

According to CAIR's news release, the State Department renewed its pledge to try to get the two Islamist groups removed from the UAE terror list.

It's an example of one branch of government treating CAIR as an innocent, legitimate organization while law enforcement, backed by investigative material, takes a more skeptical view. The FBI broke off official contact with CAIR in 2008 after records seized during a terror-financing investigation placed CAIR in a network of U.S.-based organizations supporting Hamas.

Government evidence in the prosecution against the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation creates "at least a prima facie (face value) case as to CAIR's involvement in a conspiracy to support Hamas," wrote U.S. District Court Judge Jorge Solis.

Meanwhile, at the same time it fights a Muslim nation's terrorist designation, CAIR officials continue to go to bat for convicted terrorists and their enablers. Officials from CAIR's Dallas office helped organize a protest last Saturday lamenting convicted Al-Qaida operative Aafia Siddiqui's conditions . CAIR was joined by MAS and the Islamic Circle of North America to stand up for Siddiqui, also known as "lady al-Qaida."

Shortly after her conviction for trying to kill two FBI agents, al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri vowed to exact vengeance on her captives. Last summer, Islamic State terrorists mentioned her as part of a proposed prisoner exchange to spare the life of American journalist James Foley, who later was beheaded.

MAS, meanwhile, has its own lengthy record of defending accused terrorists and terror supporters. It was formed as the Muslim Brotherhood's overt arm in the United States. Co-founder Abdurrahman Alamoudi, who pleaded guilty in 2004 to engaging in illegal transactions with Libya and facilitating a Libyan plot to assassinate then-Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, testified in 2012 that MAS's connection with the Brotherhood cannot be disputed.

UAE officials have been adverse to the Brotherhood at least since 2013 when they accused the Islamist group of attempting to subvert its national security.

The State Department ignores this, and grants undeserved credibility to deceptive organizations like CAIR and MAS, when it agrees to challenge the UAE designations.

Hamas Diverting Reconstruction Material to Rebuilding Terror Tunnels

Hamas is rebuilding its network of underground infiltration tunnels damaged in the war with Israel this past summer, the Jerusalem Post reported, citing an Israel Radio account.

Cement and building materials allowed into Gaza to help rebuild after the summer war with Israel is being used instead for tunnel rebuilding, the report, citing unnamed Palestinian sources, said.

The United Nations brokered an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) to establish a monitoring mechanism to ensure construction material is not exploited by Hamas for rebuilding the tunnels that Israel destroyed during the war. The oversight program that would enable the rebuilding of approximately 60,000 Gaza homes was launched in mid-October and appears to be suffering from significant failures.

This report is the latest in a series of stories about tunnel reconstruction. Israel's military estimated that Hamas diverted at least $90 million that could have been used to improve life for Palestinians in Gaza to build its old tunnel network, which it used for smuggling and to plot attacks inside Israel.

Meanwhile, a top Hamas leader says that the terrorist group repaired relations with Iran, which deteriorated over disagreements concerning Syria's civil war. Israel's blockade of Gaza and Egypt's increasing border restrictions forced Hamas to mend relations with Tehran.

A Hamas official also complained about the slow pace of aid flowing into Gaza despite $5 billion in international pledges. As the latest report shows, Hamas cannot be trusted to use that money the way donors want – to rebuild Gaza's housing and infrastructure and make life better for its residents.

Hamas Deputy Leader Says Iran Ties Repaired

A top Hamas leader says the terrorist group patched up relations with Iran after a breach over Syria's civil war.

"I believe that bilateral relations between us and the Islamic Republic of Iran are back on track," Hamas deputy political leader Mousa abu Marzook told Reuters.

When the Syrian civil war began, Tehran provided direct support for Bashar al-Assad's Alawite regime as it massacred civilians. Many individual Hamas members sided with Syria's Sunni rebels. Iran drastically cut its military and financial aid to Hamas, forcing the terrorist group to turn to Turkey and Qatar for support.

Turkey surpassed Iran as Hamas' top funder, Israeli intelligence said last year. Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, combined with Egypt's tightening of its border with the enclave, led Hamas to attempt to reset relations with Tehran.

Marzook met with Iranian leaders in July 2013 seeking to repair relations, and Hamas released a statement at the time saying at the time that "certain issues had led to some apathy in the relationship."

Now things have changed.

"There are many indications that … relations have been resumed in a proper way, as in the past," Marzook said.

He also told reporters that Hamas would abide by the Egyptian-brokered truce as long as Israel also did, but reports indicate that Hamas has been rebuilding its armed wing since the end of fighting in August.

Marzook claims that only $150 million of $2.7 billion pledged to rebuild Gaza has appeared. A spokesperson from Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, warned of a "new explosion" with Israel unless reconstruction speeds up.

"The running out of our and our people's patience towards impeding the reconstruction would generate consequences for the Israeli public and its leadership, and we warn of the moment of explosion," a Hamas spokesperson identified as Abu Ubaida said.

Meanwhile, tension between Hamas and the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority in the West Bank is increasing. In August, Israel announced that it broke up a Hamas plot to depose the PA and President Mahmoud Abbas. Earlier this month, Hamas dissolved a "unity government" formed with the PA last spring. This week, posters appeared in Gaza called Abbas a dictator and a traitor and showed an image of him hanging.

A rapprochement between Hamas and Iran can only exacerbate a deteriorating situation.

European Court Orders Hamas' Removal from Terror List

Hamas must be taken off the European Union's terrorist list, a court ordered Wednesday, finding that it was not based on direct evidence of Hamas action.

EU officials downplayed the ruling, with a statement from the EU External Action Service saying it "is clearly based on procedural grounds and it does not imply an assessment by the Court of the substantive reasons for the designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization."

EU institutions were examining the ruling and "will decide on the options open to them," the statement said. "They will, in due course, take appropriate remedial action, including any eventual appeal to the ruling. In case of an appeal the restrictive measures remain in place."

The General Court of the European Union, the EU's second highest court, said that the freeze on Hamas' assets will stay in place for three months to allow time for further review or to appeal the decision. The Quartet, which includes the EU, prohibits any engagement with Hamas until renounces terrorism, recognizes Israel, and accepts prior Israeli-Palestinian agreements.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement rejecting the EU's rationale and demanded immediate action to correct the problem:

"We are not satisfied with the European Union's explanation that the removal of Hamas from its list of terrorist organizations is a 'technical matter'. The burden of proof is on the European Union and we expect it to put Hamas back on the list forthwith given that it is understood by all that Hamas - a murderous terrorist organization, the covenant of which specifies the destruction of Israel as its goal - is an inseparable part of this list. We will continue to fight Hamas with strength and determination so that it never achieves this goal."

Hamas is recognized as terrorist organization by the United States, Canada, and other Western nations. It continues to plot attacks targeting Israeli civilians.

At same time the EU claims the delisting of Hamas is a mere "procedural" matter, the European Parliament backed the recognition of a Palestinian state "in principle," after multiple votes in EU member states, the Times of Israel reports.

The resolution accepts "in principle recognition of Palestinian statehood and the two state solution, and believes these should go hand in hand with the development of peace talks, which should be advanced" and passed overwhelmingly.

Latest Hamas Gems: A Failed Terror Plot, Praise for ISIS

Five suspected terrorists have been arrested for allegedly planning a series of attacks inside Israel, including a suicide bombing in Tel-Aviv that involved a Palestinian woman pretending to be pregnant. The arrests were part of a joint operation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet (Israel's domestic intelligence agency) and disrupted a plot by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the IDF announced Monday.

The Israelis say Jenin resident Yasmin Sha'aban confessed that she planned to carry out a suicide attack by pretending to be pregnant in order to get a permit to seek medical care in Israel. Once inside, she would detonate an explosive belt hidden under her clothes.

Sha'aban and her co-conspirators communicated with a Gaza-based terrorist, who guided them on constructing the bomb belt. The group also hoped to attack a bus and try to kidnap soldiers. During the arrests, Israeli security authorities discovered an M-16 assault rifle, a shotgun, ammunition and chemicals intended to make bombs.

The arrests were made in October and November, with the other suspects all living in the Tulkarm area.

During the summer war in Gaza, Israel foiled an elaborate Hamas plot to initiate a third Intifada against Israel and overthrow of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank.

Meanwhile, a Hamas leader last week defended the Islamic State's ruthless terrorist campaign in Syria and Israel, according to an Investigative Project on Terrorism translation of the online statement (a link to the original post indicates that the account has been suspended).

"Your brothers in the Islamic State are devoted to God, so God will enable them, and they will establish the Caliphate, and be firm in the face of conspiracies, as the best of you, and we will seek shelter in its shade, we the people of Palestine; for would it be reasonable for there to be a rightly guided Caliphate, and it to leave occupied Palestine? This is impossible," wrote Ahmad Jaber Mahmoud Al Amsy, a professor at the Islamic University in Gaza, also identified in the post as a Hamas official.

Al Amsy also warned against participating in what he called a "distortion campaign" against the Islamic State and referenced Hamas' direct association with the Muslim Brotherhood.

"Please, oh people of guidance, oh those with hearts, oh possessors of rightly guided minds, oh sons of the rightly guided Islamic Movement, sons of the movement of the Muslim Brotherhood, refrain from attacking, cursing, and vilifying your brothers in religion and faith, the sons of the Islamic State. Do not be their enemies."

Returning Swiss IS Jihadist Gets Community Service

Swiss authorities have decided to let returning an Islamic State jihadist back into Switzerland with a slap on the wrist.

The threat posed by returning jihadists has deeply concerned Western intelligence and law-enforcement agencies due to worries they may launch terror attacks in their home countries.

Just last week, France's Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve warned that the threat of an attack by returning jihadists was real and that Europeans needed to mobilize against it.

In France, "there are operations, arrests ...every day to avoid it happening," he said.," Cazeneuve said after a meeting with of European Union (EU) interior ministers in Brussels to discuss the jihadist threat.

Nonetheless, Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber ordered that a 30-year-old recent convert to Islam from the western Swiss canton of Vaud work 600 hours of community service instead of receiving jail time. Switzerland is not an EU member. The jihadist must receive psychiatric care in addition to performing community service.

The man, whose identity has not been released, left for Syria in December 2013 and stayed in a training camp for two weeks before having second thoughts. The Islamic State held him prisoner for 54 days before releasing him and allowing him to return to Switzerland.

Switzerland's Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) says 55 of its citizens have left to fight for jihadist groups since 2001. Of them, 31 left to fight in Iraq or Syria while 24 traveled to Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan or Somalia.

Switzerland is not alone Europe in taking a lenient approach to returning jihadists. Danish authorities similarly have adopted an approach emphasizing rehabilitation rather than punishment.

This policy continues despite the fact more Danish citizens have traveled to fight in Syria per capita than anywhere else in Europe. Denmark's second largest city, Aarhus, has welcomed returning jihadists back.

Rather than face arrest, returning Danish jihadists receive free psychological counseling and help finding jobs or university admission. Police in Aarhus have also set up routine meetings this year with a mosque which had connections with approximately 30 jihadists who went to fight in Syria.

"In 2013, we had 30 young people go to Syria," Jorgen Ilum, Aarhus's police commissioner, told the Washington Post in October. "This year, to my knowledge, we have had only one."

Nephew of Israeli Teens' Murderer Attempted Terrorist Attack

Israeli security forces thwarted another terrorist attack, arresting two Palestinians outside the Tekoa community in the West Bank on Tuesday, according to a Jerusalem Post report. One of the suspects. Muhammed Abu Eisha, is the nephew of the terrorist Amar Abu Eisha, suspected of kidnapping and killing three Israeli youth – Eyal Yifrach, Naftali Frenkel, and Gilad Shaar – in June.

Amar Abu Eisha was killed in a shootout with Israeli forces in September. His nephew Muhammed went missing over the weekend, prompting a security alert in and around Hebron and a search to find him before any attack.

Tekoa residents were able to apprehend one of the suspects near the community's security fence while the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) detained the second suspect. Both Palestinians intended to carry out terrorist attacks on Israelis and one was carrying a knife.

This latest incident comes in context of increased Palestinian terrorist attacks targeting Israeli civilians and soldiers. Various Palestinian factions, including the Mahmoud Abbas-led Fatah movement, actively encourage violence and systematically glorify terrorist attacks against Israelis.

Click here for a comprehensive Investigative Project on Terrorism outline of recent attacks and major examples of Palestinian incitement.

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