Palestinians: The Threats Trump Needs to Hear

In this mailing: - Bassam Tawil: Palestinians: The Threats Trump Needs to Hear - Jacobus E. Lato: Indonesia: U.S. vs. Reality [] [Palestinians: The Threats Trump Needs to Hear]( by Bassam Tawil • May 16, 2017 at 5:00 am - The warning by Hamas and Islamic Jihad is directed not only against Trump and his new administration, but also against Abbas and any Arab leader who dares to "collude" with the U.S. - A new policy document recently published by Hamas says that the Islamic terror movement accepts a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, but without recognizing Israel's right to exist. Translation: Hamas seeks a Palestinian state that would be used as a launching pad to destroy Israel. - The electoral showing demonstrates with excruciating clarity that Hamas could easily take over any Palestinian state that the U.S. and the Europeans help create in the West Bank. - Abbas is a weak leader with precious little legitimacy among Palestinians. He would never survive any kind of real peace deal with Israel -- a reality that, ironically, he has done his very best to create. At his scheduled meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem next week, U.S. President Donald Trump might put aside the sweet talk of Abbas, and listen instead for the unsettling truths voiced by other Palestinians such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Pictured: Trump and Abbas give a joint statement on May 3, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Image source: Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images) As U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to hold his second meeting with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem next week, two Palestinian terror groups have announced that the new U.S. administration is planning to "liquidate the Palestinian cause." The warning by Hamas and Islamic Jihad is directed not only against Trump and his new administration, but also against Abbas and any Arab leader who dares to "collude" with the U.S. The two Palestinian terror groups, which control the Gaza Strip and its two million residents, also renewed their pledge to pursue the armed fight against Israel; they said they would not give up one inch of Palestine, from the (Mediterranean) sea to the (Jordan) river. [Continue Reading Article]( [] [Indonesia: U.S. vs. Reality]( by Jacobus E. Lato • May 16, 2017 at 4:00 am - Ironically, Vice President Mike Pence was delivering his message of harmony on the day that Ahok, the Christian governor of Jakarta, was ousted in a heated election marked by violent Islamist demonstrations. - Pence's assertion that "religion unifies" might, in fact, have been interpreted by those who voted for the candidate favored by militant Muslims to replace Ahok, to mean that the Trump administration was giving a stamp of approval for Islam to serve that role exclusively. - The Trump administration and the rest of the West needs to pay closer attention to what is going on in Indonesia: its future as a tolerant democracy is being rapidly threatened by a strengthening Islamist presence. Indonesian Islamists in Jakarta, Indonesia chant 'Allahu Akbar' during a February 21 demonstration demanding that Ahok, who was then governor of Jakarta, be suspended for blasphemy. (Image source: Ed Wray/Getty Images) When U.S. Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Indonesia on the night of April 19 for his first state visit abroad, he clearly did not intend for his positive gestures and kind words to be construed as controversial by the very people at whom they were aimed. "In your nation, as in mine, religion unifies, it doesn't divide," Pence said to Indonesian President Joko Widodo the following morning at the Jakarta Palace. Pence lauded Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country, for "its tradition of moderate Islam," which he called "an inspiration to the world." He also toured the Istiqlal Mosque, designed by North Sumatran Christian architect Frederich Silaban for Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, who insisted it be built near the Jakarta Cathedral and Immanuel Church as a symbol of religious harmony. [Continue Reading Article]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [RSS]( [Donate]( Copyright © Gatestone Institute, All rights reserved. You are subscribed to this list as {EMAIL} You can change how you receive these emails: [Update your subscription preferences]( or [Unsubscribe from this list]( [Gatestone Institute]() 14 East 60 St., Suite 1001, New York, NY 10022