Israel Matzav: Another Mitchell blunder

Another Mitchell blunder

Noah Pollak points out another serious misstatement in US Special Envoy George Mitchell's PBS interview last week.

One more item from Obama Mideast envoy George Mitchell’s appearance on the Charlie Rose show (transcript here). Mitchell said:

Well, that’s the principal difference between Fatah and Hamas. The Palestinian authority which is basically the Fatah party, believes in nonviolence and negotiation.

This is silly stuff. Fatah, of course, proudly maintains terrorist groups, such as the Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigades and the Tanzim militia, within the party structure. The gunmen who murdered an Israeli rabbi two weeks ago were not just members of Fatah but also on the Fatah payroll. Just last week, the heroically moderate president and prime minister of the PA could be seen publicly celebrating Fatah terrorists and acts of terrorism.

Silly stuff indeed. During the Oslo War between 2000 and 2004, far more Israelis were murdered by terrorists from Fatah's Tanzim and al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades than were murdered by Hamas.

If Mitchell doesn't recognize that Fatah is a terror organization (albeit one that claims it wants to 'negotiate' with Israel), he will never understand or sympathize with Israeli concerns about Fatah being in control of strategic ground in Judea and Samaria. What could go wrong?

Read the whole thing.

Maybe we should start having a Mitchellism of the day like Captain Ed's Obamateurism of the Day (and week).

Hmmm .

Israel Matzav: Another Mitchell blunder