Palestinian journalist threatens Jihad Watch writer for reporting on attempted murder of Christian doctor

 

It seems that a Jihad Watch article concerning the attempted murder of a Christian doctor in Bethlehem whose career as a gynecologist has come to an end has caused some journalists linked to the Palestinian Authority to launch a campaign of threats against this writer.

An amateur journalist, once assaulted by Hamas activists in Bethlehem on his Facebook page, while his family was insulted with profanity online, now goes after this writer for revealing the squalid conditions in which Christians live under the thumb of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank or Hamas in Gaza.

In a recent Facebook post against this writer, the dhimmi Palestinian journalist alleged that Muslims were “widely condemning” the murder attempt against the surgeon, whereas the facts of the case indicate that most Muslims came together to support the attacker and later made fabrications to give otherwise false justifications.

 

As a response to an article written by a Palestinian author who tries to claim that he is the protector of Palestinian Christians, taking advantage of the bad incident that targeted Dr. Qumsieh, which was met with an explicit rejection and condemnation from Muslim bodies before Christian groups.

The bad incident is an exception in our relationship as Christians and Muslims.

 While a writer who has worked with American authorities, including the State Department in Palestine and Iraq for decades, representing occupation authorities, reviews an article that is rife with poisons, sedition, and division. He is accusing all Palestinian Muslims of being ISIS members and loathing Christians, passing through referencing the incident as a common practice by the Palestinian Authority and Fatah, and insulting Al-Aqsa Brigade.

 On the other hand, he is defending the [Israeli] occupation and defending its democracy, and flirting with the notion that Israel seeks peace, and Arafat was the one who rejected it !!!

 In the face of any danger we, as Christians, will defend our religion and the followers of our faith, and our country, with all its constituents.

 There is no danger to us that can be compared to the extent of the danger of the [Israeli] occupation that you flirt with. What this person [Khader Odeh] committed in terms of a crime against Dr. Qumsieh does not represent his honorable family and his behavior is a separate one that he is alone held accountable in this context. This cannot be used to serve the occupation or your American passport, or your interests here and there.

 I hope that you will reexamine your calculations for we do not need any sedition and hunting here and there. We have intellectuals, clans, jurists, patriots, clerics, and a community of Christians and Muslims that will mobilize and defend the truth.

What is intriguing is that he attacked this writer for working with USAID during the US mission in Iraq in 2005-2007, without having any idea what his role was within the American mission.

Among other duties inside the US embassy in Baghdad, this Jihad Watch writer is proud to have worked with dozens of Iraqi journalists, and mentored and nurtured them into becoming objective journalists. This contrasts with the dhimmi Palestinian journalist we have here, who has posted a poorly-written Arabic piece. Mr. Canawati, it’s time for you to start putting punctuation in your writing to make it easier to read.

At the U.S. State Department, this writer was a senior analyst to counter Islamic terrorism and its proponents. Among these were the deadly campaigns of ISIS, Hamas, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, and al-Shabaab, besides Hezbollah.

During the years of the so-called Intifada, 2000-2002, this writer witnessed the crimes committed by Fatah militants against Christians in the Bethlehem area and the killing of innocent people, among them the rape, torture, and killing of two Christian teenagers, Ghada and Lina Amar, in the fall of 2001.

These are photos of Terese Amar, the bereaved mother, after losing her daughters to that heinous crime. The mattress was soaked in blood, and had to be removed.

Photos courtesy from David Blumenfeld

This writer and the current managing editor at the Washington Post attended the funeral of these two innocent girls at the Greek Orthodox Church of Beit Jala, along with 13 other people — among them one of the current Parish priests of Beit Jala. He was still a novice in his theological studies.

The Christians of Beit Jala were so terrified by Fatah militants that they avoided attending the funeral of those two sisters, while this Christian hamlet was used as a firebase to shoot at Gilo in the southern part of Jerusalem during that period.

The Christian victims who were murdered during the 20-year period do not need further explication, but let’s not forget that the files of Farah Butto, Farid Azizeh, and others remain open.

Furthermore, the US Department of State’s Office of International Religious Freedom, which monitors cases of religiously motivated abuse, harassment, and discrimination worldwide, is knowledgeable about the events occurring in that area of the world.

This is the link to a story about the attempt to burn Bethlehem’s Christmas tree during the past New Year’s eve, which, of course, Canawati did not mention, despite the fact that he lives only a few meters away from the Church of Nativity.

Another article that may be helpful is a link to a report concerning how some of Canawati’s Muslim compatriots attacked Christians with the most profane language when a music party was held in Annabi Musa near Jericho.

Moreover, Christians living in Gaza are in a worse predicament than those living in the West Bank. This article should serve as a reminder that Hamas, which has a significant presence in Bethlehem, issued an internal memo on how to handle Christmas, as if it were some pandemic.

This article, detailing some of the major incidents against Christians in the West Bank and the Palestinian Authority’s work to turn truth on its head, should serve as a quick reference for Mr. Canawati and his ilk when their dhimmitude reaches alarming levels. They should keep it handy, along with this video in a woman details the agony she suffered when her family was raided by the Palestinian Authority police, causing her mother’s death.

It is worth mentioning that the recent assault on the Hagia Sophia cathedral in Istanbul did not go unnoticed by many Palestinians, who are getting cozy with the caliph-to-be Erdogan. The prayer led by a senior Palestinian imam inside the former cathedral of the Byzantine Empire  triggered the emotions of Christians in general and the Rum Orthodox in particular.

Mr. Canawati, if you want to pursue the career path of being a hired pen for the Palestinian Authority, it is critical for you not only to learn to write Arabic accurately, but to develop an intense feeling not for Hagia Sophia, but for the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Remember to emphasize that Saladin was a great hero who liberated you from Crusader rule, to falsely assert that Saint Sophronius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, was an Arab, and to feel satisfaction for the seventh-century conquering of Jerusalem, the cradle of Christianity.

Isn’t it regrettable that some brag about their dhimmitude?

The mention of US citizenship in Canawati’s post is regarded as a direct incitement against the safety and security of this writer and his family, and as such requires security measures to prevent this threat from escalating. But whenever he is informed about the activities of jihadis, this writer will never relinquish his obligation to expose them. This is a lifetime crusade that can never be abandoned.

“No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Samir A. Zedan is a former Senior Counter-Terrorism Analyst at the US Department of State, and a former Development Outreach and Communication specialist at USAID/Iraq. He also was a journalist with major media outlets with assignments in the Palestinian Areas, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Europe.