The State Department informed Congress that the PLO and PA have failed to fulfill their obligations under the 1989 PLO Commitments Compliance Act (PLOCCA) and the 2002 Middle East Peace Commitments Act (MEPCA).

These violations include initiating and backing actions in international organizations that undermine and contradict earlier commitments supporting UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, pursuing efforts to internationalize their conflict with Israel through venues like the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ), maintaining support for terrorism including incitement and celebration of violence (especially in educational materials), and distributing payments and benefits supporting terrorism to Palestinian attackers and their families.

These sanctions follow Wednesday's Treasury Department announcement of comprehensive sanctions targeting an international network of dozens of individuals, companies, and vessels that allegedly assisted Iran in evading oil sector sanctions. The massive sanctions package encompasses 15 shipping companies, 52 vessels, 12 individuals, and 53 entities across 17 countries.

Under this action, companies operating in the United Arab Emirates, India, Singapore, Switzerland, Turkey, China, the Marshall Islands, and additional countries were placed on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) terrorism list – all suspected of participating in transportation, financing, or concealment of prohibited oil transactions for Iran's regime.

Meanwhile, European Union commissioners this week proposed partially suspending Israel's participation in the European Horizon research program due to the humanitarian situation in Gaza. This specific suspension affects Israeli startups and small companies' participation in the European Innovation Council (EIC) accelerator.

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The event took place in Paris on Wednesday and included prominent elements of Palestinian support. Starting with large PLO flags waved on stage, through the projection of political messages, to Saint Levant's own appearance wearing a shirt with the inscription "With love to Gaza."

Inaho, who starred in French media over the past year as a symbol of a strong and ethnically diverse women's team, documented the event in a series of Instagram stories. In one of them, Saint Levant can be seen waving a Palestinian flag before the audience. Inaho added text in English stating "Thank you so much," alongside a red heart icon and a PLO flag.

Saint Levant currently resides in the US and is considered a prominent figure in the political hip-hop scene. Over the past year, he has repeatedly made headlines following statements against Israel – including a performance in Amsterdam in November 2024, where he praised attackers of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and said, "I focus only on the Palestinian struggle – this is my identity, this is my mission."

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Israel's intelligence agency, the Mossad, has a reputation for executing daring and innovative missions to protect the nation from terrorist threats. From taking down terrorist leaders to using unorthodox methods, the Mossad's operations have inspired movies, books, and TV shows. Here are four of the Mossad's wildest stories that showcase their strategic brilliance and unwavering commitment to justice.

Since its inception, Israel has faced threats from hostile neighbors, leading to the Mossad developing creative strategies to combat terrorism. One such strategy involved targeting terrorist group leaders to dismantle their operations. By using small, highly trained forces to assassinate key figures, the Mossad minimized civilian casualties and effectively disrupted terrorist networks.

The Mossad's operations have included some of the most daring and high-profile assassinations in modern history. One of the agency's most infamous missions was its response to the 1972 Munich Massacre. On September 5, 1972, eight gunmen of the Palestinian militant group Black September broke into the Israeli team's flat at the Olympic village in Munich, shooting two and taking nine Israelis hostage. West German police responded with a bungled rescue operation in which all nine hostages were killed, along with five of the eight hostage-takers and a police officer. The "Peace" Olympic games were meant to showcase a new Germany 27 years after the Holocaust but instead opened a deep rift with Israel. In what became known as Operation Wrath of God, the Mossad hunted down and eliminated those responsible, employing a range of ingenious tactics to track and eliminate their targets.

In 1973, the Mossad executed a bold operation in Beirut to eliminate key leaders of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) -- Muhammad Youssef al-Najjar (Abu Youssef), Kamal Adwan, Kamal Nasser. The strategy involved deploying troops from naval vessels onto Lebanon's shoreline. These soldiers would then make their way into Beirut, posing as vacationers. Once in the city, they would rendezvous with Mossad operatives who had prepared rental vehicles for their transportation to designated locations. To minimize suspicion, particularly when moving through Beirut during late-night hours, some commandos adopted female personas. This tactic was designed to make the group appear less conspicuous as they navigated the city streets around midnight. They managed to successfully take down high-ranking PLO officials, crippling the organization's infrastructure. Despite facing challenges during the mission, the Mossad's operatives accomplished their objectives with precision and stealth.

In 1978, the Mossad targeted Wadie Haddad, a prominent Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) co-founder known for orchestrating terror attacks. An RPG fired through his window had barely scratched him. A bomb dropped on a Beirut stadium had somehow missed him. Killing him at home was impossible because his wife and young children were always around. Unable to approach Haddad directly, the Mossad devised a plan to introduce a slow-acting poison into his toothpaste through a double agent. The poison gradually took effect, leading to Haddad's eventual demise.

Doctors suspected but could not prove that he had been poisoned. The PLO appealed to the Stasi, East Germany's secret police. But even the best doctors in East Germany couldn't save Haddad. His New York Times obituary reported the cause of death as cancer. Without Haddad, the PFLP dissolved, proving that targeted assassinations were the cleanest, most moral way to eliminate a threat -- without war or civilian casualties.

In 1996, the Mossad orchestrated the assassination of Yahya Ayyash, known as "The Engineer," who was responsible for constructing lethal explosive devices. A close associate of Ayyash was persuaded to cooperate with Israeli authorities. He was given a cellular phone by Israeli operatives, which contained both surveillance equipment and explosive material.

On the morning of January 5, Ayyash used this phone to answer a call from his father. Israeli surveillance aircraft in the area intercepted the conversation, confirming Ayyash's identity and location in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza. They detonated the bomb remotely without causing any harm to others.

In an ambitious mission to neutralize Khaled Mashal, the Deputy Head of Hamas's political Bureau, in Amman, Jordan, in 1997, the Mossad encountered unforeseen challenges that led to the exposure of their operatives. The plan was to poison him through an ultrasound device disguised as a harmless gesture: Meshal would feel a puff of damp air, and when he turned around, all he'd see were two bumbling tourists opening a well-shaken can of soda. The agents would apologize for spraying him and then return to Israel.

The incident unfolded as Mashal was being dropped off at the "Palestinian Aid Center," a front for Hamas operations. The Mossad operatives approached Mashal as he exited his vehicle. In a twist of fate, Mashal's young daughter got out of the car and ran after her father, inadvertently alerting his driver to the presence of the suspicious individuals behind Mashal. The driver's warning cry allowed Mashal to turn and confront his assailants as they were spraying the poison, which landed in Mashal's ear.

The operatives, caught off guard, fled the scene but were pursued by local Palestinian affiliates. A physical altercation ensued on the streets of Amman, drawing the attention of passersby and ultimately leading to the capture of the two men. Jordanian authorities detained the suspects. Initial attempts by the men to pose as Canadian tourists quickly unraveled under questioning, leading to a diplomatic crisis. The Israelis handed over the antidote and Mashal recovered quickly, in exchange for the two agents coming home, bruised but alive. Jordanian King Hussein bin Talal then suspended all ties with Israel, leaving six Israeli agents trapped in the embassy, which were traded for the release of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin from an Israeli prison.

In conclusion, the Mossad's history is filled with daring and intricate missions that blur the lines between reality and fiction. The Mossad continues to uphold its mission of safeguarding Israel and pursuing justice against those who threaten its security. Beyond the high-profile assassinations, the Mossad has undertaken countless other missions that have remained largely unknown to the public. These include the rescue of hostages, the gathering of critical intelligence, and the disruption of terrorist plots. The agency's ability to operate with stealth and precision has earned it a reputation as one of the world's most elite and effective spy organizations. As new challenges emerge, the world can only speculate on the future endeavors of Israel's legendary secret agents.

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Israel's rugby team achieved a historic and particularly dramatic achievement by defeating Malta 16-15 – their first-ever victory against the Mediterranean nation, which is ranked 23 places above Israel in the world rankings of the sport. Beyond the sporting achievement, the match ended with a tense incident when a hostile crowd in the stands began waving Palestinian flags and cursing at the Israeli players, which led to an exceptional response from the players themselves.

בפרצוף: נבחרת ישראל ברוגבי ניצחה 16-15 את נבחרת מלטה - ואת אוהדיה - שצרחו וצעקו במושבי האצטדיון לחינם. אה, וככה נראה ונשמע הפנדל שהכריע את ההתמודדות: @Now14Israel pic.twitter.com/1j68BNJH6v

— Nati Langermann (@NatiLang32) April 6, 2025

The match, which was conducted in a sporting atmosphere throughout most of it, took a sharp turn moments after the competition ended. With the playing of the Israeli anthem, a group of about 60-70 fans began waving Palestinian flags and cursing the team. The players, who were then standing in the traditional line, were forced to deal with a particularly charged moment.

"It looked like a normal game, but suddenly during the anthem, a few seconds after the victory, 60-70 fans raised Palestinian flags and started singing and cursing at us," Gur Levy, a team player, said. "We were confused among ourselves for a few seconds about what to do. We hugged each other tightly and looked each other in the eyes – and then just sang the anthem as loudly as possible, to silence them."

In response to the events, two of the team's players, Yishai Avrahami and Gur Levy, approached the hostile crowd, proudly raised the Israeli flag, and even had their picture taken against the background of the protesters. The image instantly went viral and generated significant reactions on social media in Israel and worldwide.

Federation Chairman Ofer Hamburger told Israel Hayom, "On the field, it was a strong, tense, and fair game, while Palestinian flags were raised in the stands and there were shouts of abuse toward the Israeli players. The rugby players, who are fighters by nature, did not need a motivational talk to get fired up on the field. It should be noted that the protesters have no connection to the rugby federation and the local crowd, and we received excellent hospitality from all Maltese parties. The final result positions the team as a contender for a playoff spot for promotion in Europe. Go go Israel."

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1.

Just after news broke about the attacks perpetrated by Muslim assailants on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam, Pavlovian associations to "Kristallnacht" surfaced on social media, as the anniversary of that infamous night had just been marked. At our Shabbat table, my daughter wondered why people weren't more cautious in making such comparisons. This brings to mind the teaching from Pirkei Avot: "Scholars, be careful with your words."

The attacks could perhaps have been prevented if, for example, fans had been forewarned to stick together in large groups. Had they done so, they could have defended themselves, retaliating against their attackers, who hunted down only isolated and vulnerable fans. The crucial difference between "Kristallnacht" and the Amsterdam pogrom is that today we have our own sovereign state, and a generation has grown up unafraid of antisemites and unmoved by their malice. Dear fans, keep traveling to the matches, just stay in groups. And next time, if the local police don't protect you, defend yourselves. It's that simple.

2.

The punditry didn't stop with Holocaust comparisons: "The extensive effort to bring the soocer fans home showed us how far Israel is willing to go for its citizens when it chooses, but also how little is done for the 101 citizens who have been held hostage in Gaza for over 400 days," said one commentator.  The insinuation is clear: Israel rescues soccer fans, but it won't free the hostages. Moreover, it is not Israel that is to blame, in that pundit's view, it is Netanyahu alone who is the primary culprit.

Such pearls of wisdom appear to be bottomless; another pundit commented: "Yesterday, Qatar announced it would stop mediating in the hostage negotiations until both sides showed a serious commitment to a deal. The Qataris have a point: both Hamas and Israel show little interest in a deal and thus sentence the hostages to death." The press, it seems, will print anything, even the words of a commentator who treats Qatar – a country that has funded Hamas and spread antisemitic propaganda through Al Jazeera for decades – as a non-partisan adjudicator. If Qatar says both sides are not acting in good faith, the commentator believes it, viewing Israel and Hamas as one and the same, both responsible for the hostages' fate. This disgraceful commentary was written as "analysis" of the Amsterdam incident.

3.

This shameful "analysis" reached new heights when, the same day, Jake Sullivan, President Biden's National Security Advisor, a man closely involved in negotiations for a hostage deal, stated unequivocally: "Here's what I see. First in Gaza, it really, today, it is not Israel that is standing in the way of a ceasefire and hostage deal. It is Hamas. Israel has said it's prepared to do a temporary ceasefire for a number of hostages and then try to build on that to get all of the hostages home – Hamas has said no – whatever Hamas is saying publicly, what they are communicating to the mediators is no, we will not do a ceasefire and hostage deal at this time. So, what we need to do is get the rest of the world to continue to increase pressure on Hamas to come to the table, to do a deal in Gaza, because the Israeli government has said it's prepared to take a temporary step in that direction."

Sullivan isn't the only one in the Biden administration to confirm the lengths Israel is willing to go to free its hostages, yet some commentators remain blind to reality, their views clouded by hatred toward Netanyahu. For them, Israel and Hamas are one, and Netanyahu is "killing the hostages." What a disgrace.

4.

Trump's appointments have been unequivocally pro-Israel. You won't hear from them moral lectures or attempts to tell us how to ensure our security – only steadfast support. They see eye-to-eye with us the threats Israel faces – threats that also endanger the free world. Iran, and its malignant proxies throughout the Middle East, are top priority for them. They also clearly understand that a Palestinian state is just a code name for a radical Islamic caliphate in the hills of Judea and Samaria, a stone's throw from our cities, and that this would be a prize for terrorists the world over. They view the Palestinian Authority as not essentially different from Hamas. Extending Israeli sovereignty over our ancient homeland is not a distant vision for Trump's inner circle. Will the coming years be a time of wonders in which we shape our future for the next century? Their declarations are inspiring, but actions will determine our destiny. Let us hope and pray.

5.

It's not just the U.S. that's changing; many Europeans watched last weekend's riots in Amsterdam with horror. They understand that the continent is shifting and not in their favor. The aim of Muslim migrants is not the Jews but the Christians, whom they seek to convert, and whose cities they intend to control. Jews have always been a litmus test for the collapse of the old order. Now is the time to leverage these riots to shift Europe's stance on Israel. There are many who understand this, but others are still unaware of the bigger picture, and it is crucial that this is presented to them.

About twenty years ago, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, one of the leading clerical authorities in the Islamic world, issued a fatwa foreseeing what is now unfolding in Europe's streets: "The city of Hirqil [that is, Constantinople] was conquered by the young 23-year-old Ottoman Muhammad bin Morad, known in history as Muhammad the Conqueror, in 1453. The other city, Romiyya [Rome], remains, and we hope and believe [that it too will be conquered]. This means that Islam will return to Europe as a conqueror and victor after being expelled from it twice - once from the South, from Andalusia, and a second time from the East when it knocked several times on the door of Athens…I maintain that the conquest this time will not be by the sword but by preaching and ideology."

Rome is the capital of Western Christianity and represents all of Western Christian civilization to be conquered and Islamized. Look at what is happening in Paris, London, and other European cities. Look at what is happening in the United States. This is why Israel's fight against Iran and its Islamist proxies is the free world's fight. Last May, the European Parliament was elected with a majority aligned with these messages. Now is the time to speak these truths widely, as Europe is primed to receive them.

6.

This Shabbat, we will read about the binding of Isaac: "Take your son, your favored one, Isaac, whom you love, and go forth to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering…"  The foundational text of our people doesn't only contain rebellion and "patricide" but also the inverse – a father willing to sacrifice his son. The biblical story reveals that not only was the father willing to offer his son, but the son, too, was ready to sacrifice himself. Over the past year, we have heard, with awe and reverence, prophetic words from mothers and fathers at their sons' graves, reenacting the moment of the binding. Parents send their sons into battle, and the sons willingly go to defend their people and land.

"Who strengthened Abraham's arm, who supported his right arm that it drooped not powerless? For he who contemplates this scene is unnerved. Who strengthened Abraham's soul so that his eyes grew not too dim to see either Isaac or the ram? For he who contemplates this scene will be struck with blindness." (Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling). We, this generation, can testify that we have seen this with our own eyes and have not been blinded.

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During the Cold War, the Soviet Union invested millions in funding Palestinian leaders, fueling a proxy war between the US and the USSR. But why would the USSR devote so much time and energy to backing a largely powerless group of people? The answer lies in the Soviets' strategic efforts to undermine Israel and expand their influence in the Middle East.

A shifting relationship between the USSR and Israel

After World War II, the two global superpowers, the US and USSR, jockeyed to gain influence over other countries, with the Middle East becoming a key battleground. Initially, the USSR had high hopes for the newly formed state of Israel and was the first country to recognize it in 1948. The Soviets even allowed one of their proxies, Czechoslovakia, to sell weapons to Israel to defend itself against the Arab nations.

However, this period was short-lived. The Soviets grew increasingly wary of Israel's close ties with the US and its support for South Korea during the Korean War. Joseph Stalin, in particular, was alarmed by the way Soviet Jews were excited about the Jewish state, seeing it as a threat to the unified Soviet identity he had worked so hard to create. This led to a strategic propaganda campaign to demonize Jews and Zionism within the USSR.

As the Soviets' relationship with Israel soured, they turned their attention to the Arab world, pouring propaganda, weapons, and resources into countries like Egypt and Syria to help them in their battle against the Jewish state. However, the Soviets soon realized they had overlooked a key player in this fight: the local Arab population.

The emergence of Palestinian nationalism

Before 1948, the term "Palestinian" was often used to refer to Jews, not the local Arab population. These Arabs had a distinct culture and identity, but they didn't necessarily identify as "Palestinians," but rather as Southern Syrians or from their local city like Jaffa. As Arab nationalism swept through the region in the early 20th century, some local Arabs began to embrace the idea of an independent, self-determining Arab state, particularly in response to the British declaration of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine in the Balfour Declaration. By the 1960s, the dream of a pan-Arab state had given way to the goal of replacing the Jewish state of Israel with an Arab state of Palestine. This shift aligned perfectly with the Soviets' agenda of driving a wedge between Israel and the West.

The KGB's cultivation of Palestinian leadership

The Soviets sent hundreds of KGB agents into the Arab world, searching for charismatic leaders they could groom to advance their agenda in the Middle East. They found their man in Yasser Arafat, an engineer who had been fighting against Israel since his teens. The Soviets helped the Arab activists create the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and even provided the blueprint for its charter, which advocated for Israel's destruction through armed struggle.

After the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel captured territory from its Arab neighbors, the Soviets were furious. They stepped up their support for the PLO, with the KGB appointing a Romanian handler, Ion Mihai Pacepa, to provide Arafat with monthly $200,000 checks and introduce him to the Romanian dictator, Nicolae Ceaușescu, who taught him successful propaganda strategies.

The Soviets' exploitation of the Palestinian cause

The Soviets recognized that well-meaning Americans were deeply concerned with causes like anti-imperialism and human rights. They framed the Palestinian cause as a righteous struggle for human rights against a much more powerful oppressor, using social justice rhetoric to distract the world from the fact that Arafat and his cronies were pursuing their passion for social justice by murdering civilians.

This strategy brought Arafat legitimacy throughout the world, including in Israel itself, where Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin was inking the Oslo Accords peace agreements with a man who had been paid to sow terror throughout the country for most of his life. The Soviets' training had paid off, and Arafat managed to clean up his image, transforming from a terrorist into a freedom fighter.

The legacy of Soviet influence

While the Soviets may have encouraged Palestinian nationalism, they did little to help make the dream of a Palestinian state a reality. They exploited the Palestinian people for their own ends. Their support for the PLO was never about building a Palestinian state; it was about consolidating their own power and influence.

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The Hebrew University came under fire this week due to a pro-Palestinian event held on campus that featured singing and waving flags of the PLO terror organization. 

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The event was organized by the university's Arab students in honor of the end of the academic year. Some even took pictures with the flag, also associated with incitement against Israel, on stage. 

Video: Free usage under Israeli copyright law (Section 27A)

Right-wing organizations Im Tirzu and Lach Yerushalayim criticized the establishment, saying in a joint statement, "It's shameful and disgraceful that the Hebrew University allows for such an event to be held on university premises, where the flags of the PLO terror organization are featured. How can coexistence be promoted when such an event is allowed to be held? Instead of promoting coexistence, the Hebrew University promotes a separatist and nationalist narrative through such events. Shame."

The Hebrew University explained in a statement that the event was organized by an independent student cell. 

There are "30 student cells that are active at the university and represent the entire political and social spectrum. They maintain independent activity throughout the year and do not receive a budget or any support from the university, and their activity is protected by freedom of speech." 

Over the years, the Hebrew University has been involved in several controversies, the most recent of which involved the inclusion of the so-called Nakba Day – a day Palestinians mark as the "catastrophe" of the establishment of the State of Israel – on the university list of holidays and special occasions. 

Earlier, Hebrew University lecturer Prof. David Enoch was blasted for publishing an article in a US outlet calling for the boycott of settlements and the Netanyahu government. 

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Tunisia withdrew from cinemas a new Agatha Christie adaptation starring Gal Gadot following protests over "normalization" with the Jewish state, officials said Wednesday.

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British director Kenneth Branagh's "Death on the Nile," already banned in Kuwait and Lebanon for the same reason, will no longer be shown in cinemas across the North African country, according to press release.

Movie theaters had been showing the film since Feb. 9 but, following protests, a government ministry and Tunisia's visual arts authority agreed to ban it, activists and Tunisian media said.

"The main actress in the film is Israeli, was trained in the [Israeli] army and supports the colonization of Palestinian territory," said Kaouther Saida Chebbi, head of an anti-Zionist woman's movement.

Cinemas in Tunis confirmed to AFP that they would no longer show the film.

In 2014, Gadot posted on Facebook a message in support of Operation Protective Edge against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Tunisia, which hosted the Palestinian Liberation Organization from 1982-1994, has a long history of backing the Palestinian cause.

In 2017 the country banned Patty Jenkins' film "Wonder Woman," which also starred Gadot.

i24NEWS contributed to this report.

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A perennial discussion in the cauldron that is Middle Eastern politics concerns the degree to which a sovereign Palestinian state, should one ever be created, would be democratic.

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The democratic character of any state is determined in the main by three elements. First, the frequency and transparency of elections; second, limits on the power of elected officials and defined boundaries between the executive, the legislature and the judiciary; and third, the extent to which basic civil rights like freedom of speech and freedom of assembly are respected.

An independent Palestine would probably host elections on a regular basis, although the integrity of these would always be a subject for debate, as would the ever-present prospect of armed conflict between rival Palestinian factions. As far as an honest, accountable government that subordinates itself to the rule of law is concerned, there is very little evidence to suggest that a future State of Palestine would be administered in this way.

To the contrary, throughout the existence of the Palestinian Authority – now in its 28th year – there has been a constant stream of news stories regarding corruption, political violence and violations of core civil rights by Palestinians against other Palestinians. The latest example occurred last week when the Yasser Arafat Museum in Ramallah removed artwork depicting the late PLO leader that loyalists deemed "offensive." The principle underlying this act of censorship is one that Arafat himself would have appreciated; a client of the Soviet Union who spent much of his time meeting with dictators in the Communist bloc and in the Arab world, Arafat was an admirer of those systems of government where the state is the ultimate regulator of what the people living under its jurisdiction see, hear and read.

In totalitarian states, artistic depictions of leaders are by definition sycophantic. From the Soviet Union's Joseph Stalin to North Korea's Kim Jong-un, from "Chairman Mao" of China to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, the official portraits of those who wield near-unlimited power invariably show them as steely-jawed and commanding the love of their people; as strong and paternal; and as courageously unwavering in their convictions. In Arafat's case, his 1974 address to the UN General Assembly, when he wore his pistol bolted to his waist, or any of the numerous occasions when he flashed a victory sign at photographers would be appropriate subject matter for this style of art.

Less so was the case with the portraits of Arafat chosen for display at the museum in Ramallah. Photographs of some of them were shared on Twitter by the Palestinian journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, and the selection on display might be described as underwhelming. There is a drawing of Arafat with an olive branch clenched between his teeth, another showing him adjacent to Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and another of Arafat wearing a carefree grin beneath his keffiyeh. One might conclude that there is some gentle mockery in these caricatures, though nothing that could be considered insulting, and certainly nothing that could be construed as a slur on either Arafat's Arab nationality or his Muslim faith – a marked divergence from the antisemitic tropes and Nazi imagery that routinely accompanies Arab and even some Western caricatures of Israel's elected leaders.

But when the Ramallah exhibition, unimaginatively titled "Palestine and Yasser Arafat," opened to the public last Sunday, not all the works met the loyalty standard such art demands. The exhibition's purpose – "solidarity with Palestine and the roots of Yasser Arafat's memory in the international community" – didn't preclude less conventional artistic representations, but that made no difference. A row duly broke out, manifesting on ideological and party lines, and reflecting the fractured personal relations between some Palestinian leaders.

The exhibition lacked "honesty in representing Yasser Arafat," said Nasser al-Kidwa, a veteran Palestinian diplomat and former head of the Yasser Arafat Foundation before he was sacked last year following a bitter disagreement with the Fatah movement. On this occasion, though, Fatah agreed with al-Kidwa's assessment. "The insult to Yasser Arafat is an insult to all the Palestinian people," it declared, before delivering a threat: "We therefore call upon the Yasser Arafat Foundation to remove all the insulting works and apologize, or we will have to remove them ourselves."

Mohammad Sabaanah, a Palestinian cartoonist, told The New Arab media outlet last week that he had turned down an invitation to participate in the Arafat exhibition because he didn't trust the organizers. "When I found out that some prominent artists were not invited to participate, I doubted the criteria behind the exhibition, and I withdrew from it," he said. Sabaanah then explained that there was a "clear confusion" between political cartoons and caricature portraits, which are "basically a satirical representation of a personality." It was those latter representations of Arafat that were judged unacceptable, according to Sabaanah.

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In its own statement, the Yasser Arafat Foundation, which staged the exhibition, forlornly insisted that the offending artworks did not "insult Yasser Arafat's personality or symbolism." However, it continued, "all works exhibited have been removed due to lack of acceptance by the Palestinian public." Unquestionably, what transpired in Ramallah was a victory for censorship.

It is also another strong reminder of the absence of a democratic culture in Palestinian politics. Even now, at a time when most Western societies are bitterly polarized and democracy is dismissed as overrated, our media outlets do not shy away from lurid cartoons of Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Anthony Fauci or any of the other personalities that have dominated recent news headlines. Western publics do not expect their leaders to be treated with respect all the time, nor do they demand limits on what can be said about them or how they are depicted. But among the Palestinians, anything other than uncritical veneration of their political leaders is regarded with suspicion. Those Palestinian artists who forget to censor themselves can expect a visit from Fatah's enforcers in the not-too-distant future.

Ben Cohen is a New York City-based journalist and author who writes a weekly column on Jewish and international affairs for JNS.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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The Italian government launched a probe into documents published two weeks ago that allege authorities turned a blind eye on Palestinian terror attacks against Jews, including the deadly 1982 attack on the Great Synagogue of Rome, Italian daily La Repubblica reported last week. 

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The documents revealed that the Italian government made an agreement with the Palestinian Liberation Organization as early as the 1970s to ignore attacks on Jewish targets as long as non-Jewish areas in Italy and Italian assets abroad were unharmed. 

Papers also showed that Italian intelligence had prior information about the PLO's planned attack on the Rome synagogue – in which a toddler was killed and 37 people were injured – but did not stop it. 

"Thirty-nine years later, the time has come for us to hear the truth," Enrico Borghi, a member of the Italian Parliamentary Committee for the Security of the Republic told La Repubblica on Thursday

"A state must fully come to terms with its own history," he said. 

On Oct. 9, 1982, on the Simchat Torah holiday, several armed attackers threw hand grenades at the worshippers who began exiting the synagogue after services and sprayed the crowd with sub-machine gunfire. 

The documents revealed that Italian internal intelligence warned the government several times that Palestinians were planning to attack Jewish targets in Rome, with the synagogue at the top of the list of possible targets. 

Another warning sent to the Italian Interior Ministry cited a "usually reliable source" saying the PLO's Abu Nidal group was planning an attack during the High Holidays. 

However, despite the warnings, the security around the Jewish sites was not increased. In fact, documents revealed that on the day of the attack, the police vehicle that was usually stationed outside the synagogue during holidays was absent. 

The attack occurred several months after the beginning of the 1982 Lebanon War, and a few weeks after then-Chairman of PLO Yasser Arafat visited Italy. 

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