Marcel Alain De Souza, President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), met with President Rivlin in Israel today. They spoke about economic cooperation between Israel and West African countries.
“Africa is key to the future of the world. Your organization facilitates the cooperation between the individual African countries, and also between Africa and the whole world which looks to see what is happening there,” remarked Rivlin. “We have excellent cooperation, and we welcome the opportunity for Israel to contribute from its knowledge and abilities in the fields of health, water and agriculture; a sign of the friendship between us.”
ECOWAS is a 15-member regional group, constituting around 320 million people, with a mandate of promoting economic integration in all fields of activity of the constituting countries. Member countries making up ECOWAS are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’ Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo.
The recent few weeks have shown an increase of cooperation, diplomatically, economically and politically between Israel and African countries. There seems to be a major regional trend of countries reaching out to Israel for guidance and training in technology, agriculture and security.
It may come as a surprise that many Arabs and Muslims support Israel. However, many refuse to voice their support for Israel and anger for the Palestinian Authority due to fear for their lives.
Khaled as a child with Israeli flag (credit: Facebook)
This was the case last week when Khaled Abu Much, who works in a Jerusalem hotel, was attacked by a fellow Arab worker who found, via Khaled’s Facebook page, that Khaled is a long-time supporter of the State of Israel. Khaled posts pictures of himself with the Israeli flag and posts about his disgust for MK Haneen Zoabi.
Finding this out, his fellow worker threw a rock at his head and Khaled was rushed to a hospital to receive stitches while suffering with dizziness.
During an interview on Israel’s Channel 20, Khaled stated that he is not afraid to voice his support for Israel. “These responses, it’s normal, wherever there are such extremist Arabs, but they won’t break me,” he exclaimed. “I walk the true path. This is the truth. I was born here, I opened my eyes here and saw the national flag. There was no Palestinian flag where I was born. The Star of David, that’s me, that’s how my mother raised me.”
Khaled is not the only one being attacked for voicing his opinion about Israel. Mahdi Satri, 17, a young Palestinian Arab from the village of Jadeidi-Makr in northern Israel, says he receives “regular threats from both Arab Israelis and Palestinians, via social media and by phone” because of his outspoken support for Israel. In an interview with The Algemeiner, Satri stated that he is in constant fear for his life from people in his community and that he feels like he is being targeted by all Arabs in Israel, including Hamas.”
Mahdi Satri
In a touching letter he wrote, Satri explains his fear and says “If I died and if they succeeded to kill me, know that I died a Zionist defending my country. And know that I was smiling while dying because I’ll die for my country.”
In the past, Arabs showing support for Israel even fled the country due to fear for their lives. In 2014, Muhammad Zoabi, a loyal Arab Muslim citizen of Israel, fled the country after receiving multiple death threats. Today, Zoabi is back in Israel and is one of the countries leading voices supporting Israel and speaking out against Muslim terror. His Facebook page exudes love for Israel.
Muslim support for Israel has no borders. Even Muslims from Pakistan publicly show their support for Israel. Noor Dhari, whom we interviewed a few months ago, is a Pakistani Muslim who went as far is becoming an honorary member of the Zionist federation in the UK. He claims there are many pro-Israel Muslims just like him, but most are afraid to speak up.
It is an outrage that one cannot voice their support without being attacked or fearing for their lives. Are Muslims so insecure about their beliefs that they need to attack other Muslims for voicing an opinion? Is it such a crime to want peace in the country in which one lives?
A 27-year-old Syrian man blew himself up at a music festival in Ansbach, Germany wounding 12 people, 3 seriously. The man detonated a an explosive device after being refused entry into the Ansbach Open music festival at around 10PM Sunday evening.
According to the Bavarian interior minister, the explosive content in the bomber’s backpack had the capability to injure and kill many more people. He also reported that the attacker came to Germany two years ago seeking asylum but his asylum claim was rejected. They claim the attacker attempted suicide twice before and spent time in a psychiatric clinic. However, the common denominator in the recent attacks in Germany is Islamic terrorism.
This is the fourth Muslim attack in Germany in the past week, including the attack in Munich that killed 9 people and injured 27 and the machete attack killing a pregnant woman. Germany has been on high alert since the recent attacks. Many German citizens are irate about the influx of Syrian refugees which seems to include a number of Islamic extremists and terrorists.
According to a poll conducted by state broadcaster ZDF, 77% of Germans fear future attacks.
Just weeks after Prime Minister Netanyahu’s historic trip to Africa and just days after Israel signed a diplomatic agreement with Guinea, Israel reports it looks to reestablish ties with Chad, another majority-Muslim African country.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry Director Dore Gold met with Chad President Idriss Déby to discuss issues of common interest and establish bilateral cooperation.
Chad severed ties with Israel in 1972 after pressure from neighboring Arab countries. However, many African countries are now feeling less pressure to cooperate with Israel after seeing Muslim countries, including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, building strong security ties with Israel.
Chad, like many Muslim and African countries, is facing the threat of Islamic extremists and could use a partner like Israel to assist with security and intelligence. Israel’s technological and entrepreneurial advances can also benefit many African countries economically.
In Gaza, a Hamas-controlled court sentenced three Palestinians to death for collaborating with Israeli forces. Two men, aged 59 and 49, were sentenced to death by hanging, while a third man aged 38 was sentenced to death by firing squad.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), a Palestinian NGO, condemns the excessive punishment and rejects the death penalty. It claims 13 death penalties have been carried out so far this year. In total, the number of death sentences handed out in Palestinian Authority controlled areas since 1994 has risen to 177.
This should come as no surprise considering the culture of death that Hamas and the Palestinian Authority present. Just this week, Hamas opened up one of its terror tunnels for touring as part of its exhibition to mark the two year anniversary since the last armed conflict between Israel and Hamas. The tunnel, located in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood of Gaza, is one of many Hamas has used to infiltrate Israeli territory to commit acts of terror.
Wait, there’s more of Hamas’ violent influence on its civilians. This summer, more than 30,000 Palestinian children will be attending camps run by Hamas. The camp is run by the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing. Activities include military training with real weapons, religious indoctrination and incitement to kill Jews. Hamas is training and indoctrinating the future of the Palestinian people into a life of terror, violence and martyrdom.
Of course the world sides with Hamas and the Palestinians with claims that they are just resisting against an “occupying and aggressive” Israel. The truth is that Hamas’ charter details that Jihad and terror against Jews is a duty. It has nothing to do with land and occupation. It has to do with radical Islamic ideology, no different than that of groups such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah and Boko Haram.
While terror attacks around the world are being condemned by the international community, attacks on Israel are being ignored. The UN and some countries even go as far as sympathizing with Palestinian terror. Prime Minister Netanyahu recently made a statement condemning this blatant hypocrisy: “Terrorism is terrorism, whether it is in France or Israel, and there must be a unified approach of condemnation and war on this terrorism – here and everywhere else.”
