Palestinians have become so radicalized that simply mentioning a peace deal is traitorous.
By Bassam Tawil, Gatestone Institute
Prominent Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti has been facing sharp criticism from many Palestinians after he was filmed hugging a former Israeli foreign minister during a recent conference in Italy.
Barghouti is being accused of betraying the Palestinians by “promoting normalization” with Israel.
The latest “scandal” erupted after a video that appeared on social media featured Barghouti warmly hugging former Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami during a meeting of parliamentary factions in Italy.
Ben-Ami, a historian, is known for his role in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians more than two decades ago.
He is also known for his support for the establishment of a Palestinian state next to Israel.
Barghouti’s critics, however, do not distinguish between a right-wing and left-wing Israeli Jew. For them, all Israeli Jews, including those who support a two-state solution, are enemies.
Barghouti, who heads a party called the Palestinian National Initiative Movement, is now getting a taste of his own medicine.
For many years, Barghouti has been a steadfast supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.
He has also taken part in BDS activities, stating: “We are now in the early stages of a campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions directed at this Israeli government for its refusal to abide by international law.”
“International law” often refers to resolutions by the United Nations and other international bodies that call for the establishment of a Palestinian state next to Israel.
Such a state, according to Palestinian public opinion polls, will be controlled by murderers and rapists from the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group.
Barghouti is also the president of Palestinian Medical Relief Society, a group that has ties with the terrorist group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
In 2019, he participated in a conference organized by the PFLP, titled “The Crime of Normalization [with Israel] and ways of Confrontation.”
The conference was held in honor of the 11th anniversary of the death of PFLP founder George Habash.
During the conference, Barghouti presented a paper on “The role of parties and factions in promoting the boycott concept.”
Barghouti has even justified the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, during which hundreds of Israelis were killed, raped, beheaded, mutilated, burned alive, tortured, and kidnapped to the Gaza Strip:
“This initiative (attack) is… a response to those who thought that through normalization with the Arab countries, they can liquidate and marginalize the Palestinian issue. It is coming back in the most possible forceful way… It shows that Israel is not almighty and also it shows what Palestinians can do when they are determined to resist for their freedom…”
Barghouti, in other words, is saying that he is happy that the attack could thwart attempts to achieve peace between Israel and some of the Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia.
Barghouti’s anti-Israel campaigns and support for the October 7 atrocities, however, are now being ignored by many Palestinians, who are accusing him of committing a crime by hugging the Israeli ex-minister.
Some Palestinians have even posted a photoshopped image of Barghouti dressed in an Israeli military uniform to back up their charge that he is a traitor.
Alarmed by the accusations, Barghouti was forced to apologize to the Palestinians for daring to appear in public with an Israeli Jew.
“This was an unintentional mistake that should have been avoided and not made,” he said. “I have the courage and self-confidence, which I hope everyone has, to admit a mistake when it occurs.”
He further pledged to continue opposing normalization with Israel:
“Our position has not and will not change. During my short visit to Italy, I was invited to participate in a political symposium that included eight speakers, including the mayor of Rome, parliamentarians and Italian diplomats.
It was an open public symposium and not a Palestinian-Israeli meeting, as some malicious people claimed.
Unfortunately, due to the lack of time, I did not have the opportunity to adequately research the identities of all the participants in the symposium, which was attended by the Israeli politician and opposition figure who works as a lecturer at Spanish universities, Shlomo Ben-Ami.”
The smear campaign against Barghouti serves as a reminder of how Palestinian leaders and officials have radicalized their people against Israel to a point where it has become impossible, if not dangerous, even to be seen in the company of an Israeli Jew.
Barghouti can only blame himself for the backlash he is facing for appearing together with Ben-Ami at the conference in Italy.
Barghouti has been inciting the Palestinians and the rest of the world against Israel for a long time.
He has long advocated boycotting Israel and has spoken out against normalization with Israelis.
He therefore has no right to be upset about the attacks on him or to lament the defamation campaign Palestinians have launched against him.
Given the enormous uproar caused by this brief interaction between an Israeli Jew and a Palestinian, one can only imagine the consequences for any Palestinian leader who dares even to discuss or consider peace with Israel.
The outcry over the meeting in Italy crystallizes the basic reason why Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to return to the negotiating table with Israel for the past decade.
Abbas knows full well that his recurring attacks on Israel have radicalized Palestinians against Israel to such an extent that most of them support the October 7 massacre of Israelis, are in favor of Hamas over his Palestinian Authority, and would be happy to kill him at a moment’s notice for being a traitor over whatever they considered the slightest transgression.