Ma'an: Terrorists in Israeli jails; Barghouti is a "charismatic activist"

Ma'an reported on the Hamas-Israel deal to release Gilad Schalit.  Here is an excerpt about what struck my eye:

There are at least 6,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. They are regarded as heroes in their struggle against Israeli occupation and quest for statehood.

Ma'an isn't an Israeli media outlet.  It's a Palestinian media outlet - and if they say that terrorists in Israeli prison are regarded as heroes by other Palestinians, you can be pretty confident that's a fact.

Why isn't the UNHRC doing anything about this?  Why isn't the media waking up and reporting about this? About the fact that Palestinians view terrorists in Israeli prison as heroes - that terrorism against Israel is heroic.

Peace?

The wife of Marwan Barghouti, a charismatic activist seen as a future Palestinian leader, told Reuters in the West Bank that she was eagerly awaiting word that he will be included in the prisoner swap.

Turns out he's not on the list (perhaps because he's Fatah, and Hamas doesn't have a liking for Fatah).  But how does Ma'an describe him? "A charismatic activist seen as a future Palestinian leader."

Yeah... Ma'an doesn't mention that while he first believed in a peace process, he now rejects the idea, was a key leader in the First and Second Intifada, and is regarded as the key figure behind the Second Intifada. 

And Ma'an informs us that such a person - who was the leader behind the bloody intifadas - is seen as a future leader for the Palestinians.  That the Palestinians view such a person as a future leader.  The Second Intifada, according to notoriously leftist group B'tselem, took the lives of 1,053 Israelis by Palestinians, 4,475 Palestinians by Israeli army, and 575 Palestinians killed by other Palestinians.

Has Ma'an forgotten he is the head of Tanzim - a militant faction of Fatah which uses armed "resistance?"

Have they forgotten that he was charged with the murder of Israelis?

But that's exactly what makes Palestinians want him so badly as a future leader.

Peace?

Sure.  When they reject terrorism and intifadas.  Only then can you expect a realistic, viable peace.

65.6% of Ma'an readers are anti-peace talks

Ma'an News Agency (a Palestinian media outlet) has a poll on the right side of their website that says:

Peace talks with Israel are:

Essential to achieving statehood

Counterproductive, power imbalance too great

Necessary, but only with unbiased mediators

The answers goes as follows:

Essential to achieving statehood -89 (23.2%)

Counterproductive, power imbalance too great  - 252 (65.6%)

Necessary, but only with unbiased mediators - 43 (11.2%)

I can't really tell the difference between the first and third option, so I'll count them together as a total of 34.4%.

That still leaves 65.% of Ma'an readers believing that peace talks are counterproductive.  Ah, because you know, peace talks between the two parties that will have to live together in any final agreement are somehow counterproductive.  So what's productive? I can only assume bypassing these peace talks, violating the Oslo Accords, and following their plan of unilateral statehood bid at the U.N.

The U.N. can't make a state.  The U.N., over the past few decades, has lost every shred of legitimacy, and most people will tell you that.  But when it comes to Israel... OH!!! All of a sudden you have people shouting at you "Resolution BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH."  The U.N. won't be the ones who will be forced to make peace with the Palestinians.  It's the Palestinians and Israelis who will have to live side by side.  Netanyahu has been speaking on Arabic media to ensure Arabs that the Israelis are prepared to make peace.  But Abbas, and the Palestinians, don't care for talking with their Israeli neighbors, but would prefer to bypass this.

Because direct peace talks would have to lead to a final agreement.  Something no Palestinian leader has been prepared to do.  Oslo? Sure, it's an interim agreement.  That's perfectly fine.  But a final agreement to end the conflict which still leaves Israel standing? No way.

I have attached a picture of the poll:

Let the world remember this poll when they complain that there is a lack of peace.  Let them know who is causing it.  Let them know who opposes peace.