Friedman’s Talk About 'Next Leader' Sparks Palestinian Anger

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman - Reuters
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman - Reuters
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Friedman’s Talk About 'Next Leader' Sparks Palestinian Anger

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman - Reuters
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman - Reuters

The Palestinian presidency rejected what it described as the US “policy of threat, pressure and intimidation” against Palestinian President, in response to US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who said that the US administration might consider Mohammad Dahlan, who was dismissed from Fatah Movement, as a future leader for the Palestinians.

“The policy of threats, constant pressure, and attempts to intimidate President Mahmoud Abbas and the leadership will be doomed to failure,” Presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeina said on Thursday.

“Only our Palestinian people can choose their leader according to the democratic foundations laid by the Palestine Liberation Organization,” he added.

Friedman’s comments, quoted by Israel Hayom, sparked anger and controversy, which forced the Israeli daily to edit the ambassador’s statements.

The ambassador reportedly said that the US administration was thinking about Dahlan becoming the leader of the Palestinians. But the newspaper later revised the article, quoting Friedman as replying to a question on Dahlan: “We’re not thinking about it,” we have no desire to engineer the Palestinian leadership.

Member of the Executive Committee of the PLO, Ahmed Majdalani, warned of US efforts to harm Abbas, similar to what happened with the late leader Yasser Arafat, in order to pass the so-called deal of the century.

“The coming stage will witness more US punitive measures against the Palestinian leadership,” Majdalani told Voice of Palestine radio station.

Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri said for his part: “The statements of the US ambassador about the desire to appoint Mohammad Dahlan as head of the Authority represent an unacceptable interference in internal affairs, and there will be no Palestinian president except through the Palestinian will.”

In response, Dahlan said on his Facebook page: “I have all faith that Palestine is in dire need of renewing the legitimacy of all Palestinian leaderships and institutions. This will only be achieved through comprehensive and transparent national elections.”

“I hope no one will fall into the trap of such carefully engineered tactics,” he continued. “Let us work together to restore our national unity and agree on our national constants and the means to achieve them.”



Video Shows Last Moments for Slain Gaza Aid Workers, Red Crescent Says

This image grab from a handout video reportedly recovered from the cellphone of an aid worker killed in Gaza alongside other rescuers - AFP
This image grab from a handout video reportedly recovered from the cellphone of an aid worker killed in Gaza alongside other rescuers - AFP
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Video Shows Last Moments for Slain Gaza Aid Workers, Red Crescent Says

This image grab from a handout video reportedly recovered from the cellphone of an aid worker killed in Gaza alongside other rescuers - AFP
This image grab from a handout video reportedly recovered from the cellphone of an aid worker killed in Gaza alongside other rescuers - AFP

A video recovered from the cellphone of an aid worker killed in Gaza alongside other rescuers shows their final moments, according to the Palestine Red Crescent, with clearly marked ambulances and emergency lights flashing as heavy gunfire erupts.

The aid worker was among 15 humanitarian personnel who were killed on March 23 in an attack by Israeli forces, according to the United Nations and the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS).

The Israeli military has said its soldiers "did not randomly attack" any ambulances, insisting they fired on "terrorists" approaching them in "suspicious vehicles".

Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said that troops opened fire on vehicles that had no prior clearance from Israeli authorities and had their lights off, AFP reported.

But the video released by PRCS on Saturday appears to contradict the Israeli military's claims, showing ambulances travelling with their headlights and emergency lights clearly flashing.

The six minute and 42 second video, apparently filmed from inside a moving vehicle, captures a red firetruck and ambulances driving through the night.

The vehicles stop beside another on the roadside, and two uniformed men exit. Moments later, intense gunfire erupts.

In the video, the voices of two medics are heard -- one saying, "the vehicle, the vehicle," and another responding: "It seems to be an accident."

Seconds later, a volley of gunfire breaks out, and the screen goes black.

PRCS said it had found the video on the phone of Rifat Radwan, one of the deceased aid workers.

"This video unequivocally refutes the occupation's claims that Israeli forces did not randomly target ambulances, and that some vehicles had approached suspiciously without lights or emergency markings," PRCS said in a statement.

"The footage exposes the truth and dismantles this false narrative."

Those killed included eight PRCS staff, six members of the Gaza civil defence agency and one employee of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, also known as UNRWA.

Their bodies were found buried near Rafah in what the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) described as a mass grave.

- Fear and prayers -

OCHA has said that the first team was targeted by Israeli forces at dawn on that day. In the hours that followed, additional rescue and aid teams searching for their colleagues were also struck in a series of successive attacks.

According to the PRCS, the convoy had been dispatched in response to emergency calls from civilians trapped under bombardment in Rafah.

In the video, a medic recording the scene can be heard reciting the Islamic declaration of faith, the shahada, which Muslims traditionally say in the face of death.

"There is no God but God, Mohammed is his messenger," he says repeatedly, his voice trembling with fear as intense gunfire continues in the background.

He is also heard saying: "Forgive me mother because I chose this way, the way of helping people."

He then says, "accept my martyrdom, God, and forgive me." Just before the footage ends, he is heard saying, "The Jews are coming, the Jews are coming," referring to Israeli soldiers.

The deaths of the aid workers has sparked international condemnation.

Jonathan Whittall, the head of OCHA in the Palestinian territories, said the bodies of the humanitarian workers were "in their uniforms, still wearing gloves" when they were found.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, condemned the attack, raising concerns over possible "war crimes" by the Israeli military.

"I am appalled by the recent killings of 15 medical personnel and humanitarian aid workers, which raise further concerns over the commission of war crimes by the Israeli military," Volker Turk told the UN Security Council on Thursday.

Turk called for an "independent, prompt and thorough investigation" into the attack.

An Israeli military official said the bodies had been covered "in sand and cloth" to avoid damage until coordination with international organizations could be arranged for their retrieval.

The military said it was investigating the attack.