What Is This Strange Attraction Palestinians Have For Genocidal Maniacs

One can assume that despite Saddam Hussein's war crimes (see here), the loyalty of Palestinian Arabs for Hussein derives from the payments he made to the families of suicide bombers. But Saddam Hussein was not alone in having Palestinians' affection:

Many Palestinians also nurtured a similar sympathy for Milosevic. What may be considered the most surrealistic gesture during the entire decade of recent Balkan wars occurred six months after NATO’s bombing of Serbia: on December 1, 1999, the Palestinian Authority (PA) invited Milosevic to Bethlehem to celebrate the Orthodox Christmas. News of this invitation, although more or less ignored in the West, was reported with banner headlines in the Balkans. An Israeli foreign ministry spokesman said that if Milosevic accepted the invitation he would be arrested on arrival, since Israel, as a U.N. member, is obliged to fulfill arrest orders issued by The Hague tribunal, which had indicted him. The PA, not being a U.N. member, was under no such obligation. And the PA was not the only Palestinian element to vacillate over Kosovo. Earlier in 1999, the Palestinian Islamic extremist Hamas movement issued a statement, denouncing U.S. intervention to settle the Kosovo crisis as "hiding under the slogans of human rights to impose its power in the Balkans." Hamas thus echoed the allegations of Milosevic’s own media, as well as the Russians and various leftists worldwide.

So much for twisted allegiances of the Palestinian Arab. It is not surprising then that saner minds--Muslim minds--find that they have more in common with Israel than with the Palestinian Arabs:

Many in Kosovo are well aware that they have more in common with Israel than with the West Bank and Gaza. "Kosovars used to identify with the Palestinians because we Albanians are Muslims and Christians and we saw Serbia and Israel both as usurpers of land," a prominent Kosovar recent told journalist Stephen Schwartz. "Then we looked at a map and woke up. Israelis have a population of six million, their backs to the sea, and 300 million Arab enemies. Albanians have a total population of eight million, our backs to the sea, and 200 million Slav enemies. So why should we identify with the Arabs?"

A better question might be why the apologists for the Palestinian Arabs cannot bring themselves to recognize that their precious underdogs might not really be quite as sympathetic as they try to make them out to be.

Technorati Tag: Palestinians and Milosevic.