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Facts Matter: A Historically Accurate Perspective on Debunking (Arab) Palestinian Misinformation
- PEER K12
- Mar 19
- 7 min read
With fake news, artificial intelligence, tiktok, social media bots, and U.S.-based higher education capitulations to terrorist regime messaging, brainwashing and propaganda - it’s even more important than ever to embrace the so-called #teachthetruth movement and ACTUALLY teach the truth.
If you’ve ever wished you could counter bizarre accusations but felt hesitant to do so because you weren’t sure how to respond to each one with verified factual evidence, then you’ve come to the right place.
In this piece, I’ll tackle the main pro-Hamas talking points and give you fact based information to use in those conversations. This analysis is grounded in documented history, diplomatic records, and the long-standing Israeli strategic efforts to achieve peace through territorial compromise, in contrast with persistent Palestinian Arab rejectionism and the incentivization of violence.
Feel free to submit additional questions on pieces of propaganda that aren’t covered below, and I’ll release a version 2 with those additional tough topics so you can add them to your arsenal to have ready for any conversation that comes your way on this topic.
Let’s get started.
1. Historical Context and Narratives
Palestinian Misinformation: (Arabs) Palestinians present themselves as an indigenous people forcibly displaced and oppressed, framing their national movement as one of legitimate resistance to “white settler colonialism”.
Historically Accurate Rebuttal: From a historical perspective - verified not only in Biblical texts, but also indisputable archeological proof, and carbon dates artifacts - Jews are an indigenous Middle Eastern people with continuous ties to the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael) for over three millennia, predating Arab conquest and colonization of the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) by well over a thousand years.
Modern Zionism is not a colonial project but rather a national liberation movement that re-emerged into the consciousness of the Jewish people exiled in Europe and experiencing endless antisemitism due to centuries of Jewish statelessness.
After World War I, the international community, including the League of Nations, recognized the Jewish historical connection to the land.
Israel’s establishment in 1948 was supported by a UN partition resolution that the Jewish community accepted. It was the Arab states who rejected partition, choosing instead to launch a war to destroy the fledgling Jewish state.
This foundational rejection - the desire for a “judenfrei” Middle East - and not Israeli action - is at the root of the ongoing conflict.
2. Framing the Conflict
Palestinian Misinformation: The conflict is solely about Israel’s occupation, settlements, and denial of Palestinian rights. The messaging suggests that once the occupation ends, peace and justice will prevail.
Historically Accurate Rebuttal: The Arab-Israeli conflict predates the 1967 Six-Day War and the subsequent occupation of any disputed territories. Major violence and rejection of Jewish self-determination occurred well before Israel controlled the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Key events—such as the Arab riots of 1920, 1929, and 1936, and the Arab rejection of the 1947 UN Partition Plan—occurred long before Israel was even a sovereign nation.
Additionally, Israel has repeatedly offered territorial compromises (“land for peace”)—notably in 2000 at Camp David, in 2001 at Taba, and in 2008 under the Olmert plan—only to be met with Palestinian rejections.
The problem is not merely Israel’s presence (Jews in the Middle East) in these territories, but the persistent refusal by Arabs (Palestinians) and their leaders to accept the idea of Jews, a Jewish state - or any Jewish self determination of any kind - in any part of the land that had previously been conquered during one of the ancient Caliphates.
In fact, the very idea that there are Jews and "infidels" (Christians, Druze, Bahai, Yazidi's, etc.) who are NOT subjugated as Dhimmi's, paying Jizya taxes, or oppressed under Sharia Law is rejected altogether - it has nothing to do with border lines or territory - but rather with a wholesale rejection that non-Muslims be allowed to live freely without being "unalived".
3. Victimhood and Responsibility
Palestinian Misinformation:: The Arab (Palestinian) people are portrayed solely as victims of Israeli aggression and oppression, without agency or responsibility for the cycle of violence.
Historically Accurate Rebuttal: While Arabs (Palestinians) have experienced hardships, it is historically inaccurate to deny their leadership’s role in prolonging the conflict.
Arab (Palestinian) leaders, from Haj Amin al-Husseini in the 1930s-40s - an enthusiastic Nazi supporter and personal friend of Adolf Hitler - to Yasser Arafat and Hamas’s current leadership, repeatedly chose rejection, incitement, and violence over meaningful compromise.
During critical junctures, the Arab (Palestinian) leadership walked away from substantial Israeli peace offers. The moral agency to choose peace or violence lies with all parties, and Arab (Palestinian) leadership has too often chosen confrontation, supported by a political culture that glorifies “martyrs” who kill Jewish civilians. Thus, Arab (Palestinian)s are not passive victims; their leadership’s decisions have profoundly shaped the conflict’s trajectory.
4. Peace vs. Violence
Palestinian Misinformation: Arab (Palestinian) “resistance” is portrayed as a legitimate struggle akin to other national liberation movements, overlooking the moral and legal implications of attacking civilians.
Historically Accurate Rebuttal: While national aspirations are legitimate, targeting civilians with terror attacks cannot be morally justified nor equated with resistance. There is a moral line between legitimate political struggle and the deliberate murder of innocents. Israel, throughout its history, has generally sought negotiation and compromise, culminating in peace treaties with Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994).
By contrast, Arab (Palestinian) terrorist groups (Fatah factions in earlier decades, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and others) have repeatedly resorted to violence against noncombatants. The enduring “pay-to-slay” program—where the Palestinian Authority provides financial rewards to families of terrorists—encourages violence rather than fostering a climate conducive to peace negotiations. This is antithetical to genuine liberation struggles that strive to uphold human rights norms.
5. The “Land for Peace” Paradigm vs. “Pay to Slay”
Palestinian Misinformation: Israeli demands and negotiations are framed as disingenuous and never enough, reducing Israeli offers of withdrawal as mere ploys while ignoring the Palestinian Authority’s own actions on the ground.
Historically Accurate Rebuttal: Israel’s “land for peace” approach is historically evidenced by returning the entire Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, relinquishing territory to Jordan, and the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005. These steps were taken in hopes of peace, not further conflict.
The Palestinian Authority and other factions have responded to such moves not by embracing peace but by allowing rocket fire, incitement in school textbooks, and continued financial support for convicted terrorists. The “pay-to-slay” policy, where monthly stipends incentivize attacks on Israeli civilians, undercuts any message of peaceful intent. This stands in stark contrast to Israeli attempts to negotiate final borders and security arrangements that would allow both peoples to coexist peacefully.
6. International Law & Legitimacy
Palestinian Misinformation: The Arab (Palestinian) narrative often presents themselves as the underdog championed by international law, accusing Israel of continuous violation and delegitimization efforts.
Historically Accurate Rebuttal: The complexity of international law surrounding this conflict cannot be reduced to simplistic slogans. Multiple UN resolutions, from 1947’s Partition Plan (UNGA 181) to UNSC 242, acknowledge Jewish rights and envision a negotiated settlement. Israel’s presence in the territories since 1967 arose from a defensive war against Arab aggressors; international law recognizes the need for negotiations to determine final borders.
Israel has consistently sought a negotiated two-state solution that would secure the rights and security of both peoples. Yet the Arab (Palestinian) leadership’s emphasis on unilateral measures and refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state contradicts the letter and spirit of these resolutions and international frameworks. True international legitimacy would come from mutual recognition, not perpetuating myths that frame one side’s mere existence as illegitimate.
7. Human Rights and Civic Freedoms
Palestinian Misinformation: Arabs (Palestinians) frame their narrative as a freedom struggle for basic human rights, glossing over the internal suppression within Arab (Palestinian) society and the aggressive rhetoric directed at Jews.
Historically Accurate Rebuttal: While every population deserves human rights, the Arab (Palestinian) leadership’s track record—both in the West Bank and Gaza—has frequently undermined the freedoms of its own people. Critics of the Palestinian Authority or Hamas face harassment, imprisonment, or worse. The educational system is often steeped in hateful indoctrination and antisemitic tropes, not merely anti-Israel political rhetoric.
The refusal to acknowledge Jewish historical ties and rights ensures that human rights discourse is one-sided. Without addressing the culture of incitement and the “pay-to-slay” system, claims of pure human rights advocacy ring hollow.
8. Pathways to Peaceful Coexistence
Palestinian Misinformation: Arab (Palestinian) messaging documents typically seek to inspire a global solidarity narrative that applies pressure solely on Israel, assuming that such pressure will lead to peace.
Historically Accurate Rebuttal: True peace can only emerge from bilateral negotiation and a mutual willingness to compromise. Israel has demonstrated willingness for territorial concessions, security arrangements, and economic cooperation. Yet lasting peace requires a fundamental change in Arab (Palestinian) political culture—shifting away from glorifying violence, abandoning the “pay-to-slay” stipends, and openly preparing their public for the reality of coexistence with a Jewish state.
Encouraging the international community to put one-sided pressure on Israel while ignoring Arab (Palestinian) incitement, refusal to negotiate sincerely, and rejection of Jewish statehood cannot yield a just and sustainable resolution.
Conclusion: From an Israeli historian’s perspective, the Arab (Palestinian) messaging playbook omits critical historical facts and present-day realities. Instead of focusing on selective victimhood narratives, authentic peacemaking requires acknowledging Jewish historical ties, recognizing past Arab (Palestinian) leadership choices that prolonged the conflict, repudiating the policy of paying terrorists and their families, and embracing a stance of mutual recognition. Only then can both peoples move toward a genuine, negotiated peace.
RESOURCES:
U.S. Congressional Bills
The Taylor Force Act | Original Senate Bill (Introduced Version):
S.1697 - Taylor Force Act (115th Congress, 2017-2018): Introduced in the Senate, this bill sought to restrict U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority until it took steps to end the “pay-to-slay” program.
Final Legislation (Enacted):
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (H.R.1625, 115th Congress) The Taylor Force Act was incorporated into this omnibus spending bill and signed into law on March 23, 2018.For direct text, see Division S, Title X of the enrolled bill (available as a PDF under “Text” tab).
Official GPO PDF of the Enrolled Bill: The Taylor Force Act provisions begin on or around page 245.
House Legislation Specifically Targeting PA “Pay-to-Slay” Terrorist Payments:
H.R.1164 - Taylor Force Act (House Version, 115th Congress, 2017-2018) House-introduced companion legislation also aimed at withholding assistance if the Palestinian Authority continues payments to convicted terrorists.
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