Guardian's Phoebe Greenwood runs interference for Global March to Jerusalem organizers and rioters

The Guardian’s Middle East Live blog today includes coverage of the Global March to Jerusalem provocations by the paper’s correspondent, Phoebe Greenwood, who’s filling in for Harriet Sherwood.

Here’s her dispatch from this morning at Qalandiya.

Palestinian boys have started arriving at the blockades. Jabai, 19, has come from Nablus to join the protest. “Today is different than any other Friday demonstration,” he says. “Many more people are coming”.

And what of organisers’ hopes that the demonstrations will be peaceful? “No, we want to throw stones and break things”, says Jabai, highlighting the difference between Palestinian activists and the frustrated youth who come to demonstrate anger.

Anyone who’s been following our blog’s reports about GMJ would have to understand how absurd it is to claim that the organizers (made up of Islamist terrorist groups and their supporters) are hoping for a series of peaceful protests.

While I can cite a plethora of examples, here are recent comments by Feroze Mithiborwala, a member of both the GMJ International Executive Committee and its International Central Committee, regarding Israel’s preparations to prevent GMJ provocations.

“Israel has gone crazy, and they are acting no different than Nazi’s. Our response to them is a response of bravery. We are ready for martyrdom for our Palestinian brothers.”

As the GMJ leader prepared his cadre of fellow “activists” for martyrdom, GMJ participant and member of the SE Asia caravan Mansour Kiaei from Iran – who, as has previously been pointed out, describes himself on his Twitter account as a ‘human rights activist’ – Tweeted the following:

Meanwhile in Qalandiya, where Palestinians have been rioting (including hurling stones and exlosives at an IDF post) Greenwood reports:

Israeli soldiers firing volley of teargas canisters into air over advancing protesters led by Frank Romano waving a huge Palestinian flag. At least 23 people have now been taken away with injuries in what are turning into pretty serious clashes at Qalandiya.

Greenwood’s “peaceful” GMJ members and organizers, and Israelis firing tear gas at Palestinian protesters who are merely waving a flag: classic Guardian political fiction masquerading as serious journalism.