One of the worst curses in Arabic is "Ibn il Kalb." Directly translated it is "son of a dog." In today's Arabic world, it also has a feminine equivalent: "Bint il Kalb."
These are just two of the many spectacular curses scattered throughout Arabic. As colorful as they are, a word of warning: Do not utter them aloud. Do not!
No matter how friendly you are with the person with whom you are speaking, no matter if you accompany them with a smile or a pat on the back, they are truly fighting words. At best, you will be ending your relationship, other times, you will initiate a violent reaction.
"Ibn il Kalb" is a double-fanged affront. First, it is an insult drawing your likeness to that of a dog. Second, it is a direct insult to your mother, the hereto-referenced dog.
And so, when Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Authority, called Hamas "Ibn il Kalb" and demanded that Hamas release the hostages, he was not kidding around. Abbas meant business.
Abbas was indicating that he held Hamas responsible for the suffering of Palestinians.
Hamas was infuriated. In response they demanded an apology and labeled Abbas a traitor of the Palestinian people.
Speaking on official Palestinian TV, Abbas also said: "Hamas has given the criminal occupation [Israel] excuses to commit its crimes in the Gaza Strip, the most prominent being the holding of hostages."
He continued: "I'm the one paying the price, our people are paying the price, not Israel. My brother, just hand them over."
"Every day there are deaths. You sons of dogs, hand over what you have and get us out of this. Shut down their excuses and spare us."
The official Hamas response, issued in a statement, reads: "We strongly condemn the offensive statements made by President Abbas during the Central Council meeting regarding the resistance and our people's resistance fighters, disregarding the sacrifices and struggle of our people and ignoring the suffering and ongoing sacrifices of the prisoners.:
"We condemn the PA leadership's continued pursuit of this discourse, which criminalizes the resistance and absolves the occupation of its ongoing crimes against our people for decades, especially the genocidal war against Gaza, the annexation and Judaization of the West Bank and Jerusalem, and the severe suffering endured by our valiant prisoners."
The statement then demands Abbas' apology:
"We call on the President of the Palestinian Authority to apologize for this offensive speech and reverse all steps that reinforce division and align with Zionist will. We call on him to return to the embrace of the people and their choices and to cease pursuing the absurd path of surrender and compromise."
According to reports in al Araby, the Arabic network headquartered out of Qatar, Egypt added its voice, chiming in on Abbas' call for Hamas to disarm. This was not the first time that Egypt indicated that, high on the Egyptian agenda, is the call for Hamas to totally disarm.
And according to a Saudi press report, Egypt also demanded that Hamas issue a complete and thorough report on the kidnapped hostages by the of end of the first week in May.
Abbas often uses official PA TV to issue blessings and curses. At the same time that he cursed Hamas, the Palestinian Authority leader time complemented both the king and the prince of Saudi Arabia for their strong support.
In that very same statement, on that very same broadcast, Abbas seized the opportunity to lash out at and level curses at the United States. He said:
"Thanks to King Salman bin Abdulaziz, King of Saudi Arabia, and the crown prince and prime minister, the esteemed Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their brave position against normalization with Israel and for conditioning this on the establishment of a Palestinian state. A great kindness, we thank him. They [Americans] said to me: 'Normalize,' or something like that. You know the Americans, the Americans are like that. ;May their father be cursed' (laughter and applause). I am not a great Arab leader, I am a dwarf, this small. 33 times I told them [the Americans] 'No!' But not everybody does that because I've got nothing to lose, 'may their father be cursed.'"
This verbal attack against the United States is a play right out of Yassir Arafat's book. The founder of the Palestinian Authority is famous for saying one thing in English and then saying the exact opposite in Arabic. He played to his crowd.
Abbas is struggling to maintain control. Abbas needs to appear relevant. Until now he said almost nothing about Hamas while often criticizing Israel. He is changing his agenda, now using very strong language to reassert himself as leader.
First elected dictator of the Palestinian Authority in 2004, Abbas will turn 90 years old in November. During his long-held tenure, Hamas successfully destroyed Gaza and is currently operating under the PA's nose in the West Bank, aka Judea and Samaria.
Time is running out for Hamas and for Abbas. Even significant parts of the Arab world have turned against them. They are using the ammunition they have left in their arsenals — harsh words and curses.
Micah Halpern is a political and foreign affairs commentator. He founded "The Micah Report" and hosts "Thinking Out Loud with Micah Halpern," a weekly TV program, and "My Chopp," a daily radio spot. Follow him on Twitter @MicahHalpern. Read Micah Halpern's Reports — More Here.