By and large, when it comes to the current undeclared war between Israel and the Palestinians, it's the Palestinian side that gets all the favorable press. The United Nations, in particular, is consumed with the issue of Israeli violations of human rights against the oppressed Palestinians. In its history, the U.N. has passed dozens of anti-Israeli resolutions condemning Israel for this or for that, but evidently can find no fault in anything done by Yasser Arafat and company.

Indeed, Yasser Arafat requested the United Nations send a 2,000 member team of international "observers" to Israel, and the request was rubber-stamped before the ink on the original request had even dried.

The United Nations -- and the world -- has simply ignored the Palestinian record, utterly refusing to entertain the possibility that maybe the plight of the oppressed Palestinian people might be the direct result of the policies of the Palestinian "government" itself.

The news media in particular has taken upon itself the task of "proving" Israel to be an oppressive, unyielding tyrant, facts nothwithstanding. CNN goes out of its way to condemn the Israeli effort to seize Al Aksa mosque, "an important Islamic holy site," but studiously avoids any mention of the fact the mosque is built on the Temple Mount, the most holy place in Judaism for 3,500 years.

Recently, CNN reported that the Arab population is "dwindling" as a result of harsh Israeli policies. The fact is, the Arab population is growing four times as fast as that of the Jewish population.

Other stories, including virtually all of Arafat's inflammatory speeches, the instilling of anti-Israeli propaganda in Arab children in state run schools, and violations of signed accords never see the light of day.

Palestinian ninth-graders study from official textbooks that assert, "treachery and disloyalty are character traits of the Jews and therefore one should beware of them." Jews are cast as Satanic, violent and cunning, as "thieving conquerors" who have stolen Arab land and must be fought and defeated.

You won't hear stories about that on CNN, or from any other major mainstream news organization. Can you imagine the deafening uproar if similar things were being taught to Jewish schoolchildren about the Palestinians?

I get regular e-mail from people protesting that I ignore the fact Israeli soldiers are "killing Palestinian children" and that I should be condemning that, as well. For the record, I do condemn the killing of Palestinian children, and I call on Yasser Arafat to put a stop to it. Because he is the only one that can.

Arafat deliberately encourages the practice of sending children as young as 10 into harm's way. A Palestinian line of skirmish is set up with young children in the front line throwing stones, young men in the second rank throwing Molotov cocktails and snipers in the last rank shooting at Israeli troops.

In order to neutralize the threat posed by the more deadly second and third ranks, Israeli troops must try to fire between the ranks of young children. This serves two purposes, from Arafat's perspective. First, it provides protection to the fighters, since Arafat knows that the Israeli soldiers are unwilling to gun down children. (Interesting that the mainstream media doesn't.)

Secondly, in the event a child is killed, it provides excellent propaganda to perpetuate the myth of the viciousness of the Israeli "occupation."

Arafat's government offers a $2,000 "bounty" to the families of children killed in action, and a $300 bounty for each wounded child. The Palestinian Authority snorts in indignation when questioned about this policy -- "You believe we'd put our own children at risk?" they ask angrily.

The idea is so reprehensible to the Western mind that nobody does. It's much easier to believe Israeli troops deliberately target children. Why doesn't anybody ask what the kids are doing on the front lines in the first place? Doesn't anybody notice that it's only Arab children on the front lines?

On the Israeli side, the fighters are out front, the children are kept as safe as possible. If Israel put its kids on the front lines, nobody would blame the Arabs if they got killed. They'd place the blame where it would belong -- on the Israelis who put the flower of their youth in harm's way for propaganda purposes.

In Israel this week, an Israeli lawyer offered to take on the case of Alam Bani Odeh. The Palestinian Authority arrested him last week on charges of collaborating with Israel in the death of his cousin, Hamas bomb maker Ibrahim Bani Odeh. He made the offer because no Palestinian lawyer would defend Odeh, fearing retaliation by Hamas.

Odeh is facing execution by the PA. He is a Palestinian, charged by Palestinians with a crime against Palestinians. If found guilty (a foregone conclusion) he will be executed by Palestinians. Yet only an Israeli lawyer is willing to defend him. Where is Hanan Ashrawi, the darling of CNN who stands tall for "Palestinian human rights"?

In fact, where is CNN? Or National Public Radio? Or the BBC? Evidently, they've taken a pass on this story. Why is that? Why wouldn't the mainstream global media want to report on an Israeli lawyer willing to risk Hamas retaliation for defending a Palestinian that no Palestinian lawyer dares to defend?

What of the United Nations? No hue and cry about human rights violations, despite the fact the U.N.'s Declaration of Human Rights gives every "world citizen" the right to representation before a court?

The Hebrew prophet Zechariah made the case for global anti-Semitism thousands of years ago, but he could have been analyzing today's headlines. In Zechariah Chapter 12 he said that, in the last days, the entire world would be represented by a global army who would lay siege against Israel over the city of Jerusalem.

The political situation in Israel today makes such a scenario entirely plausible. The U.N. is making preparations to send troops to the area as I write this column. The entire world has been taken in by a global anti-Semitic propaganda blitz that paints all things Israeli as evil, and all things Palestinian as noble and good. And nobody seems to question it. Why is that?