On December 13, 2018, IDF forces killed Ashraf Na'alwa, who had perpetrated the October 7 attack at the Barkan industrial park and was a fugitive for two months, as well as Saleh Al-Barghouti, one of the perpetrators of the December 9 shooting attack in Ofra. After news of their deaths broke, Fatah published a series of posts and images on its official social media accounts in which it praised the two terrorists, who killed three Israelis and wounded eight, describing them as "heroes" and "martyrs" that "traced the map of the homeland in their pure blood."Fatah in the West Bank urged the Palestinian people to "escalate the confrontation" on December 14, 2018 "out of loyalty to the martyrs."[1]

Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Rami Al-Hamdallah responded to the events on his Facebook page, calling the terrorists "righteous martyrs" and holding Israel responsible for the escalation of violence in the West Bank.[2]

The PA media accused Israel of "executing" the terrorists, while either ignoring or implicitly questioning their involvement in the attacks. The PA's official news agency Wafa stated that "the occupation accuses the martyr Na'alwa of carrying out a shooting attack against two settlers in the settlement of Barkan,"[3] and the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida reported that Al-Barghouti had been "shot by the Israeli occupation" without making any mention of the attack in Ofra.[4] Fatah's executive committee, as well as movement officials and spokesmen, including the spokesman of the movement's recruitment and organization commission Munir Al-Jaghoub and Fatah spokesman 'Atef Abu Saif, accused Israel of executing young Palestinians in cold blood.[5] The PA presidency published a statement condemning Israel's IDF raids on Palestinian cities and holding them responsible for the violence "which we denounce and oppose and whose price both sides are paying."[6]

It should be noted that this is not the first time the PA and Fatah have lavished praise on terrorists.[7]

Hamas claimed the two terrorists as its own, and published obituaries lamenting the loss of "two of its best jihad fighters: the heroic martyr Ashraf Na'alwa, who humiliated the occupation for over nine weeks [by avoiding capture] after [his] high-quality operation in the settlement of Barkan, and the heroic martyr Saleh Al-Barghouti, who carried out the operation in the settlement of Ofra..."[8]

The following are examples of posts on Fatah's Facebook page praising the two terrorists killed on December 13:

Posts On Fatah Facebook Page: Na'alwa And Al-Barghouti Are Heroes, May They Be Rewarded With Paradise

A post on Fatah's Facebook page states: "The heroic fallen [soldiers] of the homeland trace the map of the homeland in their pure blood so that Palestine can live as a free Arab [land]. May you attain honor and eternal life [in Paradise]... The martyr dies on this soil for the sake of his God and his land. His pure soul [ascends] to the Lord of Heaven and Earth, to enjoy the pleasures of the world to come, where there is no occupation and no tyranny and no killing... These are the martyrs of Palestine who now live with their Lord. 'And do not say about those who are killed in the way of Allah, "They are dead." Rather, they are alive, but you perceive [it] not' [Quran 2:154]."[9]



Another post featured photos of Na'alwa and Al-Barghouti alongside a photo of Yasser Arafat, above spatters of blood and the caption: "The Meeting-Place [of the Martyrs] in Paradise"[10]



Fatah Eulogizes The Terrorists

Writing on the movement's Facebook page, Fatah's recruitment and organization commission spokesman Munir Al-Jaghoub, stated that Fatah "begs [Allah] to have mercy on the souls of the martyrs Na'alwa and Al-Barghouti, and stresses that the occupation can invade our cities, villages and refugee camps with its forces and oppression, but it will never sow fear and terror in our souls. We shall remain steadfast in the existential battle for our Palestinian soil, and will not budge. We are here to stay."[11]



Yet another post on this Facebook page called Na'alwa "a legend" and "a brave fighter who risked his soul."[12]

It should be mentioned that this Facebook page devoted a post to Al-Na'alwa even before his death, while he was still at large. The post featured a picture of him with the text: "The wanted Ashraf Na'alwa, Allah is protecting you and looking out for you. He will not abandon you or hurt you."[13]