Fatah parades in "suicide belts"

and raises knives at Ramallah rally

while PA promotes death for Allah at Gaza rally

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Event under the auspices of PA Prime Minister Hamdallah honored terror leaders, including Ahmed Yassin (Hamas), Abu Ali Mustafa (PFLP), Abu Jihad - Khalil Al-Wazir (Fatah)

Abbas' representative: "Blessings to the souls of our Martyrs who... We will continue to follow their path"



PA Minister of Labor: "We bow our heads before the souls of these Martyrs who with their pure blood recorded magnificent pages in the history of the defense of our holy land"

Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

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Three recent events by Fatah and the Palestinian Authority reiterated the Palestinian leadership's endorsement of violence and Martyrdom for Allah as PA ideals.

In the PA's capital Ramallah, Fatah held a parade celebrating the movement's 52nd anniversary. Fatah members marched wearing mock "suicide belts" while their hands held the "detonators," and their faces hidden behind black masks. Other masked men marched with raised knives, Fatah flags, and posters of Mahmoud Abbas. [Fatah-run Awdah TV, Jan. 8, 2017]





Promoting suicide terror is a recurring Fatah parade theme. Last year at the 51st anniversary celebrations it was children who Fatah had march through the streets of Bethlehem wearing black masks and mock suicide belts . [Ma’an, independent Palestinian news agency, Jan. 7, 2016]



l At another event marking Palestinian Martyrs' Day in Ramallah, PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah honored "the Martyrs of Palestine," among them terrorist murderers - for "paving the way" with their "sacrifice and struggle":

"On behalf of [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas and on my behalf, I salute the Martyrs of Palestine, defenders of our land and our comprehensive national identity, defenders of the homeland and the cause, whose giving constitutes the compass of the activity and the roadmap for bringing our national project to its inevitable fate - the end of the occupation of all of our land, the release of all of the prisoners, and the establishment of the independent State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital, in the 1967 borders. We remember all of our righteous Martyrs who paved the path to freedom, independence, and the state with their sacrifice and struggle." [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 10, 2017]





The third event was held under the auspices of PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in Gaza in honor of Martyrs' Day. A representative of Mahmoud Abbas spoke in his name, and the PA Minister of Labor also addressed the participants.

The event was designed to "end the rift" between Fatah and Hamas, and accordingly a poster at the event displayed "Martyrs" from Fatah, Hamas and the PFLP: Yasser Arafat and Abu Jihad - (Fatah), Ahmed Yassin (Hamas), Abu Ali Mustafa (PFLP).









At the backdrop of the photos­ of these arch-terrorists, Abbas' representative, PLO Executive Committee member, Zakaria Al-Agha, glorified all "Martyrs" who used "their pure bodies" to "create bridges" for the Palestinians and vowed to continue on that same path:



"We must send our blessings to the souls of our Martyrs who followed the path of freedom and with their pure bodies created bridges upon which we cross toward free and independent Palestine, whose capital is Jerusalem. Today we remember the leading Martyrs. We remember these great leaders and repeat our promise to be loyal to their memory and the memory of all of the Martyrs of Palestine and the Martyrs of the Arab nation. We will continue to follow their path, the path of the struggle and the revolution. We will never renounce the principles for which they died as Martyrs." (emphasis added)





PA Minister of Labor Ma'moun Abu Shahla echoed this in his speech:





"We bow our heads before the souls of these Martyrs who with their pure blood recorded magnificent pages in the history of the defense of our holy land."

[Official PA TV News, Jan. 8, 2017]

These events show again, as Palestinian Media Watch has documented repeatedly, that contrary to PA and Fatah leaders' rejection of violence in its messaging to the international community, their message to their own population in Arabic endorse violence and terror against Israel.

The following are longer excerpts from the PA daily article on the event marking Martyrs' Day in Ramallah, and of PA TV's report on the terrorist honoring event in Gaza under the auspices of PA Prime Minister Hamdallah:





Headline: "The [PLO] National Association [of the Martyrs’ Families of Palestine] honored the Martyrs of the Egyptian and Jordanian armies and the first Martyrs of the homeland" "[PA] Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said that the Palestinian Martyr (Shahid) has become a global symbol of liberation and freedom, and every Martyr’s name has become connected to a resolute struggle against the occupation and its tyranny, and to the eternal connection to the land and the homeland. Yesterday [Jan. 9, 2017] a ceremony was held to mark Palestinian Martyrs' Day in the hall of the Red Crescent organization in the city of El-Bireh, in the presence of District Governor of Ramallah and El-Bireh Laila Ghannam, District Governor of Nablus Akram Rajoub, Fatah Central Committee member Jamal Muhaisen, [PA] Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, and Secretary-General of the [PLO] National Gathering of the Martyrs’ Families [of Palestine] Muhammad Sbeihat ... Hamdallah said: 'In the days of the Nakba (i.e., “the catastrophe,” Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel) and the journey of wanderings, as in the days of the revolution and the struggle, and in the stage of building and the strengthening of our national rights, sons of Palestine rushed to defend it, its holy sites, and its honor, and their blood mixed with the blood of the Arab brother Martyrs, and processions of Martyrs ascended and still ascend [to Heaven].' He added: On behalf of [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas and on my behalf, I salute the Martyrs of Palestine, defenders of our land and our comprehensive national identity, defenders of the homeland and the cause, whose giving constitutes the compass of the activity and the roadmap for bringing our national project to its inevitable fate - the end of the occupation of all of our land, the release of all of the prisoners, and the establishment of the independent State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital, in the 1967 borders.' He continued: 'We remember all of our righteous Martyrs who paved the path to freedom, independence, and the state with their sacrifice and struggle. Today we remember heroic Martyr Ahmad Musa [Salameh] (i.e., terrorist), the creator of Palestinian Martyrs' Day, and all of the Martyrs of Palestine throughout the long path of our people in the different stages of the revolution, from all of the factions of national activity and from all places, within the homeland and in the diaspora, and also in the prisons of the Israeli occupation. We cannot forget the Martyrs of the numbers (i.e., buried in Israeli cemeteries for terrorists and enemy soldiers) whose bodies the Israeli occupation still holds. We request that Allah have mercy on all of their souls and we stand in honor and admiration before their sacrifice.' Sbeihat said: 'The ceremony is a small part of our obligation to the Martyrs, their families, and those died in defense of the land of Palestine. They deserve that we mark every memorial day, as their pure blood and souls have given us the ability to be united.' He noted that 226 Martyrs joined the processions of Martyrs in 2015, and 272 in 2017 (sic., 2016), as part of the ongoing Jerusalem uprising. Sbeihat also praised the president and his government for standing by the Martyrs' families. During the ceremony they honored... Martyr Yasser Dhiab Hamdouni (i.e., terrorist, murdered 1) from Jenin, [former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Haj] Amin Al-Husseini, and the Martyrs of the Arab and Egyptian armies." [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 10, 2017] Caption on picture (right) appearing in the article: "Hamdallah... during the honoring of the mother of one of the Martyrs on Palestinian Martyrs' Day" Caption on picture (right) appearing in the article: "Hamdallah... during the honoring of the mother of one of the Martyrs on Palestinian Martyrs' Day" Ahmad Musa Salameh was involved in Fatah's first terror attack on Jan. 1, 1965, which targeted Israel's National Water Carrier. Salameh was killed by Jordanian soldiers following the attack. Yasser Dhiab Hamdouni - was serving a life sentence for participating in the murder of Israeli citizen Avner Maimon in the Palestinian town of Ya'abad in the West Bank (June, 12, 2003). Hamdouni, a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades (Fatah’s military wing), died on Sept. 25, 2016, after collapsing while exercising in the Israeli Rimon Prison yard. Haj Amin Al-Husseini - Grand Mufti of Jerusalem at the time of the British mandate, and spiritual and a political leader of the local Arab population. He strongly opposed Zionism and was behind riots and attacks on Jews. During World War II he actively collaborated with Nazi Germany, meeting Adolf Hitler personally and recruiting Muslims for the Nazi army.



Official PA TV newsreader: "Under the auspices of [PA] Prime Minister Dr. Rami Hamdallah, the [PLO] National Association of the Martyrs' Families [of Palestine] held a Palestinian Martyrs' Day [event] in Gaza, during which it was demanded to follow the path of the Martyrs until the end of the occupation and the establishment of the Palestinian state."



Poster on stage with photos of terrorists: "Martyrs' Day = The end of the rift:" Yasser Arafat, Ahmed Yassin (Hamas), Abu Ali Mustafa (PFLP), Abu Jihad - Khalil Al-Wazir (Fatah)



Official PA TV reporter: "A ceremony was held In Gaza with a representative of [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas, and under the auspices of Prime Minister Dr. Rami Hamdallah."



TV caption: "Zakaria Al-Agha, representing President Mahmoud Abbas"



Abbas' representative, PLO Executive Committee member, Zakaria Al-Agha: "We must send our blessings to the souls of our Martyrs who followed the path of freedom and with their pure bodies created bridges upon which we cross toward free and independent Palestine, whose capital is Jerusalem... We remember these great leaders and repeat our promise to be loyal to their memory and the memory of all of the Martyrs of Palestine and the Martyrs of the Arab nation. We will continue to follow their path, the path of the struggle and the revolution..."



PA Minister of Labor Ma'moun Abu Shahla: "We bow our heads before the souls of these Martyrs who with their pure blood recorded magnificent pages in the history of the defense of our holy land."



[Official PA TV News, Jan. 8, 2017]

Ahmed Yassin - Founder and former head of the terrorist organization Hamas. The Hamas movement is responsible for numerous terror attacks and the deaths of hundreds of Israeli civilians.





Abu Jihad (Khalil Al-Wazir) was a founder of Fatah and deputy to Yasser Arafat. He headed the PLO terror organization's military wing and also planned many deadly Fatah terror attacks in the 1960's - 1980's. These attacks, which killed a total of 125 Israelis, included the most lethal in Israeli history - the hijacking of a bus and killing of 37 civilians, 12 of them children.





Abu Ali Mustafa - Secretary-General of the terror organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The PFLP, which rejected the Oslo Accords (1993), has planned and carried out numerous terror attacks against Israeli civilians since its founding in 1967 and throughout the Palestinian terror campaign between 2000-2005 (the Intifada).



