by MEMRI
Alongside statements by PA President Mahmoud 'Abbas expressing a desire to avoid escalation and continue the security coordination with Israel, the Palestinian media has been publishing statements by PA officials, especially Fatah officials, as well as op-eds, that advocate continuing the violence.
Fatah seems to be speaking in two voices regarding the violent events of the last few days, which have been described variously as "an intifada," a "popular awakening," the "Al-Aqsa Rage" events, etc. Alongside statements by PA President Mahmoud 'Abbas expressing a desire to avoid escalation and continue the security coordination with Israel, the Palestinian media has been publishing statements by PA officials, especially Fatah officials, as well as op-eds, that advocate continuing the violence. Some described the stabbings as acts of self-defense and others called to maintain a high level of tension and conflict. In some cases, PA spokesmen even chose to deny that violent attacks have taken place, claiming that Israel was falsely accusing Palestinians of terrorism in order to justify their killing. For example, commenting on the attempted car bomb attack at the Al-Za'im checkpoint on October 11, Palestinian Authority (PA) security services spokesman 'Adnan Al-Damiri said that the vehicle had caught fire due to an electric malfunction. The PA daily Al-Ayyam claimed that "Israel concocted a false and deceptive story about an alleged [attempted] bombing, as it has done on numerous occasions in the past."[1] Following the death of Mustafa Al-Khatib, who was killed on October 12 as he attempted to knife a soldier in Jerusalem, the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida stated that "the occupation forces usually accuse Palestinians of attempted knifings in order to justify shooting at them and killing them."[2]
Additionally, a delegation of Fatah officials, including figures close to Palestinian President Mahmoud 'Abbas, paid a condolence visit to the family of a terrorist who was killed after he murdered two Israelis in Jerusalem's Old City. An investigative article in the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida reviewed reactions by Palestinians on social media who expressed joy at the killing of Jews.
The following are excerpts from statements and articles reflecting this dual stance adopted by Fatah.
Al-Ayyam Headline:
"Al-Za'im Checkpoint: Electric Short Circuit in Vehicle of
[Palestinian] Resident Caused Occupation to Injure Her on Pretext of
'Suicide Bombing'"Fatah Official: "We Are Defending Ourselves... Some Of Us Use Stones And Others Knives"
Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki told the
Turkish news agency Anadolu: "Armed struggle against the occupation is a
legitimate right that we will not relinquish, but this [activity]
requires unity among all the Palestinian factions and establishing a
central war room and formulating plans so that the armed struggle exacts
a steep price from the enemy while [also] benefiting the Palestinian
people. We reserve the right to [engage in] armed struggle, which is an
option we will not give up, but we must consider how and when to carry
it out, and whether the climate is right to use it to our benefit. At
present we support [waging] a popular intifada that will confound the
enemy and paralyze his security and economy, and prompt the world to
address the question of how to end the world's last remaining
occupation.
"Deciding on an armed struggle now will [only]
serve the enemy, who has the military power to kill [us] on a daily
basis. Today we are defending ourselves, and we will continue to do so.
We do not want escalation, but the enemy is attacking and destroying our
cities and villages. [The means] of self-defense differ from one
Palestinian to the other, some of us use stones and others knives. [But]
there is no atmosphere of a new intifada, because there is no
Palestinian unity. We are now preparing to organize [the forces] on the
ground. At present, the young people are acting without planning,
motivated [only] by their conscience and the oppression they live
under."[3]
Muhammad Dahlan, a Palestinian Legislative Council
member from Fatah, who is a rival of Palestinian President Mahmoud
'Abbas, wrote on his Facebook page: "Resistance to the occupation is a
national and moral obligation and a right sanctified and guaranteed by
human and divine laws. The current national activity is a severe blow to
everyone who banned resistance to Israeli occupation or termed it a
crime. The activity [as a whole] and the individual actions
constitute...a firm message to the occupier and the international
community that the forms of resistance have changed and that, though the
waves [of resistance] may wax and wane, [the resistance itself] will
never die or cease as long as an occupation exists... There is an urgent
need to take measures and make decisions on two levels. [First,] there
is the pressing and immediate level, which is mainly declaring a clear
preference for national action and meeting all the needs in order to
continue it and defend it... At the same time, [we must] call for
serious national meetings with a clear and defined agenda instead of
exchanging blows in the media and political arena...[4]
Fatah Delegation Pays Condolence Visit To Family Of Terrorist Who Knifed Two Israelis
A delegation of Fatah officials paid a condolence
visit to the family of Muhannad Al-Halabi, who stabbed two Jews to death
on October 4, 2015. The delegation included Fatah Central Committee
members 'Azzam Al-Ahmad, a senior PA official close to PA President
'Abbas, as well as Nabil Sha'ath, Mahmoud Al-'Aloul and Jamal Al-Muhsin;
Fatah spokesman Ahmad 'Assaf; Fatah's secretary in Ramallah Muwaffaq
Sahwil; assistance commissioner of recruitment 'Abd Al-Mun'im Wahdan;
Hassan Faraj, secretary-general of Fatah's Shabiba youth movement;
Mustafa 'Abd Al-Hadi, member of Fatah's leadership in Ramallah and
Al-Bira, and others. During the visit, 'Azzam Al-Ahmad said on behalf of
the Fatah: "The Palestinian people will continue to defend itself
against aggression and it is very determined to struggle, no matter what
the cost, until the occupation ends."[5]
The Palestinian Bar Association, whose heads are
Fatah members and which receives funds from the E.U., announced it would
award an honorary law degree to "the martyred hero Muhannad Al-Halabi,"
who had been studying law.[6] The association also decided to hold its next conference in honor of Al-Halabi.
Muhannad Al-Halabi (image: Amad.ps, October 10, 2015)
Facebook Page Of Fatah Information Body Calls To Use Poison-Filled Syringes Instead of Knives
In an October 8 post, the Facebook page of the
"Fatah Movement Information and Ideological Recruitment Commission"
advocated the use of syringes filled with sulphuric acid or some other
poisonous substance. It said: "Please circulate this post so it will
reach the residents of Jerusalem, since this is a more efficient and
lethal [method] than using a knife. Considering that metal detectors
have been installed at the entrances to occupied Jerusalem in order to
prevent the use of knives in stabbing operations, [note that] there is a
newer and simpler method: using syringes filled with sulphuric acid for
example, or else gas or any other poisonous substance."[7]
The same day, this Facebook page also posted an
obituary notice for Amjad Hatem Mahmoud Al-Jundi, who carried out the
October 7, 2015 stabbing attack in the city of Kiryat Gat. The notice,
issued by the Fatah movement in Yatta and its environs that includes
pictures of 'Abbas and Yasser 'Arafat as well as the official Fatah
logo, reads:"The National Palestinian Liberation Movement Fatah in Yatta
and its environs, including all its districts and organizational
branches, as well as the movement offices and the office of the student
youth movement, all proudly congratulate the heroic martyr Amjad Hatem
Mahmoud Al-Jundi (Al-Hushiya), who on October 7, 2015 executed a heroic
stabbing operation within the Palestinian territories of [19]48 in
defense of the Al-Aqsa mosque. Glory and eternal life to our loyal
martyrs."[8]
Obituary notice for Amjad Hatem Mahmoud Al-Jundi
Another Fatah-affiliated Facebook page, called
"Fatah – Al-'Asifa Forces," posted an obituary of "the heroic martyr of
Jerusalem, Fadi 'Aloun," who committed an attack on security forces on
Jerusalem's Haneviim Street. Like the obituary notice for Al-Jundi, this
notice too bore the portraits of Yasser 'Arafat and Mahmoud 'Abbas, and
the Fatah symbol.[9]
Obituary for Fadi Aloun
Activists On Social Media Rejoice: "25 Bullets Killed The Zionist Woman Who Cursed The Messenger Of Allah"
The PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida published an
investigative report by Amal Dweikat titled "Facebook Support for
Attacking Settlers," which stated that Palestinian activists on Facebook
and Twitter had responded with joy to the attack on two settlers near
Itamar, which they termed "heroic", and especially to the photos of the
man and woman who were killed.[10] The
article mentions that one these activists invited readers to watch a
video titled "25 Bullets Killed the Zionist Woman Who Cursed the Prophet
Muhammad in Al-Aqsa Mosque." The activists also associated the attack
with the burning of the Dawabshe family. Some of the activists posted
inciting songs encouraging the escalation of violence, such as "No Force
in the World Will Take Away My Weapon."[11]
Post on social media: "Video: 25 bullets killed the Zionist woman who had cursed the Prophet Muhammad in Al-Aqsa mosque"
Columnists In PA Dailies Call For Continuing "Awakening", Clashes
Columnists in PA dailies praised the "awakening"
events and some called to continue them and to maintain the state of
unrest. Yahya Rabbah, the PLO's former ambassador to Yemen and a
columnist for Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, wrote: "Thank you, O
Palestinian people, yours is the glory and the victory. The
comprehensive popular awakening has spread from the northernmost point
in the West Bank to its southernmost point, reaching Jerusalem and
Al-Aqsa. It has also dawned in Gaza and inside the Green Line, as well
as in the Palestinian diaspora, both near and far. With this ongoing
awakening, the great Palestinian people has managed to deliver a new
blow to the settlements."[12]
Another Al-Ayyam columnist, Rima Nazzal, wrote: "We must allow events to continue, develop and build up [while] rallying the masses around them and providing the conditions for their continuation. This will be guaranteed if [we] announce the failure of the negotiations and the collapse of the Oslo [Accords] and if a new struggle strategy is formulated, based upon action and providing all sectors the chance to participate and persevere in the popular resistance strategy without giving it names or laying down its frameworks [in advance]."[14]
Endnotes:
[1] Al-Ayyam (PA), October 11, 2015.
[2] Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (PA), October 12, 2015.
[3] Amad.ps, October 9, 2015.
[4] Facebook.com/mohammad.dahlan2, October 10, 2015.
[5] Amad.ps, October 10, 2015.
[6] Palestinebar.ps, October 10, 2015.
[7] Facebook.com/fathPsc, October 8, 2015.
[8] Facebook.com/fathPsc, October 8, 2015.
[9] Facebook.com/fateh.palestine.1965, October 4, 2015.
[10] Eitam
and Naama Henkin were shot from a passing vehicle on October 1, 2015
while driving on a road near Itamar with their four children.
[11] Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (PA), October 2, 2015.
[12] Al-Hayat Al-Jadida.ps, October 10, 2015.
[13] Al-Ayyam (PA) October 11, 2015.
[14] Al-Ayyam (PA) October 11, 2015.
MEMRI
Source: http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/8794.htm
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