Fatah praises shooting of pregnant woman and 7 others: “Praise to the one whose rifle only speaks against his enemy!”
By Itamar Marcus and Maurice Hirsch, Adv., Palestinian Media Watch
In three posts on its official Facebook page, Fatah – headed by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas – hurried to endorse and praise the terrorist and his shooting attack carried out in Jerusalem on August 13, 2022. But more than that, Fatah also encouraged additional attacks, urging Palestinians to “save your bullets and use them against the occupation (i.e., Israel).”
Terrorist Amir Sidawi, who later turned himself in to Israeli Police, wounded 8 people including a 35-year-old pregnant woman who was seriously injured. She underwent an emergency C-section delivery, and both she and the baby are in critical condition at the time of writing.
US Ambassador Tom Nides tweeted that he was “deeply saddened to confirm that Americans were injured” in the attack.
However, Amb. Nides has not condemned Fatah’s praising of the terror attack that injured the Americans, which would be expected since the US supports and is in close contact with Fatah and PA leader Mahmoud Abbas. Indeed, the US funds Fatah that celebrated the injuring of the Americans via the US’ funding of the PA. The US silence regarding Fatah’s terror support can only encourage Fatah to continue supporting and encouraging terror.
The following are the texts of Fatah’s terror glorifying posts on Facebook:
Posted text: “Praise to the one whose rifle only speaks against his enemy.
Long live our people’s unity and long live the free hero.
Posted text: “Praise to the rifle muzzles, our people will fight the occupation with all kinds of resistance.
Posted text: “Save your bullets and use them against the occupation, only the occupation!!
[Official Fatah Facebook page, Aug. 14, 2022]
These posts are in violation of the Israeli anti-terror law and it’s time that the Fatah leaders responsible as well as the Facebook officials based in Israel are investigated by police for terror promotion. Following a complaint by Palestinian Media Watch, the Israeli Police opened a criminal investigation against Facebook Israel for terror incitement but as yet no results have been published. PMW will be sending additional complaints to the police.
Several other terror organizations also expressed praise and support for the shooting attack. Hamas called it “heroic and brave,” the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) “praised the operation and said that it ‘proves anew that our people’s resistance is continuing in all forms and throughout the occupied Palestinian land,’ while the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) emphasized that the popular resistance in all its forms continues” and that “the occupation will not be able to extinguish its fire.” [Ma’an, independent Palestinian news agency, Aug. 14, 2022]
The terror supporting Fatah is the dominant member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The PFLP and the DFLP are also PLO members. While these groups praise and glorify terror attacks, including those in which US citizens are injured, PA leader Mahmoud Abbas is petitioning US President Biden to cancel the US designation of the PLO as a terror organization. Instead of demanding that the US whitewash terror, the US administration should make it clear that before it will even consider Abbas’s request, the PLO and all its members must desist from their involvement in terror, desist from the terror promotion and desist from terror glorification.
The terms “peaceful uprising/resistance,” and “popular uprising/resistance” are used by PA leaders at times to refer to peaceful protest and at times to refer to deadly terror attacks and terror waves. For example, Mahmoud Abbas defined as “peaceful popular” the murderous terror during the 2015-2016 terror wave (“The Knife Intifada”), in which 40 people were killed (36 Israelis, 1 Palestinian, 2 Americans and 1 Eritrean) and hundreds wounded in stabbings, shootings, and car ramming attacks. Abbas said: “We want peaceful popular uprising, and that’s what this is.” At the time Abbas said this, 14 Israelis had already been murdered.
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