Palestinian Authority leaders continue their tradition of pretending to be peace-seekers while inciting and rewarding terror.
By Palestinian Media Watch
The modus operandi of the Palestinian Authority (PA) is to pretend to be peace-seekers when meeting foreign audiences, while lauding terrorists and “Martyrs” who died murdering Israelis when facing the Palestinian home audience.
The technique is fundamental to the PA leadership’s diplomacy. When PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas recently met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, he claimed the PA is “spreading the culture of peace,” the official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida reported.
“The president emphasized [to Merkel] that we will continue to act to build our national institutions according to the rule of law, and also … battle terror in our region and the world, regardless of its source. He condemned the use of violence against civilians and emphasized that all of the monotheistic religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – must be honored equally, and all forms of racism and discrimination must be rejected,” continued the Al-Hayat Al-Jadida report.
Were this statement true, Abbas would actively be speaking out against Palestinian terror attacks against Israeli civilians. But to the contrary, Abbas encourages terror and promises terrorists that “Martyrs” will “reach Paradise” and that the wounded will be “rewarded by Allah.”
Abbas Lauds Terrorists and ‘Martyrs’
Abbas lauds and praises those who follow this call to violence, and emphasizes that they are “stars in the sky,” “the most sacred,” and “sanctified.”
On his party’s Facebook page, Abbas declared, “We will not agree that they [Israel] consider our Martyrs terrorists – our Martyrs, the homeland’s Martyrs! And we will not agree that they deduct one penny from their money. All of their money will return to them – because for us the Martyrs, the wounded, and the prisoners are the most sanctified.”
Abbas has also been quoted as saying, “We bless every drop of blood that has been spilled for Jerusalem, which is clean and pure blood, blood spilled for Allah, Allah willing. Every Martyr will reach Paradise, and everyone wounded will be rewarded by Allah.”
Abbas added, “We view the Martyrs and prisoners as stars in the sky of the Palestinian people and the sky of the Palestinian people’s struggle, and they have priority in everything.”
Two Different Messages
The PA-controlled media likewise spreads false statements about Abbas seeking and spreading peace. In an op-ed in the official PA daily, regular columnist and Fatah Revolutionary Council member Muwaffaq Matar lauded Abbas as “the president of peace.”
Palestinian Media Watch has exposed the hypocrisy and duplicity of PA officials and documented that they say one thing to foreign audiences and another to Palestinians. For example, Abbas assured American students that the PA seeks peace and will only “choose the path of negotiations.” But one day earlier, his deputy in Fatah, Mahmoud Al-Aloul, told Palestinians that “we are extremely proud” of Omar Abu Laila, a terrorist who had just murdered two Israelis.
Similarly, Abbas’ advisor Mahmoud Al-Habbash assured the President of Israel, Reuven Rivlin, that he is for “eradication of religious hatred.” Yet, PMW has exposed that he preaches religious hatred of Jews to Palestinians, claiming that Jews represent “evil,” “falsehood,” and “the devils,” and that Israel is “Satan’s project.”