The Palestinian Authority (PA) has named a square in the Arab village of Abuyon, near Ramallah, after the terrorist Omar Abu Laila who murdered IDF soldier Staff Sgt. Gal Keidan and Rabbi Achiad Ettinger in Samaria earlier this month.
Similarly, an Arab baby was named after the terrorist, and his birth certificate is proudly being shared on social media.
Abu Laila carried a double terror attack in Samaria during which he stabbed and killed 19-year-old IDF soldier Staff Sgt. Gal Keidan at the Ariel Junction, stole his weapon and fired at civilians, during which he critically wounded Rabbi Ettinger, 47 and the father of 12. He then got into a car he high jacked, drove to the Gitai Avishar Junction, and fired at Israelis at a bus station, during which he severely wounded another IDF soldier. Ettinger died of his wounds the next day, and Abu Laila was killed by Israeli Special Forces after a 60-hour manhunt.
A security source told TPS that this phenomenon of glorifying terror and terrorists is a very broad phenomenon that characterizes Palestinian society.
This social norm also explains why the PA cannot, under any circumstance, stop paying salaries and transferring funds to the families of the dead, wounded and incarcerated terrorists.
Most recently, PA head Mahmoud Abbas pledged that even if the PA budget stood at one dollar, that sum would be paid to the families of the terrorists.
Glorifying terror and turning its perpetrators into heroes and role models means legitimizing acts of terrorism against Israel, the security source explained.
The legacy of Palestinian terrorism is deeply embedded in Palestinian society and politics through the education system, the media, and social discourse.
In line with this policy, the PA has named some 30 schools after terrorists and at least three schools after Nazi collaborators.