by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Following the terror attack last Friday in which two Israeli border policemen were murdered near the Temple Mount, Fatah rebroadcast the implicit call to violence by Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, aired originally in 2014 and translated by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW):
Abbas: “We must all carry out Ribat [religious conflict] in the Al-Aqsa Mosque… We have to prevent them, in any way whatsoever, from entering the Sanctuary… They have no right to enter it. They have no right to defile it. We must prevent them. Let us stand before them with chests bared to protect our holy places.”
[Official Fatah Facebook page, July 15, 2017, rebroadcast of Abbas’ speech on official PA TV, Oct. 17, 2014]
In his 2014 speech, which official PA TV broadcast 19 times in 3 days, Abbas called on Palestinian Authority citizens to defend Al-Aqsa “in any way whatsoever.” It marked the beginning of a month of terror attacks in Jerusalem in which 11 Israelis were murdered in car ramming and stabbing attacks.
Rebroadcasting Abbas’ speech, which in 2014 was followed by terror and violence, stands in stark contrast to his telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he “expressed his strong opposition to and his condemnations of the event that took place at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.” It also contradicts his statement that he “opposes any event of violence from any side, particularly at places of worship.” [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 15, 2017]
In the Arabic-language speech rebroadcast by Fatah, Abbas calls on Arabs to “prevent” Jews from “defiling” the Muslim and Christian holy places. Abbas used the same kind of hate speech to spark violence in September 2015, when he described Jews on the Temple Mount as “filth”:
“The Al-Aqsa [Mosque] is ours… and they have no right to defile it with their filthy feet. We will not allow them to, and we will do everything in our power to protect Jerusalem.” [Official PA TV, Sept. 16, 2015, and official website of PA leader Abbas, Sept. 16, 2015]
Abbas then also “bless[ed] every drop of blood that has been spilled for Jerusalem,” stating that “every Martyr will reach Paradise, and everyone wounded will be rewarded by Allah.”
In addition to rebroadcasting Abbas’ speech with the implicit call for violence, Fatah posted photos of the terrorist murderers, calling them “Martyrs,” and also called for Palestinian Authority “rage”:
Posted text: “The Al-Aqsa Mosque Martyrs (Shahids)”
[Official Fatah Facebook page, July 14, 2017]
Posted text:
“At the Al-Aqsa Mosque plazas
The doves fly
The dew falls
The laughter of the innocent birds has died
And the morning is silent while the voice of the Muezzin (i.e., the person who sings the Muslim call to prayer) calls out… [ellipsis in source]
The time of rage has come!”
[Official Fatah Facebook page, July 14, 2017, emphasis added]
In addition, in a statement that focused primarily on Fatah’s condemnation of Israel’s closure of the Temple Mount in response to Friday’s attack, Fatah presented Israel’s killing of the three terrorists after they had murdered the Israeli policemen as “murder in cold blood,” stressing that “Israel takes pleasure in murder for murder’s sake.” [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 15, 2017]
Also noteworthy is the PA and Fatah policy of repackaging every Palestinian Authority terror attack as if it is defensive; as if it is a justified response to some Israeli provocation: “The Israeli occupation and the systematic Israeli policy of oppressing the members of our Palestinian people, particularly in Jerusalem, preventing the free access of believers to the holy sites, and the repeating invasions of the Al-Aqsa Mosque plazas by settlers are the root of the problem.
“They are the beginning of the endless cycle of violence, and they are the factor that necessarily leads to Palestinians being murdered over and over in cold blood, with no consideration for the sanctity of the site and the sanctity of life, as Israel takes pleasure in murder for murder’s sake.” [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 15, 2017]
However, Fatah likewise called on Palestinian Authority Arabs not to “enter into confrontations” with Israel “that cost us much blood without a result that is worth the price that is being paid.” According to Palestinian Authority ideology and teachings, terror needs proper timing and therefore is permitted and should be used at the discretion of the leadership when the leadership feels it will lead to political gains. Here, Fatah explains that this terror attack was not “worth the price.”
“Our people must avoid being dragged into a place that is convenient for Israel while seeking the best ways to defend its land and its holy sites. Regardless of all that has happened, more is required of our people than just entering into confrontations with the occupation that cost us much blood without a result that is worth the price that is being paid.” [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 15, 2017]