The Palestinian Authority continues to speak about terror with two voices. In English, it publicly condemns terrorists when attacks are committed, but its pronouncements in Arabic turn terrorists into heroes and role models for PA society. In PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s Arabic-language condemnation of Monday’s deadly suicide attack in Netanya, his reason for this condemnation is significant: “President Abu Mazen stresses his sharp condemnation of this act of terror… Today’s terror attack against civilians causes great damage to our commitment to the peace process,” he said, adding that those responsible would be arrested. [PA Web site, December 5, 2005] On the surface, that Abbas condemned the terrorist attack might be welcomed by Western observers. But it must be noted that PA political leaders have always been careful to specify that they’re not condemning terrorism because it’s wrong, but rather because it hurts Palestinian interests. In this case, Abbas’s denunciation of the attack refers to the damage it caused the PA, not to the terror victims and their families. But even beyond this particular pattern of cleverly-worded condemnations, the policy within PA society continues to honor and glorify terrorists and turn them into role models. The case of the veneration of Fatah terrorist Al-Moayed Bihokmillah Al-Agha is a good example. When the PA opened the Rafah Crossing (between Gaza and Egypt) last week, many in the West saw it as a concrete step towards Palestinian statehood. For the PA, however, it was another opportunity to turn a murderer into a hero. Al-Agha was killed when carrying out an attack at the Rafah crossing, in which five Israelis were killed, in December 2004. The PA’s ruling party Fatah features Al-Agha in a clip that glorifies violence and terror, and still shows the murderous attacks on its Fatah Falcons website a year after the attack. The American news network CNN’s coverage of the crossing’s reopening last month showed footage of a giant sign erected over the site, which declares the crossing’s name to be in honor of the Shahid (martyr) Al-Agha, and refers to his murderous attack with the thrilling name, “Volcanoes of Rage.”

That the PA allowed such a sign to be erected at the site is a powerful message to Palestinians, emphasizing once again that terrorists are heroes. [CNN, November 25, 2005] On the sign is the emblem of the Fatah Falcons, a terrorist sub-group of the ruling party of the PA. Also on the sign are the words: Fatah Falcons The Crossing of the Falcon Shahid Al-Moayed Bihokmillah Al-Agha, Executor of Operation Volcanoes of Rage Rafah Crossing 2004/12/12 The symbol, as well as an identical picture of Al-Agha, are more clearly seen on the following image, currently on the Fatah Falcons’ website. [Fatah Falcons Website, November 28, 2005] Important Symbolism The Fatah Falcons symbol is similar to many symbols found in the Palestinian Authority, including the official symbol of Fatah. It includes: 1 - a map of the entire land of Israel; 2 - a silhouette of weaponry; 3 - an image of Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock. Combined, these three symbols are clear in their message: The ultimate goal is the destruction of Israel through violence. The Dome of the Rock adds a potent Islamic symbolism. This message has remained essentially unchanged since the formation of the PLO in 1965. Honoring terrorism This approach to creating terrorist heroes by naming infrastructures for them has long been a Palestinian Authority practice. Examples include: Summer camps sponsored by the PA Ministry of Youth and Sport named for suicide terrorists; A soccer tournament named for the suicide terrorist who killed 31 at a Passover celebration at the Park Hotel in Netanya; A girls’ school near Hebron named by the PA Ministry of Education for a woman terrorist who murdered 37 and A poetry collection by the PA Ministry of Culture named in honor of the suicide terrorist who killed 21 at a restaurant in Haifa. As long as the PA features exciting, terror-promoting videos on its websites, and names streets, schools, summer camps and tournaments after terrorists, its isolated condemnations of terror attacks - worded to placate Western leaders - will be long forgotten by Palestinians, while the infrastructures of hate and terror will last and reverberate. This leaves lasting impressions on PA youth and creates a new generation of PA terrorists waiting for another target. Please feel free to forward this bulletin, crediting Palestinian Media Watch

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 7th, 2005 and is filed under news. You can leave a response.