“The bride price of Palestine is my death as a Martyr” reads gravestone of Palestinian prisoner and Fatah member
Image and text posted on the Facebook page of the Fatah Commission of Information and Culture
Posted text: “With great honor, pride, and admiration, the Fatah Movement Commission of Information and Culture accompanies to [his] wedding (i.e., Martyr's funeral is considered wedding to the 72 Virgins in Paradise in Islam) its heroic Martyr, released prisoner and one of the prominent leaders of the [Fatah] Shabiba Student [Movement] in the homeland Fadi Washaha, who died today [June 2, 2021] of wounds he received during the battle to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
The image shows a gravestone in the shape of the PA map of “Palestine” that presents all of Israel together with the PA areas as “Palestine.” On the gravestone is the logo of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Fatah’s military wing, featuring crossed assault rifles over the Dome of the Rock and Palestinian flags.
Text on gravestone: “The bride price of [Palestine] is my death as a Martyr.”
The word “Martyr” in the posted text has a space in the middle of it, in an apparent attempt to evade Facebook’s algorithm -Ed.
PMW was unable to determine for which crimes Fadi Washaha had been imprisoned.
“The battle to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque” refers to violent Israeli Arab riots in Jerusalem.
Fatah/Hamas Riot and Rocket War 2021 – On April 30, 2021, facing certain electoral defeat, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas cancelled the first PA elections scheduled in 15 years. Hamas, which expected to win the elections, denounced it as a “coup.” In need of a conflict to divert public discontent, Abbas artificially generated a crisis over Jerusalem. His Fatah party called for "raising the level of confrontation,” and Abbas' spokesman told Palestinians "the battle of all battles is here.” Jerusalem Arabs responded by attacking Jews with rocks and Molotov cocktails. Hamas, Abbas' political rival, could not allow Abbas to lead the battle, so on May 10, 2021, Hamas launched rocket barrages targeting Israeli population centers including Jerusalem. Over the next 11 days, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired over 4,300 rockets into southern and central Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing 9 Israelis and 3 foreign nationals, and wounding hundreds. In response, Israel launched Operation Guardian of the Walls to target Hamas terror leaders and terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. Already in mid-April, a planned eviction of some Palestinian families illegally living in Jewish-owned buildings in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem had led to clashes between Palestinian residents and Israeli police. This dispute provided Palestinians with a pretext for violent rioting. Adding to the crisis, Israeli Arabs started rioting throughout Israel, especially in cities with a mixed Jewish and Arab population. Two Jews were murdered and many were wounded. According to Walla, an independent Israeli news site, 10 synagogues were wholly or partly burned down; fires were set in 112 Jewish homes and 1 Arab home mistaken for a Jewish home; 386 Jewish homes were plundered and 673 were damaged; 849 cars were set ablaze; and there were 5,018 rock-throwing attacks. In response, Jews started attacking Arabs and their properties as well, but on a much smaller scale. No mosques were burned; 13 Arab homes were damaged; 13 Arab-owned cars were burned; and there were 41 rock-throwing attacks by Jews. [Walla, May 16, 2021] The fighting between Israel and Hamas ended with a ceasefire on May 21, 2021.