Religious War
"Our war with the descendants of the apes and pigs (i.e., Jews) is a war of religion and faith. Long Live Fatah!”
[PA TV (Fatah), Jan. 9, 2012]
 
This statement was made by the moderator at a Fatah event, and it highlights a dangerous trend by the PA and Fatah to define the conflict with Israel as an uncompromising religious war, mandated by Islam.

Indeed, Palestinian society has undergone a major shift towards fundamental Islam. In 2010, more than 98% of Palestinians surveyed said that religion plays an important role in their lives, while less than 1% considered religion not important.” [Ramallah Center for Human Rights Studies (RCHRS)]. 80% of Palestinians approved of hand amputations for theft, in a 2003 poll, while 50% thought this form of punishment should be implemented immediately, and 30% conditioned it on improved judicial conditions. [Bir Zeit Univ. Development Studies Program, Poll No.14, 2003]

An integral part of this Palestinian Islamization is the teaching that Islam is at war with Jews and Israel. Jews are said to be the enemy of Allah, and PA (Fatah) and Hamas religious and academic leaders alike have reiterated on numerous occasions, including as recently as January 2012 by the PA Mufti, the Islamic teaching that the Hour of Resurrection is dependent on the extermination of Jews:
 
PA Mufti Muhammad Hussein: “Palestine in its entirety is a revolution… continuing today, and until the End of Days. The reliable Hadith… says:
"The Hour [of Resurrection] will not come until you fight the Jews. The Jew will hide behind stones or trees. Then the stones or trees will call: 'Oh Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.'”
[PA TV (Fatah), Jan. 9, 2012]

Thus, the murder of Jews becomes a prerequisite for and fulfillment of the Islamic ideal. In a 2011 poll, (by Israel Project) 73% of Palestinians said they “believe” the Islamic Hadith that preaches it is Islamic destiny to kill Jews wherever they are.

Similarly, the conflict with Israel is presented as a Ribat, an uncompromising Islamic obligation to defend or liberate Islamic holy land. Israel is said to exist on Islamic holy land that must be liberated for Allah.

One result of the PA Islamic teachings is the strong support for suicide terror in defense of Islam. The Washington-based PEW organization found that 68% of Palestinians “often” (31%) or “sometimes” (37%) justify suicide terror against civilians “to defend Islam.” This 68% of Palestinians justifying suicide terror to defend their religion is twice as much support as in any other Muslim country polled, with the nearest being Lebanon, where only 35% in total supported suicide terror in defense of Islam. [http://pewglobal.org]
Conflict with Israel defined as religious
The PA leadership (Fatah), like Hamas, teach that fighting Israel is not merely a territorial conflict, but also a religious battle for Islam. The PA schoolbooks produced by Fatah educators define the
conflict with Israel as "Ribat for Allah" – "one of the actions related to Jihad for Allah, and it means: Being found in areas where there is a struggle between Muslims and their enemies." [Islamic Education, grade 12, p. 86]. Israel is stigmatized as “an enemy” existing on Islamic land, and fighting Israel is transformed from an Arab nationalistic goal into an uncompromising religious war. Moreover, Palestinian youth are taught that their specific conflict with Israel is "one of the greatest of the Ribat, and they [Palestinians] are worthy of a great reward from Allah" [Ibid, pp.86- 87].

This video shows a PA member of parliament from the Fatah party, describing the war with Israel as continuous: “We Palestinians were created on this land in order to liberate it. We are on the land of Ribat and must remain [on it] Ribat until Resurrection.”