Fatah TV host anticipates taking Israelis hostage to "release our captives"
Fatah TV host anticipates taking Israelis hostage
to "release our captives"
Fatah: "We draw inspiration from this anniversary"
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By Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Commemorating the anniversary of the capture of 8 Israeli soldiers and holding them hostage in Lebanon in 1982, until Israel released 5,900 Palestinian and Arab terrorists from Israeli prisons, a Fatah TV host expressed his wish for a similar "operation" to "release our captives" - i.e., terrorists and murderers sitting in Israeli prisons.Interviewing Fatah Deputy Chairman Mahmoud Al-Aloul about the taking of Israelis as hostages in the 1980s, Muwaffaq Matar, host at the Fatah-run Awdah TV, described the 8 Israeli captives as "the hens that would lay golden eggs," because they were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners.
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Fatah Deputy Chairman Mahmoud Al-Aloul: "They [Fatah fighters] shouted at them [Israeli soldiers] to lay down their weapons... There were six of them. The guys arranged them in one row, took their weapons from them, and ordered them to raise their hands... The two [additional Israeli] soldiers who were behind the hill advanced... laid their weapons on the ground, and raised their hands..."
Fatah-run Awdah TV host Muwaffaq Matar: "We had... 'the hens that would lay golden eggs'... the captives through whom, or through the exchange of whom, about 5,000 Palestinian prisoners were released... We think that this Palestinian wisdom... the Palestinian fighter will undoubtedly bring a new victory and a new quality operation one day. The conditions might have changed, and the means might change, but this hope and this promise will release our prisoners."
[Official Fatah Facebook page, Sept. 4, 2018]
Palestinian Media Watch has documented that Fatah routinely glorifies past terror attacks. This particular hostage-taking was also glorified last year by Fatah when it expressed pride in it, and the year before when it counted it among Fatah's "10 most outstanding operations."The Head of the Information Office of Fatah's Mobilization and Organization Commission, Munir Al-Jaghoub, also found the hostage-taking worth remembering, and posted a photo of Arafat admiring a captured Israeli weapon, and another of the Israeli captives.
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The Fatah official posted the following text, expressing "optimism" for the future. He stressed that Fatah "draws inspiration" from the hostage-taking and its results:
Posted text: "Today, Sept. 4 [2018], is the anniversary of the capture of the eight Israeli soldiers in Lebanon (in 1982, see note below -Ed.)
This is an anniversary for the fighting willpower, the victory, and the standing against the army of the occupiers and their arsenal: Four young Fatah members captured eight Israeli soldiers. The occupation soldiers were superior in number and equipment over the four self-sacrificing fighters (Fedayeen), but the willpower brought victory to the sons of Fatah.
What we need today is the optimism that our enemies' power is feeble, and that we have enough bodies of power to be optimistic about the future, despite the attempts to spread despair in our ranks.
A small layer of people who believe in Palestine and in the realization of our people's goals can defeat a seemingly large layer of people.
Today at this time, we draw inspiration from this anniversary as provisions for our journey toward the victory that will undoubtedly come
Munir Al-Jaghoub
Head of the Information Office
Fatah Movement Mobilization and Organization Commission"
[Official Fatah Facebook page, Sept. 4, 2018]
Another Fatah Facebook post called the hostage-taking "one of the most important operations":Posted text: "This day, on Sept. 4, 1982, at 11:00 a.m., the Fatah Movement carried out one of its most important operations in the Bhamadoun area in southern Lebanon and captured eight [Israeli] soldiers and exchanged them for Palestinian and Arab prisoners. Two of them [the Israeli soldiers] were given to the Popular Front [for the Liberation of Palestine] - General Command (PFLP-GC). The results were as follows:
1. The release of 4,700 prisoners (i.e., terrorists) from the Ansar [detention] camp, Nabatieh, and Sidon [in Lebanon].
2. The release of 100 (sic., 65) prisoners from the prisons in the 1948 territories (i.e., Israel).
3. The return of the Palestinian Research Center archive."
[Official Fatah Facebook page, Sept. 4, 2018]
The following is a longer excerpt of the interview on Fatah-run Awdah TV:Fatah Deputy Chairman and Fatah Central Committee member Mahmoud Al-Aloul: "Issa (i.e., terrorist who participated in hostage-taking of Israeli soldiers) reached one of the [Israeli] soldiers, the one who was preparing tea for them. He grabbed him by the neck and placed his weapon against his chest. Issa, who had studied in Algeria, knew French well [and] said to him: 'Give them an order' or 'Tell them to lay down their weapons.' At this time the other three had already gathered around the spot. Among them was Abu Ahmed who also knew Hebrew. They shouted at them to lay down their weapons. We were lucky that the one who was preparing the tea was the commander of the [Israeli] ambush operation (sic., it was an observation outpost), the one who gives the others orders. He gave them an order to lay down their weapons and they all laid down their weapons. There were six of them. The guys arranged them in one row, took their weapons from them, and ordered them to raise their hands. At this time, the guys thought that the Israeli soldiers were just six. Behind the hill there were two additional Israeli soldiers with their weapons in their hands. Our guys didn't see them. Had they fired, they would have wiped out our guys. However the Israeli soldiers and the Israeli army are a totally cowardly army. It fights mainly with technology and advanced weapons. The soldiers who were behind the hill advanced while carrying their weapons, stood next to their comrades, laid their weapons on the ground, and raised their hands-"
Fatah-run Awdah TV host, Fatah Revolutionary Council member, and regular columnist for the official PA daily Muwaffaq Matar: "Spontaneously."
Mahmoud Al-Aloul: "-and with this the number of soldiers became eight."
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Muwaffaq Matar: "The conflict hadn't ended, and we had what brother Abu Jihad [Mahmoud Al-Aloul] called 'the hens that would lay golden eggs' or that had laid golden eggs - in the sense that the captives [were the ones] through whom, or through the exchange of whom, 5,000 Palestinian captives (i.e., terrorist prisoners) were released, and also the library of the Palestinian Research Center [was returned]. We think that this Palestinian wisdom, this Palestinian will, this cultural aspect, and this understanding of the Palestinian fighter will undoubtedly bring a new victory and a new quality operation one day. The conditions might have changed, and the means might change, but this hope and this promise will release our prisoners one day, and return them to their villages, their cities, their homes, and their families. This time they will not fly to Arab states, but rather return to the heart of the homeland."
[Official Fatah Facebook page, Sept. 4, 2018]
The capture of 8 Israeli soldiers in Lebanon - On Sept. 4, 1982, 8 Israeli soldiers were captured by Fatah terrorists in Bhamadoun, Lebanon. Two of them were handed to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and 6 were held by Fatah. Fatah released the 6 soldiers on Nov. 23, 1983 as part of an exchange deal in which Israel released 4,700 terrorists that were held in Lebanon and 65 terrorists held in Israel. The two handed over to the PFLP were released on May 21, 1985, as part of an exchange deal in which Israel released 1,150 terrorist prisoners.The host of this TV program, Muwaffaq Matar, is also a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council and a regular columnist for the official PA daily