Facebook shuts down Fatah's terror promoting page
Facebook shuts down Fatah's terror promoting page
Page glorifies terrorist murderers,
promotes and endorses violence
- In 2016 alone, PMW reported on over 130 Fatah posts glorifying terror and murder
- Recent posts in 2017:
- glorified arch-terrorist Abu Jihad who planned attacks that killed 125
- promoted dying for “Palestine”:
“The path to victory and to the certain return will be paved with our skulls”
- endorsed violence:
“I will live as a self-sacrificing fighter until [Palestine] returns”
Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Fatah has pleaded innocence, claiming that Facebook unjustifiably shut down its page due to a “historical picture” of Yasser Arafat holding a weapon and Mahmoud Al-Aloul, now Deputy Chairman of Fatah and member of the Fatah Central Committee.
However, the obvious reason is that Fatah’s endless stream of posts glorifying violence, terror, and murder of Israelis caused the shutdown. In 2016 alone, Palestinian Media Watch documented over 130 posts glorifying individual terrorist murderers and terror attacks, and posts encouraging violence and terror.
Recent posts from 2017 endorsing terror and violence have included posts honoring arch-terrorist Abu Jihad, who the Palestinian Authority has credited with organizing attacks in which 125 people were murdered. One post praised Abu Jihad as “the Prince” and a “roaring lion,” another promoted dying for “Palestine”:
Posted text: “Martyr (Shahid) leader Khalil Al-Wazir Abu Jihad (i.e., former head of the PLO terror organization’s military wing) - a leader whose greatness was as the greatness of the homeland”
Text on image: “He is Al-Wazir, he is the Prince, he is the roaring lion, the first bullet and the first stone. He is Abu Jihad”
[Official Fatah Facebook page, Feb. 20, 2017]
Posted text: “Our heads will remain in the heavens, while our legs are planted on the ground of our homeland. The path to victory and to the certain return will be paved with our skulls. The compass will never err in the path, and will continue to point towards Palestine”[Official Fatah Facebook page, Feb. 20, 2017]
Another post explicitly promoted the use of arms, posting the picture seen at the top that shows an AK-47 assault rifle on top of the Fatah logo:
Posted text: “The idea did not die with the deaths of its creators, but rather is igniting, rising, and growing in strength and intensity. Whoever thinks that it can be extinguished and die is mistaken, as this is an idea that is not prepared to do anything but spread.”
[Official Fatah Facebook page, Feb. 19, 2017]
Another post included the photo seen at the top showing a masked man holding an assault rifle, and behind him the PA map of “Palestine” that presents all of Israel as “Palestine” together with the PA areas. Posted text and text on the image stated:
“I will live as a self-sacrificing fighter (Fida’i) until [Palestine] returns”
[Official Fatah Facebook page, Feb. 21, 2017]
Fatah also used its Facebook page to present its recent choice of Mahmoud Al-Aloul as Deputy Chairman of the Fatah Movement as part of Fatah’s “process of correction and the redirecting of the compass towards the Martyrs,” and a “commitment to the path” of two terrorist murderers: Salah Khalaf - former head of the terror organization Black September and planner of the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics, and Dalal Mughrabi - who led the murder of 37. (See full text below.)
The official PA daily stated that the current Fatah page had more than 70,000 followers.
The first time Facebook shut down Fatah’s official page was in June 2015. Then Fatah vowed to remain “a thorn in the side of the occupation and its assistants.”
The following is the article in the official PA daily about Facebook’s shutdown of Fatah’s page, and recent posts from Fatah’s Facebook page:
Headline: "The Facebook administration closed down the official page of the Fatah Movement!"
"The Facebook administration closed down the official [Facebook] page of the Fatah Movement which has more than 70,000 followers, after it received reactions from the local and international media. In a Fatah notice yesterday [Feb. 27, 2017] it was noted that this is the second time that the Facebook administration has closed down the page of the movement, after closing down the previous page (in June 2015 -Ed.) that had more than 100,000 followers. The notice was attributed to Fatah leadership member responsible for administering the page Munir Al-Jaghoub. He said that what made the Facebook administration close down the page is a historical picture that was recently posted, in which Fatah Deputy Chairman [and Fatah Central Committee member] Mahmoud Al-Aloul and Martyr (Shahid) symbol Yasser Arafat appear as he presents him with a weapon belonging to [Israeli] soldiers that Fatah in southern Lebanon captured. Al-Jaghoub said: 'We will continue to take pride in our historic leadership and the national heritage and the heritage of our struggle."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 28, 2017]
Posted text: “From commander Salem Thabet ‘Abu Al-Abd,’ General Commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades (i.e., Fatah’s military wing) ‘Al-Asifa Army’
In the name of All Merciful Allah
The election of national leader Mahmoud Al-Aloul ‘Abu Jihad’ as Deputy Chairman of the [Fatah] Movement comes as a proper part of the process of correction and the redirecting of the compass towards the Martyrs (Shahids), and out of loyalty to the wills of Yasser [Arafat] and [Khalil] Al-Wazir (i.e., former head of the PLO terror organization’s military wing), and commitment to the path of Salah Khalaf (i.e., head of the terror organization Black September), Dalal [Mughrabi] (i.e., terrorist who led murder of 37, 12 of them children), and the two Kamals [Kamal Adwan and Kamal Nasser] (i.e., senior members of the Black September terror organization).
All loyalty and appreciation for the good branch that remains of the good tree of Fatah.
#Together_hand_in_hand_for_Fatah”
Text on image: “Walking on the path of the revolution
Brother fighter
Mahmoud Al-Aloul
Fatah Movement Deputy Chairman
Salem Thabet ‘Abu Al-Abd’”
[Official Fatah Facebook page, Feb. 18, 2017]
Abu Jihad (Khalil Al-Wazir) was a founder of Fatah and deputy to Yasser Arafat. He headed the PLO terror organization's military wing and planned many deadly Fatah terror attacks, including the most lethal in Israeli history, the hijacking of a bus and killing of 37 civilians, 12 of them children.
Salah Khalaf (Abu Iyad) - One of the founders of Fatah and head of the terror organization Black September. Attacks he planned include the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics (Sept. 5, 1972) and the murder of two American diplomats in Sudan (March 1, 1973). It is commonly assumed that his assassin, a former Fatah bodyguard, was sent by the Abu Nidal Organization, a rival Palestinian faction.
Dalal Mughrabi led the most lethal terror attack in Israel’s history, known as the Coastal Road massacre, in 1978, when she and other Fatah terrorists hijacked a bus on Israel's Coastal Highway, killing 37 civilians, 12 of them children, and wounding over 70.
Kamal Adwan and Kamal Nasser were both senior members of Black September who were killed by Israeli forces in April 1973. Kamal Nasser was also the spokesperson for the PLO and Fatah. Kamal Adwan was responsible for Fatah terrorist operations in Israel.