PA fails to condemn murder of 17-year-old Israeli girl, but when murderers are caught PA will reward them
If the murderer/s are caught, the PA will pay them a salary during their time in prison and after their release
If the murderer/s is killed, the PA will pay their families a monthly allowance for the rest of their lives
The PA will make the payments simply as a reward for the act of terror, regardless of the terrorists' affiliation
Hours after a bomb exploded at the "Danny Spring" on Friday Aug. 23, murdering 17-year-old Rina Shnerb and injuring her father and brother, US President Donald Trump's Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt took to Twitter to demand that the Palestinian Authority condemn the attack. He added: "If they don't, donor countries should demand the PA answer for why their donor funds continue to be used to reward attacks."
Despite numerous checks, and notwithstanding the fact that the PA media has referred to the attack on multiple occasions, Palestinian Media Watch could find no statement whatsoever of any PA official condemning the attack. Rather the PA media chose to falsely claim that Rina was a "soldier" and a "settler."
PA TV reported that Israeli forces had set up road blocks around Ramallah "on the pretext" that someone had killed an Israeli soldier.
Official PA TV newsreader: "The occupation forces closed the main roads to the villages west of Ramallah and increased their military presence at the entrances to the Ramallah and El-Bireh district. This took place on the pretext of the killing of a female Israeli soldier and the wounding of others near the settlement named Dolev, which is located on the [Arab] residents' lands of west of Ramallah."
Official PA TV News, Aug. 23, 2019
Needless to say, 17-year-old Rina was not a soldier and no Israeli authority ever claimed she was a soldier.
WAFA, the official PA news agency, printed a number of articles relating to the event. While Rina was a resident of Lod, a town in Israel (within the 1949 Armistice lines), the reports systematically described her as a "settler" and focused on the measures taken by Israel to apprehend the terrorists who carried out the attack:
"The Israeli army had also set up roadblocks on different roads in the West Bank following an attack earlier in the day against settlers near Ramallah in which one settler was killed and two others injured and attacked the P. " (error in source - Ed.)
[WAFA, English edition, Official PA news agency, Aug. 23, 2019]
"Israeli forces today sealed off main roads leading to the western Ramallah district in the West Bank following a suspected attack that resulted in the killing of a settler, confirmed local sources."
[WAFA, English edition, Official PA news agency, Aug. 23, 2019]
"The explosion near Ramallah that killed an Israeli settler and injured two others as well as revenge acts by the settlers against the civilian Palestinian population in the occupied territory were highlighted on the front page of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies today."
[WAFA, English edition, Official PA news agency, Aug. 24, 2019]
"The arrests and seizure of the cameras are believed related to the Israeli army investigation into the explosion from yesterday near the village of Ein Arik that killed one Israeli settler and injured two others."
[WAFA, English edition, Official PA news agency, Aug. 24, 2019]
The official PA daily similarly wrote:
Headline: "The killing of a female settler and wounding of two additional people west of Ramallah, and the settlers are rioting"
"The Israeli occupation forces closed many main roads to villages west of Ramallah yesterday [Aug. 23, 2019] and increased their military presence at the entrances to the Ramallah and El-Bireh districts, on the pretext of the killing of a female settlerand the wounding of two additional people next to the settlement of Dolev, which is located on [Palestinian] citizens' land west of Ramallah."Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 24, 2019
PA Chairman Abbas' Fatah party echoed the PA media, claiming that Rina was a settler. Posting on its official Facebook page, Fatah wrote:
"Pictures from the site where the female settler was killed and two others were wounded by the explosion of a bomb west of Ramallah."
Official Fatah Facebook page, Aug. 23, 2019
The post has received over 100 interactions including 2 "love" heart symbols , 94 "like"s and 4 "ha-ha" laughing smileys.
The PA referred to her, as it often does to victims of terror, as a "settler" and "soldier," because from the PA's perspective it makes her an even more legitimate target than killing other Israelis. The PA TV News reporting on the murder of American Taylor Force who was murdered in Tel Aviv also called him a "settler."
In another post Fatah added:
Posted text: "The moment the operation was carried out. The occupation says that it was a high-quality and complicated operation."
Official Fatah Facebook page, Aug. 23, 2019
This post has also received dozens of interactions with one person responding with the symbol of two fingers motioning "V" for victory.
Even if the PA had bothered to pay even the minimal lip service required and issue a condemnation, it would be meaningless as its actions will speak louder than their words. If the terrorist/s who murdered Rina are caught alive, the PA will pay them a salary in prison and even after their release. If they are killed during an attempt to arrest them, the PA will pay their families a monthly allowance for the rest of their lives. The PA will pay these salaries/allowances simply because the terrorist/s carried out a terrorist attack, and regardless of whether the terrorists belong to Fatah, Hamas, or acted alone.
As noted by Greenblatt, in the absence of a condemnation (not only by words but also by actions) the countries that are funding the PA should ask themselves why they are contributing aid to the PA, while the PA uses its resources to pay financial rewards to terrorists.