Abbas inaugurates buildings named after terrorist leaders at Palestinian university

Headline: “The [PA] president during the inauguration of buildings at Al-Istiqlal University: Jerusalem and our Martyrs, wounded, and prisoners are red lines”

“[PA] President Mahmoud Abbas inaugurated several buildings and facilities yesterday [May 4, 2019] at Al-Istiqlal University (i.e., PA Security Forces university) in the Jericho and [Jordan] Valley district.
He inaugurated the Martyr Khalil Al-Wazir ‘Abu Jihad’ Faculty Building for Administration and Military Sciences (Abu Jihad was responsible for murder of 125 -Ed.), the Mamdouh Saidam ‘Abu Sabri’ Multi-Purpose Hall (Abu Sabri was a former Fatah member -Ed.), and the Martyr Atef Bseiso Sports Center (Atef Bseiso was a senior PLO official involved in the Munich Olympics massacre, 11 murdered –Ed.)
In his speech before the graduates… he said: ‘The youngest youth and the oldest elder of this people completely reject that which is called ‘the deal of the century’ (refers to US President Donald Trump’s as yet unpublished Middle East peace plan –Ed.). We have relied on Allah and the justice of our cause. We will continue to hold on, and we will stand firm thanks to you, thanks to your souls, and thanks to your honor until we receive this right (i.e., the establishment of a Palestinian state).’
It should be noted that the president arrived at the university this afternoon (sic., yesterday afternoon) in order to inaugurate several buildings and facilities at the university campus. The moment he arrived… he said: ‘We must rely only on ourselves, and not look at anyone – what they want, what they agree to and do not agree to, and what they negotiate about and do not negotiate about. No one interests us; only our people and what our people wants interests us.’ He added: ‘When we make decisions that are liable to appear difficult and cruel, and are liable to appear inflexible, the goal is to defend our interests, our future, and our rights’ (refers to PA rejection of all tax money collected by Israel given deduction of terrorist salaries through Anti “Pay-for-Slay” Law; see note below –Ed.).
The president continued: ‘When we tell someone “No” for Jerusalem, we are saying this fully… Jerusalem is a red line; your Martyrs since 1965, your prisoners, and your wounded are a red line. We are adhering to these red lines and we will defend them at any cost. 

I am certain that we will achieve our right, but this requires time, patience, and resolve. “O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed and fear Allah that you may be successful” [Quran, Sura 3:200, Sahih International translation]. I always read this verse and say “Praise Allah.” It may be that our Lord, may He be praised, dedicated it to the Palestinian people, because there is no one carrying out Ribat (i.e., religious conflict/war over land claimed to be Islamic) in this world other than us, and therefore He said: ‘remain stationed (i.e., from the same root in Arabic as Ribat) that you may be successful’ – in other words, you will be successful, but do not speed up matters. The issue is difficult and complicated, but in the end you will achieve the independent Palestinian state’…
While inaugurating the Martyr Atef Bseiso Sports Center, he recalled the memory of Martyr Atef and said: ‘He had a very bright future, and he made very great efforts that no one knows about,  but he died as a Martyr and was assassinated in France by the Israeli forces due to what this young person who had not yet reached the age of 40 when he died as a Martyr did. Therefore we need to honor him and commemorate his name, and this is in order to commemorate the names of the rest of the young people like him, because we have hundreds of thousands of young people who have died as Martyrs in this way, like Atef.’”

The article includes a picture of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas inaugurating the Martyr Khalil Al-Wazir “Abu Jihad” Faculty Building for Administration and Military Sciences at Al-Istiqlal University; in it Abbas is seen unveiling a sign by the building.

Text on sign: “In the name of All Merciful Allah
His Honor [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas
President of the State of Palestine
Inaugurated the Martyr Khalil Al-Wazir ‘Abu Jihad’ Faculty for Administration and Military Sciences
At the Al-Istiqlal University Campus
On Saturday, May 4, 2019”

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 also planned many deadly Fatah terror attacks in the 1960’s - 1980’s. These attacks, in which a total of 125 Israelis were murdered, included the most lethal in Israeli history - the hijacking of a bus and murder of 37 civilians, 12 of them children.

Atef Bseiso was a senior PLO official and was involved in the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, in which 11 Israeli athletes were murdered. He was assassinated in Paris in 1992 by the Israeli Mossad.

Israel's Anti "Pay-for-Slay" Law - Israeli law stating that the PA payments to terrorists and the families of dead terrorists is a financial incentive to terror. The law instructs the state to deduct and freeze the amount of money the PA pays in salaries to imprisoned terrorists and families of "Martyrs" from the tax money Israel collects for the PA. Should the PA stop these payments for a full year, the Israeli government would have the option of giving all or part of the frozen money to the PA. The law was enacted by the Israeli Parliament on July 2, 2018. During the parliamentary vote, the law's sponsor Avi Dichter said: “The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee received much help in its deliberations... from Palestinian Media Watch who provided us with authentic data that enabled productive and professional deliberations, nuances that are very difficult to achieve without precise data.” [Israeli Parliament website, July 2, 2018] In accordance with the law, as of September 2021 Israel’s Security Cabinet had ordered the freeze of 1.857 billion shekels ($580.15 million) - the sum equivalent to the PA payments to terrorists in 2018, 2019, and 2020.