PA glorifies Arafat as man of war
PA official: Arafat "would repeat the saying ‘Millions of Martyrs are marching to Jerusalem,’ in a clear and unequivocal sign that the path to Jerusalem is paved with sacrifices and continues until our people will achieve its firm and legal rights to liberate the land"
PA TV host to children: "Allah willing, one day our entire land will return to us"
Although former PLO/PA Chariman Yasser Arafat signed the Oslo Accords peace agreement with then Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin and then Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres in 1993, and later received the Nobel Peace Prize together with the two Israelis, the PA never highlights this. In fact it seems this is deliberately ignored.
Instead, the PA adamantly wants Palestinians to admire Arafat as a man of war.
On the anniversary of his death earlier this month, the PA rebroadcast parts of Arafat's speeches, among them his call to Palestinians to die as "Martyrs" for "Palestine," and for "this blood" to "spread on the land… with burning and with fire":
Former PLO/PA Chairman Yasser Arafat: “You think that the blood of Abu Jihad and Abu Jihad’s murder can stop the revolution? Or that the murder of Yasser Arafat can stop the revolution? No! You are deluding yourselves, and this blood will spread on the land as it has spread on the Palestinian land – with burning and with fire…
Millions of Martyrs are marching to Jerusalem, millions of Martyrs are marching to Jerusalem.”[Official PA TV, Nov. 10 (twice), 11 (twice), 2020]
This message was repeated by PA officials too, for example by Jerusalem District Governor Adnan Ghaith, who also repeated Arafat's slogan calling for martyrdom: "Millions of Martyrs are marching to Jerusalem." Ghaith said this ideology should be followed until the Palestinian people "achieve its firm and legal rights to liberate the land":
“On the 16th memorial of the death of leader, symbol, and founder Yasser Arafat, Jerusalem District Governor Adnan Ghaith said… that the late [Arafat] would repeat the saying ‘Millions of Martyrs are marching to Jerusalem,’ in a clear and unequivocal sign that the path to Jerusalem is paved with sacrifices and continues until our people will achieve its firm and legal rights to liberate the land and people, and to establish an independent Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 14, 2020]
For Palestinians the term "liberation of the land" means all of "Palestine" including the entire State of Israel. This was again made clear in a recent children's program on official PA TV. While wearing a shirt with the PA map of "Palestine" that includes all of Israel and the PA areas, the popular children's host taught children that "Allah willing, one day our entire land will return to us":
Official PA TV host Walaa Al-Battat: "Jerusalem was very important and the goal of our leader the symbol Yasser Arafat. The children declare with the [previous] song their insistence on their presence in Jerusalem, the restoration of all Jerusalem, and Allah willing, the liberation of Jerusalem from the occupation. Allah willing, one day, my children friends, our entire land will return to us… Allah willing we are continuing on the same path [of Arafat], my friends, until we restore our land."
[Official PA TV, The Best Home, Nov. 14, 2020]
This same host of the PA TV children's program frequently teaches children that "all of Palestine" - meaning all of Israel - “will return to us":
Puppet Raed: “[We wear] sunglasses on the beach. La la la.”
PA TV host of The Best Home: “Stop, why are you making me sad, reminding me that we have no sea?”
Puppet Raed: “We do have a sea (i.e., Mediterranean Sea)!”
Host: “We have a sea, but the occupation (i.e., Israel) took it. We can't get there.”
Puppet Raed: “We need to go there! ... ”
Host: “Even though we can't go to the sea without an entry permit [to Israel], and there are many obstacles to receiving an entry permit to go to the sea we will continue to defy [Israel] and be strong and hope that the sea and the [Jordan] River will return to us, and that all of Palestine will return to us.”[Official PA TV, July 15, 2016]
Palestinian Media Watch has documented that the PA's "liberation of" or "return to Palestine" means destroying all of Israel.
Recently Fatah publicized on its Facebook page a series of maps of “Palestine” that include all of Israel with the text “here we remain and we will not leave; Palestine is a goal.”