Editorial in official PA daily confirms PMW analysis that Abbas is pushing for more violence
Fatah: “Our confrontation on the ground will escalate”
“Fatah said that our people’s struggle to restore its rights will not end… it will continue to fight until the last living soul”
“Fatah: Continue the resolve and confrontations… on all the roads and everywhere this is possible”
Fatah: “Come out in processions of rage in all the cities”
Fatah: “The revolution and struggle will continue until liberation”
Fatah: “Allahu Akbar (i.e., “Allah is greatest”), Allahu Akbar. Millions of Martyrs are marching to Jerusalem”
Fatah: “Happy are you, O mother of the Martyr; if only my mother was in your place”
“Mahmoud Abbas: “We salute its residents who are carrying out Ribat (i.e., religious conflict) there. We salute the heroic young people of Palestine who are the pride of the homeland and the people”
Despite the fact that the terror organizations Hamas and Islamic Jihad have placed the Palestinian Authority in their shadows by their launching of over 3,000 rockets against Israel over the last week, PA and Fatah leaders have been actively calling for escalation of Palestinian violence everywhere – in the West Bank, in the Gaza Strip, and in the “Interior” – the PA’s term for Israel. While the war with Gaza is raging, Israeli Arabs have been attacking, shooting, lynching and murdering, as well as burning synagogues, apartments, and cars belonging to Jews. According to Israeli Walla News, 112 homes of Jews were burned, 386 were ransacked and/or looted, 673 were damaged, 10 Synagogues and 849 cars were burned, and over 5.000 cases of Arabs throwing rocks and boulders at Jews are documented. One Jew from Lod was murdered. He was hit by a rock, after which Arabs pulled him from his car and beat him to death, and many more have been injured. This is the violence that Fatah and the PA is celebrating and inciting.
It should be noted, that when some Jews responded by going to the streets to confront the attacking Arabs and in some cases attacked innocent people, the Israeli government condemned them and has been arresting them. Nonetheless, the PA has cited these incidents as further cause for violence, claiming Palestinians are fighting in self-defense.
On May 12, PA Chairman Abbas made a speech and Palestinian Media Watch showed that his call to violence was being used by his Fatah Movement to incite to more violent riots.
Now an editorial published two days in a row by the official PA daily confirms PMW’s analysis, explaining to its readers that Abbas’ speech was a call for escalation of the violent riots. Using the PA term “resistance in all its forms,” which PMW has shown allows for and at times even encourages the use of violence and terror against Israelis, the editorial explained that Abbas meant for the violent riots to “escalate”:
“[Abbas’ statement] ‘We have had enough, leave us alone’ has only one meaning: Our people with all its forces and factions will never be silent about the existence of the occupation, and will not allow its crimes to pass without a response and without just punishment for the sake of the just resolution. What this means, in the clearest manner, is that the resistance to the occupation and its settlers in all its forms (i.e., term used by Palestinians, which also refers to the use of violence and terror) and with all its legitimate means will escalate…”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 16 and 17, 2021]
In the same speech referenced in the editorial, Abbas continued to praise, “salute,” and encourage the violent rioters, and even included praise for the thousands of rockets launched by the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror organizations from the Gaza Strip:
“[PA] President Mahmoud Abbas… said in his speech during the leadership meeting… [May 12, 2021]: ‘Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the State of Palestine and it has no replacement. We salute its residents who are carrying out Ribat(i.e., religious conflict over land claimed to be Islamic) there. We salute the heroic young people of Palestine who are the pride of the homeland and the people.
These are the ones of whom we are proud and we stand as a sign of honor for their struggle, while they are defending Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, all of Palestine, and particularly the Gaza Strip as well with their bare chests and their hearts that are beating with love for Jerusalem, Palestine, and the sincere affiliation with them.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 13, 2021]
On Saturday, Abbas’ Fatah Movement called for “processions of rage” everywhere and for “confrontation” using “all available means” – a Palestinian euphemism that permits the use of violence and terror:
“The Fatah Movement called to hold processions of rage in all the cities, villages, and refugee camps, and to remain in a state of general mobilization and confrontation at the seam lines and bypass roads with all the available means… Fatah emphasized yesterday, Saturday, [May 15, 2021,] that the resolve, state of conflict in all the areas and routes, and the confrontation with the settler herds will continue…
Fatah emphasized the continuation of the revolution and struggle until liberation.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 16, 2021]
Fatah followed up on this on Sunday. While the movement described Israel's response to the thousands of rockets launched against it by Hamas from the Gaza Strip as “the Israeli aggression,” Fatah vowed to “escalate the confrontation” against Israel:
“The Fatah Movement Central Committee… Sunday [May 16, 2021], emphasized that it is important that everyone unite and come out on the ground to strengthen the comprehensive confrontation… Fatah promised its members and our people that it will continue in the confrontation on the ground against the occupier and its settlers, and it will expand the scope of these confrontations as long as the aggression against the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem continues.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 17, 2021]
Earlier, Fatah issued an announcement praising the Arabs rioting in the mixed Jewish-Arab cities within Israel, specifying “Jerusalem, Lod, Acre, Jaffa, the Negev,” - All places where Jews have been attacked, injured, and one murdered. Fatah opened by turning their attacks into attacks in the name of Islam by quoting from the Quran, teaching Palestinians that the Quran grants them the right “to fight” because they are “being fought”:
Posted text: “A statement issued by the gathering of [Fatah] branch secretaries with the leadership of the Fatah Movement Mobilization and Organization [Commission]
Almighty [Allah] said: ‘Permission [to fight] has been given to those who are being fought, because they were wronged. And indeed, Allah is competent to give them victory’ [Quran 22:39, Sahih International translation]. Allah’s words are truth.
Blessings to Palestine, the land and the people, blessings to Jerusalem, Lod, Acre, Jaffa, the Negev (i.e., Israeli cities and areas where Israeli Arabs have attacked, lynched and murdered Israelis, burned synagogues, apartments and cars of Jews), and blessings to all the cities and towns in the occupied Interior (i.e., Palestinian term for Israel). Blessings to the powerful Gaza Strip and to our people in the diaspora.”[Official Fatah Facebook page, May 15, 2021]
This echoes Abbas’ advisor who recently taught Palestinians that it is permitted to kill Israelis, and that the Quran in fact demands it:
The same Al-Habbash encouraged the Palestinian rioters to “defend the Islamic nation with their lives”:
“Supreme Shari’ah Judge of Palestine and [PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas’] Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash said that Palestine, Jerusalem, and its residents who are carrying out Ribat (i.e., religious conflict over land claimed to be Islamic) at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque are dealing with the cruelest and most despicable forms of injustice, oppression, and aggression today with their exposed bodies. He added that with their blood and their lives they are defending the honor of the Islamic nation, the faith of Islam, and the first direction of prayer of the Muslims and the third holiest mosque, which our noble Prophet [Muhammad], peace be upon him, commanded to visit, to fill it, to maintain it, and to protect it.”
[Ma’an, independent Palestinian news agency, May 10, 2021]
Fatah urged Palestinians to engage in more “confrontations”:
“Fatah calls on you:
1. To continue the resolve and confrontations in all the areas and routes, and also to confront the settler herds on all the roads and everywhere this is possible.2. To come out in processions of rage in all the cities, villages, and refugee camps, to continue the preparedness and confrontation on the seam lines and bypass roads with all possible means.
…
4. On the 73rd anniversary of our people’s Nakba (i.e., “the catastrophe,” Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel) and its expulsion, we emphasize that the revolution and struggle will continue until liberation, and that there is no alternative to our people’s right to return.”[Official Fatah Facebook page, May 15, 2021]
Similarly, Fatah has vowed to “continue to fight until the last living soul”:
“Fatah said that our people’s struggle to restore its rights will not end, and that the occupation state is deluded if it thinks that it can eliminate the fire of the struggle. This is because the stolen rights must return to their owners, and as long as our people does not enjoy freedom and has not restored all its rights, it will continue to fight until the last living soul…Fatah emphasized its call to its members and to all our people to continue to defend the holy sites and the land.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 15, 2021]
Fatah has made it no secret that it follows usual PA doctrine and considers all of the State of Israel as part of “Palestine.” The movement further announced that only “collaborators” won’t willingly participate in “the struggle… from the Jordan [River] to the Mediterranean Sea”:
Posted text: “The Fatah Movement:
Maintaining our unity and defending the homeland is a sacred obligation… maintaining the internal Palestinian unity that was achieved in the Cairo understandings and was demonstrated in the battle to defend Jerusalem is a sacred obligation.
The eternal capital of Palestine, which is the slogan of the public cohesion and the united struggle from Rafah (i.e., in the southern Gaza Strip) to Rosh HaNikra (i.e., a northern Israeli city on the border with Lebanon) and from the Jordan [River] to the Mediterranean Sea, is our people’s clear truth, and none of us are willing to be absent from the battle to defend the holy sites except for the occupation’s collaborators.”[Official Fatah Facebook page, May 14, 2021]
Fatah also stressed that the rioting Palestinians are heeding Fatah’s calls to do so:
“Fatah emphasized that mass processions are now coming out from all the Palestinian cities in order to wage confrontations with the occupation at all the friction points at the call of all the Fatah branches.”
[Official Fatah Facebook page, May 14, 2021]
Throughout the weeks of violent riots in Jerusalem and elsewhere, the PA and Fatah have encouraged Palestinians to riot and die to “redeem Jerusalem” while Palestinians have stated their willingness to do so. Another example is this where Palestinians in Jenin express their wish to die as “Martyrs”:
Posted text on Fatah Facebook page: “Jenin a short while ago”
Protesters: “Millions of Martyrs are marching to Jerusalem
Allahu Akbar (i.e., “Allah is greatest”), Allahu Akbar
Millions of Martyrs are marching to Jerusalem
Happy are you, O mother of the Martyr
If only my mother was in your place”[Official Fatah Facebook page, May 14, 2021]
Already on May 9, before Hamas began its rocket barrages against Israel but while Palestinians were already rioting violently in Jerusalem, a PLO official called for violence and “uprising.” The word in Arabic translated as “rise up” comes from the same root as the word “intifada” – a word the Palestinians have used to describe their previous terror campaigns against Israel:
Palestinian Faction Coordination Committee member Muhammad Dweikat: “The time has come for all our people to rise up against this occupation and against what is happening in Jerusalem.”
[Official PA TV News, May 9, 2021]
Palestinians, it seems, are following Abbas’ speeches and Fatah announcements closely. Two days after Fatah officially called for increased rioting and violence, a “coordinator of popular resistance” confirmed that rioters are following Abbas’ call:
Coordinator of Popular Resistance Committees in Qalqilya Atef Jum’a: “Of course, in response to the call of His Honor our [PA] president, guardian of the principles, Mahmoud Abbas, and in response to the free people of Jerusalem and the residents of Jerusalem, the Qalqilya District with all its components responded to the call, and especially the Fatah branch, which called for a mass procession in which everyone participated. All the factions, the residents of Qalqilya, they all came out together to prove to this occupation entity that popular resistance will remain a thorn in the side of this occupation.”
[Official PA TV, May 10, 2021]
The PA was quick to follow up with an editorial in its official paper, praising the Palestinian people as “undefeatable and immune to every kind of despair and frustration” and one “which is entering the modern history books as a people that has restored the glory to noble chivalry.” The editorial further called “to strengthen the heroic uprising of Jerusalem and support its popular resistance.” [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 10, 2021]
The following are longer excerpts of the statements cited above:
Excerpt of an editorial published two days in a row by the official PA daily
The editorial focuses on PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ speech on May 12, 2021, in which he commented on violent Arab riots in Israel and Hamas rocket attacks and said: “We have had enough, leave us alone, get off our chests, get off our chests. We will remain a bone in your throats” -Ed.
Headline: “Leave us alone”
“[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ statement] ‘We have had enough, leave us alone’ has only one meaning: Our people with all its forces and factions will never be silent about the existence of the occupation, and will not allow its crimes to pass without a response and without just punishment for the sake of the just resolution. What this means, in the clearest manner, is that the resistance to the occupation and its settlers in all its forms (i.e., term used by Palestinians, which also refers to the use of violence and terror) and with all its legitimate means will escalate…The last battle may be very near, if we heed the united call of Jerusalem and if we come out against the occupation’s aggression against the Gaza Strip in one united national activity. The last battle is the battle of all the patriots, the battle of unity, friendship, and mutual help. This is the battle of the independent national decision, such that no interference by external forces could suppress this battle for the occupation, as they suppressed the 1936 rebellion (i.e., the lethal 1936-1939 Arab Revolt), when the Arab leaders believed ‘the good will of friendly Britain’ and demanded that the rebels stop the rebellion against the British Mandate!!!
When we say interference by external forces, we do not mean any Arab, regional, or international activity to stop the violent Israeli aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip; this is activity that we appreciate…
Our call to resist external interference whose goals are suspicious is fundamentally a call to all the Palestinian factions not to contribute to nipping the historic and decisive moment in the bud through considerations of narrow interests, so that the path to the last battle will remain open.”[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 16 and 17, 2021]
Headline: “The Fatah Central Committee: Our confrontation on the ground is continuing and will escalate”
“The Fatah Movement Central Committee… as part of its regular assembling and intensive monitoring of the developments on the ground and the continuation of the criminal aggression against our people wherever it is yesterday, Sunday [May 16, 2021], emphasized that it is important that everyone unite and come out on the ground to strengthen the comprehensive confrontation as a sign of its rejection of the ongoing policy of killing and the massacres that the Zionist occupation army is continuing to commit.
Fatah promised its members and our people that it will continue in the confrontation on the ground against the occupier and its settlers, and it will expand the scope of these confrontations as long as the aggression against the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem continues.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 17, 2021]
Headline: “Fatah calls to hold processions of rage in all the cities, villages, and refugee camps, and to remain in a state of general mobilization”
“The Fatah Movement called to hold processions of rage in all the cities, villages, and refugee camps, and to remain in a state of general mobilization and confrontation at the seam lines and bypass roads with all the available means.
Following a meeting of the [Fatah] branch secretaries with the leadership of the [Fatah Commission of] Mobilization and Organization, Fatah emphasized yesterday, Saturday, [May 15, 2021,] that the resolve, state of conflict in all the areas and routes, and the confrontation with the settler herds will continue…For the 74th anniversary of the Nakba (i.e., “the catastrophe,” the Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel) of our people and its uprooting, Fatah emphasized the continuation of the revolution and struggle until liberation. It also emphasized that there is no alternative to our people’s right of return.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 16, 2021]
Headline: “Fatah eulogized the Martyrs of Friday of rage”
“The Fatah Movement eulogized the Martyrs of the popular uprising (i.e., term used by Palestinians, which also refers to the use of violence and terror) in all the Northern Districts (i.e., the West Bank) who ascended [to Heaven] in response to the call of duty to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque and help our people in the Gaza Strip and the Interior (i.e., Palestinian term for Israel) as they come out against the occupier’s barbarity and its wild aggression. Fatah said that our people’s struggle to restore its rights will not end, and that the occupation state is deluded if it thinks that it can eliminate the fire of the struggle. This is because the stolen rights must return to their owners, and as long as our people does not enjoy freedom and has not restored all its rights, it will continue to fight until the last living soul…Fatah emphasized its call to its members and to all our people to continue to defend the holy sites and the land, because the barbaric enemy is doing as it pleases with the holy sites and has gone too far in harming them… Fatah also saluted all our people in Jerusalem, the Interior, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the diaspora as they are uniting around our national dream of restoring the land, the return of the people, and independence.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 15, 2021]
Text posted on the official Fatah Facebook page
Posted text: “A statement issued by the gathering of [Fatah] branch secretaries with the leadership of the Fatah Movement Mobilization and Organization [Commission]
Almighty [Allah] said: ‘Permission [to fight] has been given to those who are being fought, because they were wronged. And indeed, Allah is competent to give them victory’ [Quran 22:39, Sahih International translation]. Allah’s words are truth.
Blessings to Palestine, the land and the people, blessings to Jerusalem, Lod, Acre, Jaffa, the Negev (i.e., Israeli cities and areas where Israeli Arabs are violently rioting), and blessings to all the cities and towns in the occupied Interior (i.e., Palestinian term for Israel). Blessings to the powerful Gaza Strip and to our people in the diaspora.The masses of our people that is resisting in every inch of the lands of Palestine – from a continuation and strengthening of the state of resolve and resistance against the Israeli killing machine, and as a sign of support for the blood of the Martyrs, the suffering of the wounded and the prisoners, and the blood of the children and their pure bodies, Fatah calls on you:
1. To continue the resolve and confrontations in all the areas and routes, and also to confront the settler herds on all the roads and everywhere this is possible.
2. To come out in processions of rage in all the cities, villages, and refugee camps, to continue the preparedness and confrontation on the seam lines and bypass roads with all possible means.
3. We emphasize that our main battle is with the Israeli occupation, and that national unity is the foundation of the battle of resolution, victory, and ending the Israeli occupation. Anyone who is frivolous and acts to turn the compass away from Jerusalem and the occupation is against our people’s unity and its national interests.
4. On the 73rd anniversary of our people’s Nakba (i.e., “the catastrophe,” Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel) and its expulsion, we emphasize that the revolution and struggle will continue until liberation, and that there is no alternative to our people’s right to return.
5. We send our blessings to all the publics rising up in the world who support our cause and the establishment of our independent state whose capital is noble Jerusalem.
Honor and eternity to our pure-hearted Martyrs
Full healing to our wounded fighters
Freedom to our prisoners in the occupation’s prisons
Shame and disgrace to the enemies of our people who are conspiring against our cause and our rights
This is a revolution until victory”[Official Fatah Facebook page, May 15, 2021]
Text posted on the official Fatah Facebook page
Posted text: “The Fatah Movement
Maintaining our unity and defending the homeland is a sacred obligation
Fatah said in a short statement this afternoon [May 14, 2021] that maintaining the internal Palestinian unity that was achieved in the Cairo understandings and was demonstrated in the battle to defend Jerusalem is a sacred obligation.
The eternal capital of Palestine, which is the slogan of the public cohesion and the united struggle from Rafah (i.e., in the southern Gaza Strip) to Rosh HaNikra (i.e., a northern Israeli city on the border with Lebanon) and from the Jordan [River] to the Mediterranean Sea, is our people’s clear truth, and none of us are willing to be absent from the battle to defend the holy sites except for the occupation’s collaborators.Fatah emphasized that mass processions are now coming out from all the Palestinian cities in order to wage confrontations with the occupation at all the friction points at the call of all the Fatah branches, but at the same time it is aware of the attempts to sow division between our people and divert the compass from the confrontation against the occupation into an internal confrontation…
Fatah emphasized that Jerusalem unites us in one trench, and that our mighty Palestinian people in Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Interior (i.e., Palestinian term for Israel), and the diaspora have recorded spectacular sights of resolve and unity around our historical and legal rights to freedom, independence, and to establish an independent Palestinian state whose capital is holy Jerusalem.
Fatah saluted the legendary resolve of our people everywhere against the Israeli tools of violence.
The revolution is until victory.
Fatah Commission of Mobilization and Organization”[Official Fatah Facebook page, May 14, 2021]
Headline: “The [PA] president: We’ll act at all levels out of commitment to our national responsibility and we will continue to do what can be done to defend our people”
“[PA] President Mahmoud Abbas… said in his speech during the leadership meeting that was held at the [PA] presidential headquarters in Ramallah yesterday evening [May 12, 2021]: ‘Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the State of Palestine and it has no replacement. We salute its residents who are carrying out Ribat (i.e., religious conflict over land claimed to be Islamic) there. We salute the heroic young people of Palestine who are the pride of the homeland and the people.
These are the ones of whom we are proud and we stand as a sign of honor for their struggle, while they are defending Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, all of Palestine, and particularly the Gaza Strip as well with their bare chests and their hearts that are beating with love for Jerusalem, Palestine, and the sincere affiliation with them…
The occupation state wants to impose colonialist facts on the ground in Jerusalem and in all the land of our homeland, and for this purpose it is carrying out a crazy war, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian presence and the Arab and Islamic identity of our capital Jerusalem by stealing homes and real estate and unleashing the settler herds and their terror groups so that they will sow ruin and destruction and desecrate the holy sites.
But our proud heroic people and our young people who are carrying out Ribat in Jerusalem and its surroundings and everywhere there is an Arab, Muslim, or free person, has come out against this with its full heroism through its brave popular resistance (i.e., term used by Palestinians, which also refers to the use of violence and terror) to the occupation’s aggression against the Damascus Gate [of Jerusalem’s Old City], the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre…
In conclusion, I direct my words particularly to the US and Israel: We have had enough! Leave us alone! Get off our chests, get off our chests! We’ll continue to be a thorn in your sides and we won’t leave our homeland, we won’t leave our land. End the occupation of our land today. Today and not tomorrow…
If you want peace, if you want security, if you want calm, it will not come by force of weapons or oppression; it will not come in these ways. Let us reach a compromise. We will not suffer what we have been suffering any longer, and we will not be more tolerant than we have been, rather we will stand firmer and firmer and firmer than how we have stood, until we reach victory and liberation, and until we end the occupation of all our occupied land, and foremost among it Jerusalem.’”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 13, 2021]
The terms "peaceful uprising/resistance,” and “popular uprising/resistance" are used by PA leaders at times to refer to peaceful protest and at times to refer to deadly terror attacks and terror waves. For example, Mahmoud Abbas defined as “peaceful popular” the murderous terror during the 2015-2016 terror wave (“The Knife Intifada”), in which 40 people were killed (36 Israelis, 1 Palestinian, 2 Americans and 1 Eritrean) and hundreds wounded in stabbings, shootings, and car ramming attacks. Abbas said: "We want peaceful popular uprising, and that’s what this is." https://palwatch.org/page/9276
Excerpt of an editorial by the official PA daily
“What Jerusalem the capital is saying today through the uprising of its masses (refers to violent Arab riots -Ed.) is that our Palestinian people – as it has been since the beginning of the conflict, as it is currently, and as it will remain – is undefeatable and immune to every kind of despair and frustration…
There is nothing like the determination of this people, which is entering the modern history books as a people that has restored the glory to noble chivalry…
Currently, in light of this fact and this reality, there is nothing more precious and more beneficial than national unity in order to strengthen the heroic uprising of Jerusalem and support its popular resistance (i.e., term used by Palestinians, which also refers to the use of violence and terror) in order to break the occupier’s willpower, to shatter his obsessive delusions, and to defeat his settler plans in the Sheikh Jarrah [neighborhood of Jerusalem] (refers to planned eviction of Arabs illegally living in properties owned by Jews who were expelled in the 1948 Israeli War of Independence -Ed.).”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 10, 2021]