Shooting of 3 Israeli teens was “heroic” and "natural" says Fatah Official

Video posted on the Facebook page of the Fatah Movement – Nablus Branch

Video:

The video shows an interview with Fatah Spokesman in the Nablus District on the Hayat radio station.

Fatah Spokesman in the Nablus District Kayed Mi’ari: “We salute the members of our people who are standing firm in the Nablus district, throughout the homeland, and in Jerusalem. Nablus has always accustomed us to it being at the frontlines of the Palestinian struggle, the mutual support, the solidarity between its residents, and an expression of the Palestinian people’s cultural nature, both on the democratic level and the level of joint struggle activity.

What we saw yesterday [May 2, 2021] (refers to shooting attack in which 3 Israelis were wounded -Ed.) is the Palestinian people’s natural right to resist, defend its resources and dignity, and come out against the occupation’s forces and its settler herds, whose terror is increasing daily and becoming organized. They are targeting trees, rocks, children, elderly, women, and everything that is connected to the Palestinians. Therefore, we think that this is the Palestinian people’s natural right to deter this terror and defend itself and its resources with all available means.

We think that the Palestinian people is responding to the call of Jerusalem, Jerusalem which is being subjected to a brutal attack that is strengthening: acts of Judaization, uprooting [Arab residents] in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, in addition to the policy of dividing [prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque] according to times and areas (see note below -Ed.), which the occupation authorities are attempting to impose on Jerusalem whether through metal detectors (see note below -Ed.) or barricades at the Damascus Gate, [as happened] recently (refers to security measures that were removed following violent Arab riots -Ed.). But the resolution, solidarity, and mutual support of our people have thwarted these plans, and will thwart them every time and everywhere…

All of the circumstances – the occupation forces disrupting the Palestinian democratic process in Jerusalem (refers to PA demand to hold elections in Jerusalem -Ed.), and all the other things – contributed in one way or another to this heroic operation being carried out (refers to shooting attack -Ed.)…

Israel is going too far in excluding the Palestinians, violating their right to self-determination, and harming their dignity. It is attempting to harm Jerusalem with various means, and therefore this is a natural response and a natural right that the Palestinian people has realized.”

Yehuda Gueta, Benaya Peretz, and Amichai Hala – three 19-year-old Israeli students who were wounded by Palestinian terrorist Muntasir Shalabi in a drive-by shooting attack at the Tapuach Junction near Ariel in the northern West Bank on May 2, 2021. Gueta died of his wounds and Peretz was seriously wounded in the attack. Shalabi was arrested on May 5, 2021.

“Division according to areas and times” refers to a submission of a “private bill” by Israeli MP Uri Ariel in March 2003. The bill suggested ensuring freedom of religious worship by allowing both Jews and Muslims to pray on the Temple Mount - what the Palestinians call the Al-Aqsa Mosque plaza. The bill sought to designate separate prayer times and areas of the site for Muslims and Jews. The bill never progressed past the initial legislatory stage. While there was additional discussion on the subject in 2012, no legislation was ever passed. In response to the incessant PA claims that the “division according to areas and times” of the Temple Mount is an operative Israeli plan, former Israeli PM Netanyahu stated on many occasions that the Israeli government has no intention of ‎changing the so-called status quo on the Temple Mount, which de facto is interpreted to mean Jews are only allowed to enter the Temple Mount, but not to conduct individual or communal prayers there. In July 2021, Israeli PM Naftali Bennett said Muslims and Jews have freedom of worship at the Temple Mount, which was understood by many as a hint to changing the status quo at the site, but the following day his office backtracked and said he misspoke and did not mean Jews would have freedom of worship, but rather would have freedom to visit. “There is no change in the status quo,” a statement from PM Bennett’s office confirmed.y type of worship.

The mention of "metal detectors" refers to Israeli security measures at the Temple Mount, including metal detectors at the entrances, following an attack there on July 14, 2017, in which 2 Israeli border police officers were murdered by 3 Israeli Arab terrorists. On July 24, 2017, Israel decided to remove the metal detectors and security cameras it had placed at the site. The PA continued to demand that all measures including inspections at the entrances be removed, and Palestinians continued to riot. On July 27, 2017, PA religious leaders declared that all Israeli measures had been removed.