Senior Fatah official scoffs criticism of terror glorification, doubling down on praise of mass murderer "stars” and "beacons"
Video posted on the official Fatah Facebook page; the video shows an interview of Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub on Fatah-run Awdah TV
Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub: “I say to all the Fatah members, first of all this [election] list needs to express the power, greatness, glory, and pride of Fatah, for all the Fatah members who have given to this [Fatah] Movement.”
Fatah-run Awdah TV host: “Right.”
Jibril Rajoub: "First it must express [actions] in practice – that is Fatah. And I- There was once someone who said: ‘They are praising the Martyrs.’ Okay, sure! We are their devotees. We are their soldiers. We were educated in their schools. We did not learn in the school of – exactly. Sure, sure, I praise [Khalil Al-Wazir] Abu Jihad (i.e., terrorist responsible for murder of 125), [Salah Khalaf] Abu Iyad (i.e., former head of the Black September terror organization), [former PLO Chairman and PA President] Yasser Arafat,and all these stars who are the ones who broke down all the obstacles, broke through all the barriers, and built us this Palestinian nationalism. You understand? Why should we not praise them? Also some of us have seen death like this (i.e., makes a gesture is if to say some Fatah members have been close to dying)…
We also have [the issue of] gender. Personally, my aspirations are that women and men will be 50-50. There are many people who speak [against] women’s rights. By Allah, I don’t want to say that if only they were, how do you say it- By Allah, my brother, our culture- Let’s say, we are the ones who gave the women their rights. We, this school of Fatah and the school of Yasser Arafat. Dalal Mughrabi (i.e., terrorist who led murder of 37, 12 of them children), Fatima Barnawi (i.e., terrorist, placed a bomb in a movie theater) – if we didn’t have a culture like this, my brother, would we have wanted Dalal Mughrabi to command an operation (i.e., terror attack) like this, and Fatima Barnawi, and whoever else? Go to Beirut, go to the prisons, and the like…
It needs to be a beacon, this powerhouse [Fatah.] A beacon for the entire world that will reflect the power of the Martyrs, prisoners, and all the fighters – and every Palestinian is a fighter.”
Host: “Certainly.”
Jibril Rajoub: “Every Palestinian is paying a price. His Palestinianess is the price wherever he goes and wherever he is located.”