Fatah promises more terror in 2023: “All types of resistance remain open to our people”
- “Fatah adheres to the path of comprehensive popular resistance and all the legal options of struggle. It salutes the heroes of the popular resistance at all the points of resolve and confrontation with the Zionist tools of violence and killing, and strives together with the Palestinian struggle forces to escalate, organize, develop, and expand [the resistance] against all the occupation’s aggressive plots, with all types of resistance remaining open to our people”
- “Armed resistance” is “only solution” to “expel the occupation” says Fatah official
- Fatah official calls for more terror: “We need… to strike in the Zionist depth”
- The Fatah Revolutionary Council:
“Our resistance [is] an obligatory national duty for everyone, and… a necessary choice from which there is no return. Fatah will increase its participation in the popular resistance in all areas. It also calls to escalate this resistance with all legitimate means that are anchored for us in international law…
The Fatah Revolutionary Council emphasizes our determination to resist the occupation and the settler colonialism, regardless of how great the sacrifices may be.”
- While many erroneously believe that Palestinian terror only resulted from the Israeli control of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem in 1967, in reality, Fatah is celebrating the 58th anniversary of its first terror attack in 1965
So what is PA Chairman Abbas’ Fatah Movement planning for 2023?
When Fatah took stock of 2022, the Movement stressed its leading role in terror against Israel, as Palestinian Media Watch showed.
For 2023 - not surprisingly – Fatah is planning more of the same terror.
In a statement on the 58th anniversary of the Launch of Fatah (Intilaqa) - counted from its first terror attack against Israel in 1965 - the Movement addressed Israel - “the criminal occupier” – vowing “not to lower the flag of struggle”:
“Thursday [Dec. 29, 2022], the Fatah Movement issued the… statement on the 58th anniversary of Fatah’s Intilaqa (i.e., the anniversary of “the Launch” of Fatah, counted from its first terror attack against Israel) and the outbreak of the modern Palestinian revolution: …‘We will remind the criminal occupier that a people and movement that gave birth to the rebels, the Al-Asifa forces (i.e., Fatah military unit), the RPG children, and the heroes of the stones will not lower the flag of struggle until achieving what Fatah was established for.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 30, 2022]
Fatah then exemplified the essence of said continued “struggle” by stressing its “pride” in Palestinian terrorists - the “heroic fighters” - and underlining that it will stick to violence and terror in the future. Using the term “comprehensive popular resistance,” which PMW has documented also refers to the use of violence and terror, Fatah promised to even “escalate, organize, develop, and expand” this. Twice in its statement, Fatah repeated another euphemism for terror, stating that the “resistance” should continue using “all the legal options of struggle” and that “all types of resistance remaining open to our people”:
“Fatah expresses its great pride in its mighty Palestinian people and its heroic fighters who have sacrificed their blood to help their people against the criminal aggression towards our people…
Fatah adheres to the path of comprehensive popular resistance and all the legal options of struggle. It salutes the heroes of the popular resistance at all the points of resolve and confrontation with the Zionist tools of violence and killing, and strives together with the Palestinian struggle forces to escalate, organize, develop, and expand [the resistance] against all the occupation’s aggressive plots, with all types of resistance remaining open to our people.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 30, 2022]
The terms “all means,” “all means of resistance,” “all forms,” “all types” are used by PA leaders to include using all types of violence, including deadly terror against Israeli civilians such as stabbings and shootings, as well as throwing rocks and Molotov Cocktails.
PA leaders and officials have legitimized Palestinian violence by quoting UN resolution 3236 which "recognizes the right of the Palestinian people to regain its rights by all means." The PA interprets "all means" as including violence against civilians, but has chosen to ignore the continuation of the resolution which states that the use of "all means" should be "in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations..." Chapter 1, Article 1, opens by saying that "international disputes" should be resolved "by peaceful means." Since international law, in general, prohibits targeting civilians, it is outrageous to claim that resolution 3236 condones Palestinian terrorists attacking Israeli civilians. (see further below)
The terror organization The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) echoed this message, stating that the only way to deal with the new Israeli “fascist government” is “through confrontation” and by using “all forms of struggle”:
Headline: “The Democratic Front [for the Liberation of Palestine] called to provide the factors of power for thwarting the fascist government’s bloody plan”
“The DFLP said: ‘Everyone must have a spirit of national realism and view the Israeli development as a great turning point, which it is only possible to deal with its consequences and dangers through a confrontation on the ground, through popular resistance that uses all forms of struggle (i.e., term used by Palestinians, which also refers to the use of violence and terror).’”
[Donia Al-Watan, independent Palestinian news agency, Dec. 29, 2022]
Underlining Fatah’s terror intentions, one of Fatah’s anniversary posters included an image of a masked man holding a slingshot next to a rifle:
Poster for the 58th anniversary of “the Launch” of Fatah. In the upper left is former PLO and PA Chairman Yasser Arafat and in the upper right is PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. In the center is the number “58,” with the Fatah logo that includes a grenade, crossed rifles, and the PA map of “Palestine” that presents all of Israel together with the PA areas as “Palestine” in the upper part of the “8,” and the Dome of the Rock in the lower part of the “8.” Inside the “5” is a masked man with the Dome of the Rock on his head using a slingshot. In front of the “58” is the PA map of “Palestine” with a large key symbolizing the Palestinian refugees’ “right of return.” The bit and blade of the key are black and resemble rifle sights, turning the key into a rifle with the PA map of “Palestine” behind it.
Posted text: “#A_storm(i.e., “asifa” in Arabic, a reference to the Fatah military unit Al-Asifa)_broke_out
With the keffiyeh of the Elder (i.e., former PLO and PA Chairman Yasser Arafat) and the flags of Al-Asifa, tomorrow [Dec. 29, 2022] we will be together with the great masses in marking the outbreak of our lauded revolution
#Long_life_to_you
#Long_live_Fatah
#Fatah_58
#The_58th_Intilaqa”
Text on image: “Invitation
As a sign of loyalty to those who sacrificed themselves for Fatah’s revolution and its giant path
[Fatah’s] Northern Hebron Branch invites you to participate in a rally marking the 58th anniversary of the Intilaqa of the Fatah rebel
On Thursday, Dec. 29, [2022,] at 12:00 p.m. in Ramallah
You are the Fatah army and your presence is [a sign of] affiliation”
[Fatah Movement – Northern Hebron Branch, Facebook page, Dec. 28, 2022]
Following decades of PMW reports, Fatah’s adherence to violence and terror is not new or surprising and toward the end of 2022, Fatah officials even made explicit calls to “strike” Israel and for “armed resistance”:
Fatah Revolutionary Council member Wafa Zakarneh: “The world needs to reexamine its relations with the Palestinian people, and this will only happen with the language of force. The world only understands the language of the strong. We as a Palestinian people, we own the right, and we need to be the strong ones, to strike in the Zionist depth (i.e., inside Israel) just as they are striking our sons and our heroes.”
[Official PA TV, Dec. 20, 2022]
Around the anniversary of the first Palestinian wave of violence and terror against Israel - the first Intifada (1987-1993) - in which approximately 200 Israelis were murdered, Fatah and Fatah officials made statements calling for more violence and terror.
Fatah official in the Jenin area Fida Turkeman stated that “armed resistance” is “only solution” to “expel the occupation:”
Fatah official in the Jenin area Fida Turkeman: “The Palestinian resistance that is being led by Fatah and the national forces will continue until the occupation and its collaborators are swept from our occupied lands… This occupation only knows one language and it is armed resistance against the Zionist occupation. We have nothing except armed resistance to expel the occupation and its collaborators from our occupied territories since 1948 and 1967. This is the only solution for resistance to the occupation: Armed resistance, until establishing our state and sweeping away the occupation and its collaborators from our occupied land.”
[Official PA TV, Dec. 8, 2022]
Fatah also vowed that terror will continue until Israel ceases to exist:
“Thursday [Dec. 8, 2022], the Fatah Movement emphasized that the resistance to the Israeli occupation will not stop except with [the occupation’s] removal from the land of Palestine.
Fatah said this in a statement issued by the Fatah Commission of Information and Culture on the 35th anniversary of the first popular Palestinian Intifada.
Fatah said that the Palestinian people will continue its popular resistance (i.e., term used by Palestinians, which also refers to the use of violence and terror) with the same determination until achieving victory and ending the presence of the criminal Israeli occupation in all its forms.
Fatah noted that the Palestinian people’s resistance to the racist Zionist expansion project has not stopped for more than 100 years and will not stop. It emphasized that the occupation’s fate is to end, and that its place is in the trash can of history like all the colonialist projects.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 9, 2022
and Safa, independent Palestinian news agency, Dec. 8, 2022]
The Fatah Revolutionary Council made similar statements, calling for “escalation”:
“Our resistance [is] an obligatory national duty for everyone, and… a necessary choice from which there is no return. Fatah will increase its participation in the popular resistance in all areas. It also calls to escalate this resistance with all legitimate means that are anchored for us in international law…
The Fatah Revolutionary Council emphasizes our determination to resist the occupation and the settler colonialism, regardless of how great the sacrifices may be, as this is our land and these are our rights… We will not abandon our prisoners, their families, and the families of our Martyrs, regardless of how great the sacrifices may be and how strong the pressures may grow.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 7, 2022]
DFLP has also called for a “comprehensive intifada” that would “rise to the level of a comprehensive national rebellion.” PLO Executive Committee member and DFLP Political Bureau member Tayseer Khaled emphasized:
“What we need today is to tighten the ranks, end the [Hamas-Fatah] rift, restore the national unity and the unity of the Palestinian political regime, and also a comprehensive intifada against the occupation and preparation for a national rebellion that will include all the political and social forces.”
[Donia Al-Watan, independent Palestinian news agency, Dec. 8, 2022]
It is worth noting, that while many erroneously believe that Palestinian terror only resulted from the Israeli control of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem in 1967, as noted above, Fatah is celebrating the 58th anniversary of its first terror attack in 1965. The date of the start of Fatah’s terror is consistent with its ideology, as PMW has overwhelmingly shown, to deny Israel’s very right to exist.
The following are longer excerpts of the statements cited above and additional social media posts by different branches of Fatah:
Headline: “Fatah on the anniversary of the Intilaqa: Continuing on the path of revolution and Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Palestine”
“Yesterday, Thursday [Dec. 29, 2022], the Fatah Movement issued the Intilaqa statement on the 58th anniversary of Fatah’s Intilaqa (i.e., the anniversary of “the Launch” of Fatah, counted from its first terror attack against Israel) and the outbreak of the modern Palestinian revolution: …‘We will remind the criminal occupier that a people and movement that gave birth to the rebels, the Al-Asifa forces (i.e., Fatah military unit), the RPG children, and the heroes of the stones will not lower the flag of struggle until achieving what Fatah was established for…
Fatah expresses its great pride in its mighty Palestinian people andits heroic fighterswho have sacrificed their blood to help their people against the criminal aggression towards our people, our cities, our refugee camps, and our villages, and we view this revolutionary activity as a natural response to the occupation’s crimes and violence that are continuing against our people.
Fatah adheres to the path of comprehensive popular resistance (i.e., term used by Palestinians, which also refers to the use of violence and terror) and all the legal options of struggle. It salutes the heroes of the popular resistance at all the points of resolve and confrontation with the Zionist tools of violence and killing, and strives together with the Palestinian struggle forces to escalate, organize, develop, and expand [the resistance] against all the occupation’s aggressive plots, with all types of resistance remaining open to our people.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 30, 2022]
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." At the time Abbas said this, 14 Israelis had already been murdered. http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=16437
Headline: “The Democratic Front [for the Liberation of Palestine] called to provide the factors of power for thwarting the fascist government’s bloody plan”
“In a statement today, Thursday [Dec. 29, 2022], in response to the fascist Israeli government’s plan, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) called to provide the factors of power and resolve on the ground in order to thwart the bloody plan that the Israeli fascist government announced (apparently refers to coalition agreement to develop Jewish towns in the West Bank -Ed.).
The DFLP said: ‘Everyone must have a spirit of national realism and view the Israeli development as a great turning point, which it is only possible to deal with its consequences and dangers through a confrontation on the ground, through popular resistance that uses all forms of struggle (i.e., term used by Palestinians, which also refers to the use of violence and terror).’”
[Donia Al-Watan, independent Palestinian news agency, Dec. 29, 2022]
Headline: “Fatah on the anniversary of the intifada: The resistance will not end except with the end of the occupation”
“Today, Thursday [Dec. 8, 2022], the Fatah Movement emphasized that the resistance to the Israeli occupation will not stop except with [the occupation’s] removal from the land of Palestine.
Fatah said this in a statement issued by the Fatah Commission of Information and Culture on the 35th anniversary of the first popular Palestinian Intifada (i.e., Palestinian wave of violence and terror against Israel, approximately 200 Israelis murdered, 1987-1993).
Fatah said that the Palestinian people will continue its popular resistance (i.e., term used by Palestinians, which also refers to the use of violence and terror) with the same determination until achieving victory and ending the presence of the criminal Israeli occupation in all its forms.
Fatah noted that the Palestinian people’s resistance to the racist Zionist expansion project has not stopped for more than 100 years and will not stop. It emphasized that the occupation’s fate is to end, and that its place is in the trash can of history like all the colonialist projects.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 9, 2022
and Safa, independent Palestinian news agency, Dec. 8, 2022]
The first Intifada/The Stone Intifada - Palestinian wave of violence and terror against Israel 1987-1993, in which approximately 200 Israelis were murdered.
Headline: “The Fatah Revolutionary Council: The occupation’s crimes are turning our resistance into an obligatory national duty for everyone”
“At the end of discussions of [its] 10th session, the Fatah Movement Revolutionary Council emphasized… that the rise in the pace of [Israeli]acts of murder and execution in cold blood is turning our resistance into a national duty to which everyone is obligated, and into a necessary choice from which there is no return…
The Revolutionary Council emphasized as follows:
- The rise in the pace of [Israeli] acts of murder and execution in cold blood, the blocking of roads, the destruction of homes, the establishment of settlements and their expansion, and also the continued holding of the Martyrs’ bodies are turning our resistance into an obligatory national duty for everyone, and into a necessary choice from which there is no return. Fatah will increase its participation in the popular resistance in all areas (i.e., term used by Palestinians, which also refers to the use of violence and terror). It also calls to escalate this resistance with all legitimate means that are anchored for us in international law.The occupation and its government bear the consequences for the responses of self-defense that our people and its movement will carry out on the ground, and the international community must do that which is required of it and provide protection to our people.
- The Israeli government that is currently being established is a government of settlers, which is placing the reins in the hands of gangs of murderers, and which proves that Israel has turned into an apartheid state. While resisting this occupation, our people is confronting the world with the need to respond to the plans and measures that the senior officials of the new Israeli government are announcing. [These plans and measures] will make the future explosion a certainty, as long as practical international measures are not implemented to deter the occupation and its government, which is dragging the region into a swamp of hate, blood, and violence…
- We salute the Arab masses with honor and pride for their constant and principled stand alongside Palestine and its people at all times. We express honor and appreciation for the Arab masses and the masses of free people of the world who are present at the 2022 Qatar World Cup for their stand alongside Palestine, for them showing our national flag in a prominent, attention-grabbing, and awe-inspiring way, and for boycotting the occupation’s media…
- The Fatah Revolutionary Council emphasizes our determination to resist the occupation and the settler colonialism, regardless of how great the sacrifices may be, as this is our land and these are our rights… We will not abandon our prisoners, their families, and the families of our Martyrs, regardless of how great the sacrifices may be and how strong the pressures may grow.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 7, 2022]
Headline: “Tayseer Khaled: We need a comprehensive intifada that will rise to the level of a comprehensive national rebellion”
“On the anniversary of the glorious popular intifada, the Stone Intifada (i.e., Palestinian wave of violence and terror against Israel, approximately 200 Israelis murdered, 1987-1993 ), [PLO Executive Committee member and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) Political Bureau member] Tayseer Khaled called for a comprehensive examination of the policy that will return the focus to the goals for which the intifada broke out, particularly after the rise of fascism and it becoming an influential force in the Israeli political regime… [He added that] the Palestinian situation today is also in its worst condition, as the occupation is deepening and the settlement is spreading like a cancer and encircling us with enclaves…
He emphasized: ‘What we need today is to tighten the ranks, end the [Hamas-Fatah] rift, restore the national unity and the unity of the Palestinian political regime, and also a comprehensive intifada against the occupation and preparation for a national rebellion that will include all the political and social forces.’”
[Donia Al-Watan, independent Palestinian news agency, Dec. 8, 2022]
In the following, the number “58” refers to the 58th anniversary of “the Launch” of Fatah, counted from its first terror attack against Israel in 1965.
The Fatah Movement – Gaza Strip Branch posted an image and text on its Facebook page
The image shows the head of terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, who led the murder of 37, 12 of them children, altered so that it is on the body of a woman wearing a keffiyeh (Arab headdress), with the Dome of the Rock visible in the background. In the upper left corner is the Fatah logo that includes a grenade, crossed rifles, and the PA map of “Palestine” that presents all of Israel together with the PA areas as “Palestine.” In the upper right corner is a logo for the 58th anniversary of the Intilaqa, “the Launch” of Fatah, counted from its first terror attack against Israel, which includes the PA map of “Palestine.”
Posted text: “The Palestinian woman
The fighting mother, the female prisoner, and the female Martyr
Preserving the sacred fire
Long live the anniversary and may the revolution continue
#Fatah_58 (i.e., refers to the 58th anniversary of “the Launch” of Fatah, counted from its first terror attack against Israel)
#The_continuation_of_the_revolution_to_establish_the_state
The [Fatah] Commission of Information and Culture – the southern branches (i.e., in the Gaza Strip)”
Text on image: “The Palestinian woman
The fighting mother, the female prisoner, and the female Martyr
Preserving the sacred fire”
[Fatah Movement – Gaza Strip Branch, Facebook page, Dec. 27, 2022]
Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub posted an image and text on his Facebook page.
The image shows a logo for the 58th anniversary of the Intilaqa, “the Launch” of Fatah, counted from its first terror attack against Israel. The logo consists of the number “58” with a rifle barrel rising out of the “8,” the Dome of the Rock in the lower part of the “8,” and the PA map of “Palestine” that presents all of Israel together with the PA areas as “Palestine” in the background. On the map is the Fatah logo that includes a grenade, crossed rifles, and the PA map of “Palestine.”
Posted text: “A blessing of honor, pride, and glory to all the Fatah members, long live the anniversary of our lauded revolution, and a good year to our mighty Palestinian people.”
Text on image: “The continuation of the revolution to establish the state
The Fatah Movement”
[Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub, Facebook page, Dec. 29, 2022]
Jibril Rajoub also serves as Head of the PLO Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, Chairman of the Palestinian Football Association, Chairman of the Palestine Olympic Committee, and Chairman of the Palestinian Scout Association (PSA).
The image shows a poster featuring former PLO and PA Chairman Yasser Arafat carrying an AK-47 assault rifle slung over his shoulder. On the right is a person carrying an RPG launcher, and on the left is a man in military uniform. In the upper left is the Fatah logo that includes a grenade, crossed rifles, and the PA map of “Palestine” that presents all of Israel together with the PA areas as “Palestine.” In the upper right is a logo for the 58th anniversary of the Intilaqa, “the Launch” of Fatah, counted from its first terror attack against Israel.
Posted text: “Jan. 1, 1965
Fatah’s Al-Asifa (i.e., Fatah military unit) rose up
Long live the anniversary and may the revolution continue
#Fatah_58 (i.e., refers to the 58th anniversary of “the Launch” of Fatah, counted from its first terror attack against Israel)
#The_continuation_of_the_revolution_to_establish_the_state
[Fatah] Commission of Information and Culture – the southern branches (i.e., in the Gaza Strip)
Text on image: “Fatah’s Al-Asifa rose up”
[Fatah Movement – Gaza Strip Branch, Facebook page, Dec. 26, 2022]
The image shows former PLO and PA Chairman Yasser Arafat in the middle, Khalil Al-Wazir “Abu Jihad” on the left, and Salah Khalaf “Abu Iyad” on the right. In the upper left corner is the Fatah logo that includes a grenade, crossed rifles, and the PA map of “Palestine” that presents all of Israel together with the PA areas as “Palestine.”
Posted text: “A revolution led by [former PLO Chairman and PA President] Yasser Arafat, [Khalil Al-Wazir] ‘Abu Jihad’ (i.e., terrorist, responsible for murder of 125), and [Salah Khalaf] ‘Abu Iyad’ (i.e., head of the Black September terror organization) will not break and will continue
Long live the anniversary and may the revolution continue
#Fatah_58 (i.e., refers to the 58th anniversary of “the Launch” of Fatah, counted from its first terror attack against Israel)
#The_continuation_of_the_revolution_to_establish_the_state
The [Fatah] Commission of Information and Culture – the southern branches (i.e., in the Gaza Strip)”
Text on image: “A revolution led by Yasser Arafat, ‘Abu Jihad,’ and ‘Abu Iyad’ will not break and will continue”
[Fatah Movement – Gaza Strip Branch, Facebook page, Dec. 29, 2022]
Headline: “The masses of our people marked the 58th anniversary of the outbreak of the revolution and the Fatah Movement’s Intilaqa”
“Hundreds of thousands set out in a procession that passed through the streets of Ramallah, on the way to the central rally and Intilaqa events (i.e., the anniversary of “the Launch” of Fatah, counted from its first terror attack against Israel) in the center of the city…
The Khansa of Palestine, mother of the Martyrs and prisoners, and mother of prisoner Martyr Nasser Abu Hmeid (i.e., terrorist, responsible for murder of 7), [Um Nasser Abu Hmeid] (i.e., mother of terrorists responsible for at least 10 murders; see note below) said: ‘Nasser carried the torch of Fatah throughout his entire life and remained loyal to it. I call on you to continue with the goal for which Nasser and his comrades sacrificed their lives in prison and in Martyrdom-death for the liberation of Palestine.’”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 30, 2022]
Um Nasser Abu Hmeid (Um Yusuf Abu Hmeid/Latifa Abu Hmeid)