PLO pays Palestinians to erase Israel in Ramadan quizzes
- Quiz participants received monetary rewards for “right” answers, locating Israeli cities and sites “in Palestine”
As is its custom, official PA TV entertained Palestinians with quizzes during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Contestants won monetary prizes merely by denying Israel's existence, giving a “right” wrong answer. The following are four examples of such quizzes:
Israel’s Mount Meron is “in Palestine”
Official PA TV host 1: “What is the highest mountain in Palestine, in the Upper Galilee (i.e., region in northern Israel)?”
Man: “Mt. Meron (i.e., a mountain in Israel near Safed).”
Host: “Good job.”
[Official PA TV, Hit the Singer, March 27, 2023]
Having answered “correctly,” the man received an envelope from the host, evidently containing a monetary prize. Right answers in quizzes on the program Hit the Singer are usually awarded with $100.
Israeli city of Be’er Sheva is “in Palestine”
Official PA TV host: “Our question is about the geography of Palestine: What is the southernmost city in Palestine? Shall we give you options?”
Man: “Yes, please.”
Host: “Be’er Sheva or Ashkelon (i.e., both Israeli cities)?”
Man: “Be’er Sheva.”
Host: “Are you sure? Final answer?”
Man: “Allah willing.”
Host: “Certainly, right answer. Be’er Sheva is the southernmost city in Palestine. You have won a monetary prize from us, a gift of the PLO Department of Refugee [Affairs].”
[Official PA TV, From the Refugee Camp, March 26, 2023]
The Israeli Sea of Galilee is “in Palestine”
Official PA TV host: “I’m sure you know the Sea of Galilee (i.e., in northern Israel). It is in Palestine. You know it, right?”
Woman 1: “Of course.”
Host: “What is the maximal length of the Sea of Galilee?”
Woman 2: “The length of its beaches, I think it’s 53 [km], and its length is 21 [km]. [Is that] a mistake?”
Host: “No, no, it’s correct.”
[Official PA TV, From the Refugee Camp, March 30, 2023]
Israel's border is part of “Palestine’s border” with Jordan
Official PA TV host: “What is the length of the borders between Palestine and Jordan… 360 km or 460 km?”
Man: “360 km…”
Host: “Correct answer, 360 km is the length of the borders between Palestine and Jordan. You have won a monetary prize from us, a gift of the PLO Department of Refugee [Affairs].”
[Official PA TV, From the Refugee Camp, April 2, 2023]
The border length of 360 km includes the border of the Galilee in northern Israel and the Negev in southern Israel, in addition to the Jordan Valley in the West Bank.
Having answered correctly, all three participants received an envelope from the host. Right answers in quizzes on the program From the Refugee Camp are usually awarded with 20 Jordanian dinars, approx. $28.
For decades, Palestinian Media Watch has exposed the PA’s denial of Israel's existence and right to exist, referring to all Israeli cities and sites as being located “in Palestine.”
The Fatah Movement also promotes the notion that Israeli cities are “Palestinian.” In a recent video, Abbas’ Movement referred to the Israeli cities Rishon LeZion and Petah Tikva as “settlements”:
Fatah-run Awdah TV narrator: “The settlement began in Palestine before 1879, in other words, before the First Zionist Congress in Basel [Switzerland], such as the settlements of Petah Tikva and Rishon LeZion (i.e., Israeli cities). The settlement expanded slowly, especially after 1948, in other words after the establishment of the State of Israel. The settlement grew faster after the occupation of Jerusalem, in other words after the June 4, 1967 borders.”
[Fatah Commission of Information and Culture, Facebook page, April 4, 2023]
Individual PA leaders also promote the ideology that all of Israel is “Palestine.” Senior PA leader and Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub posted this map on his Facebook page:
Text on image: “March 30, Palestinian Land Day”
Posted text: “Land Day will remain a symbol of our people’s resolve and its adherence to its land.
Long live eternal Land Day
[Fatah Central Committee Secretary] #Jibril_Rajoub”
[Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub, Facebook page,
March 30, 2023]
PMW documented that Rajoub promoted the “Palestine Marathon” by wearing a shirt with the same map denying Israel's existence – used as the official PA logo of the marathon.
The same map deleting Israel appears on a new cover photo on the PLO Supreme Council for Youth and Sports’ Facebook page:
Text on cover photo: “A democratic, joint, national, enabling, and free Palestinian society that provides equal opportunities”
[PLO Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, Facebook page, March 23, 2023]
As a rule the PA uses this map in all contexts.
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).
Land Day – annual commemoration of the general strike and demonstrations organized by Israeli Arab residents of the Galilee on March 30, 1976 to protest the Israeli government's decision to expropriate land in the Galilee for security and building purposes, which it later implemented. During the protests, demonstrators burnt tires, blocked roads, and threw rocks and firebombs. Six demonstrators were shot and killed by the Israeli army and police. Israeli Arabs and Palestinians consider Land Day a national day.