Top Fatah official: PA Security Forces should train terrorists, not arrest them!
Fatah official in support of West Bank terrorists:
- "The pursuit and arrest of the resistance fighters by the PA Security Forces are a mistake"
- They are "young people full of patriotic enthusiasm to fight, but they lack training and experience, and therefore they must receive training"
In an open expression of support for Palestinian terrorists, a senior PA official urged the PA Security Forces to end collaboration with Israel in the West Bank and stop arresting "the young resistance fighters" – his term for terrorists. But Fatah Central Committee member Tawfiq Tirawi didn't stop there. He also advocated for "training" the young terrorists – "people full of patriotic enthusiasm to fight" – because they "lack training and experience":
"Fatah Movement Central Committee member Tawfiq Tirawi commented on the state of resistance (i.e., terror) forming in the West Bank and the arrest of the resistance fighters by the [PA] Security Forces, and said:‘It is necessary to correct this situation in order to prevent unnecessary arrests and relate to the young resistance fighters in a spirit of understanding and support.'
Tirawi said of the pursuit and arrest of the resistance fighters by the Security Forces that these arrests are a mistake, and added:‘My personal opinion is that the arrest of these young people is a mistake. Instead, we must contain this situation, contain these young people and train them.'
Tirawi added: ‘We have young people full of patriotic enthusiasm to fight [Israel], but they lack training and experience, and therefore they must receive training.'"
[Wattan, independent Palestinian news agency, Sept. 19, 2024]
Tirawi also called for "cleaning our house of collaborators," but didn't specify whether that meant just arresting them or worse:
"If we want to approach resistance (i.e., terror) the right way, we must clean our house of collaborators [with Israel], as we have collaborators everywhere. We must first clean our house and then resist the occupation."
Palestinian Media Watch has already exposed that the PA Security Forces made up of Fatah members, are heavily involved in terror in the report Terrorists in Uniform.
While involved in terror themselves, the PA Security Forces have been notifying Israel of Hamas terror cells. It could be that Tirawi is now objecting to even notifying Israel or arresting Hamas members, which is a major change in attitude.
PMW has exposed the PA and Fatah's support, promotion, and glorification of terror against Israel for almost three decades. Tirawi in particular has been a leading voice, and early in the current war in the Gaza Strip he emphasized that Fatah is actively participating in fighting Israel:
Fatah Central Committee member Tawfiq Tirawi: "Who said that Fatah is not participating in the fighting [i.e., in Gaza war against Israel]? Who gave you this information and misled you that we are not participating? ... All the Palestinian organizations in the West Bank are fighting and coordinating among themselves on the ground... How many Martyrs are from Fatah? ... Fatah has never relinquished the rifle, and it has never relinquished the struggle."
[Fatah Central Committee member Tawfiq Tirawi, Facebook page,
Nov. 18, 2023]
Even prior to the war, Tirawi claimed in 2021 that it was Hamas that was preventing Fatah from participating in terror against Israel:
Fatah Central Committee member Tawfiq Tirawi: "We [in Fatah] are protecting the weapons of the resistance more than others are protecting the weapons of the resistance… Who said we [Fatah] are against resistance? We are in favor of resistance in all its forms... There is popular resistance in the West Bank. There is armed resistance sometimes in the Gaza Strip. In a struggle, popular resistance and armed resistance need to be integrated… Why is Fatah banned as an organization in the Gaza Strip? Why are you [Hamas] preventing Fatah from being armed in the Gaza Strip? Why are you preventing Fatah from participating in the battles that have taken place in the Gaza Strip… The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in the Gaza Strip are small groups… They are under Hamas control, and sometimes Hamas gives them normal freedom of movement, but it doesn't give them the freedom to fight against Israel, and doesn't give them the right to fire rockets at Israel as Hamas does in wartime. In wartime, all the options are open. Why is it [Hamas] preventing them [Fatah] from taking part in many causes?"
[Fatah Central Committee member Tawfiq Tirawi, Facebook page,
Dec. 9, 2021]
PA leaders such as Tirawi expose the misguided nature of international proposals to have Fatah – which they frame as a "moderate alternative" to Hamas – take political and military control of Gaza following the war.
The following is a longer excerpt of the report on Tirawi's statements:
"Fatah Movement Central Committee member Tawfiq Tirawi said… regarding the [Fatah-Hamas] national reconciliation and the Beijing agreement [between the Palestinian factions] that what were discussed were the general lines, and this requires details. He revealed that a meeting will be held between Hamas and Fatah in order to agree on these understandings, which is supposed to take place in a number of days…
As for the criticism that was directed regarding the functioning of the PA, and especially the [PA] Security Forces, and its continued commitment to the agreements that were signed with the occupation (i.e., Israel) including the security coordination, Tirawi said that the security coordination with the Israeli occupation has actually ended, and what remains is management on civilian issues only, and also all the agreements with the occupation have ended, including the division [of the West Bank] into Areas A, B, and C (refers to division between Israeli and PA control under the 1993 Oslo Accords -Ed.), due to the current situation…
Tirawi commented on the state of resistance (i.e., terror) forming in the West Bank and the arrest of the resistance fighters by the [PA] Security Forces, and said: ‘It is necessary to correct this situation in order to prevent unnecessary arrests and relate to the young resistance fighters in a spirit of understanding and support.'
Tirawi said of the pursuit and arrest of the resistance fighters by the Security Forces that these arrests are a mistake, and added: ‘My personal opinion is that the arrest of these young people is a mistake. Instead, we must contain this situation, contain these young people and train them.'
Tirawi added: ‘We have young people full of patriotic enthusiasm to fight, but they lack training and experience, and therefore they must receive training.' He added: ‘If we want to approach resistance the right way, we must clean our house of collaborators [with Israel], as we have collaborators everywhere. We must first clean our house and then resist the occupation.' …
Tirawi commented on the development in the military arena in Lebanon and expressed his deep concern over the Israeli military escalation (refers to Israeli response to Hezbollah attacks during the 2023 Gaza war; see note below -Ed.). He noted that these developments come in a wider context of the attacks that Israel is carrying out, whose goal is to undermine the stability in the region.
Tirawi explained that the recent Israeli attacks in Lebanon came as part of its attempts to thwart the efforts to defend the Palestinian cause, and explained that the Martyrs who ascended [to Heaven] in Lebanon defended Palestine and its cause…
Tirawi noted that Israel, ever since its establishment, is seeking to expand its influence in the region, which is being expressed through the ongoing attacks that it is carrying out against the resistance forces in Lebanon…
Finally, Tirawi emphasized the importance of having the region remain united against the challenges, in the hope that the Lebanese people and additional Arab peoples will succeed in standing against the Israeli escalation in a united and efficient manner."'
[Wattan, independent Palestinian news agency, Sept. 19, 2024]