PA official praises terrorist from lynch and murder of two Israelis in Ramallah
Most Israelis who lived through the Second Intifada will never forget a Palestinian mob's brutal murder of two Israeli reserve soldiers, Vadim Nurzhitz and Yossi Avrahami, and the subsequent mutilation of their bodies before a baying crowd in 2000 in Ramallah.
In the PA it is celebrated as a glorious event and the Palestinians who took part in it are seen as heroes. One such terrorist, Habbes Bayyoud, was released in one of the exchange deals between Israel and Hamas during the Oct. 7 war and was deported to Egypt.
PA official Laila Ghannam, who serves as Ramallah and El-Bireh District Governor, has stressed that participation in the Ramallah lynching is an honorable achievement. She recently assured terrorist Bayyoud in a phone call that he and other terrorists will "remain at the top of our priorities" and that "the safe return of the expelled ones" is one of the PA's "goals." Ghannam also "saluted" all the "brave" terrorists [Facebook page, Feb. 15, 2026]
PA official Laila Ghannam visits the mother of terrorist Habbes Bayyoud.
Palestinian Media Watch has documented Ghannam's support for terrorists numerous times. She recently stated that the terrorists are "a source of pride and glory for all our people," and also glorified terrorist Dalal Mughrabi who led the murder of 37 Israelis as a role model. Ghannam also promotes the PA's ideology that death for Allah, by way of terror against Israelis, is one of the greatest accomplishments in Palestinian society.
PMW has also exposed similar glorification of the Ramallah lynching in the past and that the perpetrators have been paid salaries by the PA.
One of the participants in the lynching, Aziz Salha, showing the mob the blood of the victims on his hands. Israel released him in the Shalit prisoner exchange deal with Hamas in 2011.
The following are PA official Ghannam's posts glorifying Bayyoud:
Posted text: "As part of a visit of loyalty, I went to Al-Mazra'a Al-Gharbiya to be updated on the health of the mother of released prisoner Habbes Bayyoud (i.e., terrorist, participated in murder of two), who breathed freedom after 23 years of resolve behind the bars of the occupation's (i.e., Israeli) prisons…
During the visit, we made a phone call with released Bayyoud and emphasized to him that our prisoners will remain at the top of our priorities, and that their full freedom and the safe return of the expelled ones to the embrace of their families, is a goal from which we will not deviate. We also wished his mother health and that the family will soon reunite on the soil of the homeland."
[Ramallah and El-Bireh District Governor Laila Ghannam, Facebook page,
Feb. 15, 2026]
Posted text: "We salute our brave prisoners and their patient families, especially the mother of released and deported prisoner Habbes Bayyoud (i.e., terrorist, participated in murder of two), who was always present in the arenas of support for our prisoners, and through her [we salute] all the mothers of the prisoners, the released prisoners, our prisoners in the prisons, and all the institutions working for their freedom."
[Ramallah and El-Bireh District Governor Laila Ghannam, Facebook page,
Feb. 15, 2026]