Nablus Municipality highlights murderers of thousands as role models

Nan Jacques Zilberdik|Apr 9

What do 2 Palestinian mayors, 5 poets, 2 writers, a cartoonist, a journalist, a thinker, a philanthropist, a singer, a plastic artist, an Israeli Arab MP,and 12 terrorist murderers have in common?

All the above were chosen by the Nablus Municipality as "greatly appreciated" symbols for Palestinians "to learn from."

The Nablus Municipality hosted an exhibition featuring 28 paintings of people who are "national, cultural, and social symbols," each accompanied by explanatory text about the person. Nablus' mayor, Husam Al-Shakhshir, explained the "importance" of these figures, stressing that "we greatly appreciate the role these figures played in the Palestinian national action sphere." He added that these figures, which include terrorists who are responsible for the murder of thousands, are role models; that visitors to the exhibition are encouraged to "learn from these figures."

Of the role models chosen, 12 of them were terrorists who either headed terror organizations and sent others to kill, planned murderous attacks, or carried out attacks themselves:

Salah Khalaf (Abu Iyad) – Head of the terror organization Black September, planned the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre and the murder of two American diplomats in Sudan.
Ahmed Yassin – Founder of the terror organization Hamas. Under his leadership, Hamas introduced suicide terror as a tactic for mass murder of civilians. He was responsible for the murder of hundreds of civilians of many nationalities.
Dalal Mughrabi – Female Fatah terrorist bus hijacker, who led the murder of 37 Israelis, 12 of them children.
Yasser Arafat – Founder of Fatah and former chairman of the PLO and PA. Behind hundreds of terror attacks against Israeli civilians. He launched a 5-year terror campaign – the second Intifada (2000-2005) – in which more than 1,000 Israelis were murdered.
Abu Ali Mustafa – Secretary-General of the terror organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which carried out numerous terror attacks against Israeli civilians
Laila Khaled - PFLP member, participated in two plane hijackings.
Ghassan Kanafani – Writer and leader of the terror organization PFLP.
Shadia Abu Ghazaleh – Female bomb maker for terror organization PFLP; prepared bombs for many attacks against Israel
Zakiya Shammout – Female terrorist, murdered 1.
Abu Jihad (Khalil Al-Wazir) – Terrorist responsible for the murder of at least 125 people. Founder of Fatah and deputy to Arafat, headed the PLO terror organization's military wing.
Ismail Haniyeh – Chairman of Hamas' Political Bureau.
George Habash – Founder of the terror organization PFLP.

The following is a PA TV broadcast from the exhibition, which was organized by the Nablus Municipality. Palestinian Media Watch found images of 28 paintings at the exhibition, of which 12 glorify terrorists. They appear below with the texts they were presented with at the exhibition, followed by PMW's additional information on their terror activities:

Official PA TV reporter in Nablus: "We are appearing before you from the ‘Seal Coloring' exhibition in Nablus, which includes paintings of national, cultural, and social symbols."
Exhibition organizer Mais Abu Sa': "I want... us to build a generation correctly. A generation that knows the history of our [symbols] and their contribution. We have so many prominent figures... We highlight them and their great contribution to Palestine to remind all those who are of my generation what those who preceded us did."
Nablus Mayor Husam Al-Shakhshir: "The importance of this matter lies in how it highlights the role these figures played. These figures played roles in Palestinian history in [various] fields – political, intellectual, cultural... Therefore, today we focus on highlighting their role and highlighting these figures… This is the purpose for which the Nablus Municipality is holding this exhibition…. We greatly appreciate the role these figures played in the Palestinian national action sphere, and we say to people – hopefully we will learn from these figures."
[Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, Feb. 21, 2026]

PA Nablus District Police Department of Public Relations and Information Head Samer Al-Zitawi visited the exhibition.

A poster at the exhibition:
Text on poster: "Nablus Municipality
The Aqarat Company for Managing Commercial Centers
Under the auspices of the Aqarat Company,
the Nablus Municipality organized the ‘Seal Painting' exhibition.
The exhibition includes paintings of national, cultural, and social symbols.
Monday – Feb. 16, 2026
Nablus Municipality Complex."
[Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, Feb. 21, 2026]

Paintings at the exhibition organized and sponsored by the Nablus Municipality (translations appear in order of the paintings from left to right, top to bottom):

Terrorist Salah Khalaf, planned the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre
Text accompanying painting: "Salah Khalaf [Abu Iyad] (1933 - 1991)
Palestinian politician
One of the founders of the Palestinian Fatah Movement
Commander of the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) security services
Born in Jaffa
He was murdered in Carthage, Tunisia"

Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin
Text accompanying painting: "Ahmed Yassin (1936 - 2004)
One of the prominent figures of the Palestinian Islamic Da'wa (i.e., Islamic missionary activity)
Born in the village of Al-Jura
Founder of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas and its leader until his death
He was murdered in the Sabra neighborhood, Gaza"

Nablus Mayor Ghassan Al-Shak'a
Text accompanying painting: "Ghassan Al-Shak'a (1943 - 2018)
Born in Nablus, Palestine
Politician and lawyer
Mayor of Nablus
Member of the [PA] Parliament (Legislative Council)
Member of the PLO Executive Committee
He died in 2018"

Terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, who led the murder of 37 people, 12 of them children
Text accompanying painting: "Dalal Mughrabi, 1958-1978, a Palestinian female self-sacrificing struggle fighter, born in the Sabra refugee camp, died as a Martyrduring the ‘Kamal Adwan self-sacrificing operation,' which she carried out in the Jaffa subdistrict (i.e., the Coastal Road massacre, 37 murdered)"

Former Chairman of the PA and the PLO Yasser Arafat
Text accompanying painting: "Yasser Arafat Muhammad Abd Al-Raouf Arafat Al-Qidwa Al-Husseini (1929-2004)
Nickname: Abu Ammar
Alias: The Elder
Civil engineer and military politician
With the rank of Palestinian Chief of Staff
Born in Cairo, Egypt
The first president of the Palestinian National Authority
One of the founders of the Fatah Movement and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
Awarded the Order of the State of Palestine Grand Cordon
In addition to other awards and decorations"

PFLP terror organization Secretary-General Abu Ali Mustafa:
Text accompanying painting: "Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Secretary-General Mustafa Ali Al-Ali Al-Zabri, his nickname in the [PFLP] Movement – Abu Ali Mustafa"

Poet Ibrahimi Tuqan
Text accompanying painting: "Ibrahim Tuqan (1905-1941)
Early Palestinian poet
Born in Nablus
Composer of the national anthem ‘My Homeland'
He died in Jerusalem"

Terrorist and plane hijacker Laila Khaled
Text accompanying painting: "…Palestinian politician and PFLP member, member of the Palestinian National Council (i.e., the legislative body of the PLO)"

PFLP terror organization leader and author Ghassan Kanafani
Text accompanying painting: "Ghassan Kanafani (1936-1972)
Palestinian novelist, storyteller, and journalist
Born in Acre
He is considered one of the most famous Palestinian writers and journalists. His literary works, including novels and short stories, are deeply rooted in Arab and Palestinian culture.
Kanafani was murdered in Beirut with an explosive device planted in his car
He was buried in Beirut"

Cartoonist Naji Al-Ali
Text accompanying painting: "Naji Al-Ali (1937-1987)
Born in the village of Al-Shajara
Palestinian cartoonist
Created 40,000 cartoons
He was murdered in London in 1987"

Philanthropist Hind Al-Husseini
Text accompanying painting: "Hind Taher Al-Husseini (1916-1994)
Born in Jerusalem
A prominent figure in the education and society of Palestine
A respected educator and fighter who dedicated her life to caring for her people and caring for orphans, the poor, and the children of Martyrs. She founded the Arab Child House Association in Jerusalem, established the Hind Al-Husseini College for Girls in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem, and founded the Palestinian Folklore Museum
Established a library at the Nashashibi Center for Culture and Arts"

Israeli Arab Parliament Member Tawfiq Ziyad
Text accompanying painting: "Tawfiq Ziyad (1929-1994)
Palestinian poet and writer
One of the pioneers of the resistance
Born in the city of Nazareth
He is the poet of Palestinian resistance
Mayor of Nazareth"

Writer Samih Al-Qassem
Text accompanying painting: "Samih Al-Qassem (1939-2014)
Born in Zarqa, Jordan
One of the most important and famous contemporary Arab and Palestinian poets, the poet of the revolution and the resistance
Chairman of the Arab Writers' Union and the General Union of Arab Writers, honorary editor in chief of the newspaper Kul Al-Arab…
He published more than 87 books of poetry and prose. Theater, articles, and translation"

Terrorist and member of the PFLP terror organization Shadia Abu Ghazaleh
Text accompanying painting: "Born in Nablus, the first Palestinian female Martyr after the Naksa (i.e., "the setback," Palestinian term for Israel's victory in the Six Day War) of the West Bank, the first among the Martyrs of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), died as a Martyr in Nablus in 1968 during preparations for an operation (i.e., terror attack)"

Terrorist Zakiya Shammout, who murdered 1 person
Text accompanying painting: "Zakiya Shammout, 1945-2014:
A Palestinian female self-sacrificing fighter, born in the city of Jaffa – Palestine.
The first Palestinian woman to give birth to her daughter inside Israeli prisons.
She carried out 7 self-sacrificing operations (i.e., terror attacks) until she was arrested along with her husband... She was sentenced to 12 life sentences, and her husband was sentenced to life. She was released in 1982 and deported to Algeria where she died"

Arch-terrorist Abu Jihad, responsible for the murder of at least 125 people
Text accompanying painting: "Khalil Al-Wazir ‘Abu Jihad' (1935-1988)
Born in Ramle, Palestine, nicknamed the Prince of Martyrs
A political and military figure, refugee, and one of the founders of the Fatah Movement and its military wing (Al-Asifa) [parentheses in source]
Member of the Palestinian National Council, the Supreme Military Council of the Palestinian Revolution, and the Palestinian Central Council.
He was murdered in Tunisia in 1988"

Former Chairman of Hamas' Political BureauIsmail Haniyeh
Text accompanying painting: "Head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement – ‘Hamas' in Palestine, born in the Al-Shati [refugee] camp in the Gaza Strip, was assassinated in Tehran, Iran in 2024"

PFLP terror organization founder George Habash
Text accompanying painting: "George Habash (1926-2008)
Known as the Doctor
Born in Lod
Palestinian fighter and politician
Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
He was elected Secretary-General of the Resolve Association
Founder of the Arab Nationalist Movement"
[Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, Feb. 21, 2026]