Fatah glorifies Hamas rockets from Gaza against Israel and supports armed conflict
against Israel and supports armed conflict:
Jamal Muhaisen: “We praise and salute every hand that launched a rocket at Israel”
Nabil Shaath: "May Allah have mercy on the hero [Hamas’] Ahmed Al-Ja'abari"
Jibril Rajoub: “We will not return the sword to its sheath until there is a state”
Mahmoud Al-Aloul: Hopefully Arab Spring will create climate for Palestinian armed struggle
Fatah military wing:
Armed struggle is “sole solution for liberating land and eradicating occupation”
We wanted “to respond and avenge his [Ahmed Al-Ja'abari’s] pure blood”
by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
The Palestinian Authority and Fatah condemned Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense that aimed at destroying Hamas’ terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. It never once condemned Hamas’ rocket attacks on Israel during the 8-day conflict.
Instead, senior PA and Fatah leaders “bless Hamas,” “praise and salute” the launching of rockets against Israel, and even advocate “armed struggle.”
Five Fatah Central Committee members have recently lauded Hamas and Islamic Jihad for their rocket attacks against Israel and/or promoted the use of armed struggle.
Abbas Zaki, member of Fatah’s Central Committee, said after the recent conflict in Gaza:
His admiration for Hamas’ attacks on Israeli civilians was shared by fellow Central Committee member Jamal Muhaisen:
Similarly, a regular columnist for the official PA daily expressed his satisfaction with “the heroic performance of the resistance organizations” (i.e., Hamas and Islamic Jihad) who succeeded in making “Palestinian resistance missiles reach] Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Eilat, surprising and baffling the Israeli leaders,” and who developed “the national response” in such a way that it “even advanced to bombing operations inside Israel… with the bombing of a bus [in Tel Aviv], injuring 20 people – an act that baffled the Israeli leadership even more.”
Senior PA leader Nabil Shaath also expressed solidarity with Hamas, mourning the death of “hero” Ahmed Al-Ja’abari, head of Hamas’ military wing who was killed by Israel: “May Allah have mercy on the hero Ahmed Al-Ja'abari and on all the Martyrs.”
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Reinforcing these Fatah members’ praise of Hamas’ terror against Israel, other Fatah Central Committee members have continued advocating the resumption of “armed struggle” against Israel. At a public gathering in Ramallah, senior PA leader Jibril Rajoub vowed:
In October, another Fatah Central Committee member, Mahmoud Al-Aloul, reiterated that support for “armed struggle” against Israel is still a value in Fatah and the PA: “No one has eliminated armed struggle or resistance as an option,” he said to the private Palestinian TV channel Wattan. Referring to the text of Fatah’s “Political Program” that was confirmed at the 6th Fatah Conference in 2009, Al-Aloul said:
In September, Abu Muhammad, spokesman for a unit of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades (Fatah’s military wing), also referred to the “legitimate right,” saying that “it is important to see the armed struggle as strategy rather than a tactic, and as a legitimate right and the sole solution for liberating the land and eradicating the occupation."
Similarly, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, in a press release in October “demanded of all the factions [carrying out] armed actions that they return to the option of resistance in confronting the occupation, and emphasized that they will continue the resistance in all its forms. They said that there is no ceasefire with Israel and pointed out that they won’t stop their attacks until every last part of Palestine is liberated.” (emphasis added)
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades’ response to Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense was that “from the first moment after the assassination of Commander Ahmed Ja’abari, the Brigades thought to respond and avenge his pure blood.” Such were the words of spokesman Abu Muhammad, who also prided himself on how they “managed to fire three rockets half an hour after his death as a Martyr was announced,” and how “the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades fired 600 rockets and mortar shells towards the occupied territories during the days of aggression.” (emphasis added)
A “fighter” in the Brigades said that “the war is over, but the Brigades’ supply of weapons and rockets is not exhausted, and we are ready for confrontation at this very moment, and we will not give up our weapons under any circumstances.” (emphasis added)
In his interview to Wattan TV in October, Al-Aloul also referred to another pillar of PA ideology: The need for timing the violence and alternating it with diplomatic efforts for political gain. Stating that “armed resistance has absolutely not been eliminated from anyone's options,” Al-Aloul specified that Fatah hopes “the 'Arab Spring'… will create the climate so that the Palestinians can employ it."
PMW’s book Deception describes and documents the “terror needs timing” principle adopted by PA leaders. The use of “armed resistance” must be timed correctly for political benefit. Whenever it is perceived as undermining Palestinian political interests, the PA puts its promotion of violence and the use of “armed resistance” on hold, and instead encourages the use of political diplomacy and other non-violent means of “resistance.” Palestinian leaders have defined this strategy as “the rifle seeds, diplomacy reaps.”
Palestinian terror attacks have been criticized by PA leaders for their “bad timing” and for hurting Palestinian national interests, but never for being immoral. The PA continues to promote violence and glorify terrorists as heroes.
Palestinian Media Watch has documented the PA’s continued promotion of use of the “armed struggle.”
Read reviews of PMW's book Deception and purchase it here.
The following are longer excerpts of the statements mentioned above:
Abbas Zaki, Member of Fatah Central Committee:
Member of Fatah Central Committee Jamal Muhaisen: “We say again: We of course praise our people’s resolve in Gaza. We praise and salute every hand that launched a rocket at Israel from Gaza, and every hand that threw a stone at the Israeli side in the West Bank. And here, when signing agreements, it must not be done as if the battle was between Israel and Hamas only. The battle was [between Israel] and all the Palestinians.”
Senior PA leader and member of Fatah Central Committee Nabil Shaath: “We are all gathered here [in Gaza] because of the unity [between Fatah and Hamas]. This unity will win further victories for us. Blessings to the Martyrs, and may Allah have mercy on the hero Ahmed Al-Ja'abari and on all the Martyrs.”
Note: Ahmed Al-Ja'abari was the head of Hamas' military wing and responsible for deaths of dozens of Israelis. He was killed by Israel at the start of Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense, aimed at crippling the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza (November 2012).
The following is a longer excerpt of statements by Jibril Rajoub, Deputy-Secretary of the Fatah Central Committee, at a ceremony in Ramallah on the occasion of the PA’s application for observer state status at the UN in November 2012.
Deputy-Secretary of the Fatah Central Committee, Jibril Rajoub: “This is a popular struggle. We still believe in all forms of the struggle. No one has removed the rifle from the equation. However, for us, the struggle is a means, and the end is freedom and independence.”
The following is a longer excerpt of Fatah Central Committee member Al-Aloul’s statement on armed struggle:
Member of the Fatah Central Committee, Mahmoud Al-Aloul: “No. No one has eliminated armed struggle or resistance as an option. Recently, at the last Fatah conference, there was an important declaration in the Introduction to the Political Program that we considered an integral part of the Political Program and whose important points stated that Fatah, for example, is a national liberation movement, and that Fatah believes that resistance, in all its forms, is the legitimate right of occupied nations when confronting their occupiers. I do not think that there's a single Palestinian who has eliminated resistance, or any form of resistance whatsoever, from consideration, or from his plans. That's in principle and in theory. We have to understand this well: Every form of resistance has certain conditions that are necessary for its use. So every phase has a particular form of resistance best suited to it, and everyone has agreed that at this stage, that form is popular resistance (i.e., non-violent). At the same time, armed resistance has absolutely not been eliminated from anyone's options. It needs a suitable climate not only among us... We hope that what is being spoken of as the 'Arab Spring' and changes in the Arab world will create the climate so that the Palestinians can employ it (i.e., armed resistance).”
Oct. 8, 2012, emphasis added]
Columnist for official PA daily Adel Abd Al-Rahman:
Firstly: Ending the barbaric Israeli aggression, and removing the threat of an even more despicable and bloody Israeli massacre of Palestinian people in the southern districts (i.e., Gaza Strip).
Secondly: Realization of national unity between the people at various levels and the all over the homeland, the diaspora, and the interior (i.e., Israel). This in addition to blending political activity and struggle, and between all the VIPs– notably President Mahmoud Abbas [of Fatah] and other Palestinian figures, especially Khaled Mashaal, Head of the Hamas Political Bureau –paving the way for rapid progress towards a stable national unity.
Thirdly: The heroic performance of the resistance organizations (i.e., Hamas and Islamic Jihad) reacting to the barbaric Israeli war, who succeeded in:
the moment of surprise.
2. Initiating a direct response through missiles of varying sizes and ranges,
like the Fajr 5, Grad, 107 [mm rockets], etc., launched against Israeli cities
and populated areas.
3. For the first time, Palestinian resistance missiles reached Tel Aviv, Jerusalem,
and Eilat, surprising and baffling the Israeli leaders. This [was achieved], even
though the Israeli leadership claimed in Netanyahu’s words to have destroyed
the bulk of missile launching sites and storehouses.
4. Combining armed resistance with peaceful resistance. Cities of the West Bank – first and foremost Jerusalem – were witness to increased popular activity,
in addition to sit-down strikes and demonstrations in the different cities’ squares
and streets, to support and strengthen our people in the Gaza districts.
5. Development of the national response that even advanced to bombing operations
inside Israel, as occurred on Wednesday with the bombing of a bus [in Tel Aviv],
injuring 20 people – an act that baffled the Israeli leadership even more.”
The following is the article that reported on the Fatah military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades’ statements praising Hamas’ Ahmed Ja’abari and about their own fighting Israel alongside Hamas during Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense (November, 2012):
The following are the articles that reported on the Fatah military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades’ statements encouraging armed struggle:
“Abu Muhammad, spokesman for the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades – Martyr (Shahid) Nidal Al-Amoudi unit… said… that the arrests [by Hamas security forces] of the [Fatah military wing’s] Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades fighters happen at a time when the Palestinian people, which is in Ribat (religious conflict/war defending or fighting for Islamic land), is subject to continued bombings and liquidations by the Israeli occupation’s planes and tanks. … In a press release the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades demanded of all the factions [carrying out] armed actions that they return to the option of resistance in confronting the occupation, and emphasized that they will continue the resistance in all its forms. They said that there is no ceasefire with Israel and pointed out that they won’t stop their attacks until every last part of Palestine is liberated.”