US Congress members demand Abbas fire former advisor for glorification of murderer

Prompted by Palestinian Media Watch’s exposure of senior PA official Sultan Abu Al-Einein’s praise for a murderer, five members of US Congress protested to Abbas, demanding that his former advisor Abu Al-Einein be removed from his current position in government as Head of the Palestinian Council for NGO Affairs.

PMW reported that Abu Al-Einein at an official event praised the murderer who stabbed Evyatar Borovsky, an Israeli father of five, to death: Click to view

In addition, Fatah’s official Facebook page praised the killer as "the hero, the released prisoner, Salam Al-Zaghal" posting two pictures of him. On a photo of the victim, the page administrator’s comment read: In response to these two examples of glorification of murder by the PA and Fatah, the two frameworks headed by Mahmoud Abbas, just days after the killing, the members of US Congress wrote: Since then, there has been no announcement in the PA media of any steps taken by Abbas to “denounce and condemn” Abu Al-Einein’s statements, nor that Abbas has removed him “from his position.”

Since the letter was sent, Fatah has removed from its Facebook page the two pictures of the murderer and deleted its praise of the terrorist as “hero” from the Israeli victim’s photo. The text now only reads: However, despite these cosmetic changes, Fatah’s Facebook page still features many expressions of terror glorification and praise of murderers. (See below.)

In April this year, three members of US Congress protested to Abbas about explicit PA TV hate speech that PMW had exposed, in which a young girl recited a poem that defined the Jews as the “enemies of Allah, descendants of pigs."

The following are more examples of terror glorification on Fatah’s official Facebook page, followed by the full text of the letter from the five members of US Congress demanding the removal of Abu Al-Einein, for glorifying the murderer as a “heroic fighter.”

Fatah’s official Facebook page:
On the anniversary of two suicide terror attacks, Fatah’s Facebook page featured text and pictures praising the terrorists Andalib Takatka and Fadi Al-Amoudi who murdered 7 as “Martyrs” and heroes.”

“We are committed to your promise. We are committed to the promise of freedom, oh Bride of Palestine” is how Fatah’s Facebook page addressed suicide bomber Ayyat Al-Akhras on the anniversary of her terror attack, an attack in which 2 were killed and 28 wounded. Another suicide terrorist, Ahmed Masharqa, who killed 4, was referred to as a “hero Martyr.” 

"One of the most honorable Martyrdom-seeking operations," Fatah praised the suicide bombing by Wafa Idris that killed 1 and injured over a hundred.

Dalal Mughrabi, who lead the most lethal terror attack in Israel’s history, which led to the killing of 37 civilians, has also been honored on Fatah’s Facebook page, in both words and pictures.  “Dalal, my eternal love” “hero… bride of Jaffa” and “first President… of [Palestinian] republic.” 

Fatah has also used its Facebook page to glorify terror, incite hatred, and erase Israel from maps.

PMW documents terror glorification in the PA.

Full letter from the US Members of Congress to PA Chairman Abbas:

His Excellency Mahmoud Abbas
President
Palestinian National Authority
Al Muqata’a, Ramallah West Bank
Dear Mr. President:
During our recent meeting in Ramallah, you stressed your absolute commitment to non-violence in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. We were encouraged by your remarks, and appreciate the time you shared with our delegation.

However, upon our return to the United States we were troubled to learn that a senior Palestinian Authority official, Sultan Abu Al-Einein, who previously served as your advisor holding the rank of minister, had recently expressed his open support for the murderer who killed Evyatar Borovsky, an Israeli who was stabbed to death by Palestinian terrorist Salam Al-Zaghal while he was waiting for a ride.

Mr. Al-Einein stated, "We salute the heroic fighter, the self-sacrificing Salam Al-Zaghal." And he went on to note that "He [Al-Zaghal] insisted on defending his honor, so he went against the settler and killed him. Blessings to the breast that nursed Salam Al-Zaghal."

We have also become aware that only hours after the murder, the administrator of Fatah's official Facebook page glorified Al-Zaghal as a "hero."

President Abbas, allowing this type of incitement and hatemongering to take place within your ranks is intolerable if you are truly dedicated to non-violence. We ask that you publically and officially denounce and condemn Mr. Al-Einein’s remarks at once and remove him from his position in your government. We also request that Fatah immediately remove its Facebook page glorifying this murder.

We look forward to seeing you take action on this matter and working with you to create a peaceful and prosperous future for the Palestinian people.
Sincerely,

Reps. Eliot Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Ed Royce, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Nita Lowey, Ranking Member of the Appropriations Committee,
Ted Deutch, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Middle East,
and
Brad Sherman, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation, and Trade.