Abbas awards terrorist with "Star of Honor"
Abbas awards "Military Star of Honor"
to terrorist who attempted to blow up cinema in 1967
"out of appreciation for her pioneering role
in the struggle" and "for the public good"
Terrorist Barnawi about her thwarted bombing attack:
"It is not a failure,
because it generated fear throughout the world"
PA TV host concurs:
"It is a success for the Palestinian resistance
that... created a state of panic"
by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Ziberdik
Last week, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas awarded terrorist Fatima Barnawi with the "Military Star of Honor." Barnawi placed a bomb in a movie theater in Jerusalem in 1967 in an attempt to murder civilians. The bomb was discovered and Barnawi spent 10 years in Israeli prison.
Official PA TV News reported on the ceremony at which Abbas himself presented terrorist Barnawi with the honor. Tayeb Abdel Rahim, Secretary General of the Presidency, read aloud the Abbas' Presidential Decree in honor of the terrorist:
"Decree for 2015. The President of the State of Palestine and acting Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee; by the authority vested in us, and for the public good; we decree the following:
Paragraph 1: Fighter Fatima Barnawi - the first female prisoner of the revolution of modern Palestine - is granted the Award of Military Star of Honor.
Paragraph 2: In appreciation for her pioneering role in the struggle,her sacrifice for her homeland and her people, and its revolution, and her willingness to give from the beginning until now..." (Longer excerpt below)
[Official PA TV, May 28, 2015]
Palestinian Media Watch has documented that Abbas has decorated other terrorists with similar honors, among them Abu Jihad(orchestrated the murder of 125 Israelis), Abu Ali Iyad (orchestrated Fatah terror attacks in the 1960s) and Nayef Hawatmeh (Secretary-General of terrorist organization DFLP that carried out many terror attacks in the 1970s).
Terrorist Barnawi, who was sentenced to life imprisonment but released in 1977 after serving 10 years, was recently interviewed on PA TV, where she gave an account of her attempted terror attack. The message from official PA TV during this interview was that Palestinian terror having caused "fear throughout the world" and the need for extra security precautions in "any public place" which are a bane of the modern world, are actually Palestinian "success."
Although the attack was thwarted, Barnawi insisted that it was "not a failure" because it sowed "fear throughout the world":
"All my life I had dreamed about it... We were supposed to place the explosives in the restroom or under one of the seats. I put them where we sat, near the middle [of the theater]... While we were leaving, the bomb was discovered. An American sitting behind us said: "The ladies forgot their bag." The usher came to take the bag and found a ticking clock... They moved the people away and blew it up at the entrance... This is not a failure, because it generated fear throughout the world. Every woman who carries a bag needs to be checked before she enters the supermarket, any place, cinemas and pharmacies."
The PA TV host concurred, emphasizing that it was "a success."
[Official PA TV, May 9, 2015]
PA TV similarly praised Barnawi as "a role model and example and a pioneer of sacrifice" when she was recently honored in Egypt. Broadcasting from the event, PA TV referred to the terrorist as "an honor to the world's female fighters" and "an honor for the [Palestinian] cause... a positive symbol of the Palestinian woman." [Official PA TV, Feb. 15, 2015]
The official PA news agency Wafa reiterated Abbas' reasons for honoring the terrorist last week. [WAFA (the official Palestinian news agency), May 28, 2015]
The following are longer excerpts of the reports on terrorist Fatima Barnawi:
Secretary-General of the Presidential Office, Tayeb Abd Al-Rahim: Decree for 2015. The President of the State of Palestine and acting Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee; by the authority vested in us, and for the public good; we decree the following:
Paragraph 1: Fighter Fatima Barnawi - the first female prisoner of the revolution of modern Palestine - is granted the Award of Military Star of Honor.
Paragraph 2: In appreciation for her pioneering role in the struggle,her sacrifice for her homeland and her people, and its revolution, and her willingness to give from the beginning until now...
Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine and acting Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee."
[Official PA TV, May 18, 2015]
Headline: "The President [Abbas] presents Barnawi with the Military Star of Honor"
"The President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, presented the Military Star of Honor to the fighter Fatima Barnawi, the first female prisoner of the modern Palestinian revolution...
His Honor [Abbas] presented Barnawi with the Military Star of Honor out of appreciation for her pioneering role in the struggle, her sacrifice for her homeland, her people, and its revolution, and her willingness to sacrifice and to give from the beginning until today."
[WAFA (the official Palestinian news agency), May 28, 2015]
Terrorist Fatima Barnawi:"I was ready. All my life I had dreamed about it. We took the bomb and went to the cinema... I told [my sister] "come with me," as if it's a trip... We entered the cinema and sat down. We were supposed to place the explosives in the restroom or under one of the seats. I put them where we sat, near the middle [of the theater]... It was almost time. We left... While we were leaving, the bomb was discovered. An American sitting behind us said: "The ladies forgot their bag." The usher came to take the bag and found a ticking clock. There were only seconds left [until the explosion]. He called them [security]. They moved the people away and blew it up at the entrance... I say, this is not a failure, because it generated fear throughout the world. Every woman who carries a bag needs to be checked before she enters the supermarket, any place, cinemas and pharmacies... I don't define that as a failure."
PA TV host:That is certainly not a failure. It is a success for the Palestinian resistance that went into the heart of the Israeli occupation, into the cinema and created a state of panic, because [since then] they've taken extra precautions when each person enters a cinema or any public place.
[Official PA TV, May 9, 2015]