PA daily op-ed defends Abbas` visit to families of terrorist murderers
Editorial in the official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida:
Headline: “The ethical issue”
“What the extreme Israeli right is dithering over the most at the moment is the moral issue, but it is as if it does not know anything about this issue, and is not even close to understanding any of its concepts, customs, or manners. For this reason, it sees the reception held by President Mahmoud Abbas for the families of the Martyrs (i.e., terrorists who were killed during their attacks against Israelis) whose bodies are being held by the occupation authorities as ‘being caught red handed’ (!!) [parentheses in source] and as incitement and patronage of terror and violence!! The moral issue which we are talking about is a humanitarian issue which does not pertain to one nation specifically, but rather to all of humanity… The reception that President Mahmoud Abbas held for the families of the Martyrs whose bodies are being held [by Israel] is not a response to this issue alone, but rather a fulfillment of human responsibility, before the national one. The suffering relatives of the Martyrs just want a word that will give them comfort and patience, a word that will comfort them and pat their shoulder with compassion. They want to part from their sons for the last time and give them the honor of a fitting burial in the ground of their land, the ground of their loved ones. Therefore they are knocking on all doors in order to release their sons’ bodies, and the first door is the door of the homeland, its people and its officials, in order to act together to achieve this simple human goal – the release of the bodies of the Martyrs, which are victims of the occupation and its despicable racist policies.”
Note: The PA daily and a UK Arab news site both reported that on Feb. 3, 2016, Abbas visited to the families of "Martyrs." According to the UK Arab news site, the families of the "Martyrs" that Abbas visited included the following terrorists: Baha Alyan, Ahmad Abu Sha'aban, Alaa Abu Jamal, Hassan Manasrah, Thaer Abu Ghazaleh, Muhammad Abu Nimr, and Mutaz Awisat. Descriptions of the "Martyrs" and their terror attacks can be viewed below.
Jerusalem line 78 bus terror attack - On Oct. 13, 2015, two Palestinian terrorists, Baha Alyan (22) and Bilal Ghanem (23) boarded Israeli bus no. 78 in Jerusalem's Armon Hanatziv neighborhood with a gun and a knife and attacked passengers, killing Israelis Haviv Haim (78) and Alon Govberg (51), and wounding 4 Israelis. Alyan was shot and killed by an Israeli security guard at the scene and Ghanem, a Hamas terrorist who served time in Israeli prison in 2013-2014, was wounded. Two weeks after the attack on Oct. 27, a 3rd victim in the attack, Richard Lakin (76), died from his wounds.
Alaa Abu Jamal - Palestinian terrorist who deliberately drove his car into people standing at a bus stop on Malchei Yisrael Street in Jerusalem on Oct. 13, 2015, hitting three people. Yeshayahu Krishevsky, 60, was killed and the other two were injured. Abu Jamal then got out of his car and started stabbing people, wounding others. The terrorist was killed by a security guard. He was a relative of the terrorists who murdered 5 worshippers and a policeman in the Har Nof synagogue in Jerusalem in November 2014.
Ahmad Sha’aban – a 23-year-old Palestinian terrorist, resident of East Jerusalem, who stabbed a 72-year-old woman outside the Jerusalem central bus station on Oct. 14, 2015. Sha’aban injured the woman and tried to board a bus with passengers in order to continue his attack. He was shot and killed by an Israeli policeman who was at the scene.
Pisgat Ze'ev stabbing attack - On Oct. 12, 2015, two Palestinian terrorists, Hassan Manasrah (15) and Ahmad Manasrah (13), stabbed Yossef Ben Shalom (21) in the Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood of East Jerusalem, and then repeatedly stabbed Naor Ben Ezra (13) who was riding his bike. Hassan Manasrah was killed while fleeing the scene, and Ahmad Manasrah was shot by Israeli police and hospitalized. Both victims of the attack were seriously injured. The terrorists, who were cousins, came from the nearby Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina.
Thaer Abu Ghazaleh – a 19-year-old Israeli Arab who stabbed 5 Israelis with a screwdriver, including a female soldier, a 60-year-old woman, and a man and woman in their 40s, in Tel Aviv on Oct. 8, 2015. He was shot and killed by an Israeli soldier.
Muhammad Nimr – Palestinian terrorist who ran toward Israeli security guards near the Damascus Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem with a knife in his hand on Nov. 10, 2015. He was shot and killed by one of the security guards.
Mutaz Awisat – 16-year-old Israeli Arab terrorist who drew a knife when he was stopped by Israeli soldiers who wanted to search him in Jerusalem on Oct. 17, 2015. Awisat was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers.
Headline: “The ethical issue”
“What the extreme Israeli right is dithering over the most at the moment is the moral issue, but it is as if it does not know anything about this issue, and is not even close to understanding any of its concepts, customs, or manners. For this reason, it sees the reception held by President Mahmoud Abbas for the families of the Martyrs (i.e., terrorists who were killed during their attacks against Israelis) whose bodies are being held by the occupation authorities as ‘being caught red handed’ (!!) [parentheses in source] and as incitement and patronage of terror and violence!! The moral issue which we are talking about is a humanitarian issue which does not pertain to one nation specifically, but rather to all of humanity… The reception that President Mahmoud Abbas held for the families of the Martyrs whose bodies are being held [by Israel] is not a response to this issue alone, but rather a fulfillment of human responsibility, before the national one. The suffering relatives of the Martyrs just want a word that will give them comfort and patience, a word that will comfort them and pat their shoulder with compassion. They want to part from their sons for the last time and give them the honor of a fitting burial in the ground of their land, the ground of their loved ones. Therefore they are knocking on all doors in order to release their sons’ bodies, and the first door is the door of the homeland, its people and its officials, in order to act together to achieve this simple human goal – the release of the bodies of the Martyrs, which are victims of the occupation and its despicable racist policies.”
Note: The PA daily and a UK Arab news site both reported that on Feb. 3, 2016, Abbas visited to the families of "Martyrs." According to the UK Arab news site, the families of the "Martyrs" that Abbas visited included the following terrorists: Baha Alyan, Ahmad Abu Sha'aban, Alaa Abu Jamal, Hassan Manasrah, Thaer Abu Ghazaleh, Muhammad Abu Nimr, and Mutaz Awisat. Descriptions of the "Martyrs" and their terror attacks can be viewed below.
Jerusalem line 78 bus terror attack - On Oct. 13, 2015, two Palestinian terrorists, Baha Alyan (22) and Bilal Ghanem (23) boarded Israeli bus no. 78 in Jerusalem's Armon Hanatziv neighborhood with a gun and a knife and attacked passengers, killing Israelis Haviv Haim (78) and Alon Govberg (51), and wounding 4 Israelis. Alyan was shot and killed by an Israeli security guard at the scene and Ghanem, a Hamas terrorist who served time in Israeli prison in 2013-2014, was wounded. Two weeks after the attack on Oct. 27, a 3rd victim in the attack, Richard Lakin (76), died from his wounds.
Alaa Abu Jamal - Palestinian terrorist who deliberately drove his car into people standing at a bus stop on Malchei Yisrael Street in Jerusalem on Oct. 13, 2015, hitting three people. Yeshayahu Krishevsky, 60, was killed and the other two were injured. Abu Jamal then got out of his car and started stabbing people, wounding others. The terrorist was killed by a security guard. He was a relative of the terrorists who murdered 5 worshippers and a policeman in the Har Nof synagogue in Jerusalem in November 2014.
Ahmad Sha’aban – a 23-year-old Palestinian terrorist, resident of East Jerusalem, who stabbed a 72-year-old woman outside the Jerusalem central bus station on Oct. 14, 2015. Sha’aban injured the woman and tried to board a bus with passengers in order to continue his attack. He was shot and killed by an Israeli policeman who was at the scene.
Pisgat Ze'ev stabbing attack - On Oct. 12, 2015, two Palestinian terrorists, Hassan Manasrah (15) and Ahmad Manasrah (13), stabbed Yossef Ben Shalom (21) in the Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood of East Jerusalem, and then repeatedly stabbed Naor Ben Ezra (13) who was riding his bike. Hassan Manasrah was killed while fleeing the scene, and Ahmad Manasrah was shot by Israeli police and hospitalized. Both victims of the attack were seriously injured. The terrorists, who were cousins, came from the nearby Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina.
Thaer Abu Ghazaleh – a 19-year-old Israeli Arab who stabbed 5 Israelis with a screwdriver, including a female soldier, a 60-year-old woman, and a man and woman in their 40s, in Tel Aviv on Oct. 8, 2015. He was shot and killed by an Israeli soldier.
Muhammad Nimr – Palestinian terrorist who ran toward Israeli security guards near the Damascus Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem with a knife in his hand on Nov. 10, 2015. He was shot and killed by one of the security guards.
Mutaz Awisat – 16-year-old Israeli Arab terrorist who drew a knife when he was stopped by Israeli soldiers who wanted to search him in Jerusalem on Oct. 17, 2015. Awisat was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers.