Palestinian Red Crescent hosts terror-honoring event

- Ceremony honored leader of most lethal terror attack in Israel’s history - Dalal Mughrabi - as “Bride of Palestine”
- PA official, Governor of Ramallah Laila Ghannam “expressed great pride in Martyr Dalal... and said that the title Sisters of Dalal is an honor to all Palestinian women”

- Abbas’ advisor Sultan Abu Al-Einein said the attackers “wanted the operation to unite the brothers and friends of all Arab countries, and wished to convey the message that Palestine is the cause of all Arabs” 
 

[Official Facebook page of Ramallah & Al-Bireh Governorate, March 12, 2016]	[Facebook page of Advisor to PA Chairman Abbas on NGOs and Fatah Central Committee member Sultan Abu Al-Einein, March 13, 2016]

Every year the Palestinian Authority and Fatah celebrate the anniversary of the most lethal terror attack in Israel's history by honoring the female terrorist Dalal Mughrabi who led it. This year, one such celebration was hosted by the office of the Palestinian Red Crescent, which is under the International Red Cross.

 

In the attack in 1978, 37 civilians were killed, including one American. 12 of the victims were children. They were murdered by a group of terrorists led by Dalal Mughrabi who sailed by boat from Lebanon to Israel and then hijacked a bus on Israel's Coastal Highway. When confronted by the Israeli army, the terrorists killed 36 of the passengers and wounded more than 70. The American victim, photographer Gail Rubin, was murdered prior to the hijacking.

 

The invitation to Fatah’s event at the Red Crescent’s headquarters was posted on Fatah’s official Facebook page and stressed that it was to honor terrorist Mughrabi, referred to as “the Bride of Palestine”: 

 

“General invitation

Return to the Roots

The Fatah Movement is honored to invite you

to attend the Return to the Roots ceremony

to mark the 38th anniversary

of the

death as Martyrs (Shahids) of fighter Dalal Mughrabi, 

‘the Bride of Palestine,’ and her comrades

who carried out the self-sacrificing operation ‘Kamal Adwan’ (i.e., terror attack),

On Saturday, March 12, 2016, at 12:30 at the Palestinian Red Crescent headquarters - Dr. Fathi Arafat Convention Center

Glory and eternal life to our righteous Martyrs

And freedom to our heroic prisoners” (emphasis in red on original invitation)

[Official Fatah Facebook page, March 9, 2016]

 

At the event, PA official, District Governor of Ramallah and El-Bireh, Laila Ghannam, praised terrorist Mughrabi, and asked Allah “for mercy over the Martyrs”: 

 

“District Governor Dr. Laila Ghannam... emphasized that the blood of our female Martyrs flows in the veins of every Palestinian, and that the woman was and will remain a pioneering symbol and man’s partner in the struggle and decision making. Likewise, she [Ghannam] asked Allah to spread his mercy over the male and female Martyrs... and emphasized that every Palestinian that belongs to her land and [adheres to] her basic principles is a sister of Dalal.”

[Official Facebook page of Ramallah & Al-Bireh Governorate, March 12, 2016]

 

Fatah Central Committee member Sultan Abu Al-Einein posted on his Facebook page that Ghannam “expressed great pride in Martyr (Shahida) Dalal and her fellow companions, and said that the title Sisters of Dalal is an honor to all Palestinian women.” [Facebook page of Sultan Abu Al-Einein, March 13, 2016] The official PA daily added that “Ghannam emphasized that Dalal insisted on carrying a rifle alongside her male companions, and on standing next to them in the battlefield.” [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 13, 2016]

 

Pictures from the event show Ghannam with young children, some of whom are holding a poster displaying a picture of terrorist murderer Dalal Mughrabi and the PA map of “Palestine” that includes the PA areas as well as all of Israel, displaying the text: “The 38th anniversary of the deaths as Martyrs of Bride of Palestine Dalal Mughrabi and her companions.” The Fatah logo also appears on the poster. 

 

A number of PA and Fatah officials participated in the event, among them PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor on NGOs, Sultan Abu Al-Einein, District Governor of Ramallah and El-Bireh, Laila Ghannam, members of the Fatah Central Committee Abbas Zaki and Jamal Muhaisen, PLO Executive Committee member and Secretary-General of the Palestinian Liberation Front, Wasel Abu Yusuf, as well as terrorist Dalal Mughrabi’s sister Rashida Mughrabi.

Source: Facebook page of Advisor to PA Chairman Abbas on NGOs and Fatah Central Committee member Sultan Abu Al-Einein, March 13, 2016

Abbas’ advisor and member of Fatah Central Committee, Sultan Abu Al-Einein stated in his speech that “Dalal, her companions, and the planner of the operation, Martyr Abu Jihad, wanted the operation to unite the brothers and friends of all Arab countries, and wished to convey the message that Palestine is the cause of all Arabs.” [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 13, 2016]

 

This is not the first time that Palestinian Media Watch has reported on the Palestinian Red Crescent’s involvement in terror glorification. In the past, the International Red Cross (ICRC) responded that they don't tell the Palestinian Red Crescent how to spend the money given to it by the ICRC. When the Palestinian Red Crescent together with the ICRC glorified terrorists by planting 150 trees bearing the names of "veteran prisoners," the ICRC defended the Palestinian Red Crescent's right to do so, arguing that each branch has the right "to define [its] own priorities and activities and to allocate funds accordingly."

 

The following are longer excerpts from the reports on the event hosted by the Palestinian Red Crescent honoring terrorist murderer Dalal Mughrabi and commemorating the attack in which 37 were killed:

 

Image and text posted on the Official Fatah Facebook page

 

Posted text: “General invitation”

 

Text on invitation:

“General invitation

Return to the Roots

The Fatah Movement is honored to invite you

to attend the Return to the Roots ceremony

to mark the 38th anniversary

of the death as Martyrs (

Shahids) of fighter Dalal Mughrabi,

‘the Bride of Palestine,’ and her comrades

who carried out the self-sacrificing operation ‘Kamal Adwan’ (i.e., terror attack),

On Saturday, March 12, 2016, at 12:30 at the Palestinian Red Crescent headquarters - Dr. Fathi Arafat Convention Center

Glory and eternal life to our righteous Martyrs

And freedom to our heroic prisoners”

[Red emphasis on original invitation, Official Fatah Facebook page,
March 9, 2016]

 

Headline: “Ramallah: Fatah marks the 38th anniversary of the death as Martyrs of Dalal Mughrabi and her fellow companions”

“The Fatah Movement marked the 38th anniversary of the death as Martyrs (Shahids) of Dalal Mughrabi and her fellow companions in the [Palestinian] Red Crescent auditorium in El-Bireh, in the presence of District Governor of Ramallah and El-Bireh Laila Ghannam and some members of the PLO Executive Committee and the Fatah Central Committee.

Ghannam emphasized that Dalal insisted on carrying a rifle alongside her male companions, and on standing next to them in the battlefield...

Fatah Central Committee member Sultan Abu Al-Einein emphasized that Dalal, her companions, and the planner of the operation, Martyr Abu Jihad, wanted the operation to unite the brothers and friends of all Arab countries, and wished to convey the message that Palestine is the cause of all Arabs.

He added: ‘If the Israeli enemy wants peace, it will discover that we will make this peace; but it does not want us to live on our land, but rather that we be strangers in this homeland.’ He added that our people is tired of chasing after a false peace.

Abu Al-Einein stated: ‘Israel and its extremist government need to stop inciting and spilling Palestinian blood so that our children and youth will stop responding.’ He held Israel fully responsible for the escalation [of violence] in the Palestinian territories, due to the acts of the terrorist settlers... and stressed that Israel is the one forcing our children to carry out stabbing operations against soldiers and settlers...

PLO Executive Committee member [and Secretary-General of the Palestinian Liberation Front] Wasel Abu Yusuf stated: ‘Our nation will not rule out any option of struggle or resistance until the realization of our national project.’ He noted that the current Israeli government is the most extreme, and that it will not give us anything but continued land theft.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 13, 2016]

 

An almost identical text appeared on the official Facebook page of Abbas’ advisor and Fatah Central Committee member Sultan Abu Al-Einein, with the following addition:

 

“[District Governor of Ramallah and El-Bireh Laila] Ghannam expressed great pride in Martyr (Shahid) Dalal and her fellow companions, and said that the title Sisters of Dalal is an honor to all Palestinian women.”

[Facebook page of Advisor to PA Chairman Abbas on NGOs

and Fatah Central Committee member Sultan Abu Al-Einein, March 13, 2016]

 

Photos and text posted on the official Facebook page of Ramallah & Al-Bireh Governorate on March 12, 2016

 

Posted text: “During the participation of the honorable [Ramallah and El-Bireh] District Governor Dr. Laila Ghannam in the event to mark the anniversary of Dalal Mughrabi’s [death as a] Martyr (Shahida), she emphasized that the blood of our female Martyrs flows in the veins of every Palestinian, and that the woman was and will remain a pioneering symbol and man’s partner in the struggle and decision making. Likewise, she [Ghannam] asked Allah to spread his mercy over the male and female Martyrs, sent greetings of honor to the male and female prisoners, and emphasized that every Palestinian that belongs to her land and [adheres to] her basic principles is a sister of Dalal.”

[Official Facebook page of Ramallah & Al-Bireh Governorate, March 12, 2016]

  

Photo at top of report: District Governor of Ramallah and El-Bireh Laila Ghannam speaks at the event. Behind her, the sign announces the event. It bears the Fatah logo, and the text: “Welcome to the Return to the Roots ceremony to mark the anniversary of the [death as a] Martyr of Dalal Mughrabi, Bride of Palestine, and her companions. Saturday, March 12, 2016 - Palestinian Red Crescent headquarters”

 

Dalal Mughrabi led the most lethal terror attack in Israel’s history, known as the Coastal Road massacre, in 1978, when she and other Fatah terrorists hijacked a bus on Israel's Coastal Highway, killing 37 civilians, 12 of them children, and wounding over 70.

 

Abu Jihad (Khalil Al-Wazir) was a founder of Fatah and deputy to Yasser Arafat. He headed the PLO terror organization's military wing and also planned many deadly Fatah terror attacks. These attacks, which killed a total of 125 Israelis, included the most lethal in Israeli history - the hijacking of a bus and killing of 37 civilians, 12 of them children.