Abbas’ duplicity: “We battle terror” (but honor terrorists!)

Abbas to German leaders:
We “act to spread the culture of peace and battle terror in our region and the world”

Abbas to Palestinians about terrorists:
"We view the Martyrs and prisonersas stars in the sky of the Palestinian people”

The technique is fundamental to the PA leadership’s diplomacy. When PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas recently met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, he claimed the PA is “spreading the culture of peace”:

“The president emphasized [to Merkel] that we will continue to act to build our national institutions according to the rule of law, and also act to spread the culture of peace and battle terror in our region and the world, regardless of its source. He condemned the use of violence against civilians and emphasized that all of the monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - must be honored equally, and all forms of racism and discrimination must be rejected."

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 30, 2019]

Were this statement true, Abbas would actively be speaking out against Palestinian terror attacks against Israeli civilians. But to the contrary, Abbas encourages terror and promises terrorists that "Martyrs" will "reach Paradise" and that the wounded will be “rewarded by Allah.” Abbas lauds and praises those who follow this call to violence, and emphasizes that they are “stars in the sky,” “the most sacred,” and “sanctified.”Moreover, Abbas’ party Fatah is using its official Facebook page to promote terror. 

The following are some examples of Abbas lauding terrorists and "Martyrs":

Abbas: "We will not agree that they [Israel] consider our Martyrs terrorists - our Martyrs, the homeland's Martyrs! And we will not agree that they deduct one penny from their money. All of their money will return to them - because for us the Martyrs, the wounded, and the prisoners are the most sanctified.”

[Facebook page of the PA Presidential Office, Aug. 10, 2019; Official PA TV News, Aug. 11, 2019]

Abbas: "We view the Martyrs and prisoners as stars in the sky of the Palestinian people and the sky of the Palestinian people’s struggle, and they have priority in everything..."

 

[Official PA TV News, July 24, 2018]

The PA's controlled media likewise spreads the false statements about Abbas seeking and spreading peace. In an op-ed in the official PA daily, regular columnist and Fatah Revolutionary Council member Muwaffaq Matar lauded Abbas as “the president of peace”:

“From the perspective of the Palestinian people’s leadership, the war on terror was not a political tactic or a temporary choice, but rather a strategy relying on a historical, contemporary, and future cultural infrastructure of the Palestinian people - not only because the Palestinian people is the number one victim in the world of state-terror (Israel’s terror) [parentheses in source], but also because the humaneness that composes the Palestinian people’s collective and individual culture was the force that pushed the president of peace, the human president, Mahmoud Abbas, to go far in all that is connected to these agreements with all the world states that are prepared to fight terror. He did not do this in order to achieve political gains, but rather out of complete faith that terror is the opposite of humaneness, just as war is the opposite of peace, and ignorance is the opposite of knowledge.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 4, 2019]

Palestinian Media Watch has exposed the hypocrisy and duplicity of PA officials and documented that they say one thing to foreign audiences and another to Palestinians. For example, Abbas assured American students that the PA seeks peace and will only “choose the path of negotiations.” But one day earlier, his deputy in Fatah, Mahmoud Al-Aloul, told Palestinians that “we are extremely proud” of Omar Abu Laila, a terrorist who had just murdered two Israelis.

Similarly, Abbas’ advisor Mahmoud Al-Habbash assured the President of Israel Reuven Rivlin that he is for “eradication of religious hatred,” yet PMW has exposed that he preaches religious hatred of Jews to Palestinians, claiming that Jews represent "evil," "falsehood," and "the devils," and that Israel is "Satan's project."

The following are longer excerpts of the reports and statements cited above:

Headline: "The [PA] president: The American administration is not helping to achieve peace and security in our region"

"[PA] President Mahmoud Abbas said that the American administration is not helping to achieve peace and security in our region. The president added in a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday [Aug. 29, 2019] in Berlin that the American administration has put the matter of Jerusalem, the refugees, the borders, the settlement, and the security on the negotiation table, but has violated the international legitimacy and replaced it with steps that contradict the sources of authority that have been authorized by the entire international community...

The president noted that he will brief the German chancellor on the latest developments and obstacles that the Israeli occupation authority has put in place in order to eliminate the two-state solution. This is through continuing the settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories, changing the character and identity of East Jerusalem, besieging the Gaza Strip, violating all of the agreements that have been signed, and confiscating the Palestinian tax money (refers to the Israeli Anti "Pay-for-Slay" Law to deduct terror salaries; see note below -Ed.) in violation of the Paris Agreement, which has brought us to a dead end that will lead to grave consequences.

The president emphasized that we will continue to act to build our national institutions according to the rule of law, and also act to spread the culture of peace and battle terror in our region and the world, regardless of its source.

He condemned the use of violence against civilians and emphasized that all of the monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - must be honored equally, and all forms of racism and discrimination must be rejected."

Israel's Anti "Pay-for-Slay" Law - Israeli law stating that the PA payments to terrorists and the families of dead terrorists is a financial incentive to terror. The law instructs the state to deduct and freeze the amount of money the PA pays in salaries to imprisoned terrorists and families of "Martyrs" from the tax money Israel collects for the PA. Should the PA stop these payments for a full year, the Israeli government would have the option of giving all or part of the frozen money to the PA. The law was enacted by the Israeli Parliament on July 2, 2018. During the parliamentary vote, the law's sponsor Avi Dichter said: “The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee received much help in its deliberations... from Palestinian Media Watch who provided us with authentic data that enabled productive and professional deliberations, nuances that are very difficult to achieve without precise data.” [Israeli Parliament website, July 2, 2018] In accordance with the law, as of September 2021 Israel’s Security Cabinet had ordered the freeze of 1.857 billion shekels ($580.15 million) - the sum equivalent to the PA payments to terrorists in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

Paris Agreement – agreement on economic relations between Israel and the PLO, signed in Paris on April 29, 1994. Its main goal is to promote peace by establishing economic relations modeled on EU economic relations.

Official PA TV News, on PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ statements at a ceremony honoring released prisoners and families of dead terrorists:

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas: "By Allah, even if we have only a penny left it will only be spent on the families of the Martyrs and the prisoners, and only afterwards will it be spent on the rest of the people. This is a group that we appreciate and respect, and we consider it the one paving the way to Palestine’s independence for the future generations."

Official PA TV reporter: "With these words [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed a group of released prisoners and honored the leadership of the movement of prisoners, who sacrificed their souls and lives for the defense of their people and homeland. The president gave a number of Martyrs and prisoners the Jerusalem Medal in recognition of their role and their honorable national struggle. [The Martyrs] ascended [to Heaven] in defense of their people and homeland..."

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas: "We view the Martyrs and prisoners as stars in the sky of the Palestinian people and the sky of the Palestinian people’s struggle, and they have priority in everything..."

Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub: "On behalf of all the prisoners, and prime among them this group - whether they are the families of the Martyrs who were giants and mighty, or whether they are those who are still alive (i.e., the prisoners) - we thank you [Abbas] for the gesture, which is appreciation for the sector considered the most important and essential in confronting this occupation for the last 51 years."

Jibril Rajoub also holds the following positions: Chairman of the Palestinian Football Association, Chairman of the Palestine Olympic Committee, and Chairman of the Palestinian Scout Association (PSA).

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas: "I say this to everyone - the salaries of our Martyrs, prisoners, and wounded are a red line. They [Israel] try by all means, and exert pressure by all means, and they continue to exert: ‘It cannot be that you will pay.’ And they’ll even deduct our money that’s in their hands. They’ll deduct from it the amount that we pay to the Martyrs. We have said that this is a red line and we will not allow [it]. From 1965 until now, this matter is sacred to us. The Martyrs and their families are sacred, [and so are] the wounded and the prisoners. We must pay all of them. If one penny remains in our hands it is for them and not for the living."

This video aired on official PA TV on Nov. 16, 17, 19, 21, 24, 27, 28, 30, 2018 and on Dec. 2, 3, 5, and 17, 2018, for a total of 17 times over four weeks. Some of the broadcasts occured twice a day.

Excerpt of an op-ed by Muwaffaq Matar, Fatah Revolutionary Council member and regular columnist for the official PA daily

Headline: “The culture of peace - from the [PA] president to Saber Murad”

“Several days ago [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas said that our hands are still extended to peace, although he has briefed the Palestinian people on the leadership’s decision to stop upholding the agreements with ‘the Israeli side,’ in other words the occupying force according to the international legal definition. In many speeches from international podiums, the loftiest of which was the UN General Assembly podium, he has said that Palestine has counter-terror agreements with 83 states in the world, and that this agreement with Washington is still firm and valid, despite the severing of contact with American President Donald Trump’s administration...

From the perspective of the Palestinian people’s leadership, the war on terror was not a political tactic or a temporary choice, but rather a strategy relying on a historical, contemporary, and future cultural infrastructure of the Palestinian people - not only because the Palestinian people is the number one victim in the world of state-terror (Israel’s terror) [parentheses in source], but also because the humaneness that composes the Palestinian people’s collective and individual culture was the force that pushed the president of peace, the human president, Mahmoud Abbas, to go far in all that is connected to these agreements with all the world states that are prepared to fight terror. He did not do this in order to achieve political gains, but rather out of complete faith that terror is the opposite of humaneness, just as war is the opposite of peace, and ignorance is the opposite of knowledge..

President Mahmoud Abbas showed interest in the heroism of the Palestinian Saber Murad from Tripoli in northern Lebanon, who nearly paid with his life to save Lebanese civilians and soldiers in the Lebanese army when he used his car to block Abd Al-Rahman Mabsout, a terrorist and native of Tripoli who opened fire indiscriminately on civilians in a crowded street (Murad threw himself in the path of a terrorist's bullets on June 3, 2019 -Ed.)...

The Palestinian Saber Murad was born in Tripoli to a Lebanese mother. Mabsout was also born in Tripoli, but the Palestinian Murad - the person who absorbed the culture of peace - prevented the terrorist... from completing his crime and taking additional victims. The terrorist was a member of the organization Jabhat Al-Nusra (a branch of the Al-Qaeda terror organization; see note below -Ed.) that has unique connections with the Israeli occupation authorities, which are also racist and terrorist. We all know Israel’s military borders policy - Syria’s border with occupied Palestine (i.e., Israel) is open to Jabhat Al-Nusra activists, and its activists are treated at the hospitals in Safed in northern occupied Palestine (i.e., a city in northern Israel). But what is not known to some of us is that ‘One of these terrorists used to go to the West Bank and Gaza - also through easements of intelligence and secrecy by the occupation authorities - to travel to Jordan and afterwards to return to where he had come from, until he was exposed’...

We believe that the culture of peace has Palestinian roots that are planted deep in history, and this is natural in a holy land where the messenger of love and peace, Jesus son of Mary, was born, and to which the messenger of love and peace, Muhammad son of Abdallah, travelled [in his Night Journey].”

Jabhat Al-Nusra is a branch of the Al-Qaeda terror organization operating in Syria and Lebanon, formed in January 2012. It is an Islamic Sunni, Jihadist group fighting against the Syrian government forces in the Syrian civil war, in order to establish an Islamic state in Syria.