Poem read in the name of Abbas calls for violence and Martyrdom
At a Fatah rally in Nablus in January, Nablus District Governor Ibrahim Ramadan read “the words of his honor the President Mahmoud Abbas,” which included a poem calling on Palestinians to take up arms and die as Martyrs:
Speaker on stage: “And now to the words of His Honor the President Mahmoud Abbas, presented by brother Ibrahim Ramadan, District Governor of Nablus.”
Nablus District Governor Ibrahim Ramadan:
"O Martyr, Allah's mercy upon you.
If I fell on the land while covered in my wounds
And my blood flowed from me and my weapon lay by my side
This is the path of my struggle, therefore my brother, complete my struggle.
This is what the Martyr tells [us]."[Official PA TV, Reporters in the Field, Jan. 6, 2020]
The event celebrated Fatah’s 55th anniversary and its first terror attack against Israel in 1965.
At a different event celebrating “Martyrs’ Day,” held under the auspices of Abbas at his headquarters, Abbas’ Fatah deputy Mahmoud Al-Aloul emphasized whatPalestinian Media Watchhas documented as Fatah’s and the PA’s policy of honoring terrorists and among them the so-called “Martyrs” who died while carrying out attacks against Israelis. Speaking on behalf of Abbas, Al-Aloul stressed that the “Martyrs” are “the most honorable and noble of people and the greatest in self-sacrifice”:
Al-Aloul: “Martyrs’ Day is an event that carries with it strong emotions, because we are talking about the most honorable and noble of people and the greatest in self-sacrifice and altruism, since they have sacrificed their lives so that we would live and for the freedom of their people and homeland… they are the salt of the earth and the sustenance of the soul; they are the noblest revelation, and they have redeemed their people at the cost of their lives.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 9, 2020]
Abbas’ deputy also stated that “the leadership adheres to what the Martyrs have sacrificed for,” and referenced arch-terrorist Abu Jihad, who was responsible for the murder of at least 125 Israelis, saying:
“I believe in the prophesy of [Khalil Al-Wazir] ‘Abu Jihad’ that victory will undoubtedly arrive.”
PMW has documented that Al-Aloul himself has encouraged Palestinians to become Martyrs when he stated that “there are thousands” like the martyred terrorist murderer Omar Abu Laila who killed 2 Israelis:
The following is a longer excerpt of the report on Abbas’ deputy’s speech:
Headline: “Al-Aloul on behalf of the [PA] president: ‘The [PA] leadership adheres to what the Martyrs have sacrificed for’”
“Under the auspices of [PA] President [Mahmoud] Abbas, a central ceremony was held yesterday [Jan. 8, 2020] for Palestinian Martyrs’ Day – which takes place on January 7 each year – at the [PA] presidential headquarters’ Martyr Ahmad Shukeiri Hall, which was organized by the National Association of the Families of the Martyrs [of Palestine].
Fatah Movement Deputy Chairman [and Fatah Central Committee member Mahmoud Al-Aloul] spoke on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas… and emphasized that our people is standing firm… and added that Martyrs’ Day is an event that carries with it strong emotions, because we are talking about the most honorable and noble of people and the greatest in self-sacrifice and altruism, since they have sacrificed their lives so that we would live and for the freedom of their people and homeland.
Al-Aloul continued: ‘We are living with [the Martyrs] and thanks to them, connected to them, striving to realize their dreams and that for which they died as Martyrs. For they are the salt of the earth and the sustenance of the soul; they are the noblest revelation, and they have redeemed their people at the cost of their lives.’ …
He continued: ‘There is no creation [worthy of its name] unless it includes material dealing with the Martyrs, and the best creation of late [poet] Mahmoud Darwish is related to the Martyrs, and we see him sometimes perhaps jealous of them when he says that all those who have died as Martyrs were saved from life by a miracle.’
He [Al-Aloul] said that the [PA] leadership adheres to what the Martyrs have sacrificed for… [and said:] ‘We say to them: We still see the light at the end of the tunnel as eternal Martyr [former PLO Chairman and PA President] Yasser Arafat used to say, and we promise them that this light will shine and radiate more, and I believe in the prophesy of [Khalil Al-Wazir] ‘Abu Jihad’ (i.e., terrorist, responsible for murder of 125) that victory will undoubtedly arrive, and not in a moment.’ …
Director of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel [and former Israeli Arab Parliament Member] Muhammad Barakeh said that the Palestinian leadership has made two decisions: One is to stop the contacts with the American administration in response to what is called ‘the deal of the century’ (i.e., refers to US President Donald Trump’s as yet unpublished Middle East peace plan), and this requires courage… [He said:] ‘No one in the world is capable of defying the American administration with such courage, but the Palestinian leadership has chosen its people’s rights despite the high price that we are paying, and this is a position of loyalty to the Martyrs, prisoners, and fighters.’
He added: ‘The second decision is to not accept our people’s money that is being held by Israel, which wants to take control of some of it on the pretext of the payment of the allowances of the Martyrs and prisoners (refers to Israel’s Anti “Pay-for-Slay” Law to deduct terror salaries; see note below –Ed.). And here again, the leadership chose the difficult choice and loyalty to the blood of our Martyrs and prisoners. These positions must be recorded.’
Barakeh condemned the occupation's decision that is attempting to revoke the allowances of the Martyrs and prisoners within the 1948 territories (i.e., Palestinian term for Israel; refers to seizure of money from Israeli Arab terrorists over unpaid income taxes for PA terror salaries), saying that Palestinian blood belongs to all of Palestine, and we reject that Israel’s political crises and needs be exported for revenge on the Palestinian people.
Martyrs’ Day was declared in 1969; it is the day on which the first Martyr of the armed Palestinian revolution ascended [to Heaven], and he was Martyr commander Ahmad Musa Salameh (see note below –Ed.) who died as a Martyr in 1965 after carrying out the heroic Eilabun tunnel operation (i.e., the attempted bombing of Israel’s National Water Carrier), and this became a national day…
According to a report by the Committee to Resist Settlements and the Wall, the number of Martyrs who ascended [to Heaven] at the hands of the occupation army in 2019 was 149, of them 4 at the hands of the settlers and 33 children under the age of 18.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 9, 2020]
Mahmoud Darwish is considered the Palestinian national poet. He published over 30 volumes of poetry and 8 books of prose and has won numerous awards. He joined the Israeli Communist Party in 1961 and the terrorist organization PLO in 1973, becoming a member of the PLO Executive Committee in 1987. He left the PLO in 1993 because it signed the Oslo Accords with Israel. Many in Israel see his poetry as inciting hate and violence. One poem he wrote in 1988 at the height of the Palestinian wave of violence and terror against Israel in which approximately 200 Israelis were murdered (the first Intifada, 1987-1993) calls to Israelis: “Take your portion of our blood - and be gone… Live wherever you like, but do not live among us… Die wherever you like, but do not die among us… Leave our country, our land, our sea, our wheat, our salt, our wounds, everything, and leave the memories of memory.” In 1964, he wrote a poem entitled "ID Card" in which he said: "I do not hate people, And I do not steal from anyone, But if I starve I will eat my oppressors' flesh; Beware, beware of my starving, And my rage." He also wrote “Silence for the Sake of Gaza” in 1973, which many see as glorifying terror: “She wraps explosives around her waist and blows herself up. It is not a death, and not a suicide. It is Gaza's way of declaring she is worthy of life.” His defenders have claimed that Israel misinterprets his poetry and that he sought reconciliation with Israel. One wrote in 2017: “Darwish arranged meetings between Palestinian and Israeli intellectuals, and published essays on their discussions. He was optimistic that, through mutual understanding, the two sides could eventually reconcile.” [https://www.bcalnoor.org/]
Yasser Arafat – Founder of Fatah and former chairman of the PLO and PA. During the 1960s, 70s and 80s Arafat was behind numerous terror attacks against Israelis. Although he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 together with then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and then Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Shimon Peres “for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East" after signing the Oslo Accords peace agreement, Arafat launched a 5-year terror campaign - the second Intifada (2000-2005) – in which more than 1,000 Israelis were murdered. Arafat died of an illness in 2004.
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 in the 1960’s - 1980’s. These attacks, in which a total of 125 Israelis were murdered, included the Coastal Road attack that (until Oct. 7, 2023) was the most lethal in Israeli history - the hijacking of a bus and murder of 37 civilians, 12 of them children.
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.
Ahmad Musa Salameh - Palestinian terrorist known to Palestinians as the “first Martyr of the modern Palestinian revolution.” Salameh was involved in Fatah's first terror attack against Israel on Jan. 1, 1965, which targeted Israel's National Water Carrier. Salameh was killed by Jordanian soldiers following the attack.