Palestinian woman amid riots: “I’m prepared to die, [as are] my six children”
“We’ll sacrifice our lives for the sake of Jerusalem,” says Fatah spokesman
The PA and Fatah have been encouraging Palestinians to continue the riots in Jerusalem and even to seek death as "Martyrs" for Jerusalem, addressing them in songs as "self-sacrificing fighters" and calling on them to "redeem Jerusalem with their lives." And this message - which is not new - has come across and been embraced by Palestinians. Amid the violent Arab riots in Jerusalem, a Palestinian woman told Palestinian Authority TV: “I’m prepared to die, [as are] my six children, for the sake of this entire land”:
Palestinian woman: “I’m a 55-year-old woman and I’m prepared to die, [as are] my six children, for the sake of this entire land. We have young people who are scared of nothing. The occupation’s prisons are full of young people who are entirely willpower and strength. I’m not afraid! I have no problem. If I die, [it is] for the sake of the land!”
[Facebook page of the Fatah Commission of Information and Culture, May 9, 2021 and official PA TV, May 8, 2021]
The woman’s willingness to sacrifice herself and her 6 children for “Palestine” echoes the teachings of the PA, which Palestinian Media Watch has exposed for decades: That death as a “Martyr” is an ideal that Palestinians should aspire to achieve. Accordingly, both official PA TV and Fatah publicized the woman’s statement.
Only the day before, a Fatah official stated in the name of all Palestinians that “we’ll sacrifice our lives for the sake of Jerusalem”:
Fatah Revolutionary Council member and Official Fatah Spokesman Osama Al-Qawasmi: “Jerusalem is a red line regardless of how much time passes. We’ll sacrifice our lives for the sake of Jerusalem. Palestine has no value without Jerusalem.”
[Official PA TV, May 7, 2021]
These statements join other calls by Fatah to Palestinians – transmitted through songs – to “redeem Jerusalem with our lives” and to “sacrifice for the sake of the Al-Aqsa Mosque until the last breath”:
Text on screen during the unidentified woman’s statement: “May 8, 2021 – Damascus Gate [of Jerusalem’s Old City]. Exclusive to [official] PA TV
‘[Them] with their weapons, and us with a bottle of water’”Posted text on Fatah Facebook page: “We are the people of giants”