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Child Abuse: How the Palestinian Authority Promotes Martyrdom to Its Children
Images from an educational Facebook page showing Palestinian children using slingshots in Palestinian Authority schools. Photo: IMPACT-se.
The Palestinian Authority (PA)’s death message to Palestinian children doesn’t get any clearer than this.
The below picture of a Palestinian boy with the PA map of “Palestine” painted on his face was posted by the PA’s Presidential Guard with the following text: “I will sacrifice my life for you, O my homeland” [PA Presidential Guard, Facebook page, Aug. 6, 2024].
Smiling and making a “V” for “victory” with his fingers, the boy seems unaware of the future the PA wants for him as a “Martyr.” Or, perhaps, he is already so deeply affected by the PA’s brainwashing that he actually believes he will be rewarded with 72 virgins in Paradise, as Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) has documented.
The following are recent examples:
Dead teen terrorist wished for Martyrdom, wanted to marry “women from the world to come”
Intisar Nafea, aunt of terrorist Ashraf Nafea: “The women of the neighborhood wouldn’t agree to not have Martyr [children]. Praise Allah, [teen Martyr] Ashraf [Nafea] raises our heads up high. On Aug. 1, [2024,] he was supposed to turn 18 years old. I wanted to do a birthday for him.
He said: “Get me married.” I said: “[You will have] 72 [Virgins] like your uncle.” He said: “Right. I don’t want to marry women from this world, I want to marry [women] from the world to come.” [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV, July 23, 2024]
Dead terrorist to his mother: “I’m going to the Dark-Eyed Maidens in Paradise, I want Martyrdom”
Mother of terrorist Abd Al-Jabbar Al-Sabbagh: “He said to me: ‘Mom, this is the last week you’ll see me. That’s it, bid me farewell.’ I said: ‘Sweetie, why?’ He said: ‘That’s it, I feel I won’t remain much longer.’ I’m satisfied, I’m going to the Dark-Eyed Maidens in Paradise, I want Martyrdom.’ I said: ‘Allah will be satisfied with you.’
Martyrdom is beautiful, not everyone who seeks it merits it, but the farewell is difficult.” [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV News, Aug. 3, 2024]
The Arabic word for Martyrdom is Shahada. Shahada also means “certificate.” A mother of a dead terrorist used a chilling wordplay when her terrorist son was killed while planning a terror attack, thereby not finishing his matriculation exams and not receiving his high school certificate:
“Bassel succeed and received Martyrdom, which is more important than the certificate of the matriculation exams … Bassel succeeded, by Allah he succeeded. Everyone came to congratulate me — his friends and also his study friends.” [emphasis added]
[WAFA, official PA news agency, July 29, 2024]
PMW has reported on this wordplay before, which was even turned into part of the PA’s message to students and their parents. When Palestinian teen terrorists got themselves killed while participating in the PA’s terror wave in 2015-16, the PA glorified them. Even though they missed their graduation certificate (Shahada), the families were told to “be proud of their Martyrdom (Shahada).” The PA summarized that “death as a Martyr is the path to excellence and greatness”:
Sixteen [students] succeeded [in achieving] the Martyrdom (Shahada) of the homeland and withstanding its difficult tests, for death as a Martyr is the path to excellence and greatness, and the path of those who know how to reach the great victory… [emphasis added]
[WAFA (official PA news agency), July 11, 2016; official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 12, 2016]
Accordingly, other families have proudly celebrated their children’s Martyrdom instead of their matriculation, and parents continue to celebrate the death of their children:
Father of teen terrorist: “[My son] is not the first Martyr and not the last, praise Allah … He always told me: ‘I want to die as a Martyr’”
Father of terrorist Khaled Al-Uruq: “[Khaled Al-Uruq] is not the first Martyr and not the last, praise Allah. He asked for [Martyrdom] and achieved it, praise Allah. He always told me: ‘I want to die as a Martyr.’ Praise Allah, [the conditions] were enabled and he achieved it.”
[Official PA TV, April 25, 2024]
Mother of dead terrorist: “For two months he’s been saying: I want to die as a Martyr”
Mother of terrorist Nimr Hamarsheh: “Nimr was happy like that, [because] he wants to die as a Martyr. For two months already he’s been saying: ‘Mom, I want to follow the footsteps of Ahmed, I want to go to Ahmed, I want to die as a Martyr.” [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV News, July 3, 2024]
There is no doubt that the PA message is a soaring success. Hundreds if not thousands have chosen death over life by becoming terrorists, and society is cheering — including parents, spouses, and other family members of dead terrorists:
Father of dead terrorist: Son’s Martyrdom is “bridal crown for entire people” — Martyrdom is “fate of the people”
Official PA TV newsreader: “The body of Martyr Ubeida Hassan Hamed (i.e., terrorist), 18 was laid to rest…”
Hassan Hamed, father of terrorist Ubeida Hassan Hamed: “Praise Allah, this is [a source of] pride and a crown on our heads
Praise Allah, this is mercy from our Lord to this people. This is a bridal crown for this entire people. This is the fate of the Palestinian people, directly from the ground to Paradise.” [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV News, Jan. 29, 2024]
Brother of terrorist “Martyr”: He wanted “the Dark-Eyed Maidens of Paradise”
Brother of terrorist Uday Al-Zayyat “Abu Saqr”: “He would take care of all the household needs. I told him: “Go on and get married” … He told me: ‘Actually I want the Dark-Eyed Maidens of Paradise.’ Praise Allah, Allah granted him Paradise, Allah willing he will see the Dark-Eyed Maidens of Paradise.”
[Official PA TV, Moons of Palestine, March 19, 2024]
Mother congratulates dead terrorist son on his Martyrdom
Mother of terrorist Bashar Nihad Hanani: “Praise Allah, Allah gave him to me and took him. This is not a waste for the sake of Palestine … May Allah be satisfied with him and receive his Martyrdom. Congratulations to him on the Martyrdom.” [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV, Feb. 29, 2024]
Wife of a “Martyr”: “Don’t cry, he’s a groom”
Posted text: “Martyr’s wife: ‘All of you make sounds of joy for him. Don’t cry, he’s a groom and let everyone accompany him to his wedding.’”
Wife of unidentified “Martyr”: “I’m the wife of a Martyr! They haven’t accompanied him to his wedding, let everyone accompany him to his wedding [now]. I married him quietly. Let everyone make sounds of joy, this is entrusted to you! Let no one cry! My husband is a Martyr, let no one cry! My beloved is a Martyr.”
[Fatah Commission of Information and Culture, Facebook page, Jan. 3, 2024]
The author is a senior analyst at Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article was originally published.
The post Child Abuse: How the Palestinian Authority Promotes Martyrdom to Its Children first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Top US General Makes Unannounced Middle East Trip as Iran Threat Looms
US Air Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks at a conference of African chiefs of defense in Gaborone, Botswana on June 25, 2024, the first time a chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top U.S. military officer, has visited sub-Saharan Africa in 30 years, according to the Pentagon. Photo: REUTERS/Phil Stewart/File Photo
The top US general began an unannounced visit to the Middle East on Saturday to discuss ways to avoid any new escalation in tensions that could spiral into a broader conflict, as the region braces for a threatened Iranian attack against Israel.
Air Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, began his trip in Jordan and said he will also travel to Egypt and Israel in the coming days to hear the perspectives of military leaders.
His visit comes as the United States is trying to clinch an elusive Gaza ceasefire-for-hostages deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, which Brown said would “help bring down the temperature,” if achieved.
“At the same time, as I talk to my counterparts, what are the things we can do to deter any type of broader escalation and ensure we’re taking all the appropriate steps to (avoid) … a broader conflict,” Brown told Reuters before landing in Jordan.
US President Joe Biden’s administration has been seeking to limit the fallout from the war in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, now in its 11th month. The conflict has leveled huge swathes of Gaza, triggered border clashes between Israel and Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement and sparked attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on Red Sea shipping.
Meanwhile, US troops have been attacked by Iran-aligned militia in Syria, Iraq and Jordan. In recent weeks, the U.S. military has been bolstering its forces in the Middle East to guard against major new attacks by Iran or its allies, sending the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group into the region to replace the Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group.
The United States has also sent an Air Force F-22 Raptor squadron into the region and deployed a cruise missile submarine.
“We brought in additional capability to send a strong message to deter a broader conflict … but also to protect our forces should they be attacked,” Brown said, saying safeguarding American forces was “paramount.”
IRANIAN RESPONSE
Iran has vowed a severe response to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, which took place as he visited Tehran late last month and which it blamed on Israel. Israel has neither confirmed or denied its involvement.
Hezbollah has also threatened a response after Israel killed a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut last month.
Iran has not publicly indicated what would be the target of an eventual response to the Haniyeh assassination but U.S. officials say they are closely monitoring for any signs that Iran will make good on its threats.
“We stay postured, watching the (intelligence) and force movements,” Brown said. On Friday, Iran’s new Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told his French and British counterparts in telephone conversations that it was his country’s right to retaliate, according to the official IRNA news agency.
On April 13, two weeks after two Iranian generals were killed in a strike on Tehran’s embassy in Syria, Iran unleashed a barrage of hundreds of drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles towards Israel, damaging two air bases. Israel, the United States and other allies managed to destroy almost all of the weapons before they reached their targets.
Brown did not speculate about what Iran and its allies might do but said he hoped to discuss different scenarios with his Israeli counterpart.
“Particularly, as I engage with my Israeli counterpart, how they might respond, depending on the response that comes from Hezbollah or from Iran,” Brown said.
The current war in the Gaza Strip began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists stormed into Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
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Gaza Talks Resume in Cairo
Illustrative. Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian meets with Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in Tehran, Iran July 6, 2022. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS.
Gaza ceasefire and hostage negotiators discussed new compromise proposals in Cairo on Saturday, seeking to bridge gaps between Israel and Hamas as the UN reported worsening humanitarian conditions, with malnutrition soaring and polio discovered in the Palestinian enclave.
A Hamas delegation arrived on Saturday to be nearer at hand to review any proposals that emerge in the main talks between Israel and the mediating countries Egypt, Qatar and the United States, two Egyptian security sources said.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was expected to attend.
A US official said negotiators from the United States met with Egypt then bilaterally with Egypt and Qatar on Saturday, and believed that representatives from Egypt and Qatar were meeting with Hamas.
Months of on-off talks have failed to produce a breakthrough to end Israel’s military campaign in Gaza or free the remaining hostages seized by Hamas in the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war.
The Egyptian sources said the new proposals include compromises on outstanding points such as how to secure key areas and the return of people to north Gaza.
However there was no sign of any breakthrough on key sticking points, including Israel’s insistence that it must retain control of the so-called Philadelphi Corridor, on the border between Gaza and Egypt.
Hamas has accused Israel of going back on things it had previously agreed to in the talks, which Israel denies. The group says the United States is not mediating in good faith.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has locked horns with Israeli ceasefire negotiators over whether Israeli troops must remain all along the border between Gaza and Egypt, a person with knowledge of the talks said.
A Palestinian official familiar with mediation efforts said it was too soon to predict the outcome of talks.
“Hamas is there to discuss the outcome of the mediators’ talks with the Israeli officials and whether there is enough to suggest a change in the Netanyahu stance about reaching a deal,” the official said.
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Soldier Killed in Central Gaza, Bringing IDF Death Toll to 696
Sgt. First Class (res.) Evyatar Atuar was killed in action in Gaza City, Aug. 23, 2024. Photo: IDF.
JNS.org – An Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed and several others were wounded on Friday morning when Hamas terrorists detonated an explosive device in Gaza City.
The slain soldier was named as Sgt. First Class (res.) Evyatar Atuar, 24, of the 16th “Jerusalem” Infantry Brigade’s 6310th Battalion, from Rosh Haayin.
The brigade, part of the 252nd “Sinai” Division, was involved in expanding the IDF’s Netzarim Corridor, which separates Gaza’s north and south.
According to an initial probe, terrorists remote-detonated a bomb planted on a building’s outer wall after soldiers had entered to search it in the Zeitoun neighborhood.
At least four soldiers outside the structure were seriously wounded and three others were moderately hurt, the IDF said.
On Thursday, Sgt. Ori Ashkenazi Nechemya, 19, a member of the 401st Armored Brigade’s 46th Battalion, was killed battling Hamas terrorists in the southern Gaza Strip.
A preliminary probe found that he was killed by anti-tank missile fire in Rafah.
Earlier this week, Lt. Shahar Ben Nun, 21, from the Paratrooper Brigade’s Reconnaissance Battalion, was killed by an IAF missile that malfunctioned during a strike in southern Gaza.
The death toll among Israeli troops since the start of the Gaza ground incursion on Oct. 27 now stands at 333, and at 696 on all fronts since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre, according to official military data.
Additionally, Ch. Insp. Arnon Zamora, a member of the Border Police’s Yamam National Counter-Terrorism Unit, was fatally wounded during a hostage-rescue mission in Gaza in June, and civilian defense contractor Liron Yitzhak was mortally wounded in May.
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