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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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Syria’s Sharaa Says Talks With Israel Could Yield Results ‘In Coming Days’

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks at the opening ceremony of the 62nd Damascus International Fair, the first edition held since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, in Damascus, Syria, Aug. 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Wednesday that ongoing negotiations with Israel to reach a security pact could lead to results “in the coming days.”
He told reporters in Damascus the security pact was a “necessity” and that it would need to respect Syria’s airspace and territorial unity and be monitored by the United Nations.
Syria and Israel are in talks to reach an agreement that Damascus hopes will secure a halt to Israeli airstrikes and the withdrawal of Israeli troops who have pushed into southern Syria.
Reuters reported this week that Washington was pressuring Syria to reach a deal before world leaders gather next week for the UN General Assembly in New York.
But Sharaa, in a briefing with journalists including Reuters ahead of his expected trip to New York to attend the meeting, denied the US was putting any pressure on Syria and said instead that it was playing a mediating role.
He said Israel had carried out more than 1,000 strikes on Syria and conducted more than 400 ground incursions since Dec. 8, when the rebel offensive he led toppled former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
Sharaa said Israel’s actions were contradicting the stated American policy of a stable and unified Syria, which he said was “very dangerous.”
He said Damascus was seeking a deal similar to a 1974 disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria that created a demilitarized zone between the two countries.
He said Syria sought the withdrawal of Israeli troops but that Israel wanted to remain at strategic locations it seized after Dec. 8, including Mount Hermon. Israeli ministers have publicly said Israel intends to keep control of the sites.
He said if the security pact succeeds, other agreements could be reached. He did not provide details, but said a peace agreement or normalization deal like the US-mediated Abraham Accords, under which several Muslim-majority countries agreed to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel, was not currently on the table.
He also said it was too early to discuss the fate of the Golan Heights because it was “a big deal.”
Reuters reported this week that Israel had ruled out handing back the zone, which Donald Trump unilaterally recognized as Israeli during his first term as US president.
“It’s a difficult case – you have negotiations between a Damascene and a Jew,” Sharaa told reporters, smiling.
SECURITY PACT DERAILED IN JULY
Sharaa also said Syria and Israel had been just “four to five days” away from reaching the basis of a security pact in July, but that developments in the southern province of Sweida had derailed those discussions.
Syrian troops were deployed to Sweida in July to quell fighting between Druze armed factions and Bedouin fighters. But the violence worsened, with Syrian forces accused of execution-style killings and Israel striking southern Syria, the defense ministry in Damascus and near the presidential palace.
Sharaa on Wednesday described the strikes near the presidential palace as “not a message, but a declaration of war,” and said Syria had still refrained from responding militarily to preserve the negotiations.
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Anti-Israel Activists Gear Up to ‘Flood’ UN General Assembly

US Capitol Police and NYPD officers clash with anti-Israel demonstrators, on the day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC, July 24, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Anti-Israel groups are planning a wave of raucous protests in New York City during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) over the next several days, prompting concerns that the demonstrations could descend into antisemitic rhetoric and intimidation.
A coalition of anti-Israel activists is organizing the protests in and around UN headquarters to coincide with speeches from Middle Eastern leaders and appearances by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The demonstrations are expected to draw large crowds and feature prominent pro-Palestinian voices, some of whom have been criticized for trafficking in antisemitic tropes, in addition to calling for the destruction of Israe.
Organizers of the demonstrations have promoted the coordinated events on social media as an opportunity to pressure world leaders to hold Israel accountable for its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, with some messaging framed in sharply hostile terms.
On Sunday, for example, activists shouted at Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon.
“Zionism is terrorism. All you guys are terrorists committing ethnic cleansing and genocide in Gaza and Palestine. Shame on you, Zionist animals,” they shouted.
BREAKING: PRO-PALESTINE PROTESTORS CONFRONT “ISRAELI” AMBASSADOR DANNY DANON AT THE UNITED NATIONS
1/5 pic.twitter.com/4G1VYEMGzV
— Within Our Lifetime (@WOLPalestine) September 14, 2025
The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), warned on its website that the scale and tone of the planned demonstrations risk crossing the line from political protest into hate speech, arguing that anti-Israel activists are attempting to hijack the UN gathering to spread antisemitism and delegitimize the Jewish state’s right to exist.
Outside the UN last week, masked protesters belonging to the activist group INDECLINE kicked a realistic replica of Netanyahu’s decapitated head as though it were a soccer ball.
US activist group plays soccer with Bibi’s mock decapitated HEAD right outside NYC UN HQ
Peep shot at 00:40
Footage posted by INDECLINE collective just as UN General Assembly about to kick off
‘Following the game, ball was donated to Palestinian Genocide Museum’ pic.twitter.com/TQ84sgZhKr
— RT (@RT_com) September 9, 2025
Within Our Lifetime (WOL), a radical anti-Israel activist group, has vowed to “flood” the UNGA on behalf of the pro-Palestine movement.
WOL, one of the most prolific anti-Israel activist groups, came under immense fire after it organized a protest against an exhibition to honor the victims of the Oct. 7 massacre at the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel. During the event, the group chanted “resistance is justified when people are occupied!” and “Israel, go to hell!”
“We will be there to confront them with the truth: Their silence and inaction enable genocide. The world cannot continue as if Gaza does not exist,” WOL said of its planned demonstrations in New York. “This is the time to make our voices impossible to ignore. Come to New York by any means necessary, to stand, to march, to demand the UN act and end the siege.”
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), two other anti-Israel organizations that have helped organize widespread demonstrations against the Jewish state during the war in Gaza, also announced they are planning a march from Times Square to the UN headquarters on Friday.
“The time is now for each and every UN member state to uphold their duty under international law: sanction Israel and end the genocide,” the groups said in a statement.
JVP, an organization that purports to fight for “Palestinian liberation,” has positioned itself as a staunch adversary of the Jewish state. The group argued in a 2021 booklet that Jews should not write Hebrew liturgy because hearing the language would be “deeply traumatizing” to Palestinians. JVP has repeatedly defended the Oct. 7 massacre of roughly 1,200 people in southern Israel by Hamas as a justified “resistance.” Chapters of the organization have urged other self-described “progressives” to throw their support behind Hamas and other terrorist groups against Israel
Similarly, PYM, another radical anti-Israel group, has repeatedly defended terrorism and violence against the Jewish state. PYM has organized many anti-Israel protests in the two years following the Oct. 7 attacks in the Jewish state. Recently, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) called for a federal investigation into the organization after Aisha Nizar, one of the group’s leaders, urged supporters to sabotage the US supply chain for the F-35 fighter jet, one of the most advanced US military assets and a critical component of Israel’s defense.
The UN General Assembly has historically been a flashpoint for heated debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Previous gatherings have seen dueling demonstrations outside the Manhattan venue, with pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups both seeking to influence the international spotlight.
While warning about the demonstrations, CAM noted it recently launched a new mobile app, Report It, that allows users worldwide to quickly and securely report antisemitic incidents in real time.
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Nina Davidson Presses Universities to Back Words With Action as Jewish Students Return to Campus Amid Antisemitism Crisis

Nina Davidson on The Algemeiner’s ‘J100’ podcast. Photo: Screenshot
Philanthropist Nina Davidson, who served on the board of Barnard College, has called on universities to pair tough rhetoric on combatting antisemitism with enforcement as Jewish students returned to campuses for the new academic year.
“Years ago, The Algemeiner had published a list ranking the most antisemitic colleges in the country. And number one was Columbia,” Davidson recalled on a recent episode of The Algemeiner‘s “J100” podcast. “As a board member and as someone who was representing the institution, it really upset me … At the board meeting, I brought it up and I said, ‘What are we going to do about this?’”
Host David Cohen, chief executive officer of The Algemeiner, explained he had revisited Davidson’s remarks while she was being honored for her work at The Algemeiner‘s 8th annual J100 gala, held in October 2021, noting their continued relevance.
“It could have been the same speech in 2025,” he said, underscoring how longstanding concerns about campus antisemitism, while having intensified in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, are not new.
Davidson argued that universities already possess the tools to protect students – codes of conduct, time-place-manner rules, and consequences for threats or targeted harassment – but too often fail to apply them evenly. “Statements are not enough,” she said, arguing that institutions need to enforce their rules and set a precedent that there will be consequences for individuals who refuse to follow them.
She also said that stakeholders – alumni, parents, and donors – are reassessing their relationships with schools that, in their view, have not safeguarded Jewish students. While supportive of open debate, Davidson distinguished between protest and intimidation, calling for leadership that protects expression while ensuring campus safety.
The episode surveyed specific pressure points that administrators will face this fall: repeat anti-Israel encampments, disruptions of Jewish programming, and the challenge of distinguishing political speech from conduct that violates university rules. “Unless schools draw those lines now,” Davidson warned, “they’ll be scrambling once the next crisis hits.”
Cohen closed by framing the discussion as a test of institutional credibility, asking whether universities will “turn policy into protection” in real time. Davidson agreed, pointing to students who “need to know the rules aren’t just on paper.”
The full conversation is available on The Algemeiner’s “J100” podcast.