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Palestinian Authority: Death as a ‘Martyr’ Is ‘Greater’ Than Finishing High School
The opening of a hall that the Palestinian Authority named for a terrorist who killed 125 people. Photo: Palestinian Media Watch.
Top Palestinian Authority (PA) official Laila Ghannam has expressed one of the core values of PA ideology — that death for Allah, by way of terror against Israelis, is one of the highest achievements in Palestinian society — higher than education, higher than life.
Using a disturbing wordplay on the Arabic word “shahada,” which means both “certificate” and “Martyrdom,” Ghannam, who is the district governor of Ramallah, congratulated families of dead “Martyr” students on their children’s achievement of the “greater Shahada” — i.e., death for Allah, rather than their matriculation certificate:
Ramallah District Governor Laila Ghannam: “Good morning to the families of the Martyrs, whose children were supposed to celebrate their matriculation certificate (shahada) and their success in matriculation exams, but they celebrated the greater Shahada, the [Martyrdom-death] Shahada…” [emphasis added]
[Ramallah and El-Bireh District Governor Laila Ghannam, Facebook page, July 27, 2025]
Ghannam also elevated their death and funeral to a “wedding” to the 72 Virgins in Paradise as per Islamic tradition, which is celebrated in the PA whenever a terrorist dies during a terror attack.
The dream of marrying the 72 Virgins in Paradise is real among Palestinian youth.
Palestinian Media Watch has shown that young terrorists had this as their declared goal when they carried out terror attacks against Israelis. The entire PA society celebrates the death of young terrorists as “weddings,” as seen in the funeral of 25-year-old terrorist Khaled Qar’an, who was killed while participating in violent confrontations with Israeli forces in Qalqilya:
Crowd: “Accompany the Martyr in a wedding procession while he is soaked in his blood. 1,000 blessings to his mother while the Martyr is soaked in his blood.”
[Official PA TV, March 19, 2025]
Even parents celebrate their children’s death as a wedding, as per the example of this mother of a teen terrorist who threw Molotov cocktails at Israeli soldiers:
Mother of terrorist Milad Al-Ra’i: “Be well, Milad … May Allah have mercy on him … My son is a Martyr, praise Allah. My son wanted Martyrdom and achieved it, praise Allah. My son wanted this, praise Allah. My son is a groom today. This is my son’s wedding. Look at my son, this is what he wanted … Praise Allah for everything… May Allah be satisfied with him.”
Text on screen and in post: “‘My son is a groom today – a moving farewell from the mother of young Milad Al-Ra’i in Hebron, who was shot by the occupation and ascended [to Heaven] in the Al-Aroub [refugee] camp north of Hebron”
[Shehab news agency, Telegram channel, Sept. 10, 2023]
Palestinian Media Watch has documented the PA’s fondness of the “shahada” wordplay before. In fact, the PA has used it as its message to students and their parents in the past.
When Palestinian teen terrorists were killed while carrying out attacks during the PA’s terror wave in 2015-16, the PA venerated them. Even though they did not get their graduation certificate (Shahada), their families were told they “succeeded” in achieving “Martyrdom (Shahada).”
The PA’s message then as today was “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]
The author is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this story first appeared.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.