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Palestinian Authority Official: ‘Heroes’ Welcome’ Planned for Released Terrorists

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appoints Mohammad Mustafa as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA), in Ramallah, in the West Bank March 14, 2024 in this handout image. Photo: Palestinian president office/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

With fanfare and fervor, a senior Fatah official has hailed the release of convicted terrorists as a moment of triumph for the “giants of loyalty, sacrifice, and resolve.”

As Fatah calls for the “freedom of all our heroic prisoners,” the celebration leaves little doubt that Fatah sees these terrorist murderers not as criminals, but as champions.

Contrary to the pro-peace image it is trying to transmit, the Palestinian Authority (PA) is showing its great support for the terrorist prisoners being released in the exchange deal between Israel and Hamas.

Right after the deal was signed, the PA’s Governor of Tulkarem announced that all terrorists would be given “a heroes’ welcome”:

Click to play

Tulkarem District Governor Abdallah Kmeil: “[In the ceasefire deal] 296 prisoners [i.e., terrorists] who were sentenced to life [will be released] … Thousands of blessings to the prisoners’ relatives …

Undoubtedly, we will accord them a heroes’ welcome, and they deserve to be greeted and we have a plan to welcome everyone. In the Tulkarem district we will greet them at Tulkarem district headquarters.” [emphasis added]

[PA Tulkarem District Governorate, Facebook page, Jan. 18, 2025]

Senior Fatah official Tawfiq Tirawi celebrated the release of terrorists and murderers, glorifying them as “the giants of loyalty, sacrifice, and resolve,” and deserving of “blessings”:

Posted text: “[Israel] surrendered to a prisoner exchange deal due to our people’s mighty resolve… This led to the collective freedom of thousands of prisoners, including hundreds who were given life sentences and heavy sentences, some of whom had even served more than 40 years in prison.

Despite the pain, wounds, loss, and destruction, this freedom of the giants of loyalty, sacrifice, and resolve is worthy of joy, despite the great pain.

These mighty released prisoners deserve blessings … The Palestinian people will not stop its struggle.” [emphasis added]

[Fatah Central Committee member Tawfiq Tirawi, Facebook page,  Jan. 25, 2025]

The Revolutionary Council of PA Chairman Abbas’ Fatah Movement issued a statement “sharing in the joy” over the release of the “heroic” terrorist prisoners and vowed to continue “the struggle through all legal means” — a Palestinian term that endorses and promotes the use of terror against Israel:

Posted text:“The Fatah Revolutionary Council shares in the joy of our people and the families of the prisoners who were released and blesses them.

The Revolutionary Council emphasizes our people’s insistence on the freedom of all our heroic prisoners from the occupation’s prisons, the continuation of our national struggle through all legal means to stop the Israeli aggression…” [emphasis added]

[Fatah Commission of Information and Culture, Facebook page, Jan. 25, 2025]

Many of the released terrorists who have murdered the largest number of Israelis have been expelled to foreign countries.

But that did not stop Director of PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Qadura Fares from traveling to Egypt to honor the terrorist murderers. He smilingly posed with them for pictures, all wearing scarves featuring the PA map of “Palestine” that erases Israel:

Posted text: “Pictures from the reception by Director of [PLO] Commission of Prisoners’ [Affairs] Qadura Fares for prisoners who were released in the first round of the exchange process in Cairo”

[PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs, Facebook page, Jan. 26, 2025]

Meeting with the French consul earlier, Fares expressed his satisfaction with Hamas terrorists successful holding of the Israeli hostages.

Fares stated his belief that in later stages of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas “symbols and leaders of the prisoners’ movement” such as Marwan Barghouti who planned terror attacks in which five Israelis were murdered, will be released:

Fares explained to [French Consul General in Jerusalem] Nicolas [Kassianides] that Israel … was forced to finalize the deal to bring back the Israeli prisoners [sic., hostages], whom the Palestinian resistance factions succeeded in holding for more than 15 months, and whom the occupation regime was unable to bring back despite the war of annihilation whose price we are still paying until today…

Fares emphasized that the second round [of the ceasefire] after the first six weeks of the exchange process at this stage, which will take place this Saturday evening or in the early morning hours of Sunday, will be different because it will include prisoners [i.e., terrorists] who were sentenced to life imprisonment or those who have been sentenced to long-term punishment, and this will pave the way for additional rounds in which symbols and leaders of the prisoners’ movement will be released, foremost among them prisoner leader Marwan Barghouti [i.e., terrorist, orchestrated three attacks in which 5 were murdered]. [emphasis added]

[PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs website, Jan. 23, 2025]

Abbas’ advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash likewise conveyed the “joy” for the release:

Al-Habbash: “The entire Palestinian nation is experiencing mixed emotions these days. Joy for the release of the prisoners, this batch of prisoners, because every prisoner that is released from the occupation’s prisons is an achievement for us as Palestinians, as a people, as a cause, as a struggle, and as a national project.”

[YouTube channel, Jan. 25, 2025]

Among the PA officials who have rejoiced over the release of terrorists is the PA’s governor of Ramallah, Laila Ghannam, who showed her joy and support by visiting terrorists in the hospital as Palestinian Media Watch exposed last month.

Ghannam’s directorate further posted statements by Ghannam, praising released terrorists who served life sentences as “heroes” and “symbols of resolve and defiance”:

Laila Ghannam welcomes released terrorists

Posted text: “Upon receiving these released heroes, Ghannam emphasized that the prisoners are symbols of the struggle and resolve of the Palestinian people in the face of the cruelty of the occupation [i.e., Israel], and added that loyalty to them is a national and moral duty that our people will never neglect…

She added: ‘These prisoners who spent decades behind the bars of the occupation are a symbol of resolve and defiance, for despite their long suffering, their high morale is a message of hope to our people that freedom will arrive without a doubt.‘” [emphasis added]

[Ramallah and El-Bireh Governorate, Facebook page, Jan. 25, 2025]

The author is a senior analyst at Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article was originally published.

The post Palestinian Authority Official: ‘Heroes’ Welcome’ Planned for Released Terrorists first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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New Poll: Majority of NYC Voters ‘Less Likely’ to Support Mamdani Over His Refusal to Condemn ‘Globalize the Intifada’

Zohran Mamdani Ron Adar / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

Zohran Mamdani. Photo: Ron Adar / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

In a warning sign for the campaign of Democratic nominee for mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani, a majority of city voters in a new poll say the candidate’s hardline anti-Israel stance makes them less likely to vote for him.

In the survey of likely city voters conducted by American Pulse, 52.5 percent said Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the slogan “globalize the intifada” coupled with his backing of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement made them less likely to vote for him in November. Just 31% of city voters polled were more likely to support him because of these positions.

At the same time, a significant share of young New York City voters support Mamdani’s anti-Israel positioning, a striking sign of shifting generational views on Israel and the Palestinian cause.

Nearly half  of voters aged 18 to 44 (46 percent) said the State Assembly member’s backing for BDS and “refusal to condemn the phrase ‘globalize the intifada’” made them more likely to support him.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist from Queens, has been under fire for defending “globalize the intifada,” a slogan many Jewish groups associate with incitement to violence against Israel and Jews. While critics argue it glorifies terrorism, supporters claim it’s a call for international solidarity with oppressed peoples, especially Palestinians. Mamdani has also voiced support for BDS, a movement widely condemned by mainstream Jewish organizations as antisemitic for singling out Israel.

The generational divide exposed by the poll comes amid a broader political realignment. Younger progressives across the country are increasingly critical of Israeli policies, especially in the wake of the Gaza war, and more receptive to Palestinian activism. But to many Jewish leaders, Mamdani’s rising support is alarming.

Rabbi David Wolpe, visiting scholar at Harvard University, condemned the phrase with a sarcastic analogy.

“‘Globalize the intifada’ is just a political slogan,” he said. “Like ‘The cockroaches must be exterminated’ was just a housing authority slogan in Rwanda.”

Jewish organizations have reported a surge in antisemitic incidents in New York and across the U.S. since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last fall. The blending of anti-Zionist slogans with calls for “intifada,” historically linked to violent uprisings, has deepened fears among Jewish communities that traditional red lines are being crossed.

Whether this emerging coalition reshapes New York politics remains to be seen. However, the poll indicates that among younger voters, views that were once considered fringe are quickly moving into the mainstream.

The post New Poll: Majority of NYC Voters ‘Less Likely’ to Support Mamdani Over His Refusal to Condemn ‘Globalize the Intifada’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Report: Jews Targeted at June’s Pride Month Events

A Jewish gay pride flag. Photo: Twitter.

The research division of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) released a report on Wednesday detailing incidents of hate against Jews which took place last month during demonstrations in celebration of LGBTQ rights and identity.

Incidents reported by the group include:

  • At a Pride march in Wales, the activists Cymru Queers for Palestine chose to block the path and show a sign that said “Profiting from genocide,” an attempt to link the event’s sponsors — such as Amazon — to the war in Gaza.
  • A Dublin Pride march saw the participation of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which labeled Israel a “genocidal entity.”
  • In Toronto at a late June Pride march, demonstrators again attacked organizers with a sign declaring, “Pride partners with genocide.”

CAM also identified a recurring narrative deployed against Israel by some far-left activists: so-called “pinkwashing,” a term which the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) movement calls “an Israeli government propaganda strategy that cynically exploits LGBTQIA+ rights to project a progressive image while concealing Israel’s occupation and apartheid policies oppressing Palestinians.”

The report notes that at a Washington DC Pride event in early June Medea Benjamin, cofounder of activist group Code Pink and a regular of anti-war protests, wore a pair of goofy, oversized sunglasses and a shirt in her signature pink with the phrase “you can’t pinkwash genocide.”

Other incidents CAM recorded showed the injection of anti-Israel sentiment into Pride events.

A musical group canceled a performance at an interfaith service in Brooklyn, claiming the hosting synagogue had a “public alignment with pro-Israel political positions.” In San Francisco before the yearly Trans March, a Palestine group said in its announcement of its participation, “Stop the war on Iran and the genocide of Palestine, stop the war on immigrants and attacks on trans people.”

CAM notes that this “queers for Palestine” sentiment is not new, pointing to a 2017 event wherein “organizers of the Chicago Dyke March infamously removed participants who were waving a Pride flag adorned with a Star of David on the grounds that the symbol ‘made people feel unsafe.’”

In February, the Israel Defense Forces shared with the New York Post documents it had recovered demonstrating that Hamas had tortured and executed members it suspected of homosexuality and other moral offenses in conflict with Islamist ideology.

Amit Benjamin, who is gay and a first sergeant major in the IDF, said during a visit to New York City for Pride month that “All the ‘queers for Gaza’ need to open their eyes. Hamas kills gays … kills lesbians … queers cannot exist in Gaza.”

The post Report: Jews Targeted at June’s Pride Month Events first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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IAEA pulls inspectors from Iran as standoff over access drags on

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl/File Photo

The UN nuclear watchdog said on Friday it had pulled its last remaining inspectors from Iran as a standoff over their return to the country’s nuclear facilities bombed by the United States and Israel deepens.

Israel launched its first military strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in a 12-day war with the Islamic Republic three weeks ago. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s inspectors have not been able to inspect Iran’s facilities since then, even though IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said that is his top priority.

Iran’s parliament has now passed a law to suspend cooperation with the IAEA until the safety of its nuclear facilities can be guaranteed. While the IAEA says Iran has not yet formally informed it of any suspension, it is unclear when the agency’s inspectors will be able to return to Iran.

“An IAEA team of inspectors today safely departed from Iran to return to the Agency headquarters in Vienna, after staying in Tehran throughout the recent military conflict,” the IAEA said on X.

Diplomats said the number of IAEA inspectors in Iran was reduced to a handful after the June 13 start of the war. Some have also expressed concern about the inspectors’ safety since the end of the conflict, given fierce criticism of the agency by Iranian officials and Iranian media.

Iran has accused the agency of effectively paving the way for the bombings by issuing a damning report on May 31 that led to a resolution by the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said he stands by the report. He has denied it provided diplomatic cover for military action.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday Iran remained committed to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

“[Grossi] reiterated the crucial importance of the IAEA discussing with Iran modalities for resuming its indispensable monitoring and verification activities in Iran as soon as possible,” the IAEA said.

The US and Israeli military strikes either destroyed or badly damaged Iran’s three uranium enrichment sites. But it was less clear what has happened to much of Iran’s nine tonnes of enriched uranium, especially the more than 400 kg enriched to up to 60% purity, a short step from weapons grade.

That is enough, if enriched further, for nine nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick. Iran says its aims are entirely peaceful, but Western powers say there is no civil justification for enriching to such a high level, and the IAEA says no country has done so without developing the atom bomb.

As a party to the NPT, Iran must account for its enriched uranium, which normally is closely monitored by the IAEA, the body that enforces the NPT and verifies countries’ declarations. But the bombing of Iran’s facilities has now muddied the waters.

“We cannot afford that … the inspection regime is interrupted,” Grossi told a press conference in Vienna last week.

The post IAEA pulls inspectors from Iran as standoff over access drags on first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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