RSS
Palestinian Authority Official: Terrorist Prisoners ‘Are a Model of Nobility, Honor, and Purity’
The opening of a hall that the Palestinian Authority named for a terrorist who killed 125 people. Photo: Palestinian Media Watch.
Israel is getting set to release over 1,900 terrorist prisoners as part of a ceasefire agreement that Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas hopes will lead to his “revitalized” PA being given control of the Gaza Strip.
At a recent event celebrating the 60th anniversary of the launch of the Fatah party, the same Mahmoud Abbas called these terrorist prisoners “heroic” and said that they are “saluted with appreciation”:
[PA] president [Mahmoud Abbas] saluted with admiration and honor the Martyrs of the Palestinian revolution and the Palestinian people…
He saluted with appreciation the heroic prisoners in the occupation’s [i.e., Israel’s] detention facilities and the families of the Martyrs and the prisoners.
He also emphasized that their sacrifices will not be in vain, and that the Palestinian people will continue the journey of struggle until its legitimate goals are achieved, and until they win their freedom and national independence.” [emphasis added]
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 1, 2025]
Abbas reinforced the decades-old PA message documented by Palestinian Media Watch that murderers of Israelis are heroes and role models for Palestinian society.
At the same event, a member of Fatah blessed terrorist prisoners as “the proud upright ones” and “heroes,” emphasizing that “the rifle should be aimed” at Israel:
Follow-up Commission for Prisoners’ Affairs Director and Fatah member Amin Shuman: “On behalf of all of you, we send a blessing to our prisoners in the prisons of the occupation, to the proud upright ones, to the leaders who do not bow down, to you our brother Marwan [Barghouti] … To you the heroes of the prison cells… to you Zakariya Zubeidi (i.e., terrorist)… and all the heroes of the Jenin [refugee] camp, the camp of Martyr ‘Abu Jandal’ (i.e., terrorist), who all the [Palestinian] lawbreakers need to learn from him that the Palestinian rifle should only be directed towards the chest of the occupation.“[emphasis added]
[Official PA TV, Dec. 31, 2024]
Similarly, a PA district governor stressed the “honorable and noble” status of terrorist prisoners:
Salfit District Governor Abdallah Kmeil: “The prisoners are a model of nobility, honor, and purity. They are the most noble among us all, after the Martyrs. We feel all the love and appreciation for them.” [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV, Giants of Endurance, Dec. 27, 2024]
Chairman of the Palestinian National Council (the legislative body of the PLO), Rawhi Fattouh, likewise praised and “blessed” the terrorist prisoners, singling out Marwan Barghouti, who planned attacks in which five people were murdered, and Ahmad Sa’adat, who is convicted of heading the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror organization:
Fattouh: “We send our blessings to every male and female prisoner in the [Israeli] prisons … led by Fatah Central Committee member fighter leader Marwan Barghouti and Popular Front [for the Liberation of Palestine] Secretary-General leader Ahmad Sa’adat, who represent a model of resolve and willpower…” [emphasis added]
[Palestinian National Council Chairman Rawhi Fattouh, Facebook page, Dec. 31, 2024]
These few examples of statements by top PA leaders and the fact that Fatah continues to brag about the number of terrorist murderers in its ranks stress that Israel is rightly concerned about the growing terror threat from PA-controlled areas, and is correct in its opposition to any kind of PA rule in the Gaza Strip.
The author is a senior analyst at Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article was originally published.
The post Palestinian Authority Official: Terrorist Prisoners ‘Are a Model of Nobility, Honor, and Purity’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
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.”
RSS
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.
RSS
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.