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Palestinian Leaders in the West Bank Still Celebrate and Justify Oct. 7 Massacre
People hold Fatah flags during a protest in support of the people of Gaza, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, in Hebron, in the West Bank, Oct. 27, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
Fatah, the ruling political party of the Palestinian Authority (PA), continues to revel in the October 7 massacre, and to wish for similar attacks in the future.
In a television interview that he posted to his Facebook page, a senior Fatah official, Abbas Zaki, expressed pride in the terrorists’ success, as well as in the popular support and actions by the Palestinians following the attacks. He hailed the massacre as something that will be studied in universities, and he described terrorist prisoners, including those who perpetrated heinous attacks prior to October 7, as “precious treasure.”
Zaki also called for ongoing “resistance in all its various forms,” besides diplomatic and political efforts.
Furthermore, it is worth noting that the PA likes to present itself as a victim of not only Israel, but of the entire Western world. Zaki expresses this with the claim that the October 7 attack overcame NATO forces and “all the West’s capabilities.” He defined Israel merely as a mercenary.
Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki:
Posted text: “Fatah Central Committee member and [Fatah] General Commissioner for Arab and China Relations Abbas Zaki was interviewed on the [TV] channel Palestine Today … He noted that there must be an integration of Palestinian diplomatic and political activity at various international sites — especially at the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council, and the UN General Assembly — and resistance in all its various forms.
Video: “People are surprised given the mighty [Palestinian] resolve and how the entire NATO treaty, all the West’s capabilities, together with all their [Israel’s] mercenaries and collaborators, were unable to silence the [resistance’s] fighters’ rifles and rockets. …
The Al-Aqsa Flood [Oct. 7 attack] will be studied in the universities and echoed widely, because the owners of the right [i.e., the Palestinians] held onto their homeland [i.e., Israeli land] and succeeded in defeating every kind of tyrannical party or alliance … They are a source of pride.
If [Ahmad] Sa’adat, Marwan [Barghouti], and Nael [Barghouti] [i.e., all terrorist prisoners] will be released, if all these prisoners … if they will be released, they are a precious treasure. It is enough that we succeeded in releasing them from the enemy’s claws.” [emphasis added]
[Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki, Facebook page, June 2, 2024]
In addition, Jibril Rajoub, who is the Fatah Central Committee Secretary, asserted that the October 7 attacks were a legitimate response to Israeli policies:
“Our conflict with this occupation [i.e., Israel] has been open since 1948 and until now. … Our behavior in all the circles and all platforms is based on the fact that what happened on Oct. 7 is a response to this occupation’s crimes…” [emphasis added]
[Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub, Facebook page, June 2, 2024]
Since the attacks of October 7, Rajoub has been praising the Hamas operation. He has been relentless in calling it a war of defense against Israel’s creation in 1948, and even a “battle of heroism.”
He also refused to distance the PA from Hamas, and described Hamas as “part of the Palestinian social fabric”:
[Rajoub] added that Fatah thinks that “Hamas is part of the Palestinian social fabric.” [He] said that “the Al-Aqsa Flood” operation and the Palestinian resistance’s attack on Oct. 7, which Hamas’ military wing, the Martyr Izz A-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, launched against the occupation’s settlements is “an additional battle of heroism and a war of defense in the 75-year history of the Palestinian resistance.” [emphasis added]
[Wattan, independent Palestinian news agency, Dec. 22, 2023]
Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub: “What happened on Oct. 7 is part of a war of defense that the Palestinian people is waging against this occupation [i.e., Israel] in response to the Israeli crimes that are a continuation of the same crimes that are 76 years old today, which is the age of this occupation, against all of Palestine and the Palestinians.” [emphasis added]
[Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub, Facebook page, Jan. 17, 2024]
Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub: “What happened in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7 is part of a war of defense that the Palestinian people carried out…” [emphasis added]
[Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub, Facebook page, Dec. 28, 2023]
After the October 7 massacre, the US pressured the Palestinian Authority to condemn the Hamas atrocities, but the PA refused. By now, Palestinian Media Watch has reported so many PA and Fatah statements defending, justifying, and celebrating October 7 that it is clear that the PA’s refusal to condemn was not merely for public relations purposes.
Rather, the PA genuinely supported and still supports the atrocities. It is no surprise that when Palestinians were asked about whether October 7 and the ongoing events made them feel pride, 98% of Palestinians answered “yes” according to the Arab World for Research and Development (AWRAD). With both Hamas and Fatah seeing the massacre, rapes, torture, hostage-taking, and all the other atrocities as heroic, there is no reason to expect the entire Palestinian population who were raised on PA/Fatah/Hamas ideologies to see things any differently.
Ephraim D. Tepler is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). Itamar Marcus is PMW’s Founder and Director. A version of this article originally appeared at PMW.
The post Palestinian Leaders in the West Bank Still Celebrate and Justify Oct. 7 Massacre first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Netanyahu Escalates Attack on Australia’s Albanese as Jewish Group Urges Calm
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday stepped up his personal attacks on Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese over his government’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state, saying Albanese‘s political record had been damaged forever.
Diplomatic ties between Australia and Israel have soured since Albanese‘s center-left Labor government last week announced it would conditionally recognize Palestinian statehood, following similar moves by France, Britain, and Canada.
The decision prompted Netanyahu to launch a personal attack on Albanese, and he doubled down on his condemnation in an interview to be broadcast on Sky News Australia.
“I think his record is forever tarnished by the weakness that he showed in the face of this Hamas terrorist monsters,” Netanyahu said, after describing Albanese earlier this week as “a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews.”
Sky News Australia released the comments ahead of the broadcast of the full interview on Thursday at 8 pm (1000 GMT).
Albanese on Wednesday played down Netanyahu‘s criticisms, saying he did not “take these things personally” and that he treated the leaders of other countries with respect.
Last week, Albanese said the Israeli prime minister was “in denial” about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where Israel has been waging a military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry in separate letters sent on Wednesday to both leaders urged them to discuss differences through diplomacy rather than public posturing.
“We write to express our deep dismay and concern at the recent ‘war of words,’” the letters said.
“If things need to be said publicly, they should be said using measured and seemly language befitting national leaders. Australia and Israel are mature democracies, and their governments need to act accordingly,” the council said.
Israel this week revoked the visas of Australian diplomats to the Palestinian Authority after Albanese‘s government canceled the visa of an Israeli lawmaker over remarks it considered controversial and inflammatory.
Israel’s military announced the first steps of an operation to take control of Gaza City on Wednesday, calling up tens of thousands of reservists despite many of Israel’s closest allies calling for it to reconsider.
The offensive began after Hamas-led terrorists stormed into southern Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 more hostage. Israel is currently considering a new ceasefire proposal.
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Iran Holds Military Drills After Big Losses in War With Israel
An Iranian missile is launched during a military exercise in an undisclosed location in Iran, Aug. 20, 2025. Photo: Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iran on Thursday launched its first solo military exercises since its June war with Israel, state media reported, seeking to reassert an image of strength after suffering heavy losses.
Navy units of Iran‘s regular armed forces fired missiles and drones at open water targets in the Indian Ocean under the “Sustainable Power 1404” drill, state television reported.
“These drills take place around a month after the Iran-Russia drill under the name Casarex 2025 which took place in Iran‘s northern waters [Caspian Sea]. The Sustainable Power drills … are in Iran‘s southern waters,” state TV said.
Israel attacked Iran in a 12-day air war which the United States briefly joined, pounding key nuclear installations and killing top military commanders and nuclear scientists.
Israel largely destroyed Iran‘s air defenses during the war and much of its stockpile of ballistic weapons is believed to have been damaged by Israeli strikes.
Since then, the Islamic Republic has said it is ready to counter any future attacks.
“Any new adventure by the enemy will be faced with a strong slap,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to strike Iran again if it revives nuclear facilities including uranium enrichment plants.
Tehran suspended negotiations with Washington aimed at curbing the country’s nuclear ambitions after the Israeli and US airstrikes. Iran denies any intent to develop atomic bombs.
Iran believes the moment for “effective” nuclear talks with the US has not yet arrived, its top diplomat said on Wednesday, though Tehran would not completely cut off cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.
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Jewish Comedian Jeff Ross Cooks in One Man Show on Broadway
Jeff Ross in his one-man show on Broadway.
Jeff Ross is best known for roasting celebrities like Tom Brady, making jokes that some could interpret as mean. But his one man show on Broadway, Take a Banana for The Ride, shows a lot of heart.
Ross describes cutting brisket as part of his family’s kosher catering business, having a big Jew-fro, and losing all his hair in one week due to alopecia. He also described having surgery and going through chemo, thankfully recovering from stomach cancer.
He jokes that he could roast himself because he has thick skin. Ross is his middle name, and his last name is Lifschultz.
Ross calls comedy his superpower, and it certainly is. He talks about his uncle, Murray, liberating a concentration camp and how he was bullied and took karate lessons and became the second youngest black belt in America.
He jokes that Jesus was the only Jewish carpenter, and another joke about him is the edgiest in the show, which is far less profane than his roasts. The title of the show comes from his grandfather, Jack, who told him to take the yellow fruit with him on his bus trips from Brooklyn to Manhattan to do standup comedy.
Ross mentions his friend told everyone on a text chain to get a colonoscopy, and when he got one, a stage III tumor was found. He had surgery and seven inches of his colon was removed. Ross also reads a love letter his father wrote to his mother. While Ross is funny, with his usual excellent timing, that he would choose to show such vulnerability is remarkable. He even speaks of two birth defects.
Pictures of his relatives come up behind him, as well as the three comedy pals he lost in recent succession, Jewish comics Gilbert Gottfried and Bob Saget, as well as Norm Macdonald. He makes a joke about his sister, Robyn, that some might find surprising and you’ll want to hear about a surprising gift he got from his father for Hanukkah. He says the first comedy writing he did was a card he wrote to his mother to try to cheer her up when suffering from leukemia. Marsha would die when her son was 14, and his father died when he was 19.
Ross speaks of going to Boston University, where he starred in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Comedy likely saved Ross at a time of sorrow, and he regrets that his parents never got to see him perform — but says they gave him the gift of humor.
Ross has a funny song about all the things Jews created, including Hollywood, kugel, and cosmetic surgery.
At the end of the show, Ross goes out to people in the audience who are dealing with hardships, insults them and gives them a banana. Ross delivers a performance that is hilarious, warm, and worthy of an award, which I expect he will win. It’s only running for eight weeks and it is worth seeing not only because of Ross’ star-power, but because of his humanity.
Judging only from his roasts, one would think Ross was as cold as ice. But it’s a revelation to see this other side of him. And while he doesn’t have kids, it’s clear he loved one dog that passed away and another that is still alive. Ross reveals he wears a ring made from a bolt of a Nazi U-Boat.
Take a Banana For The Ride is a Jewish story, but also a universal one that is heartwarming, inspiring, and surprising. Don’t miss it! And just like you stay to watch the credits at the end of a movie, there’s a surprise at the end of his show.
The author is a writer based in New York.