Palestinian Authority: Mass Murderers Are ‘Awe-Inspiring Symbols for Our People’

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has turned arch-terrorist Abu Jihad (Khalil Al-Wazir) into one of the greatest role models for Palestinian society. He headed the PLO terror organization’s military wing and planned many deadly Fatah terror attacks from the 1960s to the 1980s, in which 125 Israelis were murdered.

These “achievements” are a source of eternal pride for Palestinians, and the PA and all PA institutions commemorate and glorify Abu Jihad on the anniversary of his death.

Affectionately hailing Abu Jihad as “the Prince of Martyrs,” the PA praised him in its official daily earlier this year, highlighting the numerous terror attacks he planned. The paper even stated how many Israelis were murdered in some of Abu Jihad’s “military operations,” among them the Coastal Road massacre that, prior to Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, was the most lethal in Israel’s history with 37 murdered Israelis, among them 12 children:

The article in the official PA daily included a picture of terrorist Khalil Al-Wazir “Abu Jihad.”

Abu Jihad, the deputy general commander of the revolution forces and engineer of the first Intifada …

Among the military operations [i.e., terror attacks] that Abu Jihad planned: the Zohar reservoir bombing in 1955; the operation to blow up the Israeli National Water Carrier pipelines (Eilabun tunnel) in 1965; the Savoy Hotel operation in Tel Aviv and the killing of 10 Israelis in 1975; the operation to blow up a truck bomb in Jerusalem (15 murdered – ed.) in 1975; the operation to kill Albert Levy, the senior sapper and his assistant, in Nablus in 1976; the Dalal Mughrabi operation, in which more than 37 Israelis were killed, in 1978; the operation to shell the Eilat Port in 1979; and the Katyusha fire on the northern settlements )in 1981.

In addition, he also planned the infiltration of the headquarters of the Israeli military governor in Tyre and its bombing, leading to the deaths of 76 officers and soldiers, including 12 senior officers, in 1982; he led the war of attrition during the years 1982-1984 in southern Lebanon; and he planned the Dimona Reactor operation [i.e., Mothers’ Bus attack, 3 murdered] in 1988, which was the principal reason for his assassination. [emphasis added]

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, April 16, 2025]

Palestinian Media Watch documented last year that the PA named a new hall in Ramallah after Abu Jihad.

The Palestinian National Council (the legislative body of the PLO) elevated Abu Jihad to the status of “a symbol and paradigm of the Palestinian revolution,” owing to the many murderous terror attacks he planned against Israelis that it praised as “quality operations”:

Posted text: ” On this date in 1988, the malicious hands of the occupation’s [i.e., Israel’s] arms and its security forces succeeded in killing a symbol and paradigm of the Palestinian revolution, unique leader Khalil Al-Wazir ‘Abu Jihad,’ … He was one of the first founders of the Fatah Movement and a member of its [Fatah] Central Committee, the mastermind behind the quality operations [i.e., terror attacks] in the history of the revolution, a sharp politician and military man who combined wisdom in leadership and determination in confrontation.” [emphasis added]

[Palestinian National Council Chairman Rawhi Fattouh, Facebook page, April 16, 2025]

PA educational institutions also mark the day of Abu Jihad’s death.

Fatah’s Shabiba High School Movement arranged a “cultural competition” called “Remaining Loyal to the Path” at schools in Nablus. The top of the competition registration form features a picture of terrorist Abu Jihad and a picture of former PLO and PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, making it clear that students are being encouraged to remain loyal to their path of terror:

Former Israeli Arab Member of Parliament and Head of the High Follow-Up Committee for the Arab Citizens of Israel Muhammad Barakeh credited Abu Jihad — together with Arafat — with initiating and “managing” the first Intifada, which resulted in “unprecedented achievements”:

Muhammad Barakeh: “The [first] Intifada – which was initiated by Abu Jihad and his comrades, foremost among them [former PLO Chairman and PA President] Yasser Arafat – made unprecedented achievements for the Palestinian people and was managed under the supervision of Abu Jihad from abroad.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, April 17, 2025]

Another great “hero” of Palestinian society is imprisoned terrorist and member of the PA parliament and Fatah Central Committee, Marwan Barghouti, who orchestrated three shooting attacks in which five people were murdered.

While Barghouti is serving five life sentences, he is also the PA’s “national symbol and model of inspiration for the masses,” according to Abbas’ deputy in Fatah, Mahmoud Al-Aloul. In fact, he is so popular that Barghouti often comes out at the top of polls when Palestinians are asked who they would elect for PA chairman.

On the anniversary of Barghouti’s arrest, PA leader Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah Party praised him as “the engineer of the Al-Aqsa Intifada” — the PA’s five-year terror campaign during which more than 1,100 Israelis were murdered:

Posted text: “The 23rd anniversary of the arrest of the engineer of the Al-Aqsa Intifada and Fatah Movement Central Committee member commander prisoner Marwan Barghouti” [emphasis added]

[Fatah Commission of Information and Culture, Facebook page, April 15, 2025]

Fatah also praised terrorist Barghouti as “a shining example on the path of the Palestinian struggle and an awe-inspiring symbol for our people.” Abbas’ party then stressed that it endorses Barghouti’s path of murder and terror, stating that it is “committed to the principles outlined by its leaders, founders, and fighters.”

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

The post Palestinian Authority: Mass Murderers Are ‘Awe-Inspiring Symbols for Our People’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.