Palestinian Authority Again Shows How ‘Moderate’ It Is

[Order David Horowitz’s new book, America Betrayed, HERE.]

It should not be overlooked that several weeks ago, the Palestinian Authority — the “moderate” Palestinian Authority that the Bidenites hope will take control of Gaza — yet again honored the mass killer Abu Jihad, who was responsible for the deaths of 125 Israelis. More on this murderer, upon whom honor after posthumous honor has been lavished by the PA, can be found here: “PA names hall after arch-terrorist Abu Jihad, whom it admires for planning murder of 125,” by Nan Jacques Zilberdik, Palestinian Media Watch, June 4, 2024

Until Hamas’ massacre against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Coastal Road terror attack was the most lethal in Israel’s history. Fatah terrorists from Lebanon hijacked a bus full of Israeli civilians on vacation and murdered 37, of whom 12 were children. Arch-terrorist Abu Jihad planned and supervised the attack, which was led by female terrorist Dalal Mughrabi.

The PA has praised Abu Jihad for orchestrating the murder of at least 125 Israelis, and Palestinian Media Watch has documented how the PA has turned him into a role model for Palestinian society. Posthumously, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas awarded Abu Jihad the Star of Honor.

Abu Jihad’s photograph is posted on the walls of Palestinian towns and in Palestinian classrooms, where the children are taught about his acts of anti-Israeli “heroism.” Streets and squares have been named after him. His exploits, in planning the murders of 125 Israelis, are deemed by the PA worthy of celebration in schoolbooks and on television. Palestinian children are taught to regard Abu Jihad as the best example of a “martyr who never put down his rifle.”

Last week, the PA yet again cemented its view of Abu Jihad as a hero and admirable figure for Palestinians by inaugurating a hall in Ramallah named after him. One of the walls in the hall is adorned with a photo of the arch-terrorist and the Fatah logo, which includes the PA map of Palestine that erases all of Israel under crossed rifles….

PA’s Ramallah District Governor Dr. Laila Ghannam was present at the event…, as was top Fatah official Abbas Zaki…, who gave a speech. Additional Fatah officials were also present…

In other words, a great many Fatah bigshots were out in force to celebrate Abu Jihad.

Those local notables, including at least one Orthodox Christian cleric who ministers to his ever-diminishing flock in the West Bank, were rounded up by the PA to attend the opening to the public of the Abu Jihad Hall in Ramallah.

Do not forget that the Palestinian Authority, which likes to present itself to Western donors as “moderate,” continues to pay large monthly sums to the families of dead terrorists, killed as they carried out their attacks, and to the families of those terrorists who have been imprisoned for terrorist attacks. In both cases, the sums allotted are far greater than what the average Palestinian, either in Gaza or the West Bank, can earn, so there is considerable economic benefit in becoming a terrorist. If you don’t die and are out of an Israeli prison because of one of those lopsided prisoner exchanges, you can boast not about your “martyrdom,” but about your fearlessness in the face of a powerful Israeli enemy, which helped you to withstand the onslaught by the hated Zionists.

Will the Bidenites demand that Mahmoud Abbas remove Abu Jihad’s name from the hall in Ramallah just named after him, and from all other buildings where the PA has chosen to remember him? Will the Bidenites do what Congress has instructed it to do — which is to enforce the Taylor Force Act, by withholding financial aid to the PA as long as it continues to provide terrorists and their families with monthly stipends?

From the photographs of a kindly, smiling, avuncular Abu Jihad, displayed in classrooms across the West Bank, to the photographs of Abu Jihad found on the outside walls of buildings, that offer the sober mien of a warrior unafraid to take on the evil Zionists, Abu Jihad is made more of by the PA than anyone but Arafat, Mahmoud Abbas, and Dalal Mughrabi.

Is the Biden administration sure that Mahmoud Abbas and the PA are fit candidates to take over Gaza? The Bidenites continue to flout the requirements of the Taylor Force Act, according to which Congress requires the administration to cease all payments to the Palestinians as long as the PA continues to pay generous subsidies both to the families of dead terrorists and to the families of imprisoned terrorists. The PA still pays those subsidies, but the Bidenites, ignoring Taylor Force, continue to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the Palestinians each year. If the Bidenites continue to believe that the PA should be put in charge of Gaza “the day after” the war ends, the very least that they can do is to demand two things. First, that the PA must stop its subsidies to imprisoned terrorists and to the families of dead terrorists. Second, the PA has to stop honoring terrorist murderers. That means ceasing to name squares, streets, schools, and meeting halls, like the one just inaugurated in Ramallah, after the likes of Abu Jihad and Dalal Mughrabi, and to remove their names from all the places where they had previously been affixed. Their biographies — ghoulish hagiographies really — need also to be removed from the PA’s schoolbooks. These are not people whom schoolchildren should be taught to admire and to be emulated if, that is, peace between Arab and Jew is the goal.