Obama & Netanyahu must condemn Abbas

Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas who, along with Yasser Arafat co-founded the Fatah terrorist movement, has honored Muhammad Daoud Oudeh, also known as Abu Daoud, the mastermind of the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage-taking by Fatah terrorists of eleven Israeli athletes. All eleven athletes were murdered by the Fatah terrorists in the operation for which Mahmoud Abbas was instrumental in providing the funding. Abbas presented Oudeh as a hero and role model for Palestinians, stating in a condolence telegram quoted in the official PA daily newspaper, that Oudeh “was one of the prominent leaders of the Fatah movement and lived a life filled with the struggle, devoted effort, and the enormous sacrifice of the deceased for the sake of the legitimate problem of his people, in many spheres. He was at the forefront on every battlefield, with the aim of defending the [Palestinian] revolution. What a wonderful brother, companion, tough and stubborn, relentless fighter.” Abbas also called Oudeh’s family to express his condolences.

The ZOA is urging President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly condemn Abbas’ latest act, which was already reported in the Palestinian media before their meeting yesterday.

Another senior Fatah official, Abbas Zaki, member of the Fatah Central Committee, described the planner of the Munich Olympics hostage taking with the following words: “He started his life as a regular individual and concluded it with giant stature,” and referred to “his noble actions and his glorious history” (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 4, 2010, translation courtesy of Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik, ‘Abbas honors mastermind of Munich Olympics massacre,’ Palestinian Media Watch Bulletin, July 6, 2010).

The same PMW report provides many further examples of Abbas honoring terrorists, defending terrorists and demanding the release of imprisoned terrorists, to which the following can be added:

• Fighting Israel: “We have a legitimate right to direct our guns against Israeli occupation … Our rifles, all our rifles are aimed at The Occupation” (Khaled Abu Toameh, ‘Abbas: Aim guns against occupation,’ Jerusalem Post, January 11, 2007; Independent Media & Review Analysis, January 12, 2007).


• On suicide bombers and other terrorists: “Allah loves the martyr” (Wall Street Journal, January 5, 2005); “Our latest Shahids (Martyrs) are the six who were killed in cold blood by Israeli forces in Nablus [terrorists who killed Rabbi Avshalom Meir Hai] and in Gaza [terrorists carrying explosives and a ladder near Israel’s border fence]” (PA TV (Fatah), Dec. 31, 2009, Itamar Marcus & Nan Jacques Zilberdik, ‘Abbas glorifies recent murderers,’ Palestinian Media Watch, January 5, 2010).


• On wanted Palestinian terrorists: “heroes fighting for freedom” (Ed O’Loughlin, ‘Abbas courts Gaza militants for votes,’ Age [Melbourne], January 3, 2005); “Israel calls them murderers, we call them strugglers” (Jerusalem Post, December 25, 2004).


• On Palestinian terrorist leaders Yasser Arafat, Hamas’ Ahmad Yasin and Abdel Aziz Rantisi and Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Fathi Shikaki: “martyrs” (Palestinian Media Center, September 14, 2005); “The ways of the shahids [martyrs] Arafat, Abu Jihad [Khalil Ibrahim al-Wazir], George Habash and even Sheikh Ahmed Yassin – are the ways we recognize. These are the ways in which we are meant to preserve the national interests of the Palestinian people” (Khaled Abu Toameh, ‘Abbas proposes referendum to Hamas,’ Jerusalem Post, November 11, 2008).

·        On Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine founder and leader George Habash: “The death of this historic leader is a great loss for the Palestinian cause and for the Palestinian people for whom he fought for 60 years” (‘PFLP founder George Habash mourned as “historic leader for Palestinians”’,’ Daily Star [Beirut], January 28, 2008).

·        On Hamas: “We must unite the Hamas and Fatah blood in the struggle against Israel as we did at the beginning of the intifada. We want a political partnership with Hamas” (Jerusalem Post, February 5, 2007).

·        On Yasser Arafat: “It is our duty to implement the principles of Yasser Arafat” (Haaretz, January 3, 2005); “We will continue in the path of the late president until we fulfill all his dreams” (Agence France-Presse, November 11, 2005); “The Palestinian leadership won’t stray from Arafat’s path” (Yediot Ahronot, November 11, 2006).

·        On Fatah’s pioneering role in terrorism: “I had the honor of firing the first shot in 1965 and of being the one who taught resistance to many in the region and around the world; what it’s like; when it is effective and when it isn’t effective; its uses, and what serious, authentic and influential resistance is … We [Fatah] had the honor of leading the resistance and we taught resistance to everyone, including Hizbullah, who trained in our military camps” (‘Abbas: Armed ‘resistance’ not ruled out,’ Jerusalem Post, February 28, 2008).

• On disarming Palestinian terrorists: a “red line” that must not be crossed (‘Candidate Abbas confronts delicate balance on Hamas,’ Washington Times, January 3, 2005)


• On jailed Palestinian terrorists: “our heroes.” (Israel National News, May 26, 2006); In a statement broadcast by PA radio on ‘Prisoners Day,’ “Our position was and is still unwavering – that it is not possible to make peace with Israel unless all prisoners and all detainees are freed …There will be no signing of any agreement that does not guarantee freedom for all of them” (‘Palestinians mark Prisoner’s Day across the West Bank,’ Agence France Presse (AFP), April 17, 2008).


• On the Lebanese terrorist group Hizballah: A source of pride and sets an example for the “Arab resistance” (Jerusalem Post, August 6, 2006).

ZOA National President Morton a. Klein said, “This latest example of Mahmoud Abbas honoring and praising a key figure in the Munich terrorist seizure of hostages and their murder unfortunately tells us all we need to know about Mahmoud Abbas and the terrorist-protecting and terror-promoting Fatah-controlled regime he heads.

“Mamhoud Abbas has not jailed terrorists, confiscated illegal weapons, or closed the bomb factories. He has not ended the incitement to hatred and murder in the PA-controlled media, mosques, schools and youth camps that feed terrorism. This should not be surprising, since his own Fatah, especially the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, are just as much involved in suicide bombing and other acts of terrorism as Hamas, the Popular Front, the Popular Resistance Committees and other Palestinian Arab terrorist groups. Both Fatah and Hamas have each murdered nearly 600 Israelis in a decade of terrorism.

“Despite this, the Obama Administration acts as though Abbas and Fatah are moderates who should be strengthened and with whom peace negotiations are desirable. It is incumbent on both President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu to condemn Abbas and demand the end of incitement and glorification of terrorism by Abbas and the PA.

“Imagine if Prime Minister Netanyahu had offered public praise in the Israeli media for a Jew who had murdered Palestinian civilians. It would not be tolerated and there would be an outcry – and rightly so. Why, then is there only silence when Abbas does precisely this? And why has not Prime Minister Netanyahu made any public mention of this during his visit to America?

“It is vital that the United States and Israel cease the policy of funding, arming and diplomatically supporting Abbas and Fatah, which has ensured that the PA remains an unreformed terrorist regime. After all, it is Abbas and Fatah who retain control over the content of Palestinian textbooks and the media, both of which promote hatred of Jews, Israel, Christians and America. The U.S. and Israel are making the same mistake they made when they falsely stated that Yasser Arafat was a moderate peacemaker, and on that false premise made concessions to his Fatah regime which resulted in a surge of terrorism and placed Israel in greater danger.

“Also exposed again is, Mahmoud Abbas’ real attitude towards terrorism against Israeli civilians. His latest show of support for terrorists and terrorism comes as no surprise to the ZOA, which has warned for years about the unreconstructed extremism and duplicity of the PA leader who does not in fact oppose terrorism, and who does not embrace making peace with Israel and accepting its existence as a Jewish state. After all, if Abbas, as the record provided above shows, praises terrorists as heroes and martyrs, takes pride in his own pioneering role in the history of Arab terrorism and condemns Israeli strikes that eliminate terrorists, then he is clearly not someone who will arrest terrorists or dismantle their networks.

“It is past time for the U.S. to cut ties and funding to the Palestinian Authority – not to increase funding – as President Obama recently did by adding $400 million to U.S. aid for Palestinians on top of an already unprecedented $900 million in annual aid.”