Representatives of Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party in the Palestinian Legislative Council have celebrated the return of terrorist Dalal Al-Maghrabi’s remains on PA TV. The Fatah legislators, Jihad Abu Zneid and Najat Abu Bakr, praised the deeds of this dead female terrorist who led a 1978 bus hijacking that was the worst terror attack in Israel‘s history. In this attack, 37 vacationers, including 12 children, were murdered. Al-Maghrabi’s body was released to Lebanon as part of the recent freeing of jailed terrorists by Israel that also included multiple murderer Samir Kuntar.
In the interview, Jihad Abu Zneid said, “Today has stirred the emotions of all Palestinians and the whole world [towards] a Palestinian woman who was, and still is, a commander and a fighter for the sake of Palestine. Allah willing, we hope that the day is near when the remains of this fighter and martyr, who has been dubbed ‘the Princess of Female Martyrs’ – sister Dalal Al-Maghrabi, – will return, Allah willing, to Jaffa, and will be welcomed by Jaffa and by the entire homeland, and we will celebrate our liberation … We extend our deepest salutations to that Palestinian mother, to the mother and sisters of Dalal, and to all the female martyrs [who died] for the sake of Dalal and Palestine. I say to them: You have won [this honor]. Becoming the mother or sister of a martyr is an unparalleled opportunity. I wish I could be the mother or sister of a martyr, or even be martyred myself for the sake of Palestine. This would be a great honor. We all wish to die, Allah willing, for the sake of Palestine, and to become brides for the sake of Palestine – all the women and girls of Palestine wish for that. Dalal was a role model, and we were raised on her memory, and on this outstanding Palestinian image of that great Palestinian commander, Dalal, who led the best Palestinian operation for the sake of Palestine and its liberation … The first woman to hijack a plane was a Palestinian. The first woman to lead a commando operation against the occupation was Dalal Al-Maghrabi. The Palestinian mothers who bade farewell to thousands of martyrs, knowing that their sons were leaving, never to return, yet they bade farewell to them, knowing that the homeland would be restored before their sons returned … We all hoped that the great martyr and leader, the late [Yasser Arafat], could be with us today to receive the remains of the fighter, sister Dalal Al-Maghrabi, and to say to her, as he always said: ‘We are [advancing] along the road, we will remain true to our oath, and we will always renew this oath, for the sake of the martyrs, the wounded, and the prisoners.’ Whenever he would say to us: ‘To Jerusalem we march, martyrs by the millions,’ we would replay: ‘Yes’… Today, Abu Ammar [Arafat], you welcome from your grave these remains. You receive all the martyrs because you were an Emir at the head of all the martyrs. You died for the sake of Palestine, and your soul embraces the souls of Dalal Al-Maghrabi and of all the martyrs. Allah willing, we will continue along the path of the martyrs, and obtain that great martyrdom for the sake of Palestine.”
Najat Abu Bakr stated, “To Samir Quntar, the outstanding commander, who always set his eyes on Palestine… To Samir Quntar, who was liberated from one geographical region, and went to another geographical region, to Palestine… To Samir Quntar, who always united the PLO factions in the prisons, and to whom people listened more than to the Palestinians themselves… I say to him: Congratulations to you, and congratulations to Palestine for your [release], Samir. We pledge to continue calling you son of Palestine, rather than son of Lebanon. To the mother of Dalal, I say that this is the day of Dalal’s presence in the soul of every free man. Rest assured, oh mistress of Palestine and of the mother of martyrs, that on this day you have become the mother of all Palestinian mothers. To Dalal, confined in her coffin, I say that no matter how much time it takes, you are the one who has won, even though they kept your body, sentenced your body to a hundred years in the freezer, and charged 50 shekels from anyone who came to see your body in the morgue… Today, you made all the Israeli and Zionist warlords pay the price. Your price is higher than anything they expected. You are present, because while death means absence, martyrdom means presence. Oh leaders of the Zionist enemy, we are here to stay, and you will be gone.”
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah continues to add to its long and shocking record of glorification of terror and terrorists which demonstrates, as little else can, why he and his Fatah-backed PA are neither moderate nor peace partners. It should come as no surprise that this glorification of terror and terrorism continues when Abbas’ Fatah calls to this day in its Constitution for the destruction of Israel (Article 12) and the use of terrorism as an essential element in the campaign to achieve that goal (Article 19).
“The record shows that within the PA, few opportunities are missed to glorify a terrorist, celebrate a suicide bomber, or inculcate Palestinian youth into worshipping cold-blooded murderers. The record also shows that all aspects of PA life — the schools, youth movements, sports teams, newspapers, TV, even the names of streets — are made vehicles for honoring and praising terrorism. This in turn breeds more terrorists and bloodshed.
“Given this shocking record, we renew our long-standing call upon the Bush Administration to desist from ignoring the incitement to hatred and murder within the PA – not within Hamas’ regime in Gaza, but Mahmoud Abbas’ regime in Judea and Samaria – and to insist in talks with Abbas and other PA officials that the PA takes immediate action to comprehensively end this hate propaganda. Only when Palestinians reject the idea that it is a religious and national duty to murder Jews and honor those who commit the murders will there be any prospect of peace.”
