Is Fatah promoting jihadist tourism to Jerusalem after the Turkish attack?

A writer for the official PA daily newspaper, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, even went so far as to say that Palestinian self-sacrifice – one of the PA’s euphemisms for suicide attacks – serves as a model for all humanity.

Last week, a 34-year-old Turkish imam visiting Israel took a cue from a Palestinian Authority bulletin board and stabbed and wounded an Israeli border policeman near Herod’s Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The Turkish tourist’s attack was described by Fatah’s spokesman as a “sacrificial operation,” as was Bushnell’s self-immolation.

Fatah spokesman in Jerusalem Ma’arouf Al-Rifai: “In April, there was a martyr (in Jerusalem), namely a Turkish tourist (Hassan Saklana), who ascended to heaven while carrying out a sacrificial operation in the Old City of Jerusalem.”

(Official PA Television, May 2, 2024)

The terminology used by the Fatah spokesman to praise this attack is also in line with the fundamentalist religious doctrine of the Palestinian Authority. In its communications with the international community, the Palestinian Authority pretends that its war with Israel is territorial in nature – but its own people are taught that Islam forbids the existence of Israel and that the killing of Israeli Jews is therefore prescribed in the Koran and is an Islamic act .

Accordingly, instead of condemning the assassination attempt, Fatah has praised it as an act rewarded by Allah, and the Palestinian Authority will reward the jihadist tourist’s family with a monthly stipend of 1,400 shekels for life, according to Palestinian Authority law.

Ephraim D. Tepler is a staff member at Palestine Media Watch (PMW). Itamar Marcus is founder and director of PMW. A version of this article originally appeared on PMW.