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"How PA Violence was planned", Report by Palestinian Media WatchPMW Director's Note: In response to the increased interest in the Palestinian Media Watch report published in Hebrew that anticipated the Palestinian Authority violence two and a half weeks before it started, PMW is now distributing the report in English as well.For your convenience it is being distributed
both as text and as a WORD file attachment with formal layout.
Palestinian Media Watch Special Report
# 30 [Sept. 11, 2000]
Written by: Itamar Marcus, Director Introduction:Palestinian Authority [PA] television broadcasting of violence and hate has reached unprecedented levels this summer and has created an atmosphere of the eve of outbreak of war. Palestinian television is currently broadcasting a systematic campaign that negates the peace process and reconciliation. Included are abundant violence clips, the depiction of Israeli soldiers as rapists and murderers, call for eternal war against the Jews, military marches, libelous accusations, denial of Israel’s right to exist, and education of Palestinian children to see all of Israel as stolen “Palestine”. These inciting broadcasts appear frequently each day, beginning with afternoon children’s programming and ending with the closing of the programs at night.False accusations against Israel and Israeli soldiers and the presentation of Israelis as murderers have long been regular subject matter of the Palestinian media. This week on “Panorama”, Palestinian television’s cultural program, a brutal scene from a Palestinian movie was shown in which Israeli soldiers throw a Palestinian girl on top of their jeep and rape her, and then murder her parents. (See part 1). The messages on the religious broadcasts by the official Palestinian Authority religious leadership this summer, show that the religious worldview of the Palestinian Authority is identical to the principles of the Hamas. According to the Palestinian Authority religious leadership, Islam’s war with the Jews is eternal, the peace agreements are temporary, and Allah will inevitably liquidate the state of Israel. (See part 2). One category of the heightened incitement that can be measured is the increase in quantity and heightening of the severity of violence clips on PA TV. As an established daily routine, clips showing violence against Israel and the Israeli army are shown daily between regular programming on Palestinian television. By using pictures of riots from different time periods, which have undergone careful editing, Israeli soldiers are presented as cruel and murderous while the Palestinians, especially the children, are presented as heroic fighters. Broadcasting these clips creates a perpetual warlike atmosphere. The hypothetical Israeli equivalent would be were Israeli television to broadcast daily old footage of suicide bombings. In recent weeks PA TV is showing many times the usual number of these clips. In addition, Palestinian television began broadcasting this week a clip called “Where are the Millions [Masses]” which in the past has been identified as a call to go to the streets and riot. Over the last week this clip has been shown every single day, following a number of years during which our research staff has not seen it at all. (See part 3). This week the new PA schoolbooks were presented to the press and Israel still does not appear on a single map in any schoolbook while its place is marked as “Palestine”. This education of children to deny Israel’s existence is reinforced regularly on children’s television programs in which the entire land of Israel is presented as stolen Palestine. (See part 4). False accusations such as those of Suha Arafat, who said that Israel attacks Palestinians with gas, are heard incessantly by officials in the Palestinian Authority. Recently, the PA has been reporting that Israel is distributing drugs in order to hurt Palestinian youth, together with other false accusations. (See part 5). This paper will present a number of representative examples of the above themes that have been appearing this summer in the Palestinian Authority’s official TV broadcasts from Ramallah. Contents 1. Israelis presented as murderers
and rapists.
1. Israelis presented as rapists and murderers1. Libelous accusations against Israel and Israeli soldiers are fundamental elements in the Palestinian media. This week on the “Panorama” cultural show, a horrific scene from a Palestinian movie was shown in which Israeli soldiers rape a girl and murder her parents. In the scene Israeli paratroopers wearing red berets torment a Palestinian family. A soldier conducts a search and when he does not find anything the soldiers take the girl, drag her to the hood of the jeep and rape her. The parents try to resist and after the rape the father is shot and the mother is stabbed to death. The Israeli soldier calmly wipes the blood off the knife into his palm and rubs the blood with his finders. The girl is rolled off the jeep to the ground, apparently, she is also murdered. Throughout the scene, other soldiers are shown smiling and laughing. In the end the soldiers leave in the jeep flying an Israeli flag. 12. Palestinian television broadcasts archive scenes from the Intifada, which have been edited to present a distorted picture. During a day of special broadcasting upon Yasser Arafat’s return from Camp David, a clip was broadcast that included an Israeli soldier shooting followed by a girl falling to the ground. The viewer concludes that the girl was shot in the back by the soldier. However, a slow viewing clearly shows that there is no connection between the two scenes. The message of the clip: Israeli soldiers shoot children in the back. 2 3. Throughout the summer vacation, summer camps were held to give the children semi-military training and inculcate them with anti-Israeli ideology. Messages to the children included the presentation of Israel in general and Israeli residents of Judea and Samaria specifically as murderers. In one summer camp, girls performed a skit that was shown on Palestinian TV. The skit begins with a father talking with his boy Salah out in the field: Salah: “Father, why do the settlers take people’s lands?”
The father is then left alone in the field. A group of armed settlers enters, one of them dressed as an Israeli soldier. The father says, “Get off my land! Get off my land! Stop taking other people’s property!” The settlers wave a piece of paper in the air and say, “Listen! It says on this paper that this land is ours!” The father shouts, “This is my property!” and rips up the piece of paper. “I plowed it and reaped it”. Pushing and hitting ensue. The father tells them, “Get off my land! I plowed and reaped it.” The “settlers” push him to the ground, shoot him and run away. The son Salah returns and says to his father, “Father, Father, what have they done to you? Why are you laying on the ground?” The dying father says to his son, “My son Salah, guard this land because the settlers want to take the land that I have plowed.” The show ends. 3 Presentation of Israelis in general and of settlers specifically as enemies and murderers of Palestinians and as an existential threat to the Palestinians, is one of the fundamentals of the Palestinian Authority’s education. This gained impetus in informal educational frameworks throughout the summer. 4. The Palestinians even
make use of the classic anti-Semitic libel of blaming the Jews for Jesus’
murder. On the weekly interview show “Good Morning Jerusalem” a Palestinian
artist presented his new paintings, among them a picture of Jesus with
two Israeli soldiers standing at his sides. The artist explains:
This artist’s depiction is consistent with the Palestinian Authority’s official position defining Jesus himself as a “Palestinian”. In an article from the Palestinian Authority’s official newspaper about the city of Nazareth, Jesus is defined as the first Palestinian murdered by Jews. The headline: “The city in which the Jews murdered the first of its Palestinian sons.” The article states: “…the Jews tried to attack it (Nazareth) many times and established settlements there. But the Palestinian people of Nazareth are still keeping their Palestinian customs and traditions… The Palestinian language is still spoken to the point that when speaking with them you can feel that time and the Zionist occupation will not be able to change the face of the Palestinian Nazareth, and that it still has not forgotten nor will it forget her first son (Jesus), which the Jews betrayed and handed over to the emperor and insisted on his killing… Inevitably the savior will one day come to Nazareth to return the joy.” 5 Note that the official PA
daily the Israeli city of Nazareth is presented as a temporarily conquered
Palestinian city.
2. Islam’s eternal war religious against the Jewish PeopleEvery Friday, Palestinian television broadcasts a sermon from a mosque. The Palestinian Authority’s religious leaders’ sermons express the same opinions as the Hamas.1. Teaching that Israel’s existence is forbidden according to Islamic law by Palestinian Authority religious leader, this summer: “Muslim Palestine is one
and cannot be divided. There is no difference between Haifa and Nablus,
Lod and Ramallah, Jerusalem and Nazareth or Gaza and Ashkelon. Palestinian
is Wakf land (Muslim religious trust) that belongs to Muslims throughout
the world and no one has the right to give it up or to forsake. Whoever
does this is a traitor to the trust and is nothing but a criminal whose
end shall be in hell.”
6
2. Israeli-Palestinian relations are defined as a holy war, and the Jewish people are seen as the enemies of Islam. The following are the words of a Palestinian Authority religious preacher, Dr. Ahmed Yusuf Abu Halabiya: “We the Palestinian nation, our fate from Allah is to be the edge of the sword in the war against the Jews until the resurrection of the dead, as the prophet Muhammad said: ‘the resurrection of the dead will not arrive until you will fight the Jews and kill them…’ We the Palestinians are the edge of the sword in this issue and in this campaign, whether or not we want this. All of the agreements being agreed are temporary…” 7 “Jerusalem, Palestine and Al Aksa, the land and its surroundings that Allah had blessed, will remain the focus of the struggle between truth and falsehood, between the Jews and non-Jews over this holy land. It does not matter how many agreements will be signed or how many contracts will be confirmed. The truth is in the Koran, which is verified in the words of the prophet Mohammed, that the deciding battle will be in Jerusalem and its surroundings: ‘Resurrection of the dead will not arrive until you fight the Jews…’” 8 “Oh our Arab brothers… oh our Muslim brothers… don’t leave the Palestinians alone in war against the Jews…even if it has been decreed upon us to be the sharp edge of the sword… Jerusalem, Palestine and Al Aksa …will remain the center of the battle of truth and falsehood, between the Jews and non-Jews.” 9 “My brothers who are believers,
let me take this opportunity, while speaking about the Jews, about their
cunning ways, their heresy, their jealousy and their attempts to get you
to lose your way and to distance you from your rights. Let us take
this opportunity, to appreciate the courageous position of the negotiators…we
remind them…that Palestine, Jerusalem and Al Aksa are a holy debt
to the Muslims, Arabs and us especially, the Palestinian nation.
They belong to all of the generations, not only to a specific generation.
The generation that is not able to restore its rights must provide the
next generations with this opportunity. Through adhering to this
right and principle and not forgoing this right until the next generations
come, in order to carry out what we have failed to do today, against the
enemies of Allah.” 10
“Palestine… causes the Jews sleeplessness at night, causes sleeplessness to Allah’s enemies throughout the world. They want to cure this abscess called Palestine, Jerusalem and Al Aksa and that is called the beloved and blessed Palestine… Jerusalem is a symbol of the Muslim’s unity and it is a symbol to their strength and to the Muslim people’s Jihad forever.” 11 The Palestinian Authority’s religious leader rejects any agreement with the Jewish nation, as a message to the peace talks negotiators: “No one, no Arab, Palestinian or Muslim is allowed to forgo one grain of soil of the land of Palestine, Jerusalem and Al Aksa …whoever forgoes even one grain of soil will be punished for his sin, for the sins of all Palestinians, for the sins of all Arabs and for all of the Muslim’s sins forever and ever…” 12 “…The Jews gathered from all ends of the earth in our beloved Palestine, from Rosh Ha-Nikra in the north to Eilat in the south…from sea to river, it was all a land of Muslims…” 13 “…Palestine’s borders, the promised Palestine, is from the sea to the river…” 14 “…Allah decreed on us in this lifetime to humiliate the Jews sooner or later…” 15 “…The Muslims and Arabs must
stand behind the Palestinian nation, which is the sharp edge of the sword
in the war against Allah’s enemies. I swear on Allah, the Jews are
Islam’s enemies in this life time…” 16
The Palestinian Authority’s leaders, often repeat their interpretation of Oslo as a temporary agreement, or as a part of the PLO’s plan of stages for the liquidation of Israel. This week, Knesset member Abd Al-Malek Dahamshe was interviewed on Palestinian television. In response to a viewer who called the studio and said, “Our problem with Israel is not a problem of borders but an problem of existence”, he responded: “We are exaggerating when we say ‘peace’…we are talking about ‘Hudna’.” “Hudna” is an Islamic term that means a “cease-fire” agreement rather than peace. The Hamas leader, Sheik Yassin
has also recently expressed willingness for a “Hudna’” with Israel: “We
are talking about “Hudna” [a cease fire] for a interval, but not about
ending the struggle. And for this, a full retreat from Gaza and the
West Bank must be carried out…”
19
3. Encouragement of violence in clips and praise for terroristsThe daily Palestinian television broadcasting includes clips that show violence and fighting against Israel and the Israeli army. Recently there has been an increase, both in number of broadcasts and in their severity. Likewise, there is a sharp increase in the number of pictures of dead Palestinians and others with open wounds.There are three components to these clips: 1. Pictures of Israeli soldiers
committing violent acts: kicking or hitting men, women and children; shooting
at rioters and throwing tear gas grenades.
The scenes are accompanied by marching and military songs including praise of Jihad as well as nationalistic songs. The following is a typical example of a song during the broadcast of a scene of a jail, a dismembered body and the like are being shown: “It may be that you
steal the last bit of my land
Oh enemy, eradicator
The following is another example of words that are heard during a broadcast of Israeli soldiers fighting with Palestinians: “Oh agents of the devil oh
enemies of man
4 .
The ‘where are the millions’ [the masses] clip has been shown every day
this past week, after years of not seeing this clip at all on Palestinian
television. Over the background of scenes of violence and fighting,
the following song is played:
As is well known, the clip has been known in the past as a call for going out to riot in the streets. 5. One
of the heroines of the Palestinian Authority is Dalal Al-Mugjrabi, a terrorist
who took part of the hijacking of a bus and murder of 36 Israeli passengers
in 1978. On the show ‘Panorama’, Dr. Salah Al-Kadumi explains her
importance: “Dalal is a symbol for the Palestinian nation… Through the
show we transmit to the viewer the Palestinian woman’s role as a fighter…
as a builder of the Palestinian society… we cling to Dalal as an individual
who belongs to the Palestinian consciousness.” Immediately following
this statement a scene is shown from a film about the terrorist in which
Israelis wearing Kippot [Skull Caps] are threatening a Palestinian with
a pistol, interrogating him in the cemetery in which Dalal Al-Mughrabi
is buried where she appears above her grave as living.Palestinian TV often
has programs like this one admiring the murderers of Israelis. 23
4. Children’s Education: “Palestine”- Metulla to Eilat - is temporarily in chains.The Palestinian Authority continues to educate its children that the entire land of Israel is “Palestine”, that it belongs to the Arabs and was stolen from them in 1948. The following are three examples from children’s programming on Palestinian television.1. In “The Birds’ Garden”,
a program for young children, the hostess presented the children with a
map of Israel including the Palestinian Authority areas. The children are
taught that all of Israel is “Palestine”. These are her words:
2. In another episode of
“The Bird Garden”, the hostess presented a similar drawing of Israel including
the Palestinian Authority areas tied in chains. The following is
the explanation she gave the children and the hope for the future:
3. A television clip that had been broadcast in the past dozens of times but stopped following complaints from Israel has been returned. The clip for children defines the entire land of Israel as “Palestine”, saying that in 1948 they (the Israelis) took everything… and explains that “they” (the Israelis) changed its name. However it is still “Palestine”. The clip, called “My Homeland” opens with a group of children that are building “Palestine” with small figures. They are “building” houses and “planting” trees and the atmosphere is one of joy and happiness. These are the words to the song: “My box is in my room, my room is in my house, my house is in my neighborhood, my neighborhood is in my country, my country is very pretty, it has houses and oranges and neighbors and trees…” Suddenly the song stops and
the music ends. There is an earthquake and all of the houses and
trees fall down and the girl says in a serious and sad voice:
At the end of the clip the children present themselves by their first name and where they come from. Among them Kafar Kasem, Jerusalem, Haifa, Yaffo and other places within Israel. The message to the Palestinian
Authority’s children is that Israel’s creation is to be viewed as stealing
Palestine.”
26
5. Libelous accusations1. False accusations like that of Suha Arafat, who said that Israel used gas against the Palestinians, are heard regularly in the Palestinian Authority’s official media. Israel has been recently been blamed for intentional drug distribution in order to hurt PA youth:“The minister Intisar Al-Wazir (widow of Abu Jihad) said that her office (the Ministry for Social Affairs) provides all possible help to those fighting drugs however the Israeli authorities are working hard on bringing drugs into the Palestinian society.” 27 2. Lies are common blaming Israel for the burning of Al Aksa Mosque (21/8/1969) and for planning the building the third Temple after destroying the mosques. The following is one example: “How can we be happy today and how can we smile while Jerusalem is being trampled, while Jerusalem is in danger and on the brink of the establishment of the third Temple. That is what they are trying to do today. They want to establish the Temple on the land of Al-Aksa and Jerusalem with Barak’s blessing as well as the blessing of the entire government of Israel and the government of all the Jews. With the establishment of the Temple will be the beginning of the destruction of the Al-Aksa mosque and the building of the Temple on top of its ruins.” 28 3. An Australian non-Jew set the Al-Aksa mosque on fire in 1969. However the PA teaches through its schoolbooks and through its leaders that Israel stood behind the fire as part of its war against Islam. During a special program that commemorated the burning of the mosque, Sheik Ikrima Sabri, the Mufti (Islamic religious leader) of Jerusalem said: “Preparations for this crime took place that were expressed in the statements of senior officials and rabbis who said that Al-Aksa does not belong to the Muslims and that it may be destroyed… They tried to instigate people against those in charge of Al-Aksa and threaten them... Rohan the Australian who burned Al-Aksa had no idea what Al-Aksa was. He was recruited by number of people who trained him to do this dangerous and sinful task. The long-term goal was, as it was stated back then, a plot whose main goal was to attack the Muslim holy sites…” 29 footnotes
PMW monitors and translates the major Palestinian Authority media: 3 daily newspapers, TV, Radio. PMW issues weekly reports
in English and Hebrew,
PMW is a non-profit organization,
operating in Jerusalem.
This page was produced by Joseph
E. Katz
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