This week Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas once again honored the memory of the terrorist Dalal Mughrabi - this time by sponsoring a ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of her birth.
Mughrabi led the worst terror attack in Israel's history in 1978, when she and other terrorists hijacked a bus and killed 37 civilians.
Present at the ceremony were Palestinian dignitaries and a children's marching band. Earlier this year, Abbas sponsored a computer center named after Mughrabi.
The PA further glorified Mughrabi on the date of her birth when the Governor of Ramallah announced the naming of the "Dalal Mughrabi Square".
The text on the giant banner carrying Mughrabi's portrait at the birthday ceremony read:
"Under the auspices of President Mahmoud Abbas
The Political and National Education Authority
Ceremony on the anniversary of the birth of the bride of the cosmos
The Shahida (Martyr) Dalal Mughrabi."
The PA has a strong tradition of using terrorists as role models -- especially for children -- by naming public places, facilities and events after them. Dalal Mughrabi, who is not known for anything other than her murderous terror attack, is one of the prominent examples of a terrorist who is promoted as a worthy and desirable role model.
The following are named after, or have been named after Dalal Mughrabi in the last two years:
1- Education: Two PA Dalal Mughrabi Girls High Schools
2- Education: The Shahida (Martyr) Dalal Mughrabi Computer Center
3- Education: School graduation ceremony named after Mughrabi
4- Sports: Two Shahida (Martyr) Dalal Mughrabi summer camps
5- Sports: The Dalal Mughrabi Football Championship
6- Municipality: The Dalal Mughrabi Square in Al Bira, Ramallah region
Education: Computer Center
"Yesterday the Hebron Building Committee inaugurated a computer center named after the Shahida (Martyr) Dalal Mughrabi. Present at the event were President Mahmoud Abbas's advisor... inaugurating the center, funded by a contribution from the President's [Abbas's] Office."
[Al-Ayyam, May 5, 2009]
Palestinian School Graduation Ceremony:
"A party in honor of the successful students of the general high school... under the auspices of President Mahmoud Abbas, and under the name of the Shahida (Martyr) Dalal Mughrabi... Samih A-Sayfi, the commander of the region and the representative of the President [Abbas], wished the distinguished students a brilliant future... and reviewed the heroic life of [Dalal al-Mughrabi] the Shahida (Martyr) and the course of the struggle of the Fatah Movement and its sacrifices."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (Fatah), July 24, 2008]
Palestinian Summer Camp (1):
"A summer camp in the name of the Shahida (Martyr) Dalal Mughrabi was opened... by the Fatah movement... out of honor and admiration for the Shahida (Martyr)..."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (Fatah), July 23, 2008]
Palestinian Summer Camp (2):
"The activities of the [summer] camp are organized with the support of the Palestinian Center for Dissemination of Democracy & Community Development... [with] teams which carry names with a national and historical significance, and names of Shahids... the camp activities are dedicated to the memory of two Shahids (Martyrs), Dalal Mughrabi and Azmi Saghir."
[Al-Ayyam, July 22, 2008]
Sports: Football tournament
"Islami Silwan Club wins the Dalal Mughrabi Championship for youth... [for children] born in 1996 - the Islami Silwan Club, won the Dalal Mughrabi Football Championship, organized by the Hilal Al-Quds Club, along with five teams from the different [sports] clubs of the Jerusalem region."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (Fatah), Aug. 8, 2008]
Municipality:
"[The Governor of Ramallah] announced the naming of a square after the Shahida (Martyr) Dalal Mughrabi, adjacent to the headquarters of the Political and National Education Authority... in order to eternalize her memory."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (Fatah), Dec. 30, 2009]
In addition, Mughrabi is regularly honored at many official events throughout the year. At the opening ceremony of Fatah's Sixth General Conference this summer, Fatah leaders responded with applause when former PA Prime Minister Abu Alaa (Ahmad Qurei) honored Mughrabi:
"We have in our midst the hero Khaled Abu-Usbah, hero of the operation [terror attack] led by the Shahida (Martyr) Dalal Mughrabi [applause from the audience]. We salute him and welcome him. And [we salute] the hero, the Shahida (Martyr) Dalal. [He shouts:] All the glory! All the glory! All the glory! All the sisters here are Dalal's sisters."
[PA TV (Fatah), Aug. 4, 2009]
This past year PA TV also celebrated the 31st anniversary of Mughrabi's terror attack with an hour-long TV special about the attack. The program opened with the narrator glorifying the attack as:
"One of the most important and most prominent special actions, executed by the Palestinian revolution by sea, on the coast between Haifa and Tel Aviv. This action, carried out by a group of heroes and led by the heroic fighter Dalal Mughrabi."
[PA TV (Fatah), March 11, 2009]
Abbas, the "moderate", also went on record supporting an increase in terror he euphemistically refers to as "escalation of the population struggle to resist occupation."
Says he:
"Our programme emphasises the importance of a two-track approach, with the first being the escalation of the popular struggle to resist occupation."
Fatah, which marked the 45th anniversary of the start of its armed struggle on Friday, also vowed to "increase movement on the international level to pursue Israel, to isolate it and to force it to answer to international law."
"We renew our vow to continue the struggle until the end of the occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with east Jerusalem as its capital, and a solution to the refugee issue," it said.
Fatah went on to say that it "would not spare any effort in restoring Palestinian national unity and returning the Gaza Strip from the hands of those who have taken it hostage," referring to its Hamas rivals.
A little history refresher:
The two main Palestinian movements have been divided into geographically separated hostile camps since the Islamist Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007.
The secular Fatah was founded by the late iconic leader Yasser Arafat in the 1950s and formally launched its armed struggle against Israel on January 1, 1965.
Arafat entered into peace negotiations with Israel when he signed the 1993 Oslo autonomy accords, but during the 2000 Palestinian uprising Fatah's armed wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, carried out scores of deadly attacks.
When Abbas became president following Arafat's death in 2004 he brought the armed struggle to a halt, but the movement has never given up its "right to resistance" against the Israeli occupation of lands seized in 1967.
