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12 facts that refute the PA's claim that its payments to terrorists and Martyrs families are social welfare.

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July 17, 2017

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Special Report:

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PMW exposes Abbas' latest deception:

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PA salaries to terrorists are not social welfare

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12 facts that refute the PA's claim that its payments to terrorists and Martyrs families are social welfare
PA vows to continue paying salaries to terrorists

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by Itamar Marcus and PMW staff

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Click to view as PDF

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Contents:

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Introduction:

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- Facts and figures about PA payments to terrorists and their families

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- PA claim: Salaries are social welfare

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- The PA vows to continue paying salaries to terrorists

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Part 1: 12 facts that refute the PA's claim that its payments to terrorists are social welfare

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1. PA law defines the payments to prisoners as salaries

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2. PA officials and prisoners' representatives deny that salaries are social welfare

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3. Prisoners, and not their families, have complete control over the transfer of the salaries

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4. Salaries rise based on years spent in prison and not based on financial need

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5. Social welfare considerations add only small payments to the base salary

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6. Salaries to prisoners are treated with the same status as salaries to civil servants.

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7. Prisoners pay income tax on their salaries, like all government employees

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8. Prisoners' salaries are higher than salaries of PA civil servants

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9. Payments to families of terrorist "Martyrs" are higher than social welfare for those in need

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10. Released prisoners continue to receive monthly salaries

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11. PA officials openly declare that prisoners receive salaries because they are "heroes"

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12. Released prisoner demanded undiminished salary because: "I personally killed Jews"

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Part 2: The PA vows to continue paying salaries to terrorists

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Summary

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Introduction

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Facts and figures about PA payments to terrorists and their families

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The Palestinian Authority's "Law of the Prisoners" (2004) and subsequent PA regulations grant monthly salaries, from the day of arrest until the day of release, to all Palestinians arrested for security and terror offenses - acts defined in PA law as "struggle against the occupation." The salaries increase according to the amount of time the terrorist remains in prison, ranging from 1,400 shekels ($388) to 12,000 shekels ($3,324) per month. In 2016, the PA budgeted 488 million shekels ($135 million) for salaries to terrorist prisoners (numbering 6,300, July 2017), as shown in the following chart:
\ni

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$\"\"$

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The PA also pays the families of so-called "Martyrs" a monthly allowance for life. The term "Martyr" includes all terrorists and suicide bombers who were killed while attacking Israelis in addition to others who were killed in confrontations with Israelis. These families receive a one-time payment of 6,000 shekels, and then monthly payments of 1,400 shekels/ month plus additions. In 2016, the PA budgeted 660 million shekels ($183 million) for payments to more than 26,800 families of so-called "Martyrs" (and 8,300 injured, who appear in the same budget category):

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$\"\"$

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\nPA claim to non-Palestinian audiences: Salaries are social welfare

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As foreign governments pressure PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and the PA to stop paying salaries to terrorists and their families, the PA has claimed to international audiences that these payments are not rewards for terror but are social welfare intended to provide families with a means of support in the absence of its primary breadwinner. At the June 2017 Herzliya Conference, Mahmoud Abbas repeated this claim, to Israelis and foreign participants in his speech read by his advisor:

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"I'm honored that President Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, the Palestinian Authority, has asked me to read you his speech. So in effect I will be his messenger in delivering his speech to you... Payments to support families are a social responsibility to look after innocent people affected by the incarceration or killing of their loved ones as a result of the military occupation."

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[Mahmoud Abbas' speech read by Nabil Shaath,

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his advisor on Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Herzliya [Israel] Conference, June 22, 2017]

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The PA's use of this claim to foreign audiences to hide the fact that it is rewarding terror is not new. Already in 2012, UK Minister of State Alan Duncan repeated this PA defense in response to PMW reports exposing the PA's terror rewards.

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However, this PMW report documents conclusively that the PA payments to prisoners are salaries and not social welfare for the families. This report will show that it has been ongoing PA policy for many years to define and treat these payments as rewards for terror.

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The PA vows to continue paying salaries to terrorists

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Despite the growing international pressure on the PA to stop the salaries, PA leaders, including PA Chairman Abbas himself, adamantly vow to continue rewarding terror no matter what.

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Part 1: 12 facts that refute the PA's claim that its payments to terrorists are social welfare

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1. PA law defines the payments to prisoners as salaries

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The payments to prisoners are defined by the Palestinian Authority in law "Government resolution # 23 of 2010" as a "salary" - in Arabic Ratib. Nowhere in the PA law do the words "social assistance," "welfare" or related terms appear. Instead, the word "salary" appears repeatedly:

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"Government resolution # 23 of 2010 concerning the amendment on payment of a monthly salary to the prisoner: Every prisoner will be granted a monthly salary... on condition that he does not receive a salary from a [different] governmental [body]... The salary will be paid to the prisoner from the date of his arrest... The minimum salary for a prisoner..."

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[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, April 15, 2011]

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2. PA officials and prisoners' representatives deny that salaries are social welfare and continue to refer to the payments as "salaries"

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In 2012, when the international community first put pressure on the PA to stop paying salaries to terrorists, a suggestion was made to rename the payments as "social welfare." Even considering this superficial change, created an outrage among Palestinians. As a result, the PA Minister of Prisoners' Affairs rejected out of hand the proposal to change the "salary" payments to "social welfare":

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"Minister of Prisoners' Affairs Issa Karake denied the stories and rumors that the [Palestinian] prisoners' salaries would be changed to social welfare payments.
\nIn a press release Karake clarified that prisoners receive their stipends in accordance with regulations and the law, and their rights are protected so that it is impossible to hurt them. He noted that the government headed by Salam Fayyad considers the prisoners' cause central, and has authorized regulations to support and protect them out of esteem for their sacrifice and struggle."

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[WAFA news agency, Dec. 27, 2012, emphasis added]

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Chairman of the PA-funded Prisoners' Club Qadura Fares likewise confirmed that the government would not exchange the word "salaries" with any other term:

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"[The PA-funded] Prisoners' Club Chairman Qadura Fares said that the government has given final approval for what is stipulated in the Prisoners' and Released [Prisoners'] Law of 2004, which considers payments made to prisoners 'salaries,' to which no other term applies... The Ahrar Center for Prisoners' and Human Rights Research had demanded that President Mahmoud Abbas intervene immediately to reverse the government's decision to replace the term 'prisoner salary' (Arabic: ratib) with the term 'prisoner assistance' (Arabic: i'anat)."

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[Al-Quds Internet edition, Dec. 27, 2012, emphasis added]

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Until today, the PA continues to use the term "salary" to refer to the monthly payments rewarding terror, and vowed to continue paying them:

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"Spokesman for the [PLO] Commission of Prisoners and Released Prisoners' Affairs Hassan Abd Rabbo emphasized to the [independent Palestinian news] agency Ma'an that it is the right of all of the prisoners and Martyrs who have struggled and sacrificed for Palestine to receive their full salaries (rawatib) from the PA. He also emphasized that all of their salaries are paid by the PLO-affiliated Palestinian National Fund, and not by the Palestinian [PA] government.

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'Approximately 7,000 prisoners within the prisons and thousands of released prisoners receive monthly salaries of more than 1,400 [Israeli] shekels, in addition to canteen money that the prisoner receives in order to buy food and essentials within the prison,' said Abd Rabbo.

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The prisoner's salary changes according to the years of imprisonment, social situation, and the number of his family members, as the salary of some of the prisoners reaches 10,000 shekels, particularly those who have served more than 10 years of imprisonment.

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Abd Rabbo denied that there are clauses in the Oslo Accords signed between the Israeli government and the PLO that forbid providing salaries to prisoners and the Martyrs' families.

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PLO Executive Committee member [and Secretary-General of the Palestinian Liberation Front] Dr. Wasel Abu Yusuf emphasized that the PA and the Palestinian leadership will not neglect the Martyrs, prisoners, and wounded who have made sacrifices for Palestine and its cause."

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[Ma'an, independent Palestinian news agency, April 5, 2017]

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3. Prisoners, and not their families, have complete control over the transfer of the salaries

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The prisoners have complete control over their salaries through the appointment of a personal representative. Regulation of Payment of the Monthly Salary to the Prisoner and his Family No. 18, 2010 states that an "authorized agent" or "power of attorney" will be appointed by the prisoner himself to determine the agent to receive his salary on his behalf. The regulation explicitly gives the prisoner the right to designate people other than his wife or parents. Additionally the prisoner has the power to change the representative during his imprisonment. If the PA had wanted this to be a welfare payment for the prisoners' families, it would have given the money directly to the families.

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Appointment of an "agent" can be authorized only by the prisoner's signature on a special form. The following are excerpts of the text of the Regulation of Payment of the Monthly Salary to the Prisoner and his Family No. 18, 2010:

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Paragraph 1

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"Authorized agent: The person who is authorized to receive the salary in the name of the prisoner."

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Paragraph 5

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"1. If the prisoner is married, his wife will be his authorized agent, unless the prisoner appoints someone else instead of her.

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2. If the prisoner is not married, one of his parents will be the authorized agent. If there is an argument about it, the prisoner will determine which one of them or any other person will be the authorized agent.

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3. Authorization of an agent is done by an authorization of agent [form] issued by the Red Cross, that is signed by the prisoner, or by a personal authorization of agent [form] signed by him and approved by a lawyer of the Ministry [of Prisoners' Affairs] and by the General Administration for Legal Matters of the Ministry. The form will be valid only for the Ministry for the purpose of the salary."

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[Regulation of Payment of the Monthly Salary to the Prisoner and his Family No. 18, 2010,

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PA Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs, http://freedom.ps/attachments/25-5-2011/02.pdf,

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accessed Oct. 30, 2012]

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PMW has documented this rule in practice. Official PA TV interviewed a prisoner's wife whose husband chose not to transfer his salary to her. She was struggling to support her children as a result. She explained that the Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs refused to transfer her any money because it was her husband's salary:

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$\"\"$ \n\n

Prisoner's wife: "It's not just me, this problem, many of the prisoners' wives and children suffer from it, from the transfer of his salary, the prisoner's salary... My husband is sentenced [to prison] and I have five children."

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Journalist Roba Al-Najjar: "Until when is your husband sentenced? We wish him freedom, Allah willing."

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Prisoner's wife: "About eight years. It's already a year I suffer greatly, because he transferred the salary (Ma'ash, another word for "salary"), that is the allowance, to his family... I went to the Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs and told them my problem. They told me: 'We cannot do anything unless he personally transfers it to you.'"

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Prisoners' wife: "A year and a half ago, I went to the Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs, and to the Prisoners' Club... Their answer was: 'Your husband transfers it to the person he wants. It's in his power not to transfer [it to you] and we can't do anything about it.""

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[Official PA TV, Feb. 17, 2013]

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4. Salaries rise based on years spent in prison and not based on financial need

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The level of a prisoner's salary is not determined by his family's financial need, but rises as the terrorist spends more time in prison. The longer in prison - reflecting the severity of the crime - the higher the terrorist's salary:

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Government resolution # 23 of 2010

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"The minimum salary for a prisoner, to be paid to him from the beginning of his detention and for up to 3 years, is 1,400 shekels ($388). Prisoners who have been imprisoned between 3 and 5 years will receive 2,000 shekels. Those imprisoned between 5 and 10 years will receive 4,000 shekels. Those imprisoned between 10 and 15 years will receive 6,000 shekels. Those imprisoned between 15 and 20 years will receive 7,000 shekels. Those imprisoned between 20 and 25 years will receive 8,000 shekels. Those imprisoned between 25 and 30 years will receive 10,000 shekels. Those who have been imprisoned 30 years or more will receive 12,000 shekels ($3,324)."

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[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, April 15, 2011]

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5. Social welfare considerations add only small payments to the base salary

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The standard salary payment cited above is not related to the family status of the terrorist prisoner. Single and married terrorists receive the same base salary, with an additional small benefit for married prisoners, and for prisoners with children. This is the only portion that can be seen as a function of social need:

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"A supplement of 300 shekels will be added to the salary of every married prisoner, as well as a supplement for children up to the age of 18 in the amount of 50 shekels."

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[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, April 15, 2011]

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In 2010, nearly two thirds, 62%, of the prisoners were unmarried with no dependents [Al-Quds, Jan. 3, 2010], yet they received the same base salaries as married terrorist prisoners.

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This division makes it clear that there are really two payments - one is a substantial basic monthly salary, as high as 12,000 shekels ($3,324) /month, as a reward for terror, and the second, a mere 50 shekels ($14) per child, is a tiny supplement as social welfare for the family.

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6. Salaries to prisoners are treated with the same status as salaries to civil servants

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When salary payments were delayed to all civil servants of the PA in 2013, Chairman of the PA-funded Prisoners' Club Qadura Fares emphasized that prisoners' salaries are of exactly the same status as civil servants' salaries:

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\n $\"\"$ \n\n

Chairman of the PA-funded Prisoners' Club, Qadura Fares:

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"What is spent on the prisoners is exactly what is spent on me and you. These are salaries. Therefore, when the salaries are paid to those working in [government] ministries and institutions, they will also be paid to the prisoners."

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[Official PA TV, Jan. 17, 2013]

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7. Prisoners pay income tax on their salaries, like all government employees
\nAnother confirmation that the PA views payments to prisoners as government salaries is that income tax is deducted from the prisoners' salaries, as is standard with all government salaries:

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"A meeting was held between the Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs and the Ministry of Finance. Several issues were clarified: The [withholding] tax applies to every citizen who receives income from the PA treasury; it is within the framework of the Income Tax Act, and begins with salaries over 2,400 shekels per month. The initial rate is 5% for salaries over that amount. The tax rate is graduated, reaching at most only 10% of prisoners' salaries. The Minister of Prisoners' Affairs said that the prisoners in the Israeli prisons and their families are subject to the [tax] law."

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[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 19, 2011]

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Were these welfare payments, there would be no withholding taxes.

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8. Prisoners' salaries are higher than salaries of PA civil servants

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In 2011, when the current rates of monthly salaries to prisoners started, the average prisoner salary was higher than the salaries of PA civil servants and military salaries:

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"The average salary for a civil servant in the Palestinian Authority is 2,882 shekels...
\n

\nThe average salary for members of the PA military personnel is 2,704 shekels...
\nThe average prisoner salary is 3,129 shekels."

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\n\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n

\n\t\t\t Average monthly salary \n\t\t\t	\n\t\t\t Salary recipients \n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t 2,882 shekels \n\t\t\t	\n\t\t\t Civil servant \n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t 2,704 shekels \n\t\t\t	\n\t\t\t Military personnel \n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t 3,129 shekels \n\t\t\t	\n\t\t\t Prisoner \n\t\t\t

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[Life and the Market, supplement to official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida,
\nJune 19, 2011]

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Clearly, social welfare payments would not be higher than average government salaries

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9. Payments to families of terrorist "Martyrs" are higher than social welfare for those in need

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The payments to families of terrorist "Martyrs" are also significantly higher than the PA's actual social welfare payments. Ma'an news agency reported on a case in which the family of a deceased officer of the PA National Security Forces asked Abbas to award them the allowance of a Martyr's family, which is paid by the PLO Families of the Martyrs Institution, instead of the pension awarded to them by the Pension Authority:

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Headline: "A family calls on the [PA] president [Abbas] to move its wage earner's salary to the Families of the Martyrs [and Wounded] Institution"

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\n"The family of late Alaa Al-Din Darwish Al-Qabbani (i.e., Fatah member who died of an illness) from the Bureij refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip asked [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas to act to move its wage earner's salary (ratib) from the [PA] Insurance and Pension [Authority] to the [PLO] Families of the Martyrs [and Wounded] Institution.
\nThe deceased's son Aed Al-Qabbani said that his father worked in the [PA] National Security Forces at the rank of soldier until his death as a result of a medical error, and he left behind a family of ten people, most of whom are children and school students.
\nThe deceased's son Al-Qabbani added: 'We as a grief-stricken family were struck with shock when the [PA] Organization and Administration Bureau in Ramallah determined that our father is a Martyr (Shahid) but moved his allowances (mukhassasat) to the Insurance and Pension Authority, because the sum of this allowance does not exceed 850 [Israeli] shekels [per month], and does not cover the expenses of a family of 10 people.'
\nHe asked the president to give an order to move his father's salary from the Pension Authority to the Families of the Martyrs Institution."

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[Ma'an, independent Palestinian news agency, March 27, 2017]

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A Martyr's family is awarded a base payment of 1,400 shekels per month, plus an additional 400 shekels per wife and 200 shekels per child. (See source below.) Thus a family of 10 (presumably consisting of a wife and nine children) receiving the allowance of the family of a "Martyr," would receive at least 3,600 shekels a month -- significantly more than the 850 shekels awarded in pension to the family of a PA National Security Forces officer.

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10. Released prisoners continue to receive monthly salaries

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Another indication that payments to prisoners are not social welfare is that released prisoners continue to collect PA salaries even though they could work and provide for their families. PA Minister of Prisoners' Affairs Issa Karake estimated in 2012 that about 4,000 former Palestinian prisoners were receiving monthly salaries from the PA government.

\n\n

$\"\"$ TV host: "You speak of a permanent salary for every [released] prisoner who was in prison for more than five years, and he gets his salary while he sits at home. Some of them are in the prime of their lives and could get a job and work. Why not use him in the workforce and give him a salary?"
\n

\nMinister Issa Karake: "That's right. I presented it to the government and we decided to give preference to employ these prisoners... in order to make the prisoner into a productive person..."
\nHost: "Do we have the number of prisoners who get full monthly salaries?"
\nKarake: "About 4,000."
\nHost: "That's an army."
\nKarake: "Yes, that's a big number, and it's growing."
\nHost: "They don't work. They just collect a salary."
\nKarake: "Some work."
\nHost: "A small number."
\nKarake: "Some volunteer and work in different institutions."

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[Wattan TV, (Palestinian private channel), Dec. 29, 2012]

\n\n

If these payments were intended as social welfare to tide families over until their main breadwinners were released from jail, the cash flow would cease once the terrorists were released, or they would instead receive unemployment benefits. The fact that the salaries continue after the terrorist prisoners are released indicates that these salaries are not related to the family's "loss of breadwinner."

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11. PA officials openly declare that prisoners receive salaries because they are "heroes"

\n\n

The PA itself communicates to its people that these payments are rewards for committing terror attacks, and not a function of their family's welfare needs. On official PA TV, PA Minister of Prisoners' Affairs Issa Karake mocked international concerns that foreign aid money was being used to pay terrorists, stating that all Palestinian prisoners are "heroes":

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PA Minister of Prisoners' Affairs Issa Karake:

\n\n

$\"\"$

\n\n

"The Europeans want their money that comes to us to remain clean -- not to go to families of those they claim to be terrorists. [They] need to renounce this occupation mentality. These [prisoners] are heroes, fedayyeen (self-sacrificing fighters), and fighters who fought so that we could live in dignity... These heroes, whom you are applauding, must live in dignity, so that we will continue to hold our heads high. We appreciate the people of the revolution and are proud of them."

\n\n

[Official Palestine Live TV, Nov. 4, 2013, emphasis added]

\n\n

A Fatah official confirmed this view:

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"Regarding the salaries (rawatib) of the Martyrs and prisoners, [Fatah Central Committee member] Dr. [Jamal] Muhaisen emphasized that this is not a financial matter, but rather a matter that is connected to the Palestinian historical narrative, according to which the prisoners and Martyrs represent our Palestinian people's struggle."

\n\n

[Wattan, independent Palestinian news agency, July 2, 2017, emphasis added]

\n\n

12. Released prisoner demanded undiminished salary because: "I personally killed Jews"

\n\n

Significantly, the following PA TV interview by phone with a released prisoner is a striking indication that the terrorists themselves understand that they are receiving a PA salary as a reward for committing terror attacks.

\n\n

Iyad Abu Khaizaran, a member of the Islamic Jihad terror organization, was sentenced to life in prison in 1991 for murdering 76-year-old Israeli Shlomo Yahya near Tel Aviv. Khaizaran was released from prison in 2011, when Israel released 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held hostage by Hamas for more than 5 years. The released terrorist called a PA TV talk show to complain that while he and other prisoners all received full salaries in prison, since his release he had only received a partial salary. The terrorist explained that the reason he and other released prisoners deserve a full salary was because they attacked and killed Jews:

\n\n

Murderer Iyad (on phone): "Hello. Since the day we were released from prison, we were given [only] half a salary... We killed Jews. I personally killed Jews. I killed settlers and I injured soldiers. My house was destroyed. I have 11 bullets in my body. I served 22 years in Israeli prisons. The PA that presents itself as responsible for the nation must be faithful to everyone."

\n\n

PA TV host: "You, like the other [prisoners], did you receive salaries in the prisons?"

\n\n

Murderer Iyad: "Yes. After about the year 2000, [the salaries] were organized."

\n\n

Host: "In other words, from 2000, I mean, all the organizations, without exception, whether it was Fatah, or Hamas, supporters of Abbas or not supporters of Abbas, they [all] received salaries or not? ..."

\n\n

Murderer Iyad: "Yes, yes they did."

\n\n

[Official PA TV, March 29, 2012]

\n\n

This interview shows that the terrorists themselves understand it both as a salary and as a reward because they "personally killed Jews."

\n\n

Part 2: The PA pledges to continue payments to terrorists and their families

\n\n

Responding to the widespread international pressure to stop rewarding terror, Mahmoud Abbas vowed that he won't stop paying salaries to imprisoned terrorists and the families of the Martyrs even if it costs him his presidency:

\n\n

"'Even if I will have to leave my position, I will not compromise on the salary (rawatib) of a Martyr (Shahid) or a prisoner, as I am the president of the entire Palestinian people, including the prisoners, the Martyrs, the injured, the expelled, and the uprooted.'

\n\n

[PA] President Mahmoud Abbas."

\n\n

[Official Fatah Facebook page, July 2, 2017]

\n\n

A member of Fatah's Central Committee, Jamal Muhaisen, also recently quoted Abbas' promise, and emphasized that the payment of salaries to terrorist prisoners and "Martyrs" is not an issue of money, but rather is about the "Palestinian historical narrative":

\n\n

\n"Regarding the salaries (rawatib) of the Martyrs and prisoners, Dr. Muhaisen emphasized that this is not a financial matter, but rather a matter that is connected to the Palestinian historical narrative, according to which the prisoners and Martyrs represent our Palestinian people's struggle. He praised the position of [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas, who responded to the American administration: 'Even if I will have to leave my position, I will not compromise on the salary of a Martyr or a prisoner, as I am the president of the entire Palestinian people, including the prisoners, the Martyrs, the injured, the expelled, and the uprooted.'"

\n\n

[Wattan, independent Palestinian news agency, July 2, 2017]

\n\n

Recognizing that there will be financial repercussions to the PA's continued funding of terror, PLO Commissioner of Prisoners' Affairs Issa Karake stated that other sources of funding will be found if current financial support is lowered or stopped:

\n\n

"He [Karake] also emphasized that the Palestinian leadership will continue to support the prisoners and the [families of] the Martyrs... He noted that it is possible that the Palestinian leadership will turn to the Arab and Islamic states to compensate for the deduction of the money meant for the prisoners and the [families of the] Martyrs."

\n\n

[Donia Al-Watan, independent Palestinian news agency, June 11, 2017]

\n\n

Meeting with families of "Martyrs," PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, on behalf of Abbas, assured them that they will continue receiving the monetary rewards, and further emphasized the PA's admiration for the "Martyrs":

\n\n

"On behalf of [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas and our Palestinian people, I salute all of the Martyrs' (Shahids') families... I emphasize to them that their rights are protected, and we will continue our diligent work with the relevant PLO institutions to fulfill our basic, humanitarian, and national obligations towards them... We remember the sacrifices and struggle of the pure Martyrs, guardians of the land and identity who have turned our people's cause into a historical epic of struggle and resolve."

\n\n

[Al-Ayyam, June 17, 2017;

\n\n

Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 16, 2017]

\n\n

Responding to US demands which threaten to cut off all funding to the PA if they continue rewarding terror, senior Fatah official Abbas Zaki said that the PA will not submit to American pressure:

\n\n

"In a speech that he gave on behalf of the Palestinian leadership, [Fatah Central Committee member] Zaki emphasized that the prisoners' issue is one of the top priorities of the Palestinian leadership, and that the leadership will not submit to the American and Israeli pressures in any attempt to harm the salaries (rawatib) of the families of the Martyrs (Shahids) and prisoners."

\n\n

[Facebook page of Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki, June 23, 2017]

\n\n

PLO official Ahmed Majdalani also stressed that the payments will continue:

\n\n

"PLO Executive Committee member Ahmed Majdalani emphasized that the issue of the prisoners' salaries (rawatib) is not up for negotiations, and it is unacceptable to turn it into a precondition for a political process, as it is a political, national, and moral issue."

\n\n

[Donia Al-Watan, independent Palestinian news agency, June 19, 2017]

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"Among those who are more precious than all of us, the children of the Martyrs (Shahids) and prisoners, we emphasize before them - on the instructions of President [Abbas] - that we will always help and assist the members of our people and we will stand by them at all times. The talk taking place here and there about stopping the allowances (mukhassasat) of the prisoners and Martyrs is not true at all."

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[PNN, independent Palestinian news agency, June 22, 2017]

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Summary:

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1. Under PA law, Palestinian terrorists in Israeli prisons receive monthly salaries and allowances are given to the families of Palestinian terrorist "Martyrs" who were killed in confrontations with Israel.

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2. These payments are not social welfare to support wives and children, but salaries granted to prisoners because they committed terror attacks. The Arabic language of the written PA law uses the word that means "salary." The words "social assistance" and "welfare" do not appear at all in any text of any of the laws.

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3. The monthly salary amount is based on the number of years the terrorist has been in prison, and is not based on family status or family need. The salary for prisoners reaches as high as 12,000 shekels a month for those who have served more than 30 years in prison.

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4. The base salary is the same for single and married terrorist prisoners. The additions for wives and children, which could be considered a kind of social welfare, are a mere 300 shekels a month for wives and 50 shekels per child.

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5. The salaries to prisoners have same status as salaries to civil servants. When the salaries of civil servants are affected in some way, so are the prisoners' salaries.

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6.The prisoners are subject to the PA tax law and must pay income tax of the salaries.

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7. This salary is the prisoner's money, not the family's social welfare. The prisoner, not his family, controls the money and determines who should receive it through an "authorized agent." No one can force a prisoner to give his wife and children his salary.

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8. The average prisoner salary is higher than the salary of a PA civil servant and military personnel. A prisoner serving more than 30 years receives a monthly salary of 12,000 shekels, approximately four times the salary of a civil servant.

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9. The average payments to families of Palestinian "Martyrs" are significantly higher than the pensions granted to the families of deceased officers of the PA National Security Forces.

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10. Released prisoners continue to receive monthly salaries.

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11. Terrorist prisoners are rewarded with the salaries because they are "heroes," not because they or their families are needy.

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12. Terrorist prisoners themselves see the payments as "salaries" and rewards for "killing Jews."

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The PA has no intention of ceasing the payments of salaries, regardless of diplomatic or political pressure. If necessary, they will look for new sources of funding for the terrorists' salaries.

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In 2016, the PA paid 488 million shekels ($135 million) in salaries to Palestinian terrorist prisoners and an additional 660 million shekels ($183 million) in payments to the families of so-called "Martyrs" [Official PA Budget, 2016]. The PA has publicly confirmed to its own people that these payments are financial rewards for terror, and no statement in the PA law or by an official in the PA media has ever implied that these payments are social welfare. Claims to the international media and to donor countries that PA payments to terrorists and their families are "social welfare" are just another of the PA's disingenuous attempts to deceive the international community in order to continue receiving financial aid.

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The following are longer excerpts from the sources cited above:

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PA terrorist salaries are not social aid for families, confirms wife of prisoner

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PA TV journalist Roba Al-Najjar: "She suffered in silence and we couldn't stand there and do nothing. [Is control over the money] her right? - Yes! Is [this] her children's urgent need? - Absolutely! Do they have control? Unfortunately not."

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Journalist interviewing the prisoner's wife: "We respect your request not to show your face and to alter your voice... In addition, I am telling the viewers that we did not film in your house. What is your story, dear sister?"

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Prisoner's wife: "It's not just me, this problem, many of the prisoners' wives and children suffer from it, from the transfer of his salary, the prisoner's salary (Arabic: Ma'ash)... My husband is sentenced [to prison] and I have five children."

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Journalist Roba Al-Najjar: "Until when is your husband sentenced? We wish him freedom, Allah willing."

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Prisoner's wife: "About eight years. It's already a year I suffer greatly, because he transferred the salary (Ma'ash), that is the allowance (Mukhassas), to his family."

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Journalist Roba Al-Najjar: "You have five children. How old is the oldest?"

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Prisoner's wife: "17 and a half."

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Journalist Roba Al-Najjar: "And the youngest?"

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Prisoner's wife: "Seven years."

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Journalist Roba Al-Najjar: "When did he transfer the power of attorney for the allowance (Mukhassas) [to his family]? How long after his arrest?"

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Prisoner's wife: "It's been four years. At first I did not have it [power of attorney] and later on I had it. After that, it was transferred to a different person. That other person is from his family. There are conditions, that is, when they send me money... They delay [the money] and make excuses: 'Today, tomorrow...' It's hard for me and I suffer greatly. I tried to work."

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Issa Karake, Minister of Prisoners' Affairs: "It makes no sense that a free and noble nation will abandon the families of the victims, the families of the fighters, without a provider and without standing beside them so that they can live with dignity and pride..."

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[Journalist Roba Al-Najjar interviews the prisoner's wife]

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Journalist Roba Al-Najjar: "Do you know what your husband's allowance (Arabic: mukhassas) was?"

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Prisoner's wife: "Don't know.

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Journalist Roba Al-Najjar: "You have no idea?"

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Prisoner's wife: "I have no idea."

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Journalist Roba Al-Najjar: "How much money does your husband's family send you each month?"

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Prisoner's wife: "Each month they send two checks. Sometimes it's as my husband tells them: 'Transfer this' and sometimes, depending on the circumstances, that is, he decides in a phone conversation... They made me feel that 'this isn't yours'. That is, enough, I don't want it [the money], now I don't want to receive what he sent."

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Journalist Roba Al-Najjar: "What do they say, what do they tell you?"

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Prisoner's wife: "I feel like they're doing me a favor..."

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PA Minister Issa Karake: "Some of the prisoners are not aware, some of the prisoners are influenced by the social situation and social problems in the family. We try the best we can to distance the prisoner from these problems, and we speak with all family members..."

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Prisoner's wife: "I went to the Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs and told them my problem. They told me: 'We cannot do anything unless he personally transfers it to you.'"

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Journalist Roba Al-Najjar: "In other words, for nearly four years, the prisoner's allowance from the Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs and the official institutions has not reached your hands and your children's hands... Did it ever happen, for example, that one of the months, they didn't send you [anything]?"

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Prisoner's wife: "[For] almost a year."

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Journalist Roba Al-Najjar: "A whole year?"

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Prisoner's wife: "Yes, some months, if I add them up - approximately a year and a half they didn't send [it] as a means of pressure."

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Journalist Roba Al-Najjar: "Do you send him a message with your children during their visits or when you are able to visit your husband: 'Our situation is such and such, and we suffer, please return the power of attorney to me?'"

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Prisoner's wife: "Yes, I asked many times, and I myself told him this before. He told me: 'If you do what I want, it will return to you. As long as you are like this, it won't return to you.'' [...]

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Journalist interviewing Minister of Prisoners' Affairs Issa Karake: "Can we speak candidly Mr. Issa [Minister of Prisoners' Affairs], about the issue of transferring the power of attorney? We know that legally the prisoner has the right to give the power of attorney to a family member that he considers suitable..."

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PA Minister Issa Karake: "In the past few years, there have been social problems and the current procedure in the Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs is that the prisoner determines who has the power of attorney. We decided that this will be on condition that the person with the power of attorney must be a first-degree relative. Meaning that if he is married, the wife [is given the power of attorney]; and if he is unmarried, the mother or father. If the mother or father is deceased, it is transferred to the brother or sister. If the wife has passed away, [the power of attorney goes] to the son, i.e., it stays among first-degree relatives. But the criteria - it is the prisoner himself who gives the power of attorney, by means of the International Red Cross or through an attorney by means of a power of attorney [form] signed by him, in which he gives the power of attorney to whomever he wants from within this group - first-degree relatives - to receive his monetary allowances."

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Journalist Roba Al-Najjar: "Did you try to turn to the authorities?" [...]

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Prisoners' Wife: "A year and a half ago, I went to the Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs, and to the Prisoners' Club... Their answer was: 'Your husband transfers it to the person he wants. It's in his power not to transfer [it to you] and we can't do anything about it.""

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PA Minister Issa Karake: "Problems occur, that is, this is natural. This is a large sector, a very large sector in our society. When we are presented with this kind of a problem, we first of all clarify things with the prisoner himself, try to understand the family's situation and the nature of the dispute, the nature of the problem."

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Journalist Roba Al-Najjar: "Mr. Issa, can I understand from your words that transferring the power of attorney is included in the Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs' legal authority, to interfere in a decisive manner? I mean, that it is not the prisoner's absolute right."

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PA Minister Issa Karake: "In principle, this is the prisoner's right, but we are looking into it. If the request to transfer the power of attorney to another person is illogical or is not objective, we don't approve it."

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Journalist Roba Al-Najjar: "Can we understand from your words that if, for example, this mother will come to you -"

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PA Minister Issa Karake: "I will change this. This is an injustice!"

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Journalist Roba Al-Najjar: "I delivered a letter to Issa Karake, Minister of Prisoners' Affairs, and he in turn studied your problem in detail, and decided to transfer the power of attorney for the salary [ma'ash] back to you."

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[Official PA TV, Apr. 17, 2014]

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Note: This program was first broadcast on February 17, 2013. It was rebroadcast on April 17, 2014.

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Official PA TV daily program Palestine This Morning reports on an Iftar meal to break the Ramadan fast held for 300 families of "Martyrs" (Shahids) in Ramallah, which was attended by PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah

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Secretary-General of the National Association of the Martyrs' Families of Palestine Muhammad Sbeihat: "We are optimistic regarding what [PA] Prime Minister [Rami Hamdallah] said, because we met with him in recent weeks and we requested to increase the allowances of the Martyrs' (Shahids) families, the monthly allowances...

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Currently a discussion is being held between the [National] Association [of the Martyrs' Families of Palestine] and the [PLO's] Families of the Martyrs and Wounded Institution on one side and the [PA] Ministry of Finance on the other, in order to determine the amount of the monthly increase [for families of Martyrs] and the date it begins. In his speech, his honor the prime minister [Hamdallah] emphasized... that the government will work to implement this, and that gives additional hope to the [National] Association [of the Martyrs' Families of Palestine] that the increase will be achieved during the coming period. [...] There is understanding from all sides. Even the [PA] Ministry of Finance knows that the current allowance, or the base allowance, that stands at 1,400 shekels a month, is very low. This amount was determined and implemented in mid-2011, which is to say around five years ago. Naturally this amount has started to erode when we talk about its purchasing power, and therefore what has been proposed is not just an increase in the allowance, but rather to connect the base allowance to the cost-of-living index. There is understanding on the part of the [PA] Ministry of Finance regarding this demand. However, the discussion is currently revolving around the exact amount...The [PA] Ministry of Finance says that there is no allocation in the 2016 budget to increase the allowances, because this is supposed to start at the beginning of next year [2017], but on the other hand the [PLO's] Families of the Martyrs and Wounded Institution says that there is a surplus in the budget and therefore we can start implementing this [increase] before the end of the year... The Palestinian Authority gives allowances to roughly 30,000 families of Martyrs and wounded inside the homeland and in the diaspora, and we must not forget that the diaspora takes a large portion of the allowances, although that in no way exempts the PA from its full obligation to these families [in the diaspora].

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There is an issue that remains unresolved, and that is the issue of the families of the Martyrs of the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip in 2014 (i.e., Operation Protective Edge, Israel's response to Hamas' firing of thousands of rockets at Israel). These families have not yet received their allowances. That is a big problem. We raised this issue in the last meeting, in the last speech we gave before his honor the prime minister [Hamdallah], and we also raised this issue in our meeting with the prime minister several weeks ago. It is essential to resolve this problem. There are about 2,000 Martyrs' families in the Gaza Strip who still have not received their allowances. ... His honor the prime minister promised [action] in a previous meeting, and also in an unofficial conversation two days ago with sister Um Jihad [Intisar Al-Wazir, Chairwoman of the Families of the Martyrs and Wounded Institution], at the Iftar [fast-breaking] meal. This issue must be dealt with. We hope that this problem will indeed be dealt with, because it is the greatest challenge of the government at this time, its obligations towards the Martyrs' families.

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Regarding the families of the Martyrs of the popular uprising (euphemism for Palestinian wave of terror attacks 2015-2016, including stabbings, and shootings -Ed.) and the rest of the Martyrs in general, these families receive their allowances at the most two or three months after the Martyrs' death. Likewise, the families also receive a set amount of 6,000 shekels aside from the monthly allowance that they receive... When you're talking about an allowance for the family of a Martyr that is comprised of four people, that is to say the wife of the Martyr and three people, for example, we are talking about an amount of 2,400 shekels. This amount definitely is not enough, definitely not. It is true that there is free education as well as medical insurance for the Martyr's family, but this definitely is not enough."

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[Official PA TV, June 19, 2016]

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"An agreement exists, signed in 2011 with former prime minister Dr. Salam Fayyad, which states that priority must be given to the salaries of the Martyrs' (Shahids') immediate families in the following manner: A Martyr's salary is 1,400 shekels, with an addition of 400 for his wife and 200 for his son or daughter, as well as an addition of 300 shekels for [residents] of Jerusalem and the interior (i.e., Israel). In addition, [families] of Martyrs in the diaspora are to receive a salary of 350 dollars, with an addition of 100 [dollars] for [the] wife and 50 for [the] son or daughter."

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[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 6, 2014]

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Special Report:

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Palestinian Authority schools named after terrorists and Nazi collaborators

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by Itamar Marcus

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When PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas met with President Donald Trump at the White House, Abbas said that the Palestinians teach their children and grandchildren "a culture of peace."

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But Abbas' embracing a "culture of peace" in Washington is meaningless when his schools in Ramallah embrace a culture of terror. As Palestinian Media Watch has already exposed, the PA systematically teaches Palestinian children to hate Israelis and perpetrate violence against them. This special report shows that even the names that the Palestinian Authority has chosen for its schools encourage children to see terrorists as personal role models.
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The Palestinian Authority has named at least 28 schools after terrorists and at least 3 schools after Nazi collaborators.

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Below is the full report:

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Click to view full report as PDF

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Palestinian Authority schools

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named after terrorists and Nazi collaborators

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28 PA schools named after terrorists
3 PA schools named after Nazi collaborators

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by Itamar Marcus and PMW staff

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The PA Ministry of Education has named at least 28 schools after terrorists and an additional 3 schools after Nazi collaborators. Significantly, the PA Ministry of Education is directly and solely responsible for the naming of schools:

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"The naming of schools and changes are the responsibility of the Minister of Education, by a direct decision of the Ministry or the Name Committee." [Ma'an, independent news agency, Aug. 26, 2015, see also WAFA, official Palestinian Authority news agency Aug. 25, 2015]

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By naming schools after terrorists, the Palestinian Authority is telling its children most emphatically that terrorists who have murdered Israeli civilians are role models and heroes. PMW has found evidence that in practice, students who attend such schools refer to terrorists as personal heroes whom they look up to and aspire to emulate.

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For example, the Shadia Abu Ghazaleh School for Girls is named after one of the first Palestinian female terrorists. She was killed in 1968 when a bomb she was preparing accidentally detonated. This is what the girls studying in the school named after Ghazaleh said about her when interviewed on PA TV:

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$\"\"$ PA TV host:"What do you know about Shadia Abu Ghazaleh, you study in a school named after her?"

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Girl 1: "Shadia Abu Ghazaleh is a model of the patriotic woman..."

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Girl 2: "She was a model of the wonderful female Palestinian fighter. We follow her path in this school."

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Girl 3: "We're happy that our school is named after a very well-known Martyr, who played a role and who did something great."

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Girl 4: "The school is named after her to commemorate her... and encourage people to be like her."

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Girl 5: "Shadia was a model for us and will remain a model for us and we'll follow her path."

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$\"\"$ The students definitely know that it is a bombmaker they are praising as their role model, because a mural with her face and biography appears prominently on a school wall:

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"Shadia Abu Ghazaleh... participated in the operation that blew up a bus. She was at home preparing a bomb in order to detonate it in an Israeli building in Tel Aviv but it exploded in her hands."

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[Official PA TV, Dec. 5 2013 and rebroadcast Dec. 9, 2013]

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The PA has named two schools after terrorist Shadia Abu Ghazaleh.

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When young students were interviewed in the Dalal Mughrabi School, named after a terrorist who led the murder of 37 civilians, including 12 children, in a bus hijacking, the girls likewise expressed admiration for their school's namesake:

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$\"\"$ Girl 1: "Dalal Mughrabi is a great leader... Our mothers give birth to thousands like Dalal, and she still walks among us... I personally am proud to attend the Dalal Mughrabi School."

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Girl 2: "My life's ambition is to reach the level of the Martyr fighter Dalal Mughrabi."

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[Official PA TV, March 27, 2014]

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The PA has named three schools after terrorist Dalal Mughrabi.

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The following are schools the Palestinian Authority has named after terrorists:

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The PA has named three schools after terrorist Dalal Mughrabi.

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1. The Dalal Mughrabi High School for Girls - Gaza

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2. The Dalal Mughrabi High School for Girls - Al-Shuyoukh, Hebron

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3. The Dalal Mughrabi Elementary School for Girls - near Hebron

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Terrorist Dalal Mughrabi led the most lethal terror attack in Israel's history, known as the Coastal Road massacre, in 1978, when she and other Fatah terrorists hijacked a bus on Israel's Coastal Highway, killing 37 civilians, 12 of them children, and wounding over 70.

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$\"\"$

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Picture of the bus after Mughrabi's hijacking and murder of the passengers

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(Photo: IDF Spokesman Unit)

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The PA has named two schools after terrorist Shadia Abu Ghazaleh.

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4. The Shadia Abu Ghazaleh School for Girls - Gaza

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5. The Shadia Abu Ghazalah High School for Boys - Jabaliya

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Terrorist Shadia Abu Ghazaleh - One of the first Palestinian female terrorists, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror organization. She was involved in many attacks against Israel and was killed in 1968 while preparing a bomb for an attack in Tel Aviv that accidentally detonated.

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The PA has named five schools after terrorist Abu Jihad.

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6. The Khalil Al-Wazir [Abu Jihad] Elementary School for Girls - Hebron

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7. The Martyr Khalil Al-Wazir Elementary School for Boys - Samu'a, Hebron

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8. The Martyr Khalil Al-Wazir Elementary School for Boys - Al-Yamun, Jenin

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9. The Abu Jihad High School for Boys - Arabe, Jenin

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10. The Abu Jihad High School for Boys - Hebron

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Terrorist Abu Jihad (Khalil Al-Wazir) headed the PLO terror organization's military wing and planned many deadly Fatah terror attacks. These attacks, in which a total of 125 Israelis were murdered, included the most lethal in Israeli history - the hijacking of a bus and killing of 37 civilians, 12 of them children.

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\nThe PA has named four schools after terrorist Salah Khalaf (Abu Iyad).

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11.The Salah Khalaf Elementary School for Girls- Gaza

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12. TheSalah Khalaf Junior High School - Gaza

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13. TheMartyr Abu Iyad School - Rafah

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14. The Salah Khalaf School - Tulkarem (under construction)

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Terrorist Salah Khalaf (Abu Iyad) was one of the founders of Fatah and head of the Black September terror organization. Attacks he planned include the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics (Sept. 5, 1972) and the murder of two American diplomats in Sudan (March 1, 1973).

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The PA has named one school after Hamas terror leader Ahmed Yassin.

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15. The Martyr Ahmed Yassin School for Boys - Jenin

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Terror leader Ahmed Yassin founded the Hamas terror organization and headed it when Hamas was responsible for numerous terror attacks and the deaths of hundreds of civilians in suicide bombings.

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The PA has named one school after Al-Qaeda co-founder Abdullah Azzam.

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16. Martyr Abdullah Azzam Elementary School for Boys - Jenin

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Abdullah Azzam was the Palestinian co-founder of the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization and the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist organization in Pakistan. Azzam was a proponent of Global Jihad and the establishment of an Islamic State. Azzam fled the West Bank in 1967 and reached Saudi Arabia in the 1970s, where he taught Osama bin Laden at King Abdul Aziz University. In 1979, Azzam moved to northern Pakistan, where he took an active role leading the fight against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, enlisting bin Laden in the effort as well. Azzam had planned to attack Israel and Europe after the Soviet-Afghan War. It remains unclear who was responsible for Azzam's assassination with a bomb in Peshawar, Pakistan on Nov. 24, 1989.

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The PA has named one school after terrorist Abu Ali Iyad

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.17. The Abu Ali Iyad High School for Girls - Qalqilya

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Terrorist Abu Ali Iyad was appointed head of Fatah military operations in 1966 and was responsible for numerous terror attacks on Israeli civilians, including attacks against civilians in four Israeli towns.

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\nThe PA has named one school after terrorist Nash'at Abu Jabara.
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18. The Martyr Nash'at Abu Jabara High School for Girls - Tulkarem

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Terrorist Nash'at Abu Jabara was a member of Hamas and a bomb builder. He built suicide belts used by suicide bombers who carried out numerous terrorists attacks against Israeli civilians.

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The PA has named two schools after terrorist Abu Ali Mustafa.
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19. The Abu Ali Mustafa Elementary School for Boys - Jenin

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20. TheAbu Ali Mustafa Elementary School for Girls - Jenin

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Terrorist Abu Ali Mustafa was the leader of the terror organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which carried out numerous terror attacks against civilians from its founding in 1967 through the Palestinian terror campaign of 2000 - 2005 (the Intifada).

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The PA has named two schools after terror leader Mustafa Hafez.

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21. The Mustafa Hafez Elementary School for Boys - Khan Younis

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22. The Mustafa Hafez School - Gaza

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Terror leader Mustafa Hafez was an officer in the Egyptian army who organized terror squads and sent terrorists across the border to attack Israeli civilians in the 1950's.

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The PA has named one school after terrorist Izzat Abu Al-Rubb.

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23. The Martyr Izzat Abu Al-Rubb High School - Jenin

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Terrorist Izzat Abu Al-Rubb was a Fatah military leader who participated in a number of terror attacks against Israel.

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The PA has named two schools after terrorist Izz A-Din Al-Qassam.

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24. The Martyr Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam High School for Boys - Yaa'bad

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25. The Martyr Izz Al-Din [Al-Qassam] Elementary School - Jenin

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Terror leader Sheikh Izz A-Din Al-Qassam was an influential Islamic preacher who led a Muslim terror group in the British Mandate of Palestine in the 1930s. Hamas' military wing, which has murdered hundreds in suicide bombings, is named after him - the Izz A-Din Al-Qassam Brigades.

\n\t\t\t

\n\n

The PA has named one school after terrorist Osama Al-Najjar.
\n

\n\n

26. The Martyr Osama Al-Najjar School - Khan Yunis

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\n\n\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n

\n\t\t\t

Terrorist Osama Al-Najjar was the spokesperson of the "Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades," Fatah's military wing, during the PA terror campaign (the "Intifada," 2000-2005). The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades has been declared a terrorist group by Israel, the US, Canada, the EU, and Japan.

\n\t\t\t

\n\n

The PA has named one school after terrorist Kamal Adwan.

\n\n

27. The Kamal Adwan High School for Boys - Tel Al-Sultan, Rafah

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\n\t\t\t

Terrorist Kamal Adwan was responsible for Fatah's terrorist operations in Israel and was a senior member of Black September, which planned and carried out the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics (Sept. 5, 1972). He was killed by Israeli forces in April 1973.

\n\t\t\t

\n\n

The PA has named one school after terrorist Saa'd Sayel.

\n\n

28. The Martyr Saa'd Sayel Elementary School for Boys- Nablus

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\n\n\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n

\n\t\t\t

Terrorist Saa'd Sayel was a senior Fatah commander who led the Palestinian terrorist forces that fought in Lebanon during early 1980s.

\n\t\t\t

\n\n

The following is a list of schools the PA has named after Nazi collaborators:

\n\n

The PA has named one school after Nazi collaborator and war criminal Amin Al-Husseini.

\n\n

1. The Amin Al-Husseini Elementary School - El-Bireh

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\n\n\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n

\n\t\t\t

Amin Al-Husseini was the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem at the time of the British Mandate. During World War II he moved to Berlin, where he was a Nazi collaborator and an associate of Hitler. Al-Husseini was on Yugoslovia's list of wanted war criminals, and was responsible for a Muslim SS division that murdered thousands of Serbs and Croats. When the Nazis offered to free some Jewish children, Al-Husseini fought against their release, and as result, 5000 children were sent to the gas chambers.

\n\t\t\t

\n\n

$\"\"$

\n\n

Amin Al-Husseini meeting with Adolf Hitler (December 1941)
\n

\n\n

The PA has named two schools after Nazi collaborator Hassan Salameh.

\n\n

2.The Hassan Salameh Junior High School for Girls - Gaza

\n\n

3. Hassan Salameh Elementary School - Gaza

\n\n

\n\n\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n

\n\t\t\t

Hassan Salameh was a leader of Arab gangs in the Lod and Jaffa region in the 1930s and 1940s. He was a loyal follower of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin Al-Husseini, who spent World War II in Berlin supporting the Nazi war effort. In 1941, Salameh was recruited to be a Nazi agent, and in 1944, he was sent on a mission by the Nazis in the British Mandate of Palestine, with the goal of starting an Arab revolt against the British and poisoning Tel Aviv's water sources. The plot was discovered and thwarted by the British. In 1947, Salameh was appointed by the Mufti as Deputy Commander of the "Holy Jihad" Army that fought Israel in the 1948 War of Independence. In June 1948, he was killed in battle.

\n\t\t\t

\n\n

PA schools also teach children to idolize terrorists using artwork and imagery. For example, the Artas High School for Girls near Bethlehem chose to put a picture of 17-year-old female suicide bomber Ayyat Al-Akhras over the entrance to the school. Ayyat Al-Akhras murdered 2 civilians in a supermarket in 2002.

\n\n

$\"\"$ $\"\"$

\n\n

The caption carries this praise: "The Heroic Martyr."

\n\n

The school uniform in an elementary school named after Dalal Mughrabi features a picture of the terrorist. Palestinian children who attend this school see the face of this terrorist murderer every day from grade 1 through grade 8.

\n\n

$\"\"$ $\"\"$

\n\n

School logo and uniform with face of the terrorist

\n\n

[Facebook page of Dalal Mughrabi Elementary School for Girls in Hebron,

\n\n

Posted Nov. 2, 2014]

\n\n

PA school names promoting Martyrdom:

\n\n

Another common PA school name is the name Al-Khansa, with at least eight schools so named. Al-Khansa is honored in Islamic tradition and by the PA as "The Mother of Martyrs." An Arab woman and poet from the earliest period of Islam (7th century), she is famous for sending her four sons to battle and rejoicing when they all died as Martyrs. She has been lauded by the PA and presented as a role model for mothers. This is how her significance is explained in a PA schoolbook for Grade 8 published in 2002:

\n\n

"Al-Khansa witnessed the Battle of Al-Qadisiyah with her four sons. She urged them to fight... They fought until all of them fell as Martyrs. When the news reached her she said, 'Praise be to Allah who has honored me by their Martyrdom...'" [Reading and Texts Part II, Grade 8, p. 13]

\n\n

The PA has named 8 schools after the "Mother of Martyrs" Al-Khansa.

\n\n

The Al-Khansa Elementary School for Girls- Bethlehem
The Al-Khansa Elementary School for Girls - Jenin
The Al-Khansa Elementary School for Girls - Nablus
The Al-Khansa Elementary School for Girls - Khan Yunis
The Al-Khansa Elementary School for Girls - Rafah
The Al-Khansa Elementary School for Girls - Yatta
The Al-Khansa High School for Girls - Absan Al-Kabira
The Mother of the Martyrs School for Boys - Bethlehem

\n\n

Conclusions

\n\n

The PA leadership publicly proclaims that it is promoting peace education. Mahmoud Abbas recently announced during a press conference with US Pres. Donald Trump: "I affirm to you that we are raising our children and our grandchildren on a culture of peace." [White House Press Conference, May 3, 2017]

\n\n

But Abbas' embracing a "culture of peace" in Washington is meaningless when his schools in Ramallah embrace a culture of terror. Indeed, Palestinian youth themselves make a mockery of Abbas' claim, as children in the schools named for terrorists declare that those terrorists are their role models

\n\n

Action Step

\n\n

If Mahmoud Abbas wants to create a culture of peace, he needs to take action and not just talk. A minimal first step would be to announce that during the coming year the PA will rename all Palestinian schools named after terrorists and Nazi war criminals. This step will certainly be welcomed in Washington and by the international community. But more than that, if accompanied by the cessation of other terror glorification, it would be a first glimmer of hope that the PA may really be interested in being a peace partner.

\n","lang":"en","authorId":[417],"id":12304,"title":"Special Report: Palestinian Authority schools named after terrorists and Nazi collaborators","thumbnail":"/STORAGE/Bulletins/thumbnails/grad_cap.jpg"},{"lang":"en","title":"Fatah blatantly supports terror - findings presented in US Congress","imageUrl":"/STORAGE/general_thumbnails/people with guns thumb.png","id":11911,"indexId":"index59","published":true,"contentType":"Article","author":[{"citeName":{"en":"Marcus, I., & PMW Staff.","he":""},"name":{"en":"itamar marcus and pmw staff","he":""},"id":417,"about":""}],"description":"A new collection of examples shows that Fatah continues to blatantly incite and glorify terror in 2017.","authorId":[417],"tagIds":["24","25","31","254","869"],"tags":[],"content":"

Fatah blatantly supports terror

- findings presented in US Congress

by Itamar Marcus and PMW staff

Yesterday, Palestinian Media Watch presented its report Fatah Votes for Terror to the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East. Included as an appendix to that report is a new collection of examples which show that Fatah continues to blatantly incite and glorify terror in 2017.

$\"\"$

\n
\n

The picture to the right, which Fatah posted on its official Facebook page and appears in Appendix 2 of PMW's report, is just one of countless examples of the party's violence promotion.

\n
\n\n

Posted text: "My weapon has emerged"

Text on image: "From my wounds, my weapon has emerged.

Oh, our revolution, my weapon has emerged.

There is no force in the world that can remove the weapon from my hand.

My path is bitter, your path is bitter, tread on my ribs and advance

How much this revolutionary people has sacrificed to live freely."
\n

[Official Fatah Facebook page, Feb. 7, 2017]

\n
\n\n

Click to view Fatah Votes for Terror Appendix 2: Fatah terror promotion continues in 2017

Fatah promotes terror during times characterized by daily terror attacks as well as during relatively peaceful times. In Fatah Votes for Terror Appendix 3, PMW documents that Fatah actively glorified terrorism on its Facebook page throughout the terror wave of 2015-2016. \n

The image below, which Fatah posted to its official Facebook page and appears in Appendix 3, glorified the ongoing violence and promised more to come:
\n
\n

$\"\"$
\n
\n

Posted text: "We march, we are not afraid of the fire and we do not fear death. With blood we will redeem the homeland and saturate its ground. The anniversary is approaching." #The_51st_anniversary_of_the_beginning

_of_Fatah's_activity"

\n\n

Text on image: "Half a century has passed and we have never abandoned our weapons"

[Official Fatah Facebook page, Dec. 26, 2015]
\n

\n
\n
\n

\n
\n
\n
\n\n
\n
\n
Click to view Fatah Votes for Terror Appendix 3:
\n
\n
\nFatah Facebook posts glorifying Palestinian terrorists during the 2015-2016 terror wave

\n
\n\n

The large number of examples documented in these appendices show that terror support is fundamental to Fatah's ideology. This documentation is of paramount importance when examining whether the Palestinian Authority, with the Fatah Movement as its leading party, can be seen as a peace partner. Is Fatah leading the Palestinian people toward peace or toward continued terror?

Click to view PMW special report Fatah Votes for Terror in pdf

Click to view Appendix 2: Fatah terror promotion continues in 2017

Click to view Appendix 3: Fatah Facebook posts glorified

Palestinian terrorists during the 2015-2016 terror wave.

\n
","news":false,"date":{"type":"firestore/timestamp/1.0","seconds":1489708800,"nanoseconds":0},"thumbnail":"/STORAGE/general_thumbnails/people with guns thumb.png"},{"id":11901,"title":"PMW Releases Report in US Congress: Fatah Votes for Terror","description":"Fatah and many of the leaders who were elected to its Central Committee at the Seventh Fatah Conference openly support terror (March 16, 2017)","tags":[],"content":"

PMW Releases Report in US Congress:
\nFatah Votes for Terror

\n\n

\nPalestinian Media Watch's founder and director Itamar Marcus is presenting PMW's new report Fatah Votes for Terror to the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East today, Thursday March 16, in Washington D.C. The report documents that Fatah and many of the leaders who were elected to its Central Committee at the Seventh Fatah Conference openly support terror, and did so actively during the terror wave of 2015-2016.
\n

\n\n

PMW Special Report:

\n\n

Fatah Votes for Terror

\n\n

Special Report on Members Elected

\n\n

to the Fatah Central Committee in December 2016

\n\n

Click to view full report in pdf

\n\n

by Itamar Marcus and Palestinian Media Watch staff

\n\n

\nIntroduction

\n\n

The Seventh Fatah Conference ended in December 2016 with elections for the 18-member governing body, the Fatah Central Committee. Twelve members were reelected and six new members joined the committee. In addition, Mahmoud Abbas was reelected separately as chairman, and he also has the right to appoint four additional members. This report examines Fatah's attitudes to terror during the wave of Palestinian terror 2015-2016, and focuses on the attitudes of those elected members of the Central Committee who have spoken publicly, including Mahmoud Abbas, as well as Fatah leaders who were Central Committee members during the terror wave, but were not reelected at the Seventh Fatah Conference.

\n\n

This report documents how the Fatah Movement responded to individual Palestinians murdering Israeli civilians in stabbings, shootings, and car ramming attacks, during the terror wave from September 2015 to mid-2016. 40 people were murdered in these attacks (36 Israelis, 1 Palestinian, 2 Americans, and 1 Eritrean) and hundreds wounded.

\n\n

The report also includes Fatah's responses to the terror on the Fatah-run TV station Awdah and its official social media.

\n\n

When examining the chances for peace and whether the Palestinian Authority, with the Fatah Movement as its leading party, can be seen as a peace partner at all, there is paramount importance to the attitudes to terror by these Fatah leaders. These are the people who will be determining the policy of Mahmoud Abbas' party and through it the policy of the Palestinian Authority in the coming years. Will they lead the Palestinian people toward peace or continued animosity and terror?

\n\n

Click to view full report in pdf

\n\n

\nClick to view report Appendix 2: Fatah terror promotion continues in 2017

\n\n

\n Click to view report Appendix 3: Fatah Facebook posts glorified Palestinian terrorists during the 2015-2016 terror wave

\n","date":{"type":"firestore/timestamp/1.0","seconds":1489622400,"nanoseconds":0},"news":false,"authorId":[417],"published":true,"lang":"en","author":[{"name":{"en":"itamar marcus and pmw staff","he":""},"about":"","id":417,"citeName":{"en":"Marcus, I., & PMW Staff.","he":""}}],"contentType":"Article","tagIds":["190","191","233","869","1024","1030","1031","1034","1380"],"indexId":"index59","imageUrl":"/STORAGE/general_thumbnails/fatahlogo.png","thumbnail":"/STORAGE/general_thumbnails/fatahlogo.png"},{"tagIds":["24","25","26","32","35","48","190","229","233","267","858","869","1024","1030","1031","1034","1380"],"indexId":"index59","author":[{"about":"","id":417,"citeName":{"en":"Marcus, I., & PMW Staff.","he":""},"name":{"en":"itamar marcus and pmw staff","he":""}}],"description":"Fatah Facebook posts glorified Palestinian terrorists during the 2015-2016 terror wave.","id":11900,"lang":"en","authorId":[417],"published":true,"tags":[],"date":{"type":"firestore/timestamp/1.0","seconds":1489622400,"nanoseconds":0},"news":false,"contentType":"Article","content":"

Fatah Facebook posts glorified Palestinian terrorists during the 2015-2016 terror wave. This report is appendix 3 of a larger report, "Fatah Votes for Terror".

\n\n

Get full report

\n","title":"Fatah Votes for Terror Appendix 3","imageUrl":"/Content/Images/logoSocial.png","thumbnail":"/Content/Images/logoSocial.png"},{"tagIds":["24","25","26","32","37","99","190","233","265","268","272","277","285","287","288","858","869","1024","1025","1027","1030","1031","1034","1084","1144","1229","1380","1596"],"tags":[],"published":true,"indexId":"index59","news":false,"date":{"type":"firestore/timestamp/1.0","seconds":1489622400,"nanoseconds":0},"author":[{"name":{"en":"itamar marcus and pmw staff","he":""},"about":"","id":417,"citeName":{"en":"Marcus, I., & PMW Staff.","he":""}}],"description":"Fatah terror promotion continues in 2017","imageUrl":"/Storage/Images/2019/Dalal.jpg","contentType":"Article","content":"

Fatah terror promotion continues in 2017. This report is appendix 2 of a larger report, "Fatah Votes for Terror".

\n\n

Get full report

\n","lang":"en","authorId":[417],"id":11899,"title":"Fatah Votes for Terror Appendix 2","thumbnail":"/Storage/Images/2019/Dalal.jpg"},{"tags":[],"authorId":[417],"content":"

Fatah leaders who actively promoted and glorified terror against civilians during the terror wave in 2015 – 2016 were elected to lead Fatah at the Seventh Fatah Conference.

\n\n

Get full report

\n","date":{"type":"firestore/timestamp/1.0","seconds":1489622400,"nanoseconds":0},"news":false,"tagIds":["24","25","26","48","190","220","229","233","265","267","268","272","273","283","285","287","288","858","869","875","876","877","880","1024","1026","1030","1031","1032","1034","1144","1224","1380"],"description":"Fatah leaders who actively promoted and glorified terror against civilians during the terror wave in 2015 – 2016 were elected to lead Fatah at the Seventh Fatah Conference.","author":[{"id":417,"citeName":{"en":"Marcus, I., & PMW Staff.","he":""},"name":{"en":"itamar marcus and pmw staff","he":""},"about":""}],"contentType":"Article","imageUrl":"/Content/Images/logoSocial.png","id":11898,"indexId":"index59","lang":"en","published":true,"title":"Fatah Votes for Terror","thumbnail":"/Content/Images/logoSocial.png"},{"tagIds":["99","254"],"indexId":"index54","author":[{"about":"","citeName":{"en":"Marcus, I., & PMW Staff.","he":""},"id":417,"name":{"en":"itamar marcus and pmw staff","he":""}}],"description":"PMW notifies the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) that it was misled by the Palestinian Scout Association (PSA) who denied their scouts held the course named after terrorist murderer Baha Alyan.","id":10824,"authorId":[417],"lang":"en","published":true,"tags":[],"date":{"type":"firestore/timestamp/1.0","seconds":1473897600,"nanoseconds":0},"news":false,"contentType":"Article","content":"

\n\n

PMW research showed

\n\n

the World Organization of the Scout Movement

\n\n

that the Palestinian Scout Association did hold a course

\n\n

honoring terrorist murderer Baha Alyan

\n\n

PMW notified the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM)

\n\n

that it was misled by the Palestinian Scout Association (PSA)

\n\n

who denied their scouts held the course

\n\n

named after terrorist murderer Baha Alyan

\n\n

\n\t
PSA falsely claimed to WOSM that the Jerusalem Scout Commission that held a course named after terrorist murderer Baha Alyan is a different scout organization
\n\t

\n\n

PMW documentation shows that this is false. The Jerusalem Scout Commission is part of the Palestinian Scout Association that is a member of WOSM

\n\n

A senior WOSM-representative joined PSA in an event celebrating PSA membership in WOSM.
A video shows the Jerusalem Scout Commission and its leadership participating in the event and expressing gratitude at being members of WOSM.
The chairman of the Jerusalem Commission as well as one of the instructors who taught in the Baha Alyan Course are seen celebrating the new WOSM membership.
Conclusion: The Jerusalem Scout Commission is part of PSA and a member of WOSM

\n\n

$\"\"$

\n\n

Banner at ceremony celebrating the PSA's WOSM membership shows the Jerusalem Commission is part of the PSA and WOSM:

\n\n

"Palestinian Scout Association (literally in Arabic: Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association) - Jerusalem District Scouts and Guides Commission"

\n\n

[Jerusalem District Scout Commission Facebook page, July 22, 2016]

\n\n

Itamar Marcus and PMW staff

\n\n

Palestinian Media Watch reported recently that the Palestinian Scout Association (PSA) (literally in Arabic: Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association) had held a scouts' course named after terrorist Baha Alyan who murdered 3 Israelis: Alon Govberg, Chaim Haviv, and Richard Lakin, in October 2015.

\n\n

PMW also notified WOSM - the World Organization of the Scout Movement - that the Palestinian Scout Association, a member of WOSM, had named a course after a murderer. After asking for clarifications from the Palestinian scouts, WOSM notified PMW and issued a press release rejecting PMW's charge - saying it was a different Palestinian scout organization that glorified the terrorist, and not the PSA which WOSM has recognized.

\n\n

This PMW report will show that there is conclusive evidence that WOSM has been misled by the Palestinian scouts. In fact there is only one Palestinian Scout Association, and its official name in Arabic is Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association. The Jerusalem Scout Commission which named a course after terrorist Alyan is a branch of the Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association that is a member of WOSM.

\n\n

In addition, as PMW has already reported, the article that appeared on both the official website of the PSA and in the official Palestinian Authority daily clarifies that the Training and Developing Leadership framework that organized the course honoring terrorist Alyan is a part of the Palestinian Scout Association:

\n\n

"Yesterday the practical studies for the [scout] deputy unit leaders (preparation for the wood badge) - Martyr (Shahid) Leader Baha Alyan Course began at the Shabab Al-Eizariya Club in the Jerusalem district. [The course] was organized by the Committee for Training and Developing Leadership of the Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association, in cooperation with the scout commission in the Jerusalem district."

\n\n

The article further stated that it was PSA leaders who made up the staff of the terrorist Alyan course:

\n\n

"The training staff is composed of several members of the Committee for Training and Developing Leadership: Preparatory studies [course] leader and Jerusalem commissioner Sa'id Atoun, [scout] leader Muhammad Al-Dahdar, and [scout] leader Mufid Al-Barq."

\n\n

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 27, 2016;

\n\n

Palestinian Scout Association website (scout-ps.net), Aug. 25, 2016]

\n\n

As noted above the Training and Developing Leadership committee is a PSA committee.

\n\n

What is apparent is that WOSM was given false information by the PSA, who claimed that there are two distinct Palestinian scout organizations. WOSM was told that the Jerusalem Scout Commission that ran the course named after terrorist Alyan is part of an organization called "the Palestinian Scout and Guide Association," and that it is different from the Palestinian Scout Association and not a member of WOSM:

\n\n

WOSM Press Release: "The website on which the original article [about the Alyan course] was published belongs to a group which calls itself 'The Palestinian Scout and Guide Association' which is not recognised by WOSM. This is the Arabic heading used on the website. The recognised group in Palestine is the 'Palestinian Scout Association.'... Our recognised group has not been able to secure a domain name in Palestine and therefore does not have a website, which adds to the confusion."

\n\n

[

\nWOSM Press Release, Sept. 2, 2016]

\n\n

In an email to PMW, WOSM spokesperson Stephen Peck added:

\n\n

"The website of the Palestine Scout and Guide Association uses our symbols and branding to give themselves credibility and to give credibility to their views. You will understand that in the current climate, there is little we can do about that... The spokesperson for the Palestine Scout Association is Tawfeeq Salem who is the Secretary General."

\n\n

[Email to PMW, Sept. 4, 2016]

\n\n

However, as stated above, this information supplied to WOSM is incorrect. The correct information is:

\n\n

There is only one Palestinian scout organization with one name in Arabic: The Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association. The English name used by the organization is the Palestinian Scout Association (PSA).
The Jerusalem Scout Commission that held the course honoring terrorist murderer Alyan is part of this PSA recognized by WOSM.

\n\n

Evidence:

\n\n

1. The Palestinian scouts have only one name in Arabic: The Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association.

\n\n

WOSM's spokesperson Stephen Peck was informed by the PSA that there are two different organizations with two different names, and this is not true. The WOSM-recognized PSA's name in Arabic is literally "Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association" - the name that WOSM was told by the Palestinian scouts is a different organization. See for example "Director of the Scouts and Guides leader Tawfeeq Salem." [Ma'an, independent Palestinian news agency, Feb. 29, 2016] Tawfeeq Salem is the person WOSM recognizes as the legitimate PSA Secretary General. This name, "Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association," appears on WOSM's website, in official WOSM events, and in the Palestinian media.

\n\n

There is only one name. There is only one organization.

\n\n

This is an image from WOSM's website showing the logo of the organization that they recognize. The page was since taken down:

\n\n

$\"\"$

\n\n

The name in Arabic under the logo is: "Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association" (PMW notes: The word "Scouts" is masculine, literally meaning "Boy Scouts" in Arabic, and the word "Guides" is feminine, literally meaning "Girl Guides" in Arabic). [WOSM's website, https://www.scout.org/node/166676?language=en, accessed Aug. 28, 2016]

\n\n

2. Ceremony shows the Jerusalem Scout Commission that held the course named for terrorist murderer Baha Alyan is a branch of the PSA, recognized by WOSM

\n\n

At a ceremony in June celebrating the full membership of the Palestinian Scout Association (PSA) in WOSM, the Jerusalem Scout Commission - the PSA branch that ran the course honoring terrorist murderer Alyan - participated together with at least one senior WOSM-recognized official. The video documenting this celebration includes statements by officials clearly proving the Jerusalem Commission's inclusion in the PSA:

\n\n

1. Chairman of the Jerusalem Scout Commission Maher Muhaisen: "There was partial recognition of us [by WOSM], but it was revoked because we had problems with the Israelis. Praise Allah, we have succeeded in taking back the right... The Palestinian Scout [Association] has existed from 1912 and until today." (Emphasis added)

\n\n

2. WOSM-recognized PSA Secretary General Tawfeeq Salem - whose name also appeared as the recipient of the official WOSM letter granting full membership to the PSA, on Feb. 27, 2016 - participated in the same celebration and likewise refers to the PSA and its full membership in WOSM.

\n\n

PSA Secretary General Tawfeeq Salem: "We bless the entire Palestinian people and the Palestinian Scout [Association] on our full membership in the World Organization of the Scout Movement [WOSM]. This recognition was achieved following the effort of all of the Arab states and the scout leaders inside [the PA], the homeland, and the diaspora, the effort of the senior leaders, the effort of the Arab Scout Association led by [Director of the Arab Region of WOSM] Dr. Atif Abdelmageed and the World Scout Bureau [WSB]. [This recognition] was also achieved with the support and guidance of Jibril Rajoub - Chairman of the Supreme Council [for Sport and Youth Affairs], Chairman of the Palestinian Scout Association."

\n\n

3. PSA Executive Committee member Mufid Al-Barq, who in August was an instructor in the Baha Alyan Course, also spoke about becoming a full member in WOSM: "The Palestinian scout movement has great significance, as it is one of the oldest Palestinian youth movements, and it was established over 100 years ago. It is one of the pillars of the young Palestinians... Praise Allah, in recent days and months, thanks to the efforts of the Arab brothers, leaders, and colleagues, we have achieved full world recognition with the right to vote and nominate in the Arab and world [scout] organization [WOSM]..."

\n\n

[Jerusalem District Scout Commission Facebook page, July 22, 2016]

\n\n

A banner at the ceremony also shows explicitly that the Jerusalem Commission is part of the PSA and WOSM.

\n\n

$\"\"$
\n

\n\n

Text on banner: "Palestinian Scout Association (literally in Arabic: Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association) - Jerusalem District Scouts and Guides Commission"

\n\n

[Jerusalem District Scout Commission Facebook page, July 22, 2016]

\n\n

These facts prove without a doubt that the Jerusalem Scout Commission is a branch of the same single organization, known in Arabic as: The Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association (PSA), which is a member of WOSM.

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$\"\"$

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$\"\"$
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\n\t\t\t

$\"\"$

\n\t\t\t

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Click to view

\n\n

3. Meeting of PSA scout course instructors included WOSM-recognized PSA Secretary General Tawfeeq Salem and the three instructors who later taught the terrorist Baha Alyan course - all identified as being part of the same PSA.

\n\n

The Palestinian Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs invited all PSA scout instructors to a "historic meeting of the training leaders" in Ramallah. A photo of the participants in the meeting and the accompanying article clearly identified WOSM-recognized PSA Secretary General Tawfeeq Salemand the three instructors from Jerusalem who taught the terrorist Baha Alyan course as part of the WOSM-recognized PSA.

\n\n

This is a photo showing the participants in the meeting:

\n\n

$\"\"$

\n\n

In the photo the following Palestinian Scout Association figures appear from left to right (red circles and numbers added for identification):

\n\n

1. Mufid Al-Barq, PSA Treasurer [Official PSA Facebook page, accessed Sept. 14, 2016];

\n\n

2. Muhammad Al-Dahdar;

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3. Sa'id Atoun, organized a scouts event on the Temple Mount attended by Director of the Arab Region of WOSM Atif Abdelmageed [Palestinian Scout Association website (scout-ps.net), June 27, 2016; World Organization of the Scout Movement website (scout.org), Aug. 9, 2016]
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- All three were instructors in the scouts' "Martyr Leader Baha Alyan Course" named after terrorist murderer Baha Alyan. [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 27, 2016]

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4. Tawfeeq Salem, recognized by WOSM as Secretary General of the PSA.

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5. Maher Muhaisen, Chairman of the Jerusalem Scout Commission.

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The following is the article describing the Palestinian Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs hosting the "historic meeting" which included the instructors who taught the terrorist Alyan course and who WOSM was told by PSA officials are of a different organization, the chairman of the Jerusalem Commission, and the WOSM-recognized PSA Secretary General (their names indicated in bold):

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"Under the auspices of the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs, the Committee for Developing Leadership in the northern districts (i.e., the West Bank) held its historic meeting of the training leaders... The participants in the meeting thanked Chairman of the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs and Chairman of the [Palestinian Scout] Association Jibril Rajoub for his support of the courses... Leader Ayman Mutahhar noted the belief in the integration between the Palestinian Scout Association (literally in Arabic: Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association) and the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs...

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Present at the meeting were training leader... Muhammad Darwish Al-Dahdar, ... and likewise training commander aides [PSA Secretary General] Tawfeeq Salem, Mufid Al-Barq, ... Sa'id Atoun, ... and Head of the Jerusalem District [Scout] Commission Maher Muhaisen (among 21 others listed -Ed.)."

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[Palestinian Scout Association website (scout-ps.net), May 31, 2016;

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Donia Al-Watan, independent Palestinian news agency, May 31, 2016]

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PMW again stresses that the names above in bold include the instructors in the Alyan course, the head of the Jerusalem Commission, as well as the WOSM-recognized PSA Secretary General, again proving they are all in the one organization.

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4. Participation by senior WOSM official in event organized and led by the Jerusalem Scout Commission

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The article below, which appeared on the websites of both WOSM and the PSA, describes the participation by a senior WOSM official in an event organized and led by the Jerusalem Scout Commission - the branch that WOSM's spokesperson has been led to believe is a different organization and not part of the PSA. The event was part of the week of celebrations of PSA membership in WOSM, "launched by the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs and the [Palestinian Scout] Association leadership." The article mentions the Jerusalem Scout Commission's central role in the event - another proof that the commission is part of the PSA:

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"The Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association completed the project for services to those fasting [during Ramadan] at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque... with the presence and participation of the Arab scouts delegation. It was led by Secretary-General of the Arab Scout Organization and Director of the Arab Region of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) Dr. Atif Abdelmageed, and leaders of the Tunisian, Jordanian, and Gaza Strip scout movements... The delegation, together with leaders of the Jerusalem District Commission, visited the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque during the events of National Week of the Palestinian Scouts, which was launched by the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs and the [Palestinian Scout] Association leadership in order to celebrate the fact that the Palestinian Scouts regained full membership in the World Organization of the Scout Movement [WOSM]. The Jerusalem District Scout Commission opened with the standard procedures as every Friday. Chairman of the Jerusalem District [Scout] Commission Governing Body Maher Muhaisen spoke in his speech about the special importance of this day, and about the importance of the Arab delegation that arrived at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. Receiving the [Arab scout] delegation were [scout] leaders Maher Muhaisen, Muhammad Abu Suwai, Nasser Qaws, and several leaders of the Jerusalem [scout] troops. They accompanied the delegation together with several Jerusalem leaders... Following the afternoon prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Jerusalem Commission left together with the visiting delegation for a tour of the Old City... Chairman of the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs and Chairman of the Palestinian Scout Association Jibril Rajoub joined the tour in a surprise visit... [WOSM Director] Dr. Atif Abdelmageed, in his closing speech, expressed his deep thanks for the activity and the giving, and the effort of the Jerusalem scouts for the worshippers."

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[Palestinian Scout Association website (scout-ps.net), June 27, 2016;

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WOSM website (scout.org), Aug. 9, 2016]

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5. Senior WOSM official posing for pictures with Chairman of the Jerusalem Scout Commission, instructors of the terrorist Alyan course, and the father of terrorist Alyan

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Below are four pictures from PSA events. The first picture (upper left) is from a ceremony celebrating the granting of WOSM membership to the PSA, held under the auspices PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. WOSM's Director of the Arab Region and Secretary-General of the Arab Scout Organization Atif Abdelmageed is standing next to Jibril Rajoub, Chairman of the Palestinian Scout Association. This shows WOSM official Abdelmageed's role of working with the PSA. In the other three photos, and mentioned in the article above, Abdelmageed is being led on a tour by Jerusalem Scout Commission members and poses with them for pictures. This shows the Jerusalem Scout Commission's central role in PSA events and the PSA's role as host of WOSM official Abdelmageed.

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In the photo below on the upper right, the same WOSM official, Atif Abdelmageed (right), is posing for a picture with Chairman of the Jerusalem Scout Commission Maher Muhaisen (left) and the father of terrorist Baha Alyan (center).

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In the third photo below (lower left), WOSM's Abdelmageed poses with Chairman of the PSA Jibril Rajoub and Mufid Al-Barq, who was later one of the instructors of the terrorist Alyan course held by the Jerusalem Scout Commission. In the fourth photo, Abdelmageed is seen in a group photo with Mufid Al-Barq and Sa'id Atoun - both Alyan course instructors.

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The connection between WOSM and the PSA's Jerusalem Scout Commission is seen by WOSM's Abdelmageed participating in their event and posing for photos with the head of the PSA, the Chairman of the Jerusalem Commission, as well as with the instructors of the terrorist Alyan course.

\n\n\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n

$\"\"$	$\"\"$
From left to right: Chairman of the PSA Jibril Rajoub, Secretary-General of the Arab Scout Organization and Director of the Arab Region of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) Dr. Atif Abdelmageed, PA District Governor of Ramallah and El-Bireh Laila Ghannam, and PA Minister of Education Sabri Saidam. \n\t\t\t[Official Facebook page of PA District Governor of Ramallah and El-Bireh Laila Ghannam, June 22, 2016]	Photo of WOSM official Dr. Atif Abdelmageed (right) with Chairman of the Jerusalem Scout Commission Maher Muhaisen (left) and Muhammad Alyan (center), father of terrorist murderer Baha Alyan, during a tour of the Al-Aqsa Mosque plaza together with representatives of Arab scout organizations to celebrate the PSA's acceptance into WOSM. \n\t\t\t[Palestinian Scout Association website (scout-ps.net), June 27, 2016]
$\"\"$	$\"\"$
\n\t\t\t From left to right: Chairman of the PSA Jibril Rajoub, Director of the Arab Region of the WOSM Dr. Atif Abdelmageed, and Baha Alyan course instructor Mufid Al-Barq. \n\n\t\t\t [Palestinian Scout Association website \n\n\t\t\t (scout-ps.net), June 27, 2016] \n\t\t\t	\n\t\t\t From left to right: Baha Alyan course instructor Mufid Al-Barq, Director of the Arab Region of the WOSM Dr. Atif Abdelmageed, Baha Alyan course instructor Sa'id Atoun. \n\n\t\t\t [Palestinian Scout Association website (scout-ps.net), June 27, 2016] \n\t\t\t

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6. Another important meeting shows the structure of the Palestinian Scout Association. It likewise included Tawfeeq Salem, the WOSM-recognized PSA Secretary General. It shows that the PSA is divided into districts/commissions throughout the West Bank and that this includes the Jerusalem commission which ran the terrorist Alyan course.

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One participant in the meeting, which was said to "include[s] all of the scout commissions operating in the West Bank," was Head of the Jerusalem District Scout Commission Maher Muhaisen - the commission which WOSM spokesperson Stephen Peck has been told is not part of the PSA. Here, however, it is again presented as an integral part of the organization. Moreover, Director of the Scouts for the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs Osama Abu Karsh said at the meeting that the "Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association... represents all of the scouts..." Again this proves that there is one organization that represents all the Palestinian scouts and its name in Arabic is the "Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association" (PSA):

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Headline: "The director of the scouts in the Supreme Council met with the heads and secretaries of the commissions"

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"Director of the Scouts and Guides in the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs Mr. Osama Abu Karsh held an important meeting with all of the administration heads and secretaries of the commissions of the northern districts (i.e., West Bank) at the council headquarters in Ramallah, in the presence of Director of the Scouts and Guides leader Tawfeeq Salem, and head of the scout division leader Shaher Harun.

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Osama Abu Karsh talked about the efforts of the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs led by [Chairman of the Palestinian Scout Association (PSA) and Deputy Secretary of the Fatah Central Committee] Jibril Rajoub to support the Palestinian scout movement and strengthen the Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association, which represents all of the scouts in the homeland and the diaspora, and expressed his happiness over holding the meeting that includes all of the scout commissions operating in the West Bank. Mr. Abu Karsh presented the council's viewpoint regarding the development and strengthening of the Palestinian scout movement, in preparation for holding a national conference of scouts that includes all of the Palestinian scouts...

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It should be noted that the following people from the northern districts were present at the meeting: Leaders Maher Muhaisen (i.e., head of the Jerusalem Commission) and Hamza Al-Rifa'i from Jerusalem, Husam Dandis and Nu'man Salhab from Hebron, Walid Al-Shatla and Shawkat Matar from Bethlehem, Yaqub Jubran and Ahmed Tamliyeh from Ramallah, Ayman Matar and Muhannad Al-Sadda from Nablus, Osama Bisharat and Ayed Ja'aiseh from Tubas, and leader Muhammad Khashan from Jericho."

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[Ma'an, independent Palestinian news agency, Feb. 29, 2016]

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Also noteworthy is that the article mentioned earlier describing the participation by senior WOSM official Dr. Atif Abdelmageed, Director of the Arab Region of WOSM, in an event organized and led by the Jerusalem Scout Commission, which was published on the Palestinian scouts' website as well as on WOSM's website, refers to and praises terrorist murderer Baha Alyan, who the scouts course was named after, as a Shahid - an Islamic Martyr. Becoming a Shahid represents the highest religious achievement that can be attained by a Muslim. It also states that WOSM's representative Abdelmageed met with the father of terrorist murderer Baha Alyan as shown in the photo above. The father of the terrorist was referred to as a "prominent leader":

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"During the tour [of the Al-Aqsa Mosque plaza], [WOSM] leader Dr. Atif Abdelmageed met with lawyer Muhammad Alyan, the father of Martyr (Shahid) leader Baha Alyan and one of the most prominent leaders and activists in the service of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque."

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[Palestinian Scout Association website (scout-ps.net), June 27, 2016;

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WOSM website (scout.org), Aug. 9, 2016]

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Following PMW's report on the course honoring the terrorist, and the PSA and WOSM's connection thereto, this article has been taken down from WOSM's website.

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PMW has not heard if WOSM has taken or intends to take any disciplinary measures against Dr. Atif Abdelmageed for meeting with and posing for a picture with the father of the terrorist murderer of three.

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Conclusion: The WOSM-recognized PSA did in fact run the "Martyr Baha Alyan Course"

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In the video and the articles cited above and in many other articles, the Palestinian media has referred to one organization: "The Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association" - the PSA in English. No one has mentioned that there are two organizations using the same name. No one has said that the Jerusalem branch is not part of the PSA. The representatives of WOSM and the instructors in the terrorist "Alyan Course" are participating in the same events and are celebrating PSA membership in WOSM together. They are all appearing at the same PSA events, training courses, and celebrations. The Director of the Scouts and Guides in the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs Osama Abu Karsh talked about the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs' goal to "strengthen the Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association which represents all of the scouts in the homeland."

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The only conclusion to reach is that WOSM was falsely told by the PSA that there are two organizations. PMW's research found no reference anywhere to two different organizations and the evidence shows beyond a doubt that the Jerusalem Scout Commission is part of the PSA that has membership in WOSM. Accordingly, it was the WOSM-affiliated PSA that ran the "Martyr Baha Alyan Course."

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One final point to be made is that Jibril Rajoub, by virtue of his role as the Head of the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs, serves as the Chairman of the Palestinian Scout Association. PMW has long documented Rajoub's open support for terror and incitement to murder, and recently published The Rajoub File documenting numerous examples of Rajoub's praise for terror, encouragement of violence, and his involvement in naming sporting events after terrorists. Given Rajoub's role as Chairman of the PSA, it is not surprising that the scout organization held a course named after a terrorist.

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The following are longer excerpts of the reports mentioned above:

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Ceremony shows the Jerusalem Scout Commission that held course named for terrorist murderer Baha Alyan is part of the Palestinian Scout Association (PSA), recognized by the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM)

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Video from the ceremony in Ramallah, June 21, 2016, celebrating the full membership of the Palestinian Scout Association (PSA) in the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM).

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"The Jerusalem Scout Commission presents":

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"National Week of the Palestinian scouts
\nSCOUTS Palestine
\nPalestinian Scout Association
\nJune 2016"

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The banner at the ceremony shows the Jerusalem Commission is part of the PSA:

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"Palestinian Scout Association (literally in Arabic: Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association) - Jerusalem District Scouts and Guides Commission"

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Chairman of the Jerusalem Scout Commission Maher Muhaisen, interviewed at the PSA ceremony, includes the Jerusalem Commission in PSA, referring to WOSM's "recognition of us":

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Chairman of the Jerusalem Scout Commission, Maher Muhaisen: "Of course, as we know, there was partial recognition of us [by WOSM], but it was revoked because we had problems with the Israelis. Praise Allah, we have succeeded in taking back the right... The Palestinian Scout [Association] has existed from 1912 and until today..."

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PSA Executive Committee member and Baha Alyan Course instructor (August 2016), Mufid Al-Barq: "The Palestinian scout movement has great significance, as it is one of the oldest Palestinian youth movements, and it was established over 100 years ago. It is one of the pillars of the young Palestinians. When we say 'recognition of the Palestinian Scout [Association],' we are not only talking about the scout movement, because this is part of the recognition of the [entire] Palestinian entity and the Palestinian youth. Honestly, we have been recognized [by WOSM] since the beginning of the 19th century, with the founding of the scout movement (sic.), but until now the situation was bad, because this recognition was revoked... But praise Allah, in recent days and months, thanks to the efforts of the Arab brothers, leaders, and colleagues, we have achieved full world recognition with the right to vote and nominate in the Arab and world [scout] organization [WOSM]..."

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Gaza Scout Commission member, Faisal Abu Sakr: "This is a great honor for us. We are getting to know all the scouts - our boys, girls, our guides - all of the adult scouts in the West Bank. We are all one body, one homeland, and there is no difference between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank..."

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[Jerusalem District Scout Commission Facebook page, July 22, 2016]

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Jibril Rajoub also holds the following positions: Chairman of the Palestinian Football Association and Chairman of the Palestine Olympic Committee.

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"Yesterday the practical studies for the [scout] deputy unit leaders (preparation for the wood badge) - Martyr (Shahid) Leader Baha Alyan Course began at the Shabab Al-Eizariya Club in the Jerusalem district (Note: Alyan was terrorist who murdered 3, Ed.). [The course] was organized by the Committee for Training and Developing Leadership of the Palestinian Scout Association, in cooperation with the scout commission in the Jerusalem district.

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The training staff is composed of several members of the Committee for Training and Developing Leadership: Preparatory studies [course] leader and Jerusalem commissioner Sa'id Atoun, [scout] leader Muhammad Al-Dahdar, and [scout] leader Mufid Al-Barq."

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[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 27, 2016;

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Palestinian Scout Association website (scout-ps.net), Aug. 25, 2016]

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Headline: "The Commission for Developing Leadership holds an important meeting of the training leaders and their aides in the northern districts"

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The meeting, which was attended by senior scout leaders, was conducted by Secretary of Commission for Developing Leadership and Chairman of the Northern Districts Committee leader Ayman Mutahhar...

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The participants in the meeting thanked Chairman of the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs and Chairman of the [Palestinian Scout] Association (PSA) Jibril Rajoub for his support of the courses and external studies...

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Leader Ayman Mutahhar noted the confidence in the integration of the Palestinian Scout Association (literally in Arabic: The Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association) into the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs...

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Present at the meeting were training leader... Muhammad Darwish Al-Dahdar, ... and likewise training commander aides [PSA Secretary General] Tawfeeq Salem, Mufid Al-Barq, ... Sa'id Atoun, ... and Head of the Jerusalem District [Scout] Commission Maher Muhaisen (among 21 others listed -Ed.)."

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[Palestinian Scout Association website (scout-ps.net), May 31, 2016;

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Donia Al-Watan, independent Palestinian news agency, May 31, 2016]

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Headline: "The director of the scouts in the Supreme Council met with the heads and secretaries of the commissions"

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"Director of the Scouts and Guides in the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs Mr. Osama Abu Karsh held an important meeting with all of the administration heads and secretaries of the commissions of the northern districts (i.e., West Bank) at the council headquarters in Ramallah, in the presence of Director of the Scouts and Guides [scout] leader Tawfeeq Salem, and head of the scout division leader Shaher Harun.

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Osama Abu Karsh talked about the efforts of the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs led by [Chairman of the Palestinian Scout Association (PSA) and Deputy Secretary of the Fatah Central Committee] Jibril Rajoub to support the Palestinian scout movement and strengthen the Palestinian Scout Association (literally in Arabic: Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association), which represents all of the scouts in the homeland and the diaspora, and expressed his happiness over holding the meeting that includes all of the scout commissions operating in the West Bank...

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It should be noted that the following people from the northern districts were present at the meeting: Leaders Maher Muhaisen and Hamza Al-Rifa'i from Jerusalem, Husam Dandis and Nu'man Salhab from Hebron, Walid Al-Shatla and Shawkat Matar from Bethlehem, Yaqub Jubran and Ahmed Tamliyeh from Ramallah, Ayman Matar and Muhannad Al-Sadda from Nablus, Osama Bisharat and Ayed Ja'aiseh from Tubas, and leader Muhammad Khashan from Jericho."

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[Ma'an, independent Palestinian news agency, Feb. 29, 2016]

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Headline: "Project for services to those fasting at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, 2016"

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"The Palestinian Scout Association (PSA) (literally in Arabic: The Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association) completed the project for services to those fasting at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque [during Ramadan]. The number of worshippers who arrived to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque plaza every Friday - according to what the Waqf gave - was over 250,000.

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The blessed Fridays were special and of a prominent Arab scouting nature, with the presence and participation of the Arab Scout [Organization] delegation. It was led by Secretary-General of the Arab Scout Organization and Director of the Arab Region of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) Dr. Atif Abdelmageed, and leaders of the Tunisian, Jordanian, and Gaza Strip scout movements.

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The delegation, together with leaders of the [PSA] Jerusalem District Commission, visited the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque during the events of National Week of the Palestinian Scouts, which was launched by the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs and the [Palestinian Scout] Association leadership in order to celebrate the fact that the Palestinian Scouts regained full membership (sic., they were not previously full members) in the World Organization of the Scout Movement. The Jerusalem District Scout Commission opened with the standard procedures every Friday. Chairman of the [PSA] Jerusalem District [Scout] Commission Governing Body Maher Muhaisen spoke in his speech about the special importance of this day, and about the importance of the Arab delegation that arrived at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

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The person in charge of public relations and communications [scout] leader Muhammad Abu Suwai spoke and encouraged the scouts to act as they did on the previous two Fridays, and in the same spirit of giving, ...and [emphasized] the importance of this day for the Scout movement of Jerusalem.

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Afterwards, the participants were divided among the various areas of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, whose territory is 144 dunams (over 35.5 acres), by the person in charge of the activity, [Jerusalem] Scout Commissioner Sa'id Atoun.

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Receiving the [Arab scout] delegation were [scout] leaders Maher Muhaisen, Muhammad Abu Suwai, Nasser Qaws, and several leaders of the Jerusalem [scout] troops. They accompanied the delegation together with several leaders of the Jerusalem troops from the start of their arrival at the tour of the Al-Aqsa Mosque plaza, while they explained the important role placed upon the scouts, and the activity of protecting and keeping the order of the worshippers at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

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During the tour [of the Al-Aqsa Mosque plaza], leader Dr. Atif Abdelmageed met with lawyer Muhammad Alyan, the father of Martyr (Shahid) leader Baha Alyan (i.e., terrorist, took part in murdering 3) and one of the most prominent leaders and activists in the service of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque...

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Following the afternoon prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Jerusalem Commission left together with the visiting delegation for a tour of the Old City [of Jerusalem] and the markets of ancient Jerusalem, and visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre...

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Chairman of the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs and Chairman of the Palestinian Scout Association Jibril Rajoub joined the tour in a surprise visit...

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Dr. Atif Abdelmageed, in his closing speech, expressed his deep thanks for the activity and the giving, and the effort of the Jerusalem scouts for the worshippers."

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[Palestinian Scout Association website (scout-ps.net), June 27, 2016;

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World Organization of the Scout Movement website (scout.org), Aug. 9, 2016]

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Baha Alyan and Bilal Ghanem - 22 and 23-year-old Palestinian terrorists who on Oct. 13, 2015, boarded a bus in Jerusalem's Armon Hanatziv neighborhood with a gun and a knife and attacked passengers, killing Israelis Chaim Haviv (78) and Alon Govberg (51), and Richard Lakin (76), and wounding 3 Israelis. Alyan was shot and killed by an Israeli security guard at the scene and Ghanem, a Hamas terrorist who served time in Israeli prison in 2013-2014, was wounded. Ghanem is serving 3 life sentences and an additional 60 years for these murders.

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\n","title":"Palestinian scouts misled World Scout Organization about murderer Baha Alyan course","imageUrl":"/STORAGE/Bulletins/thumbnails/Palestinian_Scout_Association_logo.jpg","thumbnail":"/STORAGE/Bulletins/thumbnails/Palestinian_Scout_Association_logo.jpg"}]

Itamar Marcus and Pmw Staff