Palestinians love Bin Laden
A Compendium Of Palestinian Authority Hatred Of America: 1997 And 2001
Itamar Marcus and Ruthie Blum September 14, 2001
Palestinian Media Watch Special Bulletin
Introduction
For years, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has actively promoted hatred of the United States among its people. The recurring theme: the US is an imperialist, colonialist usurper of land and human rights, enemy of the Arab world, killer of Arab children, and supporter of Israel. Yasser Arafat has repeatedly referred to Saddam Hussein as his "brother" and has linked an Iraq victory over the US to a Palestinian victory over Israel. During a period of US-Iraq tension, the editor of the PA official daily wrote that America would pay for its war against Iraq with "45,000 bodies of American soldiers [who] will return to the US like airmail .The Arab mothers will not be the only ones crying..." The PA Mufti has called for Allah [god] to destroy America and "paint the White House black." [See compendium below for full quotes and sources.]
This active antipathy to the US espoused and preached by the PA leadership has created a Palestinian society imbued with hatred toward America. It is in this atmosphere that Palestinians took to the streets in spontaneous celebration of the horrific terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.
Quickly realizing that there could be nothing more odious to television viewers in democracies than the sight of Palestinian festivities over the deaths of Americans, the PA took two measures. First, PA Minister of Information Yasser Abed Rabbo demanded of foreign bureau chiefs that they cease broadcasting the celebrations, and threatened the lives of their staff. Second, they orchestrated public displays of sympathy for America. Photos of Arafat donating blood appeared in the press, alongside photos of Palestinian children carrying signs (in English) expressing solidarity with "fellow" victims of terrorism.
During the weeks prior to the attacks, PMW noticed an increase in the anti-American vitriol and incitement appearing in the PA press, including calls to attack the US.
The following selections are from 1997 - when PMW first began monitoring the Palestinian media on this topic - and from 2001, prior to the attack. This compilation demonstrates the consistency of Palestinian ideology.
Part 1: 1997
1. PA Mufti calls for destruction of America
Arafat appointed Mufti of Palestine has called on Allah (God) to destroy America, which is controlled by Zionist Jews "Oh, Allah, destroy America as it is controlled by Zionist Jews...Allah will avenge, in the name of his Prophet, the colonialist settlers who are the descendents of monkeys and pigs... "
Ikrima Sabri, the Mufti of the Palestinian Authority, (from weekly sermon in the Al-Aksa Mosque in Jerusalem). Voice of Palestine, July 11, 1997.
2. The U.S. and Israel are the source of terrorism in the world. Palestinian rejection of the US list of terrorist organizations, which included Islamic and Palestinian organizations..
"We reject the definition of Palestinian and Islamic organizations as terrorist organizations [by the U.S.]. The U.S. and Israel are the source of terrorism in the world. "
Sheik Hamed Al-Bitawi, Head of the Palestine Association of Religious Scholars [and the PA's appointed Manager of the Nablus Municipal Religious Courts] Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, 10.11.97
3. The US, bloodsuckers and barbaric culture will disappear from history. History will forget the United States, but will remember Iraq and Palestine.
"...History does not remember the United States, but it remembers Iraq, the cradle of civilization, and Palestine, the cradle of religions. History remembers every piece of Arab land, because it is the bosom of human civilization. On the other hand, the murderers of humanity, the creators of the barbaric culture and the bloodsuckers of nations, are doomed to death and destined to shrink to a microscopic size, like Micronesia. " [Hafez Al-Barghuthi, editor, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 15, 1997]