PA Newspaper Glorifies Al-Qaeda's 9/11 Attacks
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
(IsraelNN.com) According to the Palestinian Media Watch organization, a Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority newspaper has printed a cartoon appearing to glorify Osama Bin-Laden and the 9/11 attacks on the United States.
To mark the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks on New York City and Washington, the PA official daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida ran a cartoon of a smiling Bin-Laden flashing the "V for Victory" sign. His two upraised fingers formed the shape of the burning Twin Towers, felled by planes hijacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists. The cartoon, according to PMW, was prepared exclusively for the newspaper, which is owned and managed by the office of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
PMW's Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook wrote, "The Palestinian Authority has a long history of celebrating the 9/11 terror. The world was shocked by televised scenes of Palestinians celebrating the attacks in the streets the day they took place. A December 2005 poll found that '65% of Palestinians support(ed) Al Qaeda actions in the USA and Europe.' (Fafo – Institute for Applied International Studies – Norway. Survey Dec. 22, 2005)."
According to the PMW analysts, "The official PA media's repeated glorification of Bin Laden is a reflection of the deep hatred of the U.S. by the Palestinian population. This hatred is the result of years of hate incitement against the U.S. by Palestinian political leaders... by the PA media and even in official Western-funded schoolbooks."
Most past 9/11 cartoons published in the PA focused on presenting the message that Arabs and Muslims were the primary victims of the Al-Qaeda attacks, that the attacks were a conspiracy against the Arab world, or that the 9/11 attacks serve a presumed American interest in global hegemony.
In addition to noting Al-Hayat Al-Jadida cartoons marking previous anniversaries of the 9/11 attacks, PMW quoted a January 2007 statement by a former PA official and Fatah leader, Abu Ali Shahin, in which he said, "Oh [Al-Qaeda] brother, leave us and focus on your business. You have Bush! Do to Bush what you want, and we wish you success with Bush, even more. I, Abu Ali Shahin, wish you success with Bush.... We are fighting the Americans and hate the Americans more than you!" Shahin was interviewed for the official PA television station.
PA Newspaper Glorifies Al-Qaeda's 9/11 Attacks
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