Palestinian Authority (PA) media are continuing to portray Palestinian terrorists killed while carrying out terror activity against Israel as innocent youths murdered without provocation by Israel. Palestinian news reports about the deaths of these "youths" omit mention of the fact that they were members of terrorist groups killed during terror activity.[1]
The most recent example of this is the January 12, 2024 incident in which three operatives belonging to Fatah, the PA ruling party, infiltrated the Israeli settlement of Adora, west of Hebron, with the aim of carrying out a terror attack. The three men were killed by Israeli forces before they were able to harm any civilians.
According to the official PA media outlet Wafa, the three – Ismail Abu Jahisha, Ouday Abu Jahisha, and Muhammad Abu Jahish,[2] from Idna, near Hebron – were merely "two children and a teenage boy [who] ascended to Heaven [as martyrs] after being shot by the occupation forces." The Wafa report completely omitted the fact that they were killed while attempting to carry out a terrorist attack.[3]
In contrast to the PA media version of events, Fatah published an announcement praising the "heroic martyrs" and the attempted attack by the Fatah military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and even claimed responsibility for the attack and identified the three as its operatives.
Moreover, around the time of this attempted attack in Adora, Telegram channels affiliated with Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades published posters calling for attacks against Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The posters were taken from a Hamas incitement campaign focusing on the West Bank – that is, it appears that these Telegram accounts were presenting this attempted attack as part of a larger move, i.e. expanding the scope of its "Al-Aqsa Flood" campaign to the West Bank by attacking Israeli settlements there, as Hamas had attacked Israeli communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.[4]
"Oh foreign rabble, we are coming. #Infiltrate_The_Settlements" A poster bearing the logo of Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades military wing. Source: T.me/Kataebaqsapalestine, January 13, 2024.
This report reviews the statements by Fatah stating that the attackers were children killed by Israel without provocation, and by its military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, praising the three as terrorists martyred while attempting to carry out a terror attack.
Official PA News Agency: Two Children And A Young Man Were Shot Dead By Occupation Forces
On January 13, 2024, following the attempted attack on Adora, the PA's official Wafa news agency reported: "Two children and a teenage boy ascended to Heaven [as martyrs] after being shot by occupation forces." The report did not provide details about the circumstances of their deaths.[5]
Fatah: Three Heroic Martyrs Carried Out A Raid Against The Adora Settlement
In contrast, Fatah published a statement saying that three "heroic martyrs" were killed while carrying out a raid against the Israeli settlement of Adora. On January 13, 2024, Fatah's Media and Culture Commission shared on its Facebook page a post reading "Glory to the martyrs" and featuring photos of each of the three terrorists alongside the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Palestinian flag, and the logo of Fatah, which suggests that the terrorists were politically aligned with Fatah. The caption on each photo read: "Fatah in northern Hebron, in the Idna organizational region, accompanies the heroic martyr to his wedding [with 72 virgins in Paradise]. He ascended to glorious Heaven after raiding the Adora settlement that was built on the lands of Hebron, after battling the Zionist occupation's forces. This is a revolution until victory – until victory. We shall meet in Heaven.[6]"
Fatah's Facebook post announcing the "martyrdom" of the three terrorists involved in the attempted Adora attack.
Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades Military Wing: These Martyrs Were Our Heroes In Hebron
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Moreover, Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades military wing shared on one of its Telegram channels a post claiming responsibility for the attempted attack on Adora and praising the three terrorists involved, who it said had belonged to the Brigades. The post reads:
"In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. 'Do not think of those martyred for the sake of Allah as dead, for they are in fact alive, by their Lord sustained [Quran 3:169].' With glory and pride, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades accompany their three heroic martyrs in Hebron to their weddings [to 72 virgins in Paradise]: The heroic martyr Ismail Ahmad Yousuf Abu Jahisha, 19 years old; the heroic martyr Mahmoud[7] Arafat Yousuf Abu Jahisha, 16 years old; and the heroic martyr Ouday Ismail Yousuf Abu Jahisha, 16 years old. [They] ascended to glorious Heaven after infiltrating the Adora settlement that was built on the lands of Hebron and after battling the Zionist occupation's forces… This is a revolution until victory – until victory. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades – Fatah's military wing."[8]
The announcement by Fatah's military wing about the "martyrdom" of the three terrorists. Source: T.me/elaqsa_1965
The "Hebron Brigade," which is the Hebron branch of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades which frequently posts inciting content on its Telegram channel,[9] published a similar statement that also referred to the terrorists as "heroic martyrs," adding: "May their pure souls enjoy mercy; may the prisoners of liberation enjoy liberty; may the revolution and the homeland enjoy victory."[10] In a subsequent post, the Brigade threatened to avenge the deaths of its three operatives, adding: "We warn the enemy against the coming fury, since the blood of our martyrs, who were members of the Brigade, will set fire to the land above you and beneath you. By Allah, the members of the Brigade promise you something that you do not expect. We will bury you and trample you and we will turn Hebron into your graveyard."[11]
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades Promote Hamas Campaign Calling On People To Join The "Al-Aqsa Flood," Threatening Attacks Against Israeli Settlements In The West Bank
It appears that Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades military wing, which has claimed responsibility for and praised the January 12 Adora attempted attack, are attempting to present the attack as part of a greater campaign in which the West Bank will become part of the "Al-Aqsa Flood" by attacking Israeli settlements just as Hamas did in Israeli communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Hamas has been actively encouraging this since October 7.
Indeed, around the time of the Adora attack, several Telegram channels affiliated with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades shared posters taken from Hamas's campaign calling for attacks against Israeli settlements. For instance, on the night of the attack, one channel shared a poster featuring an AI-generated image depicting three Palestinian terrorists armed with rifles approaching the fence of an Israeli settlement. The poster's caption reads: "We are coming to you… #Onward_To_The_Settlements."[12]
"We are coming to you."
A second poster shared by the same channel features an AI-generated image of an armed militant driving towards the gate of what appears to be an Israeli settlement, with a caption in Arabic and Hebrew that reads: "We are coming to you."[13]
In another example, the Nour_Talks account on X shared the text of the Hebron Brigades' statement about the death of its operatives alongside a poster bearing the term "Hebron Flood," a reference to Hamas's October 7, 2023 massacres in southern Israel, dubbed "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood."[14]
The text of the Hebron Brigades' statement about the Adora attacks alongside a poster bearing the caption "Hebron Flood."
[1] See MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis No. 1715, Palestinian Authority Media Present Slain Terrorists As Innocent Children Murdered In Cold Blood, September 5, 2023. See also MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 11081, Palestinian Authority Daily Describes Terrorists Killed By Israeli Forces As 'Murdered Athletes', January 17, 2024.
[2] It should be noted that the individual in question is referred to as Muhammad by the PA and Fatah statements, but as Mahmoud by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades statements.
[3] Wafa.ps, January 13, 2024.
[4] See: MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 10965, Hamas Threatens To Repeat October 7 Attack In Or From West Bank, November 20, 2023; MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 10932, Incitement To Jihad And Terrorism Against Israel In The West Bank, November 2, 2023; MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 10788, Palestinian Terror Organizations Incite On Social Media: The Time Has Come To Kill The Jews, September 12, 2023.
[5] Wafa.ps, January 13, 2024.
[6] Facebook.com/fatehmediaps, January 13, 2024.
[7] See footnote 2.
[8] T.me/elaqsa_1965, January 13, 2024. A post shared by a different Brigades-affiliated Telegram channel claimed that Ismail was 20 years old, that Ouday was 18 years old, and that Mahmoud was 16 years old. T.me/kataebeaqsapalestine, January 13, 2024.
[9] For instance, after the beginning of the Hamas-Israel war, the Hebron Brigade announced that it is opening branches throughout the Hebron province and addressed the "Zionist enemy," threatening that these military groups will "besiege your settlements throughout the entire province." See: T.me/KhalilRahmanBrigades, October 13, 2023. On the following day, the group called on the residents of the Hebron province to help these militant cells and "light a fire under the feet of the Zionist enemy." Source: T.me/KhalilRahmanBrigades, October 14, 2023. Two weeks later, the group called for suicide attacks to be carried out against Israelis everywhere. Source: T.me/KhalilRahmanBrigades, November 5, 2023; T.me/kataebaqsapalestine, November 5, 2023.
[12] T.me/kataebaqsapalestine, January 12, 2024.
[13] T.me/kataebaqsapalestine, January 12, 2024.
[14] Twitter.com/Nour_Talks, January 13, 2024.
