Palestinian Authority Praises Female Terrorist Dalal Al-Mughrabi

As in past years, Palestinian Authority (PA) officials, as well as dailies and websites affiliated with the PA, PLO and Fatah, showered praise on the female terrorist Dalal Al-Mughrabi on the anniversary of the terrorist attack carried out by Fatah on Israel's Coastal Road in 1978, which killed 35 Israelis and injured dozens.[1] Al-Mughrabi was the deputy commander of the cell that carried out the attack, and was killed in it.

The following are excerpts from the statements and articles:

Dalal Al-Mughrabi[2]

Fatah Secretary In Tulkarm: Teach Dalal's Biography In Schools

Fatah Secretary in Tulkarm Mu'ayid Sha'aban, said that "Dalal Al-Mughrabi's self-sacrifice is still a symbol and an inspiration to Arab women in general and Palestinian women in particular. In giving her life and leading a group of men to the Coastal Road in Palestine, it was if she was saying that heroism and sacrifice are not exclusive to a certain gender, and that the role and the national duty of the Palestinian woman cannot come down to merely raising generations who believe in the justice of the Palestinian cause or to being the mother of a prisoner or a martyr, or the sister of a fighter. She was saying that the Palestinian woman can herself be imprisoned, injured or martyred [for the cause], or can be an outstanding commander.

"Dalal Al-Mughrabi has become a symbol for Palestinians. She has represented and will [continue to] represent a generation that was born far from the homeland and raised in refugee camps, but [nevertheless] cherished its predecessors' stories about Haifa, Jaffa, Safed, Tel Aviv, and about cities and villages whose residents still keep the keys to their homes in hopes of returning to them some day. She is a slap in the face from the generation of Palestinians living in the diaspora to the unwise claim made by the leaders of Israel that the old die out and the young forget.

"Dalal and all the female Palestinian fighters, prisoners and martyrs powerfully promote the participation of Palestinian women in Palestinian decision-making and Palestinian life in the political, social, cultural and economic fields. It is not an exaggeration to say that, in her giving and her status, the Palestinian woman has exceeded all calls for justice for women and recognition of their usurped rights."

Sha'aban called to incorporate Al-Mughrabi's biography in school curricula and establish memorials to her in public squares in all Palestinian cities "in order to commemorate her battle legacy... being that she is a paragon of Palestinian womanhood who exceeded all women in the world in her sacrifice."[3]

Former Head Of PA Political and National Education Authority: Dalal Is The Pride Of Palestinian Women

Brigadier General Mazen 'Izz A-Din, the former head of the PA's Political and National Education Authority, published an article reviewing the planning and execution of the terrorist attack, while praising Dalal Al-Mughrabi. Al-Din wrote: "Dalal is the pride of Palestinian women; we place her as a badge of honor on the chests of heroes. Isn't she the keeper of the Palestinian flame?... Let us salute the souls of the martyrs on their special day, the day of the martyr Dalal Al-Mughrabi and her comrades."[4]

Article On PLO-Affiliated Website: Dalal's Last Wishes – Continue The Resistance

An article posted on a website close to the PLO also praised Dalal Al-Mughrabi for her courage: "Dalal Al-Mughrabi left a will in which she asked her comrades [to continue] the resistance until the total liberation of Palestinian land [is achieved]... The Israeli army did not expect Palestinian daring to reach such levels, but Dalal Al-Mughrabi, a young Palestinian woman born in 1958 in one of Beirut's refugee camps to a refugee family from Jaffa, which fled due to the 1948 Nakba, did [reach these levels of daring]...

"Dalal joined the Fatah's Fedayun movement while she was in school. She attended several courses and trained in all forms of guerrilla warfare with all forms of weapons, and was known for her courage and patriotic revolutionary zeal."[5]

Former PA minister Dr. Abu Mughli wrote in the PA daily Al-Ayyam: "In her actions, Dalal the Fedayun fighter realized the [principle of] equality between men and women, when she commanded one of the greatest operations of Palestinian resistance."[6]