Palestinian Authority, Fatah Glorify Egyptian Border Guard Muhammad Salah Who Killed Three Israeli Soldiers

The June 3, 2023 shooting of three Israeli soldiers on the Israel-Egypt border, perpetrated by Egyptian border guard Muhammad Salah, elicited many reactions in the Arab world,[1] including in the Palestinian Authority (PA), that praised the shooter and his action. The PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida stated in an editorial that the attack proved that the peace and normalization agreements with Israel have not caused the Arab masses to forget their hatred for this country. Social media accounts belonging to and affiliated with Fatah, the ruling party in the PA, likewise posted many messages glorifying the attack and its perpetrator. Moreover, Fatah's branch in Nablus set up a mourning tent for the shooter and called on the public to visit it in order to honor "the hero Muhammad Salah" and "express congratulations on his martyrdom." A mourning tent was also set up in Jenin district.

This report presents some of the reactions published by Fatah and the PA extolling the Egyptian border guard and his killing of the soldiers.

PA Daily: The Peace Agreement With Israel Has Not Eliminated The Egyptians' Hatred For It

The June 7, 2023 editorial of the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida stated that the shooting was proof that the Egyptian people still hate the Israeli enemy, even 45 years after the signing of the peace agreement between the two countries.  It said: "We will not address the [conflicting] accounts of the operation carried out by the Egyptian border guard Muhammad Salah Ibrahim, in which three soldiers of the Israeli occupation army were shot with an AK-47. The fact that the Egyptian people are clearly saluting this operation and the man who performed it – that is the real story, which Israel must carefully heed. Israel  must realize that, ultimately, dirty political tricks and arrangements cannot erase the human conscience and morality or the feelings of hostility and hatred for the enemy whose aggressive and bloody behavior has burdened [the Egyptians'] conscience and memory.

"Forty-five years after the Camp David [Accords between Israel and Egypt], the reality is zero normalization [with Israel] on the Egyptian street. Israel is still perceived on the Egyptian street as an occupation state, [which] persists in its arrogance and its aggressive policy, especially towards [the Egyptians'] brothers in Palestine. Israel must understand, in this context, that Palestine is [enshrined] in the Egyptian conscience… [Only] when it recognizes this as an indisputable truth will it be able to clearly perceive its situation, namely, that it will not be able to live in this region in peace, quiet and security until it takes off the mantle of war and aggression and purges its mind of racist fascism and of the delusion that it can perpetuate its occupation in Palestine and cement its complete control over the Arab east.  

"Yes, Israel must take careful note [of the fact that] the Egyptian public is saluting the operation carried out by the border guard Muhammad Salah. He seems to have merged with [the figure of international Egyptian football star] Mo Salah, in terms of their [shared] name and also metaphorically, in the sense that [the border guard] scored three bitter and painful goals against Israel [by killing the three soldiers]!!"[2]       

Fatah Sets Up Mourning Tent For Muhammad Salah

Several days after the attack, Fatah's branch in Nablus announced the opening of a mourning tent for Muhammad Salah and called on the public to come pay its respects to this "heroic Egyptian martyr." A mourning tent was also erected by the national and Islamic forces in the Jenin refugee camp.[3]    

Fatah in Nablus invites the public to visit the mourning tent for "the heroic Egyptian martyr Muhammad Salah" (image: twitter.com/NewpressPs, June 5, 2023)

A sign put up by Fatah in the Nablus mourning tent welcomed "those who have come to express congratulations upon the death of the martyr of the Arab homeland and of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the heroic martyr Muhammad Salah. Glory and eternal life to our pure-hearted martyrs. We shall meet in Paradise." 

  
The sign at Fatah's mourning tent in Nablus (image: twitter.com/elthwrah, June 6, 2023)

Fatah's mourning tent in Nablus (image: twitter.com/elthwrah, June 6, 2023)

Praise For Salah On Fatah Social Media Pages

Praise for Muhammad Salah was also conspicuous on Fatah and Fatah-affiliated social media accounts. The movement's official Twitter page posted a picture of him, accompanied by a Quranic verse: "They [the martyrs] rejoice in what Allah has bestowed upon them" (Quran 3:170). The picture bore the text "#Muhammad_Salah" and a symbol representing Palestine from the river to the sea.[4]

Post on Fatah Twitter page

Fatah activist Mounir Al-Jaghoub, until recently the spokesman of Fatah's Recruitment and Organization Commission, shared a picture of Salah with the title of an Egyptian song from 2011 expressing love for Egypt.[5]

Mounir Al-Jaghoub's post

The "Fatah Military Information" Twitter page posted the message "One image is worth more than a thousand words." The accompanying graphic shows an eagle, which is Egypt's symbol, wrapped in an Egyptian flag and standing on three skulls, representing the three slain Israeli soldiers. The graphic is captioned "Lone Eagles" (a play on the term "lone wolves").[6]

Post on the "Fatah Military Information" Twitter page

Another tweet on this page featured Salah's picture and the text: "[This is] the man who carried the seemingly obsolete gun, the soldier who trampled underfoot the myth of 'the invincible [Israeli] army' and who reminded [us] of the glorious achievements of the Egyptian army – the martyr Muhammad Salah."[7]

Post on the "Fatah Military Information" Twitter page

The Ramallah-based television channeled 'Awdeh ("Return"), identified with Fatah, tweeted a picture of Salah, with the text "the Egyptian soldier who ascended to heaven after eliminating three soldiers of the occupation army on the Egypt-Palestine border."[8]