Amid the recent surge in terror coming out of the West Bank, which compelled Israel to launch Operation Summer Camps to counter this growing terror threat,[1] the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its media continue to present Israel's counterterrorism measures in the West Bank as brutal and arbitrary aggression, [2] while portraying armed terrorists who were killed during or as a result of terrorist activity as innocent civilians murdered in cold blood.
As part of this, the PA's official news agency WAFA presents every combatant killed in the course of terrorist activity or in clashes with IDF forces as an innocent "youth" or "civilian", while deliberately disregarding these individuals' involvement in terror and membership in terror organizations. WAFA even neglected to mention that some of these individuals were operatives of Hamas' military wing, the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, who returned to terrorism after being released from prison in November 2023 as part of the deal between Israel and Hamas to free the Israeli hostages. Moreover, in reporting about these individuals, WAFA ignores the fact that the armed militias they belong to threaten not only Israel but also the PA itself.[3] It also disregards the fact that some of the terrorists were former members of the PA's own security apparatuses.[4]
However, the terrorists' true identity is clearly revealed in announcements published by the terror militias themselves, who claim responsibility for the attacks and glorify their perpetrators as "jihad fighters" who were "martyred" while carrying out "heroic operations," and present photos of them holding weapons and wearing the terror organizations' insignia.
It should be noted that this type of reporting by the PA is not new; MEMRI has posted several documents about it.[5]
Below are some recent examples of WAFA reports about terrorists killed in the course of armed action, alongside the obituaries published for them by the terror militias to which they belonged.
WAFA On Perpetrator Of Shooting Attack: "A Youth Martyred By Fire Of The Occupation Forces"
On September 1, 2024, Muhannad Al-Asoud, a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and a former member of the PA presidential guard,[6] fatally shot three Israeli police officers at the Tarqumiya checkpoint near Hebron, and was killed by IDF forces following a chase. In its report about the incident, WAFA completely ignored the shooting and its consequences, stating only that "a youth" had been "martyred by fire of Israeli occupation forces… that besieged his home."[7]
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, on the other hand, claimed responsibility for the shooting and confirmed that Al-Asoud had been one of its operatives. A notice posted on the militia's Telegram channel described the attack and praised its perpetrator, stating: "…A fighter [of ours] carried out a heroic operation against a vehicle of the Zionist police at the Tarqumiya checkpoint, west of Hebron, that resulted in the death of three police officers… The hero of this operation ascended to heaven after being besieged and [waging] resistance for hours. Here is the heroic martyr: Muhannad Muhammad Al-Asoud, from the village of Idhna. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades take responsibility for this heroic operation…"[8]
Obituary for Al-Asoud posted on the Telegram channel of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades: "We accompany the heroic martyred fighter Muhannad Muhammad Al-Asoud to his nuptials"[9] (T.me/elasa_1965, September 2, 2024)
PA News Agency WAFA Describes Perpetrators Of Attempted Double Car-Bombing As "Civilians Martyred By Fire Of The Occupation Forces"
On August 30, 2024, two terrorists, Muhammad Marqa and Zuhdi Abu Afifa, were killed while trying to perpetrate a double car-bombing, at a gas station in Gush Etzyon and in the locality of Karmei Tzur. They too were described by WAFA as "civilians Muhammad Ihsan Yaqin Marqa and Zuhdi Nidal Abu Afifa, who were martyred by fire of the occupation forces," without any mention of the attempted car bombing.[10] The next day, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing, and acknowledged Marqa and Abu Afifa as members of the militia. One of them was even described as a "self-sacrificing fighter," i.e., a suicide bomber.[11]
Obituaries for Marqa (left) and Abu Afifa on the Telegram channel of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades
It should be noted that Hamas claimed the attempted bombing as well, stating that Marqa and Abu Afifa were "self-sacrificing jihad fighters" (i.e., suicide bombers) and members of its military wing, the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades.[12]
Senior Islamic Jihad Operative Wanted By Israel, Commander Of The Tulkarm Brigade, Presented By WAFA Simply As A "Youth"
On August 29, 2024, the terrorist Muhammad Jaber, aka Abu Shujaa, a commander and founder of the "Tulkarm Brigade – Jerusalem Companies" militia, which is part of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror organization, was eliminated by Israel.[13] Abu Shujaa was a very well-known and popular figure in Tulkarm. In a recent interview on Hizbullah's Al-Mayadin TV he praised the resistance, saying it can eventually eliminate Israel, and promised that, even if he himself is eliminated, others will continue his path.[14]
While the PIJ announced that "the brother jihad fighter Muhammad Jaber (Abu Shujaa), the commander and one of the first founders of the Tulkarm Brigade – Jerusalem Companies" had been "martyred," [15] WAFA reported only that "a youth, Muhammad Samer Mahmoud Jaber, 26 years old, from the Nour Shams refugee camp, has been martyred," while completely ignoring his role as a senior operative of the PIJ terror organization.[16]
Obituary for Abu Shujaa on the PIJ Telegram channel (T.me/sarayaps, August 31, 2024)
Abu Shujaa carrying arms and wearing a PIJ headband (T.me/mahmoudallouh90, August 29, 2024)
Hamas Operatives Released In Hostage Deal Who Returned To Terrorism Portrayed As Innocent "Civilians" Or "Youths"
The WAFA news agency portrays terrorists as innocent "youths" or "civilians" even when referring to Hamas operatives who returned to terrorism after being released from prison as part of the November 2023 hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. Moreover, the pictures that accompany the reports usually show them as innocent unarmed teens. Conversely, the terrorist organizations they belonged to describe them as "jihadi fighters" and post pictures of them holding weapons and wearing the organizations' insignia.
For instance, on August 26, 2024, five terrorists from the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm were eliminated in an IDF airstrike. One of the slain men was Jibril Jibril from Qalqilya, an operative in the Hamas military wing who was released in the November 2023 hostage deal. Following his release, Jibril perpetrated several shooting attacks and detonated IEDs on IDF forces.[17] The WAFA news agency presented him as a "civilian" who was killed in an Israeli occupation airstrike on the Nur Shams camp. It neglected to mention that he was released from prison as part of the hostage deal and that he was an active member of Hamas' military wing, engaged in terrorism.[18]
The obituary published by the Hamas military wing, on the other hand, described him as a "jihad fighter" and a member of the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, and showed a picture of him armed and wearing the movement’s headband.
Left: The photograph of Jibril posted by WAFA (Wafa.ps, August 26, 2024); right: Hamas' obituary for “the martyred jihad fighter from the Al-Qassam [Brigades]" (T.me/qassambrigades, August 27, 2024)
In a similar incident, on August 15, two armed terrorists were eliminated in an airstrike in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus. One of them was Wa'el Masha, likewise a member of Hamas' military wing who was released in the November 2023 deal. He was described by WAFA as a "youth" who was killed when "[an Israeli] drone bombed a concentration of civilians at the Balata refugee camp," with no mention of his identity as a Hamas operative recently released from prison.[19] However, the obituary posted by the Hamas military wing called him a "jihad fighter" and a member of the Izz Ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, and showed a picture of him wearing the movement’s headband.
Left: The photo of Wa'el Masha posted by WAFA (Wafa.ps, August 15, 2024); right: Hamas' obituary for Masha, describing him as a "martyred jihad fighter" and a member of the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades (T.me/qassambrigades, August 12, 2024)
On August 12, another Hamas commander released in the deal, Tareq Daoud, was killed by the IDF after perpetrating a shooting in Qalqilya in which an Israeli civilian and two Palestinians were wounded. He too was portrayed by WAFA as "a youth who was martyred after being shot by the Israeli occupation forces," without any mention of the shooting he perpetrated, his membership in the Hamas military wing and his recent release from prison.[20] In this case as well, the obituary issued by the Hamas military wing acknowledged him as a "jihad fighter" and as one of the movement's operatives, and showed him wearing a Hamas headband.
Left: The picture posted by WAFA (Wafa.ps, August 12, 2024); right: the obituary posted by Hamas (T.me/qassambrigades, August 12, 2024)
The three terrorists, Jibril, Daoud, and Masha, are shown armed and wearing the headbands of the Hamas military wing (T.me/QudsN, August 26, 2024)
[1] On this threat, see MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 11507 - The West Bank – A Ticking Time Bomb – August 14, 2024.
[2] For example, Palestinian Presidency spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh said about Operation Summer Camps on August 28: "The escalating Israeli war in the West Bank against the cities, villages and refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarm, Tubas, and other Palestinian towns, alongside the genocide war in the Gaza Strip, will have severe and devastating consequences… The aggression launched at dawn today against the northern West Bank, which has so far caused the death of nine civilians and the wounding of dozens, is part of completing the all-out war against our people… This policy of escalation, destroying cities and murdering civilians, and of arrests and colonialism, will not achieve security and stability for anyone…" (Wafa.ps, August 28, 2024).
[3] On the PA's fear that West Bank militias and terror organizations will stage a coup against it, see MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 11329 - Palestinian Authority (PA) And Fatah Harshly Criticize Iran: It Is Undermining The PA And The Jordanian Regime Using Its Proxies – Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad And Muslim Brotherhood – May 15, 2024.
[4] See also MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis No. 1760 - The Involvement Of Palestinian Authority Security Forces In Terror Attacks Against Israel – April 18, 2024.
[5] See e.g., MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 11377 - Palestinian Authority Continues To Present Young Terrorists As Innocent Children – June 4, 2024; Special Dispatch No. 11083 - While Palestinian Authority Says Israel Murders Palestinian 'Children' Without Provocation, Fatah Military Wing Praises These 'Children' As Martyrs For Their Attempted Terror Attacks In West Bank During Which They Were Killed By Israel – January 18, 2024; Special Dispatch No. 11081, Palestinian Authority Daily Describes Terrorists Killed By Israeli Forces As 'Murdered Athletes', January 17, 2024; Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 1715 - Palestinian Authority Media Present Slain Terrorists As Innocent Children Murdered In Cold Blood - September 5, 2023. It should be noted that the Qatari daily Al-Arabi Al-Jadid has reported, citing sources in the West Bank, that the PA establishment media deliberately avoids publishing any information about "resistance" operations, i.e., about attacks and armed activity against Israel carried out by the terror militias and organizations (Alaraby.co.uk, July 8, 2024).
[6] Al-Asoud quit the presidential guard in 2015 (T.me/QudsN, September 1, 2024).
[7] Images2.wafa.ps, September 1, 2024.
[8] T.me/elaqsa_1965, September 1, 2024.
[9] According to Islamic tradition, a martyr marries 72 black-eyed virgins in Paradise.
[10] Wafa.ps, August 31, 2024.
[11] T.me/elaqsa_1965, September 1, 2024.
[12] T.me/qassambrigades, September 2, 2024.
[13] On the Tulkarm Brigade, see MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis No. 1775 - Terror Organizations Consolidating Their Control Over Tulkarm, Tubas In Northern West Bank, Undermining Control Of Palestinian Authority – July 23, 2024.
[14] See MEMRI TV Clip No. 11324, West Bank Palestinian Terrorist 'Abu Shujaa', Commander Of The Tulkarm Brigade: I Salute The Resistance Axis From Tehran, Sanaa, Hizbullah; The Al-Aqsa Flood War Proved That The People Of Gaza Are Capable Of Terminating The State Of Israel, August 15, 2024.
[15] T.me/jehad_ps, August 29, 2024.
[16] Wafa.ps, August 29, 2024.
[17] Safa.ps, August 29, 2024.
[18] Wafa.ps, August 26, 2024.
[19] Wafa.ps, August 15, 2024.
[20] Wafa.ps, August 12, 2024.
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