Fatah Leaders Watch Girl Recite Poem of Defiance against Hamas

Following are excerpts from footage of a Fatah rally in Qalqilya, the West Bank, which aired on Al-Filistiniya TV on July 9, 2009. The excerpts include a girl reciting an anti-Hamas poem and an address by former PA security chief in Gaza Muhammad Dahlan. The rally was attended by many of the top officials of Fatah.

Announcer: Let us now listen to a poem by sister Dina Ghanem, from Gaza. Go ahead.

Dina Ghanem: Oh Fatah member, the circumstances of our times have made me angry at you, and in my heart, yearning for a tempest has raged.

I almost died, but eventually, I realized that I am in your trench. I cannot detach myself from you.

Among the Fatah youth, I have erected my tent, and with them, I have had my coffee.

I am the daughter of the Fatah youth organization. I am the proud daughter of the Fatah movement. PLO, I am your daughter.

PLO, I am your daughter, in defiance of the bearers of the green flats [Hamas].

I am your daughter, oh Gaza. I am the daughter of the bleeding wound from the depths of the sea.

Have you forgotten the humiliation and oppression that befell Gaza, or did you decide, after a single month, to ignore the coup?

Have you forgotten that you have a brother in Gaza, who suffers enslavement, and can do nothing but persevere?

He is tortured for his affiliation with the revolution, and he is flogged for defying this treachery.

If you have forgotten, it would be a disgrace for me to remind you.

Can a person forget his brother’s wounds? Yes, he can – if he is a bastard and an infidel.

But I you, I detect the purity of the Virgin Mary and the virtue of Omar, so do not let me down. Do not let me down.

Let us recall the story from the beginning, and repeat it morning, noon, and night, so that what happened in Gaza does not happen to you, so that you do not have to taste bitterness.

Believe me, you must not learn your lessons from people who excel in lying. People who excel in killing and in breaking bones cannot be expected to wage Jihad and achieve victory.

You, the bearers of the green flags – do you not memorize the Koran, and talk about the life of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad, and about the moral values of the prophets?

I have one question for you, if you please. What was the color of the beards of the Prophet’s companions?

Were they not shining white, and some of them black? How come I see the colors have changed? How come I see your beards are red, soiled with blood?

Is there something wrong with my eyes? If only that was the case! Is my heart full of hatred? Against, if only that was the case! Or is it that the wounds of Madhoun and the Ba’lousha children are still hanging from your beards?¹

By God, I have one thing to request from you: Shave your beards, or else write on them “the Islam of Hamas,” or “the Islam of the bloodsuckers.” Only then will I bow in gratitude, for you would be restoring the purity of our Islam.

Good for you, [Gilad] Shalit – they are constantly looking out for your welfare. They constantly reassure your family about your condition, they clip your nails and make sure your hair is soft, while the graves of the Fatah members are dug open, and the prisons are destroyed with them inside.

You have desecrated bodies and violated the honor of women. You have done all these deeds with your right hand, while your left hand has done even more. Such things are unforgivable.

When you trampled on the image of Abu Ammar [Arafat], you did not trample on a piece of paper... You did not trample on a piece of paper, but on our hearts, on our history. You have opened our wounds and betrayed our life as neighbors.

By God, Hamas members, who were my brothers – the taste of your betrayal is the most bitter taste in my mouth.

So forgive us – or if you don’t want to, don’t forgive us. We say 1,000 times “no” to dialogue with you – unless Arafat emerges from his grave and acceps an apology from you.

[...]

Announcer: Due to the demand of the people of Qalqilya, and in order to spite Hamas, I invite Muhammad Dahlan to the stage.

[...]

Muhammad Dahlan, former PA security chief in Gaza: I have nothing to add to the words of the dear daughter of Fatah, Dina. I have come to you today, along with my brothers and colleagues, in order to convey one message: We pledge to you that what happened in Gaza will not repeat itself. Our pledge to the people of Qalqilya and all of the West Bank is that we will not forsake the members of the security forces like they were forsaken in Gaza.

¹ In December 2006, the three sons of Baha Ba’lousha, a senior Fatah security officer, were killed when the car in which they were traveling to school was sprayed with bullets. In July 2007, Samih Al-Madhoun, a close ally of Muhammad Dahlan, was killed by Hamas gunmen and his body was later dragged through a Gaza refugee camp.