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Palestinian Media Watch Report - Dec. 14, 2006

"Even our women are stronger
than the Zionists." (PA TV)

 The recent suicide terror attacks by two Palestinian women, including 57-year-old grandmother Fatima Najar, has brought the subject of women terrorists to the forefront of Palestinian consciousness. This is part of a longstanding pattern in which PA society routinely turns terrorists into heroes and role models, naming schools, sporting events, streets and even poetry collections for terrorists.

TV programming and newspapers, controlled by both Hamas and Fatah, enthusiastically cheer these terrorists and their murders, while endorsing and encouraging women to follow in their terrorist footsteps:

"In Beit Hanun we gave the [world] the Palestinian women's revolution... the Palestinian woman was not satisfied with what she gave, she gave her son and her husband and her brothers – she was not satisfied with that… but she wanted to be on the front lines, next to the man." [PA TV, November 14, 2006]
PA broadcast this interview with a man on the street:

“Our children, our women, our men – they are all potential Martyrs... I say to the entire world – the Jews are weaker than you imagine. Even our women are stronger than the Zionists." [PA TV, November 10, 2006]

The Hamas daily used the following headline to introduce one story:
"The Female Shahida (Martyr) 'Um Tha’ir' said to her sisters: 'Go forward, go forward, as today is my wedding and the Shahada my desire!'" [Al-Risalah, November 13, 2006]

The reference to her wedding is based on the Islamic teaching that the male Muslim Martyr, the Shahid – is rewarded with 72 dark-eyed maidens, and a repeated PA teaching that the female Martyrs will greet and marry a male Martyr.

The current actions by women have sparked articles recalling the names and actions of past female terrorists. These earlier terrorists are featured as the precursors to the new heroines, who in turn are being portrayed as role models for the future.

Past female terrorists recently recalled as heroines and role models include:

Dalal al-Maghribi – Her bus hijacking killed 36 vacationing Israelis (1978)
Wafa Idris – First female suicide terrorist killed 1, wounded 90 (2002)
Ayaat al-Akhras – Youngest female suicide terrorist, age 17, killed 2 (2002)
Hanadi Jaradat – Suicide terrorist, killed 21, wounded 48 (2003)
Andalib Taqatiqah – Suicide terrorist, killed 6, wounded 60 (2002)
Re'em Al-Riyashi – Suicide terrorist, killed 4, wounded 10 (2004)
HibaDaraghimahSuicide terrorist, killed 3, wounded 50 (2003)

The repeating theme is that the actions of the new terrorists are a continuation of the earlier feats of women terrorists, as well as an inspiration and a precedent for the coming generations:

”In the streets of Beit Hanun, a side of the beautiful look of the Palestinian woman was displayed. It is the look of resistance [terror]. Since beauty has power, as proven in the past by Dalal [Al-Mughrabi] and her sisters, when they set the precedent for the Beit Hanun women of the present.” [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, November 14, 2006]
Dalal al-Mughrabi
The more brazen and successful the attack, the more it is promoted as heroic and exemplary. Dalal al-Mughrabi, mentioned above, holds a special place of honor in Palestinian society. She participated in a 1975 terror attack that killed 36, which remains one of the most murderous in Israel's history.
There are a number of girls’ schools named for Mughrabi, and numerous TV programs and quizzes for children have glorified her since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority. This recent article glorified her participation in the bus hijacking and admiringly credits her with the killings:
"… a hostage operation on the Palestinian shore. She [Dalal al-Mughrabi] managed to get to the main road, leading to Tel-Aviv, she took over an Israeli bus and its passengers, who were soldiers and held them hostage… a real war took place, during which Dalal blew up the bus with all the passengers inside. They were all killed." [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, November 7, 2006]
Facts are often distorted to increase the heroism. In this case, the 36 killed on the hijacked bus were not soldiers, but families on a vacation outing. Note also that the official PA daily still defines Israel's Northern coast as "Palestine."
Wafa Idris
Wafa Idris, the first woman suicide terrorist, has a unique place among the women's honor roll. Suicide terror was seen as something that young women dreamed of but never attempted, until Wafa Idris broke the taboo in 2002 and became the first woman suicide terrorist. She paved the way for others in this “magnificent convoy”:
“The Shahada dreams of young women kept coming into the mind of many of them, until Wafa Idris trained this magnificent convoy during the Al Aqsa Intifada in 2002. After that, Darin Abu Ishah followed in her footsteps in 2002. This is how the young women competed amongst themselves and in the skies of Palestine their luster shined: Ayyat Al-Akhras, Andalib Taqatiqah, Hibah Daraghimah, Hinadi Jaradat, Reem Al-Riyashi…” [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, November 7, 2006]
Palestinian women’s terror today is said to be the model for all Arabs. The actions of these female Palestinian terrorists are presented as a role model for all Arabs, and the vanguard of new approaches to jihad:

“The Palestinian woman continues setting the example and model for preparing Shahids and Jihad warriors… They [women of Beit Hanun] rushed, without even thinking about their lives… or about the death or injury awaiting them. The women left… to set an example and show another way in the art of Jihad and resistance (terror).” [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, November 7, 2006]

They are compared to Al Khansa, another heroine of Arab history, who celebrated the deaths of her four sons for Allah:

“Oh, Arabs!... Did the Khansas of Beit Hanun not wake you from your deep slumber? When will the Arab weapon appear… to announce the dawn of a new era? The rust ate away at these Arab weapons, which are not displayed except during marches… [Here] these are Zionist soldiers, well armed and well trained, running away from the battle thwarted by the Khansas of Palestine, who accomplished, with their courage and power an Arab victory to serve as an example and model in this time of Arab self-abasement.” [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, November 7, 2006]
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