Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas at a meeting of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization in the city of Ramallah in the West Bank, on Feb. 13, 2017. Photo: Flash90.

Official Palestinian Authority (PA) TV reported that 5 members of the terror organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command (PFLP — GC) died as “Martyrs” after they were “targeted by Israeli hostile activities” at one of the terror organization’s “bases” near the Syrian-Lebanese border.

In fact, the men were terrorists and died when they set off an explosion by moving their own landmines. But neither the PA TV reporter, nor PFLP-GC Secretary Talal Naji, let themselves be confused by this fact. Rather the death of the terrorists served them as an opportunity to demonize Israel. Naji claimed that Israel — “the enemy” in his, and usual PA terminology — wants every single Palestinian dead, “targeting the entire Palestinian people”:

Official PA TV reporter: “Five Martyrs from among the members of the Popular Front-General Command (PFLP – GC) were laid to rest… after they were targeted by Israeli hostile activities [sic] at one of their bases next to the Syrian-Lebanese border…

PFLP – GC Secretary Talal Naji: “The enemy [Israel] is always committing acts of aggression against all the Palestinian people’s sites, against all the Palestinian factions. The enemy is targeting the entire Palestinian people. The enemy thinks that a good Palestinian is a dead Palestinian.”

[Official PA TV News, June 1, 2023]

The PA libel that Israel targets anyone Palestinian and attempts to kill every single Palestinian from the youngest child to the oldest senior citizen, has been exposed by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW).

Palestinian children are taught this libel as fact, and are warned that they are particularly in danger, as the Palestinian leadership claims that Israel specifically seeks to kill Palestinian children. In one children’s program the host on official PA TV warned children never to walk alone because they are the target of “barbaric” Israel:

Official PA TV host: “The occupation [Israel] targets children everywhere.In their schools, near their homes… We must be very careful now. We are confronting the occupiers who act in a very barbaric terrorist way. They are trying to kill people everywhere. These are barbarians, my young friends. They try to kill people for no reason, who are just walking on their land. They make various accusations against them. This is called barbarity, my friends. Be very careful all the time. All children under 18, and children under 15, when you go out, your mom or dad, should accompany you, I mean that an adult should accompany you.”

[Official PA TV, Nov. 13, 2015]

A Palestinian child was accidentally killed recently when Israeli soldiers returned fire at Palestinian terrorists who attacked them. The PA immediately exploited the boy’s tragic death as an opportunity to demonize Israel and repeat the libel that Israel murders children “in cold blood.”

The headline in the official PA daily announced: “They executed him in cold blood”

Similarly, the PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs “condemned the crime of executing child Martyr Tamimi,” naming the accident “a despicable crime and a crime against humanity.”

Palestinian Media Watch has exposed numerous examples of PA demonization and hate speech against Israel and Jews.

The author is a senior analyst at Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article first appeared.