Once again, Fatah, the supposedly moderate party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, is fomenting hatred toward Israel. On December 14th, Tawfiq Tirawi, a member of Fatah's Central Committee, appeared on Lebanese TV and clamed that the Israeli cities of Jaffa, Acre, Haifa, And Nazareth, all well outside of the Palestinian territories, were owned by the Palestinian people.
As translated by Palestinian Media Watch:
"Don't you dare think there is even a single Palestinian, whether he supports the two-state solution or another path, who would agree to these settlements being part of Israel, and that Haifa, Jaffa and Acre are not Palestinian. No. Haifa, Jaffa, Acre and Nazareth are Palestinian, despite the Americans and the Israelis."
Tirawi's statment is nothing new. For the past three years Fatah has been runing a song on the official PA TV network with the lyrics:
"Jaffa, Acre, Haifa, and Nazareth are ours.
[ I ], Muhammad, sing about the Galilee and the Golan (Heights).
Jaffa, Acre, Haifa and Nazareth are ours.
[ I ], Kabha, sing about the Galilee and the Golan (Heights).
From Bethlehem to Jenin is Palestinian,
Ramle, Lod and Sakhnin are Palestinian.
Nowhere is more beautiful than Jerusalem;
no matter how much we travel
From Safed to Al-Badhan (near Nablus) is Palestinian;
Tiberias and Ashkelon are Palestinian."
The media coverage of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict very rarely covers the hatred coming from the supposedly moderate leaders of the Palestinian Authority.
