Palestinian Media Watch Bulletin
March 12, 2003

PALESTINIAN MEDIA WATCH
phone: 972- 2- 625-4140 fax: 972-2- 624-2803
visit our website, click here: http://www.pmw.org.il
for further information, contact PMW Director, Itamar Marcus
material may be quoted, citing PMW as the source

Mass Murderers are Heroic Symbols in the Palestinian Authority
By Itamar Marcus

Introduction:

On March 11, 1978, Palestinians led by a woman terrorist Dalal Mughrabi,
hijacked an Israeli bus. The hijacking ended with 36 Israelis murdered,
along with American nature photographer Gail Rubin whom the terrorists had
shot when they spotted her taking pictures. The large number of Israeli
civilians killed turned this act of terror for Palestinians into "one of the
greatest successes of the struggle." [Al-Ayyam, March 9, 2000] and turned
Dalal Mughrabi into the Palestinian's heroic, ideal woman: "Dalal is a
symbol for the Palestinian nation." [PA TV, August 30 2000] Mughrabi is
honored in names of summer camps, schools and colleges, police and military
courses. Annual ceremonies and TV broadcasts commemorate the day of her
terror mission.

This week on the anniversary of her terror attack, the PA daily again wrote
an article glorifying Dalal Mughrabi's mass murder. The following is the
text.

Article in PA Daily Glorifying Terrorist Dalal Mughrabi :

"On the morning of March 11, 1978, a woman Palestinian fighter [Fedayeen],
Dalal Mughrabi, created a legend that would be taught for many years, when
she and her Fedayeen unit infiltrated the Palestinian coastal plain near Tel
Aviv [Edit: -the Palestinians routinely define all of Israel as "occupied
Palestine"] causing tens of killed and injured, after taking Israeli
passengers as hostages on a bus along the coastal highway. She and her unit
opened fire at the military vehicles in the vicinity, resulting in hundreds
of injuries among the occupying soldiers, especially because this highway is
frequently used by military vehicles transporting soldiers between the
Zionist colonies in the suburbs and Tel Aviv. [Edit: Palestinians define all
of Israel's cities as illegal "colonies"]

The army, headed by [Ehud] Barak, and with the assistance of tanks and
helicopters, pursued the bus until it was finally stopped near the colony of
Herzliya. A real battle took place between Dalal and her unit and the
occupation forces . Journalists' cameras captured the blind hatred that
overcame Barak and his soldiers during the operation.
Twenty-five years after this heroine's death as a Shahida [Dying for Allah],
many Palestinian women are following in her footsteps every day. Examples
include Wafa Idris, [First woman suicide bomber] and Ayyat al-Akhras,
[second woman suicide bomber] who performed acts of Shahada- Seeking during
the blessed al-Aksa Intifada to protect the homeland. The Shahida Dalal
Mughrabi shall remain one of the symbols of the Palestinian national
struggle." [Al Hayat Al Jadida March 11, 2003]