PMW Bulletin
Feb. 25, 2015

Ramallah governor reiterates her esteem for terrorists after her American
"Citation of Honor" was withdrawn due to PMW's exposure of her terror
glorification
http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=14127
by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
p:+972 2 625 4140 e: pmw@palwatch.org
f: +972 2 624 2803 w: www.palwatch.org

Philadelphia Councilwoman Maria Sánchez has withdrawn the Citation of Honor
that she awarded to Palestinian Governor of Ramallah Laila Ghannam last
month. Sánchez's action came after Palestinian Media Watch informed her and
released a report documenting that Ghannam has a long record of glorifying
Palestinian terrorists, including terrorists responsible for the deaths of
hundreds of Israelis. Sánchez had been unaware of Ghannam's terror
glorification at the time of the award, but immediately denounced Ghannam's
statements praising terrorists.

Now Sánchez has also withdrawn the Citation of Honor itself. Palestinian
Authority Governor Ghannam explained that "according to Sánchez's
statements, the citation had been withdrawn from her because of her 'support
of terror.'" Ghannam responded to the cancellation reiterating her support
for terror and glorification of terrorists:

"We are not interested in citations of honor that require us to slander our
fighters and our supporting pillars as terrorists."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 23, 2015]

Ghannam also stated that the withdrawal of the award "emphasizes the US
administration's alienation from the Palestinian struggle," and that
Councilwoman Sánchez had "yielded to the terror of the occupier and the
Zionist lobby."

The terrorists Ghannam has honored, causing her to lose the award, include
Abdallah Barghouti, who built bombs for suicide terrorists and is currently
serving 67 life sentences for complicity in murder of 67 civilians, and the
founder of Hamas, Ahmed Yassin, who was responsible for the deaths of
hundreds in suicide bombings in Israel. Ghannam rejects calling them and
dozens of others "terrorists" and says they are "pillars" of Palestinian
society.

View more examples of Ghannam's support for terror here.
http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=1023

The following is the full report on Ghannam's response to the withdrawal of
the Citation of Honor:

Headline: "Ghannam: The citations of honor we value most are those we see in
the eyes of the mothers of the Martyrs and the prisoners"

"District Governor of Ramallah and El-Bireh Dr. Laila Ghannam stressed that
the citations of honor which are dearest and most significant are those we
see in the eyes of the mothers of the Martyrs and the prisoners, in
particular because they express our nation's heartbeat and uncompromising
will.

She clarified that the fact that Councilwoman Maria Sánchez, the
representative of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, had apologized for
awarding her a Citation of Honor - which was being awarded for the first
time to an Arab leader - emphasizes the US administration's alienation from
the Palestinian struggle. [Ghannam] noted that, according to Sánchez's
statements, the citation had been withdrawn from her because of her 'support
of terror.' The American Councilwoman wrote in a letter that the Palestinian
and Arab community had deceived her when it claimed that Ghannam supported
human rights and women's rights, whereas she was revealed to support terror
with her actions and statements.

She [Sánchez] also apologized to the occupation for having honored her and
met with her. Ghannam described to the Councilwoman the attacks the
occupation carries out against our defenseless people, the Judaization of
Jerusalem and the attack on all that is Palestinian through killing,
oppression and imprisonment. She also mentioned our male and female
prisoners, stating that the harassment they are subjected to is the result
of the world's silence in face of the occupation's arrogance and tyranny.

In addition, the District Governor told the Councilwoman about the suffering
of our people caused by the racist separation fence, which is consuming
Palestinian land, and by the settler herds, and demanded immediate
intervention to put an end to the tragedy the occupation has brought upon
our people.

Ghannam noted that these declarations did not motivate the Councilwoman to
support human rights; on the contrary, she yielded to the terror of the
occupier and the Zionist lobby.

She [Ghannam] also emphasized that she would not apologize for having given
the Councilwoman a memento representing the Palestinian heritage, which
would continue to remind her of the injustice done to the Palestinians'
rights and the fact that she had yielded to the occupier's terror, racism,
tyranny and its persecution of all Palestinians, wherever they are.

Ghannam said: 'We are not interested in citations of honor that require us
to slander our fighters and the supporting pillars of our struggle as
terrorists,' emphasizing that it is the occupation's actions against our
defenseless people, and not [our people's] defense of its dignity and land,
that is terror."

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 23, 2015]