PMW Bulletin
Nov. 25, 2015

Football tournament at Palestinian school named after 15-year-old who
stabbed two Israelis
http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=16376

Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
p:+972 2 625 4140 e: pmw@palwatch.org
f: +972 2 624 2803 w: www.palwatch.org

Last month, two Palestinian boys, Hassan Manasrah and Ahmad Manasrah, aged
15 and 13, went with knives to the Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood of Jerusalem,
planning to kill Israelis. They stabbed two people aged 21 and 13,
critically wounding both victims. Terrorist Hassan was killed while fleeing
the scene, while terrorist Ahmad was shot and wounded by Israeli police and
later tended to in an Israeli hospital.

Now a Palestinian school has named a football tournament after one of the
stabbers:

"The Ahmad Manasrah Football Tournament"
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 23, 2015]

This is not surprising as the Palestinian Authority practices a policy of
glorifying terrorists who have murdered Israelis, presenting them as role
models to Palestinian children. Palestinian Media Watch has documented that
the PA has named at least 25 schools, as well as dozens of sporting events
and summer camps after terrorists.

The PA recently emphasized its terror glorification policy when a PA
municipality erected a monument and named a road after terrorist killer
Muhannad Halabi who at the start of the current terror wave stabbed and
murdered two Israelis in Jerusalem. A youth center in Jenin also named a
football tournament after this murderer.

Seeing the incessant glorification of murderers of Jews and Israelis by the
PA and Fatah, it is also not surprising that two young Palestinian boys
decided to try and kill Israelis. Attacking Israelis bring honor and fame,
and youth are drawn by this temptation. Not one of the Palestinian attacks
against Israelis in the last two months, which have left 23 Israelis killed
and wounded many more, has been condemned by any PA leader, not even by PA
Chairman Abbas himself. On the contrary, the current terror wave is being
openly supported and applauded by PA and Fatah leaders.

Only a few days before the Palestinian boys decided to attack Israelis, PA
Chairman Abbas had himself called on Palestinians to "protect the holy
sites," as if they were in imminent danger of Israel. Abbas gave this speech
only a few days after Hamas terrorists murdered two Israeli parents in front
of their children and terrorist Halabi murdered an additional two Israeli
civilians. Abbas stated on official PA TV that "the Palestinian side... did
not do anything against the Israelis," and implicitly endorsed the murders,
claiming Palestinians have the "right" to protect their holy sites:

"The Palestinian side did not attack and did not do anything against the
Israelis. If they [Israelis] think that the [Palestinian] people in
Jerusalem are protecting themselves, that is our right. We have to protect
our holy sites."
[Official PA TV, Oct. 6, 2015 and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Oct. 7, 2015]

Abbas' advisor stated that the stabbing murder of the two Israeli civilians
in Jerusalem was a "heroic operation."

Since then, PMW has documented numerous expressions of support for the
stabbing and shooting attacks against Israelis by the PA and Fatah, for
example:

Fatah official Jamal Muhaisen has stated that murdering Israelis is
Palestinian "right"

PA TV has broadcast a song encouraging Martyrdom: "Nothing is sweeter than
Martyrdom"

Fatah has presented terrorist stabbers as "heroic Martyrs" who "watered the
soil Palestine with [their] pure blood," glorified the knife, and has even
directly encouraged Palestinians to stab Jews.

Other Palestinian institutions as well have named tournaments and other
things after terrorists involved in the recent attacks. Birzeit University
near Ramallah hosted the "Martyr Omar Al-Faqih Tennis Tournament," named
after a terrorist who stabbed Israeli border policemen, and a football club
named its "Goalkeepers' Academy" after a fan of the club - terrorist stabber
Basel Sidr who tried to stab Israeli border policemen near Damascus Gate in
the Old City of Jerusalem. (See below)

The following are longer excerpts of the reports on the tournaments named
after terrorists:

Headline: "Al-Khatib School's team won the football
"The Al-Khatib School's team won the Ahmad Manasrah Football Tournament,
which was held two days ago [Nov. 21, 2015] on the sport fields of the Dar
Al-Maarefa [Boys'] School in El-Bireh, in which many schools from the
Ramallah and El-Bireh district participated." tournament named after
prisoner Manasrah (i.e., terrorist who stabbed two)"
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 23, 2015]

Pisgat Ze'ev stabbing attack - On Oct. 12, 2015, two Palestinian terrorists,
Hassan Manasrah (15) and Ahmad Manasrah (13), stabbed Yossef Ben Shalom (21)
in the Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood of East Jerusalem, and then repeatedly
stabbed Naor Ben Ezra (13) who was riding his bike. Hassan Manasrah was
killed while fleeing the scene, and Ahmad Manasrah was shot by Israeli
police and hospitalized. Both victims of the attack were seriously injured.
The terrorists, who were cousins, came from the nearby Palestinian
neighborhood of Beit Hanina.

Headline: "Ajjaq won the Martyr Omar Al-Faqih Tournament"
"[Tennis] player Tawfiq Zuhair Ajjaq, a student at the Birzeit University,
won the Martyr Omar Al-Faqih Tennis Tournament (Al-Faqih was a terrorist who
stabbed Israeli border policemen -Ed.), after uncontestably beating Atallah
Darwish in two sets in the finals 0-6, and 1-6. This is the second victory
in a row for Ajjaq, as he recently won the Palestinian University tennis
tournament. The [present] tournament took place on the courts of the Birzeit
University for two whole weeks under the name 'Martyr Omar Al-Faqih Tennis
Tournament,' with 18 players participating. The tournament was sponsored and
organized by the student council, represented by the sports committee."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 17, 2015]

Omar Muhammad Al-Faqih- 23-year-old Palestinian terrorist who stabbed an
Israeli border policeman at the Qalandiya checkpoint on Oct. 17, 2015.
Al-Faqih was shot in his lower body by another border policeman. Al-Faqih
then tried to stab a sapper with scissors he took from him, and was shot and
killed by an Israeli soldier.

Headline: "'The Veteran' [Club] named the Palestinian Goalkeepers' Academy
after Martyr Basel Sidr"
"Out of loyalty to the blood of the mighty Martyrs (Shahids), and out of
love for the loyal club members, who died as Martyrs and were arrested
recently while defending Jerusalem and the holy sites, the Shabab Al-Khalil
Club took upon itself to name the [Goalkeepers'] Academy after Martyr Basel
Sidr, may Allah have mercy on him, who was one of the most devout fans of
the club."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 20, 2015]

Basel Sidr - A 19-year-old Palestinian terrorist who tried to stab Israeli
border policemen near Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem on Oct. 14,
2015. Sidr was shot and killed by the police when he tried to escape.