Palestinian TV: Synagogue Butchers ‘Exemplified The Meaning Of Heroism’

TEL AVIV – On the first anniversary of a Jerusalem synagogue massacre in which five rabbis – including three Americans and one Brit – were hacked to death with butcher’s knives and axes, Palestinian news agency Wattan dedicated a full-length feature to praising the two terrorists behind the attacks, referring to the harrowing murders as a “heroic operation” and an “epos [collection of epic poems] written by the heroes,” Palestinian Media Watch reported on Tuesday.

This echoes the words of an adviser to PA President Mahmoud Abbas following the attack last year. He posted graphic images of the carnage and called it a “heroic operation.” In the same attack, an Arab Druze policeman who arrived at the scene was shot by the terrorists.

Wednesday’s article in Wattan stated that the terrorists, Ghassan and Uday Abu Jamal, “exemplified the meaning of heroism for the homeland. … They set out to protect it from the defilement of the thieving occupation, and died as Martyrs on the path of honor.”

The news agency, which advertises itself as “advocat[ing] for democracy, non-violence, peace, and social justice,” went on to praise another terrorist – a relative of the synagogue butchers. Alaa Abu Jamal drove his car into a group of people standing at a bus stop in Jerusalem last month. After running down three people, he got out of his car and started stabbing commuters at random, killing one and injuring three. Abu Jamal was shot and killed by a security guard.