Israel Matzav

School in 'moderate' Tulkarm 'honors' terrorist

One of the more memorable terror attacks during the Oslo War was an attack on a Bat Mitzva that took place in 2002:

January 17, 2002: A Palestinian gunman burst into a bat mitzvah celebration in a banquet hall in Hadera, opening fire on the 180 guests with an M-16 assault rifle, killing 6 people and injuring 35 people. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

The terrorist who planned that attack was Ziad D'as. He got his 72 virgins courtesy of Israeli troops in August 2002.

Now, the 'moderate' 'Palestinian' town of Tulkarm has decided to 'honor Ziad D'as, whom they regard as a hero. The school has already named a soccer tournament after him in the past:

Ziad D'as, the man who planned the terror attack at a girl's Bat Mitzva ceremony in Hadera on January 17th 2002, has been honored by a school in Tulkarm, which held a soccer tournament named after him. Six relatives and guests of the Bat Mitzva girl were murdered in cold blood by the terrorist who burst into the celebration and opened fire on the guests. D'as was also involved in the kidnapping and murder of two restaurateurs, Etgar Zeitouni and Moti Dayan, in Tulkarm, in January of 2001.

D'as was the commander of the Fatah-Tanzim terror group in Tulkarm and was eliminated by Israeli security forces in August 2002.

Tulkarm, in Samaria, is administered by the Palestinian Authority, considered "moderate" by Israel and the USA.

But give them a state reichlet and they'll find new heroes.

Update 1:57 AM

Here are some more details about the 'soccer tournament.'

A recently concluded soccer tournament in the Palestinian Authority-controlled city of Tulkarem, near Netanya, was named after a senior terrorist mastermind. The winning team was named for dead jihadists, as well. The tournament was held on the grounds of a PA school.

According to Palestinian Media Watch, the tournament's outcome was reported in the PA-owned daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida on August 15 under the headline: "The Team Named After the Martyrs of the Southern Quarter Wins the Tournament Cup Named After the Martyr Ziyad Da'as." The article said, "This tournament... commemorates one of the brave people of the Palestinian resistance, whom the Israeli occupation forces assassinated in cold blood...."

...

"At the end of the tournament," the Al-Hayat article concluded, "the [spectators] indicated that the tournament was on a level to suitably commemorate the brave shahid (martyr), the mercy of Allah be upon him, Ziyad Da'as, and that an annual tournament should take place on the anniversary of his death."

This was not the first time a PA sporting event was named after a well-known terrorist, as PMW has repeatedly noted. A 2003 PA soccer tournament was named for the suicide bomber responsible for the 2003 Passover massacre, in which 31 Israelis were killed at a communal holiday meal. In January of this year, the Tulkarem municipality announced that its youth center would be holding a soccer tournament "named after the shahid and leader, Saddam Hussein." (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, January 10, 2007, as translated by PMW).

Let's just give them a state reichlet.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:46 PM