The Palestinian tradition of celebrating the death of Jews

A society that celebrates murder will never be a partner for peace.

By Bassam Tawil, Gatestone Institute

Palestinians have a custom of celebrating in the streets every time Israel is attacked or a Jew is murdered by terrorists.

The latest Palestinian celebrations took place on October 1, 2024, when Iran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel.

The celebrations occurred even though some of the missiles fell in Palestinian areas in Judea and Samaria and the only person killed was, ironically, a Palestinian man in the city of Jericho.

In one village, Palestinians erected a monument from the tail of an Iranian missile to celebrate Iran’s attack on Israel.

Similar celebrations took place in Judea and Samaria, the Gaza Strip, and in many countries when Iran launched its first direct missile and drone attack against Israel in April.

According to a report by Iran’s Tehran Times:

“It was also a sleepless night in Ramallah and other cities in the occupied West Bank, that saw excited crowds of Palestinians gathering in the streets and pointing to the skies amid the visible trails of Iranian missiles flying, with a celebratory mood until the early hours of Sunday morning.”

The largest celebrations occurred a year ago, on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Iran-backed Hamas terrorists and “ordinary” Palestinians invaded Israel from the Gaza Strip and murdered 1,200 Israelis.

During the attack, thousands of Israelis were raped, tortured, and burned alive, while more than 240 others were kidnapped into the Gaza Strip. A year later, 101 Israeli hostages are still being held by Hamas terrorists.

A video from the Qatar-owned Al-Jazeera television network titled “Palestinians overjoyed with the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation” (the name Hamas uses to describe its October 7 attack) showed celebrations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The Iranian-affiliated Lebanese TV station Mayadeen aired a report about Palestinian celebrations in Judea and Samaria, where sweets were handed out in Nablus and guns were fired in Jenin “in jubilation.”

A little girl can be seen waving a rifle and a handgun in the air.

Palestinian activist Omar Assaf praised the Hamas attack:

“The resistance has proven today, once again, that the only option the people support is the option of resistance and confrontation, and proved, once again, that this occupation is weaker than a spider web, like [Hezbollah leader] Hassan Nasrallah said.”

In 2004, thousands of Palestinians spilled onto the streets of the Gaza Strip to celebrate a twin suicide bombing in southern Israel that killed 16 people.

The Palestinians celebrating, estimated to number about 20,000, threw sweets in the air and chanted slogans in support of Hamas, which took credit for the terrorist attack.

The Palestinians are also happy to see Americans targeted by terrorists. While Israel declared a “national day of mourning” in solidarity with the US after the 9/11 attacks, Palestinians celebrated by handing out sweets, firing guns in the air and chanting Allahu Akbar (Allah is the greatest).

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has since been celebrating the 9/11 attacks with cartoons glorifying Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden or mocking and attacking the US.

The PA’s official media outlets made a concerted effort to bash the US by rubbing salt in its most sensitive wounds, and by depicting America as evil, while appropriating Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims as the victims.

In one Palestinian cartoon, bin Laden is shown forming a victory sign with his fingers, which are made up of the smoldering Twin Towers next to a plane about to fly into them.

In another cartoon, the PA mocked the US by portraying Uncle Sam fleeing in terror from the date “September 11.”

After the massacre and atrocities committed by Palestinians on October 7, a senior Palestinian official repeated the accusation that the US knew about the 9/11 attacks but wanted them to happen:

“They [Israel] knew about this [Oct. 7 attack] and were silent because they wanted that what happened would happen, just as their teacher [America] did in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.”
— Fatah Revolutionary Council member Adnan Al-Damiri, Facebook, December 20, 2023.

It is hard to forget how the Palestinians also celebrated when Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein fired Scud missiles at Israel more than 30 years ago.

Here is what The Washington Post wrote about the celebrations back then:

“As Iraqi missiles fell on Israel’s coastal plain Friday and Saturday, Palestinian residents here huddled in rooms sealed with masking tape and bleach-soaked cloths, in case the warheads contained deadly chemical agents. Still, when they heard the thud of explosions, they cheered for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

“‘We were happy. A little scared, maybe, but mainly happy,’ said May, a shopkeeper, during a two-hour break today in the military curfew imposed by occupying Israeli forces. Added Amer, a 15-year-old boy who stood nearby: ‘It’s wonderful that missiles hit Tel Aviv…’

Two Western reporters in search of opinions were quickly surrounded by Palestinians on a downtown street. Everyone who passed by, it seemed, wanted to express admiration for Saddam. Most seemed full of emotion.

‘Saddam is winning, of course he is winning,’ said Sammy, 27, an employee in a United Nations refugee camp. ‘Why? Because he is still fighting. He is fighting 28 countries, and yet after two days he fired 11 missiles at Tel Aviv, with precision. This is a victory.'”

It is hard, if not impossible, to find one senior Palestinian official who is willing to criticize his own people for celebrating terrorist attacks. It is also hard, if not impossible, to find one senior Palestinian official who is willing to condemn the October 7 atrocities and massacres against Israelis.

Palestinian leaders have good reason not to speak out: they are afraid of being killed by their own people.

Last month, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, ignored the Hamas attack and instead accused Israel of committing “massacres,” “crimes,” and “genocide” against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Needless to say, Abbas also ignored the fact that a large number of Palestinians expressed support for the Hamas-led October 7 attack and took to the streets to celebrate the brutal mass-murder of Israeli women, children and the elderly.

Palestinian leaders who do not have the courage, or are unwilling, to denounce terrorism will never be able to call on their people to recognize Israel’s right to exist, let alone make peace with it.

Palestinians who celebrate the murder of their neighbors are not ready for a state, which will undoubtedly be used as a springboard to slaughter more Jews and to try to destroy Israel.

There is no excuse for celebrating murder. A society that celebrates murder will never be a partner for peace. True peace will only come when Palestinian leaders values their people’s lives more than celebrating the murder of Jews.

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