Where’s the Coverage? PA Celebrates “Achievements” of a Master Terrorist

On May 6, 1994, The New York Times covered the Oslo Accord. The article, “MIDEAST ACCORD: THE ACCORD; P.L.O. Vows To Restrain Foes of Pact,” began as follows:

In the self-rule accord that it signed with Israel on Wednesday, the Palestine Liberation Organization commits itself unequivocally to block attacks on Israelis and Jewish settlements, to disband armed guerrilla groups and to stifle anti-Israel propaganda in the areas it controls.

Let’s look into efforts to “unequivocally” “stifle anti-Israel propaganda.”

April 16 was the anniversary of the death of Khalil al-Wazir, better known as Abu Jihad, a murderer who planned and directed multiple terrorist attacks on Israel and Jews that killed 125. Instead of condemning his activities or even letting the occasion pass unmarked, the Palestinian Authority commemorated his “achievements.”

According to Palestinian Media Watch:

During the week of the anniversary of the death of PLO arch-terrorist Abu Jihad, the Palestinian Authority held events and broadcast TV programs celebrating him and his terror attacks. One of the striking components of the Abu Jihad festivities was the presentation of the 125 Israeli civilians and soldiers killed in terror attacks he planned and directed, as a positive achievement. Six sporting events were also held in his honor.

The official Palestinian Daily newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida wrote on April 16, 2012:

Among the military operations planned by Abu Jihad: the explosion at the Zohar reservoir in 1955; the operation to blow up the Israeli National Water Carrier in 1965; the operation at the Savoy Hotel in Tel Aviv, which killed 10 Israelis, in 1975; the blowing up of a truck bomb in Jerusalem in 1975; the killing of Albert Levi, the senior sapper, and his assistant, in Nablus in 1976; the Dalal Mughrabi operation, in which more than 37 Israelis were killed, in 1978; the shelling of the Eilat Port in 1979; the Katyusha fire on the northern settlements [in Israel] in 1981 and the capture of 8 Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, and their exchange for 5,000 Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners and 100 of the detainees from occupied territory in 1982. He planned the infiltration and bombing of the headquarters of the Israeli military governor in Tyre, leading to the deaths of 76 officers and soldiers, including 12 senior officers, in 1982; he led the war of attrition during the years 1982-1984 in southern Lebanon, and planned the Dimona Reactor operation in 1988.

That’s a lot of killing. Naturally, you’d want to have a ping pong tournament to honor this man. There was one. In fact, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida reported on April 12, 2012:

The anniversary of the Martyrdom-death of our people’s legendary leader, Khalil Al-Wazir, Abu Jihad, is approaching, and in its honor the sports organizations in Palestine are organizing many tournaments in diverse branches of sports…

The narrator of a documentary produced under the auspices of Ashraf Jum’a, a member of the Palestinian parliament from the ruling Fatah party, and broadcast on official Palestinian Authority Television intones:

[Abu Jihad] was the mastermind of the armed struggle against Israel. He is a symbol of Palestinian armed struggle. Abu Jihad fell as a Martyr, and symbolized the generation of the fighting commanders who adopted the path of resistance as the first and last solution for the nation’s cause. He was known as a tough fighter and an extraordinary commander who was always in a state of war and never lost his way.

Violence and killing are “the first and last solution.” At best, this celebration of the murder of Israelis and Jews is “an obstacle to peace” or “unhelpful.” More honestly, it’s immoral and despicable. At the very least, it is a violation of the Oslo Accord. It doesn’t “stifle anti-Israel propaganda,” it is anti-Israel propaganda. By any measure, this is newsworthy.

Where’s the digust? Where’s the outrage? Where’s the coverage?