Palestinian Peace Negotiator and Media Favorite Honors Terrorists

Saeb Erekat

Top Palestinian Authority (PA) official and perennial media favorite, Saeb Erekat, recently proclaimed his “admiration” for imprisoned terrorists.

According to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), a non-profit organization that monitors Arab media in eastern Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), Erekat offered words of praise terrorists in an Oct. 19, 2016 edition of Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, the official PA daily newspaper.

Erekat, referring to Palestinians imprisoned by Israel for committing acts of terrorism, said:

Our brave prisoners, who gave and sacrificed their freedom for Palestine and its freedom, are worthy of aid, support, and constant activity by us in order to release them and put an end to their suffering. The prisoners’ cause is a national and central cause, and we bow our heads in admiration and honor of the prisoners’ sacrifices, for their acts of heroism, and for their ongoing battle with the occupation.

As CAMERA has highlighted before, many Palestinian officials consider all of Israel to be an occupation on what they believe should be only Muslim-ruled lands.

Al-Hayat Al-Jadida also stated that the release of imprisoned Palestinian terrorists is “at the head of the priorities” of PA President Mahmoud Abbas. PMW noted that terror-masterminds Abdallah Barghouti, Ibrahim Hamed and Abbas al-Sayid were among the terrorists whom drew Erekat’s admiration. Those three terrorists alone were found by Israeli courts to be responsible for the murders of more than 120 Israelis in terror attacks during the Second Intifada (2000-05).

Erekat served as chief negotiator for the Palestinian Authority when Israel and the United States offered a two-state solution to the Palestinians in exchange for peace and recognition in 2000 at Camp David and 2001 at Taba. He also served as chief negotiator when Israeli Prime Minister Olmert a Palestinian state with its capital in eastern Jerusalem in 2008 following the Annapolis Conference. Each offer was rejected without a counter proposal, by Palestinian Arab leadership.

Despite his rejections of peace and praise for terrorists, many in the press often mislabel Erekat as a moderate, treat him as a reliable source and provide him with a platform to push his propaganda.

The Washington Post, for example, published an Op-Ed by Erekat—a mere five days after his praise for terrorists—in which he blamed Israel for the lack of peace and a Palestinian state (“As long as Israel continues its settlements, a two-state solution is impossible,” October 24, online). Erekat claimed that Israeli “settlements,” are expanding. In fact, as CAMERA has pointed out most of the expansion within these Jewish communities in the West Bank is due to natural population growth; high birth rates and not newcomers from other parts of Israel (see, for example, Washington Post Treats State Department, Palestinian Allegations as Facts, Aug. 4, 2016).

Erekat, decrying what he views as the Obama administration’s inability to confront what he calls the problem of “settlement expansion,” tells ,I>Post readers that “strong statements” alone by the U.S. administration “are not going to move us toward” a two-state solution.”

Erekat does not offer an explanation as to how bestowing honors for terrorists advances the cause of peace or a two-state solution. Unfortunately, The Post failed to ask this question as well.