The formal capacity of the Palestinian Authority was stipulated in the Oslo Accords – i.e., to serve as a Palestinian government that is charged with managing civic affairs in Areas A and B of Judea and Samaria.
However, it appears that the Palestinian Authority saw fit to assume an additional role – the propagation of the struggle to drive out the Zionist “occupier”. Outwardly, and in its official statements in English, PA officials are careful to proclaim that their aspirations are for a future state “within the 67 borders”. And yet, the Palestinian law, its education system, public addresses and in the inciting speech on Palestinian media, prove that from their perspective, the State of Israel which they call “Historic Palestine” – similarly to the perception of Zionist Jews – is a single indivisible entity.
The PA refers to all of the 48 territories as “Palestine” and consequentially, desires to recruit to its ranks Israeli Arabs, whom it refers to as “Arabs of the internal”. According to the national Palestinian perception, Israeli Arabs are expected to fight against Zionism and the “occupation” in their own way. In order to deepen the Palestinian identity among Israeli Arabs, the Authority acts through various channels, three of which we will address in this paper: the “poaching” of Arab-Israeli students to learn in higher education institutions in Jenin, Nablus and other Arab cities; the recruitment of Israeli Arabs to carry out terrorist attacks, among others by means of monetary compensation and accolades as national heroes; and its nationalistic propaganda and incitement to terrorism.
Firstly – the higher education in the PA territories: for years, universities in the PA territories have been known as recruitment centers for terrorism operatives. The movement of young Palestinians (“shabiba”) of the various movements active within these universities, recruit terrorism operatives and publicize propaganda. Therefore, the current growth in the numbers of Israeli-Arab students opting to apply to these institutes is a matter of grave concern. A survey held by reserves Lieutenant Colonel Avi Shalev in 2022[1] shows that the number of Israeli citizens learning in Palestinian universities is estimated at 13,000.
Attorney Morris Hirsch, Head of the Legal Department at the Palestinian Media Watch Institute and a researcher in the Research Department of IDSF-Habithonistim, explains that “the PA attributes great importance to the Palestinization of young Israeli Arabs. The PA accurately identified the years of academic studies – a formative period in the life of a young adult – as a unique opportunity to influence the young students’ self-identity. Studying in Israeli universities – young Arab students may find themselves assimilating into Israeli society. However, if they go to Palestinian universities, they can be steeped in the Palestinian narrative, ethos and propaganda. For this end, using the channel of academic studies, the PA acts toward severing the Arab Israelis from their “Israeliness” and reels them is as ‘Palestinians’”.
Secondly, the Authority is making efforts to recruit Israeli Arabs into its ranks of terrorists, the most telling example of which is the “prisoners’ veteran” Karim Yunis. The Israeli Arab cousins Karim and Maher Younis are considered Palestinian national symbols. In 1980, they abducted the soldier Avraham Bromberg from Hadera Junction and murdered him. Initially they were sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to indefinite imprisonment. In 2012, then-President Shimon Peres again commuted their sentences, and in January of this year they were released from prison after 40 years.
Despite them being Israeli citizens, the PA had made them national heroes. Their affiliation with Fatah – in addition to the fact that at the time of their release they were the most veteran Arab security prisoners in Israel, contributed to their becoming PA icons. Dominant Karim was even appointed member of the Fatah Central Committee. After their release from prison at the beginning of this year, they returned to their village Ara, where a national Palestinian festival of sorts began soon after their arrival. Their house was visited[2] by officials of the highest ranks in the PA, the likes of Abu Mazen’s deputy, in order to show their appreciation.
Abu Mazen went as far as to hold a personal phone call with Karim Yunis. The call was traced by the Palestinian Media Watch Institute, and following is an exclusive excerpt of the translated transcription of the conversation, published here for the first time, in which Abu Mazen is heard showering Maher Yunis with adulation: ”…we are proud of you, and say may Allah give you health. You are the beacon of light of this nation; The beacon of light for this people. You are symbol for the Palestinian nation, You Maher and your brother Karim”. The terrorist on his part praised Abu Mazen: “First I want to express good wishes on you and your wonderful words. The 40 years you were granted are glory for all Palestinian. Allah will show us the liberated land in its entirety”.
At the end of the conversation, in an emotional appeal to Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian terrorist Maher Yunis said: “Inshallah, our meeting on the soil of the homeland is fast approaching. The people will have the unity, the wishes will be fulfilled, and we will liberate the land together.”
As a reward for their “bravery”, the Yunises and the likes of them, receive a monthly income from the PA. Each of the cousins received a total of some $1.1 million USD from the PA by the time of their release, and a $25K release bonus, in addition to a monthly stipend that amounts to $40,000 USD a year for rest of their lives. In this context, the Israeli Ministry of Defense deserves accolades for foreclosing monies and property from terrorist. Yet the fact that Israeli Arab terrorists that executed terrorist attacks for which they receive financial compensation, as part of being Palestinian heroes – is a crucial element in the law of revocation of citizenship and residence from Israeli Arab terrorists and their deportation to the PA territories, recently passed in the Knesset.[3]
Finally, the PA tries to influence the identity of Israeli Arabs by using the Mossawa TV channel it operates, whose target audience is the Arabs of the “occupied internal territories”. At first, the channel broadcast from Nazareth, but in 2016, then-Minister of Public Security, Gilad Erdan, ordered to shut it down because it operated on behalf of the PA without an official license from Israel. However, the channel had relocated its activity to Ramallah, where Israel has no control over the affairs there. Thus, the content is intended for the Israeli Arab target audience, and the channel’s employees– including presenters – are Israeli citizens who commute to Ramallah.[4]
Unsurprisingly, the channel joined the celebration of Karim and Maher Yunis. We bring here, for the first time in English translation, excerpts from the channel’s broadcasts during the celebration of the Yunises’ release, translated by the Palestinian Media Watch Institute. In the program dedicated to the release of Karim Yunis, the presenter said: “This is the greatest time the world has ever know in yearning for liberty. Karim Yunis is breathing that liberty after 40 years in which the symbol of this great struggle, a prisoner of the Israeli occupation prisons, this occupation which still haunts the Palestinian identity represented today by Karim Yunis. As our nation had proved that is resists all the designs of the racist right and fascism. Karim Yunis overcame the jailer with his pride”.
The complex situation in Israel, wherein part of its Arab population identifies with an anti-Zionistic narrative, and is influenced by the PA’s endeavors to win their hearts and minds and motivate them to act against the State of Israel, must be the object of increased attention on part of the Israeli security and political system. It is a security interest of the highest order for the State of Israel to isolate its young Arabs from the PA’s incitement and influence, and facilitate their integration in Israeli society. The propagation of this ideology must be blocked so as Israel does not find itself in a predicament wherein a large portion of its society not only identifies with the enemy, but also is operated by it and does its bidding.
Ahikam Himelfarb, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) | IDSF-Habithonistim, Research Department
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the movement.
[1] Avi Shalev, “Proposal for the Establishment of an Israeli Academy in an Arab City”, Baqa College, 2002
[2] https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/hje3omp5o
[3] For further reading, https://idsf.org.il/papers/הפרת-אמונים-שלילת-אזרחות-ותושבות-ממחב/
[4] https://www.now14.co.il/תחקיר-ברשפ-תפרו-מכרז-לטובת-חהכ-איימן-ע/
