Left: Dr. Layla Ghanem, Palestinian Authority governor of the Ramallah district, gives a speech at a memorial ceremony for Dalal al-Mughrabi held in Ramallah on the 39th anniversary of the Coastal Road Massacre. The picture at the left is of Dalal al-Mughrabi (Facebook page of Dr. Layla Ghanem, March 11, 2017) Right: The logo of the Dalal al-Mughrabi boys' and girls' governmental elementary school in Bayt Awa, west of Hebron. The logo features a picture of Dalal al-Mughrabi superimposed on a map of Palestine.
Overview
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1. Dalal al-Mughrabi was a Fatah terrorist operative who participated in the March 11, 1978 Coastal Road Massacre, which killed 35 Israelis, 12 of them children, and wounded 71. Since then she has become a national Palestinian heroine and a symbol of the armed Palestinian struggle against Israel. The Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Fatah movement systematically glorify her ("the bride of Palestine"), inflate the importance of the attack ("a heroic victory"), and commemorate her in various ways. Significant effort goes into inculcating her narrative among Palestinian youth. Schools are named for her, as are summer camps, training camps and sporting events. In addition, streets and town squares are also named for her, including a square in Ramallah. Glorifying her (part of the extensive glorification of terrorist operatives of all the organizations[1]) has turned her into a role model and provides justification for acts of anti-Israeli terrorism. |
2. One aspect of fostering Dalal al-Mughrabi's murderous legacy is the annual memorial ceremony held on or about March 11, the date of the Coastal Road Massacre. The ceremonies are attended by senior Fatah and PA figures. The main ceremony is traditionally held in Ramallah, while other events are held throughout Judea and Samaria. This year as well, on March 11, 2017, a ceremony was held in Ramallah (see Appendix A). Events are also held for her birthday. At those events speeches are given praising her and Coastal Road Massacre, and they are given extensive coverage in the Palestinian media.
3. Four appendices follow:
a. Appendix A– Events commemorating Dalal al-Mughrabi in 2017
b. Appendix B– Commemorating Dalal al-Mughrabi in previous years (2009 – 2016.
c. Appendix C– Commemorating Dalal al-Mughrabi among adolescents, students and school children.
d. Appendix D– The Coastal Road Massacre.
[1]Hamas also aspires to glorify Dalal al-Mughrabi, despite her affiliation with Fatah. On the other hand, the PA glorifies shaheeds from Hamas and the other terrorist organizations. For example, a street in Ramallah was named for Yahya Ayash, a senior Hamas terrorist operative, who was responsible for a series of suicide bombing attacks in Israeli cities, carried out to sabotage the Oslo Accords.
