BICOM

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned yesterday’s fatal terror attack on a synagogue, while also criticising Israel, with both Israel and the US highlighting the problem of escalating Palestinian incitement.

Abbas said, “while we condemn this incident, we also condemn the aggression toward Al-Aqsa Mosque and other holy places and torching of mosques and churches … [these attacks] violate all religious principles and do not serve the common interest we are trying to promote – establishing a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel.”

But US Secretary of State John Kerry echoed criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by linking the attacks to Palestinian incitement. He said, “To have this kind of act, which is a pure result of incitement, of calls for ‘days of rage’, of just irresponsibility, is unacceptable … The Palestinian leadership must condemn this and they must begin to take serious steps to restrain any kind of incitement.”

Whilst Israeli leaders do not accuse Abbas of organising terrorism, they have highlighted statements which have given encouragement to violence. These include a letter praising the would be assassin who shot Jewish Temple Mount activist Yehuda Glick in October; repetition of the unfounded accusation that Israel intends to harm the Al Aqsa Mosque or change the status quo at the site; and repeated calls on Palestinians to prevent “settlers” entering the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif compound “by any means.” Official Facebook pages of Abbas’s Fatah faction have carried posters and slogans glorifying violent attacks, whilst Palestinian Authority television recently rescreened a documentary with overtly antisemitic themes.

Meanwhile Abbas was criticised yesterday by other Palestinian groups for not supporting the Synagogue murderers. Pictures circulating on social media showed Mr Abbas dressed as a Israeli soldier or morphing into Benjamin Netanyahu. According to the Times of Israel, Tawfik Tirawi, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, said the attack was “nothing but a reaction to the recent crimes of the occupation and the settlers in occupied Jerusalem and across the nation. The threats of the occupation against our people and the Palestinian leadership, represented by the president, will only increase our resolve in safeguarding our rights.”

Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the PFLP all praised the attack while claiming it was justified and a “natural response”.  The PFLP went further, claiming that the two terrorists were PFLP members.

In Palestinian civil society, some reactions were even more jubilant. Sweets were given out to children on the streets of Bethlehem. In Gaza, some mosques sounded celebrations out of their loudspeakers. In several cases, Palestinians dressed up as the attackers holding hatchets and guns and posed for photos. Some Palestinian students in the University of Petra, Jordan, gave out free chocolate to other students in praise of the killings. Posters featuring picture of the attackers were held by crowds celebrating the attack.

A number of cartoons circulating on social media show Palestinians killing big-nosed black-hatted Jews by using hatchets and knives. The captions to these cartoons urge more, similar attacks.