PMW: Palestinian values include murdering Israelis on their way to pray
Halabi was honored by the PA, with a street named after him and a monument in his honor being erected in Abu Qash and a street being named after him.
By AARON REICHA woman lights a candle in memory of Eitam and Na'ama Henkin who were shot dead on Thursday and Aharon Bennett and Nehemia Lavi who were stabbed to death by a Palestinian man in Jerusalem's Old City on Saturday(photo credit: REUTERS)
When Israelis Aharon Bennett and Rabbi Nehemiah Lavi were murdered in October 2015 in Jerusalem on their way to pray at the Western Wall by 19-year-old Muhannad Halabi, he was reviled as a terrorist and a murderer.But while he did stab Bennett's wife and two-year-old son, he didn't kill them.This, according to senior Fatah official Abbas Zaki, is reflective of Palestinian values, according to a report by watchdog organization Palestinian Media Watch (PMW).Speaking in a video uploaded to Fatah's Facebook page, Zaki said: "When the children of Palestine felt a while ago that the [PA] leadership didn’t know what to do… Muhannad Halabi went out with a knife… He succeeded in infiltrating Jerusalem and killed a rabbi [Nehemiah Lavi]… When he saw… a small child – a woman and her son – he did not kill him. This is from Almighty Allah. For we don't kill people as we please. There are values, customs."The watchdog group noted in their report that it was unusual for a senior Palestinian leader to admit in front of cameras that murdering a rabbi is a value, specifically because the wife and infant child were spared.However, as PMW pointed out, Halabi didn't spare Bennett's wife and child. Rather, they simply survived their stab wounds.Not only that, but the PA does reward those who murder women and children in acts of "resistance" under the controversial "pay-for-slay" law. An example was given about the Awad cousins, who murdered the Fogel family. Since their arrest, they have received around NIS 548,000, according to PMW.Likewise, the watchdog pointed out Dalal Mughrabi – who murdered 37 Israelis including 12 children – has since been honored, with the PA naming six schools, numerous sporting events and cultural centers for children in her name.Following this trend, Halabi was also honored by the PA, with a street named after him and a monument in his honor being erected in Abu Qash and a street being named after him.
The pay-for-slay practice is incredibly controversial and has been met with much condemnation. It also triggered Israel to cut financial aid to the PA in response, specifically the amount of money used to pay the families of terrorists, causing the PA to refuse all Israeli funds without it and triggering a self-made financial crisis.The PA finally agreed to accept funds in October 2019 without the addition of the money allocated for pay-for-slay.