On March 12, 2023, the Felesteen daily, which is identified with the Hamas movement, published an article titled "Deliverers of Joy – About the Younger Generation in the West Bank" praising terror attacks carried out by young West Bank Palestinians against Israelis. The article, written by Abdallah Al-Lidawi[1] and also published on the website of Hamas's military wing, 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, describes the rising joy and adrenalin that erupt in the Palestinian street following every terror attack against Israelis, such as suicide attacks and bombings of buses and cafes, and states that these operations are proof of the vitality, power, and glory of the Palestinian people. This joy, he writes, has a "special fragrance" and is expressed by people exclaiming in happiness and praise, gathering in public squares and streets, passing out sweets, and embracing, along with cries of praise for Allah via mosques' public address systems, and more.
The article goes on to state that today there is tremendous happiness among the Palestinians when they hear news of terrorist attacks being carried out by the young West Bank Palestinians, who "add their unique fingerprint to the shooting operations in the streets of the tranquil [Israeli] cities," who, with their deeds, are reviving the glory of the days of the Second Intifada and the widescale attacks of the era of Hamas's chief bombmaker and suicide bombing pioneer Yahya 'Ayyash[2] and are also rising up against the Palestinian Authority (PA) which attempted to prevent them from carrying out resistance and waging jihad.
The following are translated excerpts from Al-Lidawi's article:
"The Palestinian joy has its own fragrance; it is completely different from every other kind of happiness.
"One day when I was in junior high school, as I was standing outside the school gates, there was a suicide attack [literally in Arabic: 'an act of self-sacrifice for the sake of Islam'] that was the product of Yahya 'Ayyash 'The Engineer.' Upon hearing the news, I immediately set off at a fast run for home, to turn on the television and watch the operation – a scene played out by every Palestinian when a heroic operation is carried out on the land of Palestine from the river to the sea. This is when the people rush to the media to learn the details of the operation: How many dead? What is the martyr's [i.e. perpetrator's] name? Where was he from? What is the enemy's anticipated response?
"It's not the courageous operation that is perpetrated in the heart of the enemy's fictitious capital, but something much greater than that. It is proof that our Palestinian people is still brimming with life and that it is standing on the ladder of glory, as long as it can tear the roof off a bus, can stab a soldier, and can continue to run over a settler [with a car] and to fire point blank at a hostile vehicle in the street.
"Only a Palestinian can imagine the force of the happiness that these courageous acts evoke in our heart. They cause adrenalin to spike to the highest levels, and increase the people's belief in itself and in its ability to change the equation. [They show it] that it is capable of dealing with the enemy and that we, the weak, are capable of resisting our strong enemy. [The Palestinian] cannot hide his joy and delight at any brave operation. Once an operation takes place, people instantly pass on the news, at lightning speed... The people go out into the public squares and the streets, cheer for Palestine, express their joy and delight at the operation, pass out sweets, embrace one another, and, at top volume, the mosques' public address systems broadcast the cries Allahu Akbar, and la ilaha illa Allah, with joy, with praise, with gratitude to Allah for this achievement.
"The young West Bank people of this generation, in their 20s, don't understand what joy their deeds bring to our hearts. They bring back to us the glory of the second Al-Aqsa intifada, which struck the enemy with the catastrophes of explosions of buses, bus stops, and cafés, and today they add their unique fingerprint by means of the shooting operations in the streets of their [the Israelis'] tranquil cities, from pointblank range... This generation of young people has slapped the face of the people of the Oslo initiative and the servants of [U.S. Lt.-Gen. Keith W.] Dayton[3] in the West Bank who invested considerable efforts and wasted tremendous sums of money to train it and to soften it [this generation]...
"The Oslo Authority [i.e. the PA], with the backing of several Western and European countries, did everything in its power to alienate the residents of the West Bank and their young people from their Palestinian depth, and from their hold on the option of jihad and resistance, after the 'Protective Edge' operation launched by the enemy in 2002 that aimed to bury alive the second Al-Aqsa Intifada in the West Bank.
"They attempted to train and corrupt this generation with the Jericho casino [and] with joint initiatives between the young people in the West Bank and 'young Jews;' with the CEDAW Convention;[4] with repression of student activity at the universities in the West Bank; by preventing the Islamic bloc [i.e. the Hamas student wing] from operating freely; and with the ceaseless political detention of young people and members of the Islamic Movement there [in the West Bank] which continue to this day.
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"However, against all odds, the monster has turned on its creator, and the PA did not manage to defeat the current rooted and noble West Bank generation that had already reached maturity when it saw the extent of the enemy's helplessness, anxiety, and fear and [at the same time] the repression, poverty, humiliation, and harassment and [long] hours of waiting at the checkpoints between the towns and the villages [suffered by the Palestinians]. This West Bank generation saw the victories of the Gaza young people and the humiliation they caused the soldiers of the enemy at the [Gaza] border and on its territory, and how they forced it [the enemy] in every round of fighting to withdraw terrified following the killing, capture, or detaining [of any Israeli soldier]. The photos from Gaza were the biggest morale-boosters for the members of this generation, and the name Muhammad Al-Deif, its [Gaza's] military commander,[5] reverberates at every demonstration of joy after every courageous operation.
"Peace to the souls of the shining lights of the new West Bank generation who have illuminated the path of liberation with their pure blood; peace to the martyrs who brought joy to our hearts, and peace to those who have restored to us the days of [Yahya] 'Ayyash and his surprises. Peace to Al-Mu'tazz bi-Illah Al-Khawaja,[6] Mu'tasim Sabbagh,[7] Muhannad Al-Halabi,[8] Ra'ad Hazem,[9] Omar Abu Laila,[10] 'Uday Al-Tamimi,[11] Khairi 'Alqam,[12] Ibrahim Al-Nabulsi,[13] Fadi Abu Shkhaydam,[14] and a long convoy of martyrs from among the young people of the West Bank. Peace to every lion who took the opportunity to pounce on its prey; peace to all who try to acquire a blade, an axe, a butcher knife, a pistol, an M16 [rifle], or an old Carlo [rifle].[15]
"Peace to all our people in the West Bank; we are nearing the time when the ranks from all the arenas with a Palestinian presence will unite.[16]
[1] The writer appears to be a Hamas member who resides in Gaza.
[2] Yahya 'Ayyash, who graduated in electric engineering from Birzeit University and was known as "The Engineer," was one of the founders of Hamas's military wing, the 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades. He specialized in making improvised bombs and was responsible for the wave of deadly suicide bombings in Israel in the 1990s, in which over 100 Israelis were killed, until he was killed by Israeli security forces in 1996. See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 10362: Praise For Terrorist Yahya 'Ayyash, Initiator Of Hamas' Suicide Bombings, At Palestinian University And On Social Media, December 7, 2022.
[3] Lt.-Gen. Keith W. Dayton was the U.S. Security Coordinator Israel/Palestinian Authority between 2005 and 2010.
[4] CEDAW is the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly.
[5] Muhammad Al-Deif is the commander of the Hamas military wing, the 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades.
[6] Al-Mu'tazz bi-Illah Al-Khawaja was a Hamas member who carried out a shooting attack in Tel Aviv on March 9, 2023, in which he wounded three civilians, one critically, one seriously, and one lightly. Hamas.ps, March 9, 2023.
[7] Mu'tasim Sabbagh was a member of the Hamas military wing who was killed in an exchange of fire with the Israeli security forces in Jenin on March 7, 2023, T.me/qassambrigades, March 7, 2023.
[8] Muhannad Al-Halabi carried out a stabbing attack in Jerusalem on October 3, 2015 in which he killed two Israeli civilians. See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 9380, Palestinian President 'Abbas Grants $42,000 To Family Of Terrorist Who Killed Two Israeli Civilians, June 7, 2021; Special Dispatch No. 6249, PA Commemorates Perpetrators Of Stabbing Attacks, December 30, 2015; Special Dispatch 6184, Fatah Officials, Palestinian Social Media, Palestinian Authority Dailies Encourage Continued Violence, October 12, 2015; and Special Dispatch 6179, Columnist In Palestinian Authority Daily: My Daughter Made Me Happy When She Said, 'I Want To Carry Out A Martyrdom Operation And Kill Some Israeli Soldiers', October 9, 2015.
[9] Ra'ad Hazem was a member of the Fatah military wing who carried out a shooting attack in Tel Aviv on April 7, 2022, in which he killed two civilians. See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 9887, Fatah Celebrates Terror Attack In Central Tel Aviv, April 8, 2022.
[10] Omar Abu Laila carried out a shooting attack in Ariel on March 17, 2019 in which he murdered two civilians. See MEMRI Special Dispatch 7954, Praise, Admiration In Palestinian Authority, Jordan For Palestinian Terrorist Who Killed Israelis In West Bank, March 22, 2019.
[11] 'Uday Al-Tamimi carried out a shooting attack in Jerusalem on October 8, 2022 in which he killed an Israeli female soldier, and another shooting attack in Ma'ale Adumim on October 19, 2022, during which he was eliminated by Israeli security forces. See MEMRI Special Dispatch 10281, Column In Qatari Daily Praises Palestinian Terrorist 'Uday Al-Tamimi: You Taught Us The Meaning Of Resistance And Martyrdom; You Refused To Surrender And Envisioned Only Your Place In Paradise, October 25, 2022, and Special Dispatch 10284, Fatah Officials At Events In Honor Of Terrorist 'Uday Al-Tamimi: Fatah Follows The Path Of Struggle; The Martyr Al-Tamimi Carried Out Heroic Actions, October 27, 2022.
[12] Khairi 'Alqam carried out a shooting attack in Jerusalem on January 27, 2023 in which seven civilians were killed. See MEMRI Special Dispatch 10452, Al-Jazeera Presenters, Journalists In Qatari Press, Qatar-Backed Muslim Clerics: Terrorist Attack Near Jerusalem Synagogue Was 'Brave Act' Of 'Legitimate Resistance,' Its Perpetrator Is A 'Hero', February 1, 2023.
[13] Ibrahim Al-Nabulsi was an operative in the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad or of Fatah (reports vary), who carried out several shooting attacks in the West Bank. He was eliminated in Nablus by Israeli security forces on August 9, 2022. See MEMRI Special Dispatch 10152, Palestinian Press Glorifies Mother Of Terrorist Ibrahim Al-Nabulsi, Who Expressed Pride And Joy Over Her Son's Martyrdom, August 22, 2022.
[14] Fadi Abu Shkhaydam was a member of Hamas who perpetrated a shooting attack in Jerusalem on November 21, 2021 in which he murdered one Israeli. See MEMRI Special Dispatch 9649, On His Facebook Page, Hamas Member Who Perpetrated Deadly Shooting In Jerusalem Glorified Bin Laden's Mentor 'Abdullah 'Azzam, November 22, 2021; and Special Dispatch 9656, Last Will Of Jerusalem Shooter: I Chose This Path To Attain Paradise; Prepare Yourselves For Jihad And Martyrdom, November 30, 2021.
[15] A Carlo is an improvised submachine gun manufactured by in the Palestinian territories.
[16] Felesteen.news.ps, March 12, 2023; and Alqassam.ps, March 13, 2023.
