Palestinian Media WatchThe Palestinian Authority’s messages in Arabic deny Israel’s existence by portraying a world inwhich all of Israel is said to be “Palestine.” The rejection of Israel’s existence is reinforced by thePA’s teaching that the conflict with Israel is aRibator a Jihad, a religious conflict “untilResurrection.”These actions demonstrate that in messages to its own people, the PA has not complied withthe fundamental, preliminary requirement of the peace process, which is to have recognizedIsrael.The following are some examples from September – November, 2011 of PA non-recognitionand presenting the conflict with Israel as an eternal religious conflict during the peace talks in2010:

1.Non-recognition of IsraelThis educational documentary, depicting all parts of Israel as “Palestine," has been broadcastrepeatedly on PA TV (Fatah) since 2007. Most recent broadcast was on Nov. 1, 2011:“The West Bank and Gaza have another sectionin Palestine which is the Palestinian coast thatspreads along the [Mediterranean] sea, fromAshkelon in the south up to Haifa, in the CarmelMountains. Haifa is a well-known Palestinian port.[Haifa] enjoyed a respected status among Arabsand Palestinians especially before it fell to the‘occupation’ [Israel] in 1948. To its north, we findAcre. East of Acre, we reach a city with history andimportance, the city of Tiberias, near a famouslake, the Sea of Galilee. Jaffa, an ancient coastalcity, is the bride of the sea, and Palestine’sgateway to the world.”[PA TV (Fatah) since 2007. Most recent broadcast was on Nov. 1, 2011]

Following PA statehood bid at the UN:

PA maps still show “Palestine” – the requested state – to include all of Israel

The day after PA Chairman Abbas delivered the Palestinian Authority’s request for statehood tothe UN, PA TV, which is controlled directly by Abbas’ office, broadcast a map that does notrecognize Israel’s right to exist, but completely denies it.

The map depicts Israel under Palestinian rule andwas part of a public service clip promoting Palestinianstatehood. It shows both all of Israel (excluding theGolan Heights) and the PA areas wrapped in thePalestinian flag, symbolizing sole Palestiniansovereignty, and akey representing Palestinian claims of ownership ofthe land and “right of return.”Arabic texts on map:Right: “Expelled”Left: “Resolve”Bottom: “Right of return”[PA TV, Sept. 24, 2011]Abbas claims to recognize Israel and its right to exist, and to be requesting a Palestinian statebased on 1967 ceasefire lines, living side by side with Israel.The maps of “Palestine” publicized in Abbas’ official Pa media do not corroborate Abbas’statements.The following are other examples of maps of “Palestine” that include Israel in the official PAmedia that were published in the days after the PA statehood bid at the UN.PA TV filler showing map of “Palestine” including PAareas as well as all of Israel. The following Israelicities are presented as Palestinian: Acre, Haifa, BeitShean, Be’er Sheva, Ramle, Safed, Tiberias,Nazareth, Jaffa and Lod. [PA TV, Sept. 24, 2011]

Map of PA areas and all of Israel that forms the word“HERE.” It completes the text on the side andbottom, reading:“HERE [we] stand, stay, permanent, eternal,and we have one goal, one, one – to be, andwe will be.”The word “here” specifically refers to all of Israel.Abbas quoted this statement by the poet MahmoudDarwish in his speech requesting PA statehood atthe UN.[Al-HayatAl-Jadida,Sept. 26, 2011]

The Palestinian Authority is telling its people that peace with Israel is not a goal. Instead, the PAsays that all of Israel is "Palestine," and that no compromise is acceptable because this principleis "the only red line."This message was expressed by the regular cartoonist,Muhammad Sabaaneh, in the official PA daily. Hiscartoon displayed a map of all of Israel (excluding theGolan Heights) and the PA areas, with the following textwritten across the map: "The only red line. “ [Al-HayatAl-Jadida,Aug. 21, 2011]The cartoon is a clear example of the PA's lack ofrecognition of Israel's right to exist, and sends amessage that the PA's real goal is a completedismantling of Israel and its replacement by aPalestinian state. This sentiment is implicit in PAideology but only occasionally is it expressed so explicitly in its controlled media.

At a Fatah event in the presence of Mahmoud Abbas and many other senior PA officials, aPalestinian singer defined Palestinian land that "I am returning to" as spanning from RoshHanikra, in Israel's north, to Rafah in the Gaza Strip in the South, and from Haifa, on Israel'sWestern coast to Beit Shean Israel's Eastern border.This song and video has been broadcast on PA TV 20 times during 2011, most recently on Nov.1, 2011."We commit and promise to stand behind you, oh Mahmoud Abbas, until Judgment Day.I am returning to you, the purest land, oh land of the free. No matter how long the nightsof exile, I am returning to you, oh land.

From Rafah to Rosh Hanikra (northern Israel)

our coast, and Beit Shean (Israeli city).

Above your soil, oh my land, is a picture ofGarden of Eden. From Rafah to Rosh Hanikra our coast, and Beit Shean. Above yoursoil, oh my land, is a picture of Garden of Eden.

From Rafah to Rosh Hanikra, north

and south, are the picture's borders. From Haifa (Israeli city) and Tantura to the

[Jordan] valley (i.e., all of Israel).

I am returning to you, the purest land, oh land of thefree."[PA TV (Fatah), Feb. 27, 2011 and May 12, 2011]Note: The following PA officials are shown sitting in the audience: Mahmoud Abbas, PAChairman, Sultan Abu Al-Einein, Fatah Central Committee, Hanan Ashrawi, PLO ExecutiveCommittee, Abbas Zaki, Fatah Central Committee, Al-Tayeb Abd Al-Rahim, President's officeSec. Gen., Yasser Abd Rabbo, PLO Sec. Gen., Ahmad Tibi, Israeli Arab Member of Knesset.This video orginally aired on Feb. 27, 2011 and has been rebroadcast another 19 times in 2011.

2.Conflict with Israelis eternal and religiousDuring the peace talks of 2010, in his Friday sermons on PA TV, the PA Minister of ReligiousAffairs, Mahmoud Al-Habbash, repeatedly preached that the conflict with Israel is not territorialbut religious, and therefore mandated by Islamic law. He explained early in 2010:"Allah has preordained for us the Ribat (religious conflict/war) on this blessed land. Weare committed to it by Allah’s command. Let no one be mistaken or under the illusion thatRibat is a choice and nothing more. It is a commandment that necessitates hardship andrequires the person to rush to fulfill this command. If Allah has chosen you for Ribat onthe land of Ribat, you, the choicest of God’s servants, then this is an honor. The enemyis patient, it is waiting for the nation to collapse. The struggle over this land is not merelya struggle over a piece of land here or there. Not at all. The struggle has the symbolismof holiness, or blessing. It is a struggle between those whom Allah has chosen for Ribatand those who are trying to mutilate the land of Ribat."[PA TV (Fatah), Feb. 12, 2010]Al-Habbash later added that the religious conflict/ war with Israel is so intrinsic to Islam that itappeared in the Quran:"Since that date [1917, Balfour Declaration], resolute people, fighters and Ribat (religiouswar) fighters have not ceased upon our blessed land This conflict is explicit in theQuran and our obligation with regard to it is clarified by the Quran We do not opposepeace. On the contrary, we aspire to peace, but not at the expense of our rights; not atthe expense of our cause, and not at the expense of our religion."[PA TV (Fatah), May. 14, 2010]

Minister of Religious Affairs, Mahmoud Habbash, Friday sermon:“Look at Palestinian women. Have they lagged behind men in anything? Have theylagged behind in the struggle, in Jihad? Have they lagged behind in Ribat? Have theylagged behind in [violent] resistance? The existence of female prisoners is proof that mywords are correct. Our Shahidas (Martyrs), from among our daughters and mothers andthe women of Palestine, are proof of what I am saying. The women have not laggedbehind, and in our society no door is closed to them. All doors are open, so that womenmay participate together with men in all spheres of life: in action, in Jihad, in resistance,in politics, in the legal systemWomen’s liberation will happen [when they are] shoulder-to-shoulder with men in buildingsociety, in liberating Palestine, in building identity, in consolidating values, in educatingthe younger generation, in creating men. That is the woman’s role.’”[PA TV (Fatah), March 11, 2011]