My doubt comes from having watched him say countless times that he does not endorse suicide bombings.
...in English. Then in Arabic he says "a million martyrs will march to Jerusalem". If you are reduced to relying on the veracity of Yasser Arafat and the PA, you a grasping thin straws indeed. Their track record of lying is just stupendous, a "veritable kingdom of mendacity" as Benny Morris called them. Remember the Karine A? Remember the non-existent massacre in Jenin? Just to quote two of the biggest proven lies.
Here's another source from Western media:
Palestinian television, which is under the control of the Palestinian Authority, regularly runs music videos that pay tribute to what they call martyrs, whether bombers or children who died at the hands of Israeli forces. The head of Palestinian television said the programs do not encourage dying or committing suicide for the cause, but are documenting what’s going on. The company isn’t trying to turn children into bombers, but providing a forum for young people to express themselves, he said.
"We do love our kids," said Radwan Abu Ayyash, chairman of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation. "We call the schools of our kids 10,000 times a day to be sure that they are placed at their desks and listening to their teachers."
Others call the programs blatant manipulation of an angry populace, encouraging children to die in the name of God.
An anchor on Palestinian TV once asked a child, "You said martyrdom is a beautiful thing? Is it a beautiful thing?"
"I think people like to be martyrs. They will go to heaven," the girl answered. "What could be better than going to paradise? "
The airwaves are filled with songs dedicated to martrydom. In one music video, a young boy leaves a letter for his father before going to die at the hands of Israeli forces. Last spring, three 13-year-old boys in Gaza actually left letters for their parents, then took some small bombs and headed towards a Jewish settlement, but were killed by Israeli soldiers.
An Israeli group called Palestinian Media Watch thinks the messages put out on TV are outrageous.
"They were telling Palestinian children what’s expected of you," said PMW’s Itamar Marcus. "A nice, normal, good-looking Palestinian child, what’s expected of you is to write a farewell letter to your parents where you say how sweet is martyrdom and then go off and die for Allah."
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