Does the Palestinian Authority (PA) or Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Commit Acts of Terrorism?
General Reference (not clearly pro or con)
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Moshe Yaalon, Israeli Minister of Defense, in a statement reported in part in a Nov. 24, 2014 article by Amos Harel for Haaretz titled “Israel’s Security Brass: Abbas Blocking Palestinian Uprising,” stated:
“Abu Mazen [Abbas] fears the possibility of terror in the West Bank because he understands that he will be deposed by it. On the other hand, one cannot ignore his incitement with regard to the Temple Mount and Jerusalem. There is no contradiction here: On the one hand, Abbas is not masterminding terror. On the other hand, [he] is inciting violence in Jerusalem.”
Nov. 24, 2014
PRO (yes)
Pro
Mudar Zahran, PhD, Secretary General of the Jordanian Coalition of Opposition, in a June 25, 2014 article for the Gatestone Institute titled “Kidnapped Israeli Teenagers – a Palestinian View,” wrote:
“The PA is now officially united with Hamas, a terror organization that pledges to destroy a sovereign nation and establish a Muslim caliphate. Financing the PA is therefore financing terrorism. PA terror has become a major industry.
[T]he PA is a terrorist organization that has been inciting acts of violence and radicalism, and should be treated as such. Its leaders should be recognized as terrorists who deserve jail rather than a red carpet treatment in Western capitals.While some argue that freedom of speech is sacred, it seems the only freedom of speech the PA allows is the one that incites terrorism.”
June 25, 2014
Pro
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, MBA, LLB, Founding Director of Shurat HaDin Israeli Law Center, in a Feb. 2015 statement reported in part by United with Israel under the title “US Court Finds Palestinian Authority Guilty of Terrorism; Damages to Exceed $655M,” stated:
“We are truly grateful that an American court has heard the evidence against the Palestinian Authority and the PLO and determined that suicide terrorism was indeed their official policy during the Second Intifada…
The defendants have already been boasting that they will appeal the decision and we will never collect on the judgment. We will not allow them to make a mockery of the US court process, however, and we continue to pursue them until it is paid in full.”
Feb. 2015
Pro
Allen B. West, MA, former US Congressman (R-FL), in an Oct. 25, 2015 article for his website titled “John Kerry Needs to Be Fired for What He Just Said about Israel… Immediately,” available from his website, wrote:
“I will not [sic] longer speak the words, ‘Palestinian Authority’ — this is Fatah, the PLO, a terrorist organization and it must be eradicated. Anyone who considers Abu Mazen, Abbas’ nom de guerre, as a willing peace partner, is simply delusional. He should be declared an enemy and seen for what he is, the leader of a terrorist group.”
Oct. 25, 2015
Pro
Morton A. Klein, National President of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), in an Aug. 13, 2015 article titled “Jury Verdict: PLO/PA Commits Murder of Americans – Don’t Allow a PLO/PA Terrorist State,” available from www.zoa.org, stated:
“The jury’s decision in the Sokolow terrorism case is just more evidence that a Palestinian state would be another terrorist state. The jury heard testimony from relatives of American citizens who were killed in terrorist attacks orchestrated by the PLO and the PA, and from survivors who can never truly recover from the horrors they suffered. The jury also heard evidence that the PA pays the salaries of its employees who were jailed for their role in terror cases, and pays benefits to the families of suicide bombers and gunmen who died while carrying out their murderous attacks.
The PA’s incitement, support for, and glorification of terrorism against innocent civilians continue to this day. The PA recently dedicated yet another city square to the memory of a terrorist killer of innocent civilians in Israel. The media also recently reported that the Palestinian Arabs have signed an ‘agreement for all-out cooperation’ with Iran, the world’s worst sponsor of terrorism, and that PA President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to visit Iran in the next few months.”
Aug. 13, 2015
Pro
The Jewish Virtual Library (JVL), in a Feb. 9, 2014 entry to the “Index of Myths” section of its website titled “The Palestinian Authority No Longer Engages in Terrorism against Israel,” wrote:
“MYTH:
The Palestinian Authority no longer engages in terrorism against Israel.FACT:
One of the three prerequisites to Israel’s recognition of the PLO and subsequent peace negotiations was that the Palestinians cease all terrorism against Israel. Yet, almost from the day Yasser Arafat sent this promise to Yitzhak Rabin in 1993, assaults have continued. The heinous attacks conducted in the 1990s killed the Oslo process and a spike in terror in the last 14 months threatens to derail President Obama’s peace efforts as well…The PA’s commitment to violence is also reflected in its financial support for terrorists. Even as it pleads poverty and is unable to meet its budget obligations, the PA manages to find money for ‘martyrs,’ their families and terrorists released from Israeli prisons…
Despite repeated assurances, the PA has not stopped terrorists from targeting Israel. If the Palestinians did not live up to these promises in the past – or the present – why should Israelis trust them to do so in the future?”
Feb. 9, 2014
CON (no)
Con
Mahmoud Abbas, Csc, President of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) at the time of the quote, in a Sep. 23, 2011 statement before the United Nations General Assembly Sixty-Sixth Session titled “Statement by H.E. Mr. Mahmoud Abbas President of the State of Palestine, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, President of the Palestinian National Authority,” available from the General Assembly of the U.N.’s website, stated:
“The PLO and the Palestinian people adhere to the renouncement of violence and rejection and condemning of terrorism in all its forms, especially State terrorism, and adhere to all agreements signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel.”
Sep. 23, 2011
Con
Mahmoud Khalifa, PhD, Deputy Minister of Information for the Palestinian National Authority, in a Feb. 23, 2015 statement titled “Statement from Dr. Mahmoud Khalifa, Deputy Minister of Information, Palestinian National Authority, in Response to Today’s Decision by the Jury in the Case of ‘Sokolow v. Palestine Liberation Organization et al’ (February 23, 2105),” available from dci.plo.ps, wrote:
“The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) are deeply disappointed by the adverse decision issued today in a New York court. The charges [inciting, supporting, planning and executing terror attacks] that were made against us are baseless…
As ever, we will continue to combat extremism and violence and maintain a strong commitment to nonviolent resistance and international, legal, political and moral redress. We stand ready to be a partner in peace and an unyielding advocate for the rights of our people and homeland to exist as a free, independent, democratic and prosperous state, living in peace with our neighbors.”
Feb. 23, 2015
Con
Mark Rochon, JD, Chair of the Litigation Department at Miller & Chevalier Chartered and Defense Attorney for the PA and PLO, in Feb. 2015 closing statements to the Sokolow et al vs. PLO et al court case, as reported by Stan Ziv for Newsweek in the Feb. 20, 2015 article “Terrorism Case Against Palestinian Organizations Goes to Jury,” stated:
“There is no concrete evidence that the senior leadership of the PA or the PLO were involved in planning or approving specific acts of violence… It is not the right thing to hold the government liable for some people doing crazy and terrible things.”
Feb. 2015
Con
Mitchell Plitnick, MA, Vice President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, in a Mar. 9, 2015 opinion piece for the Foundation for Middle East Peace’s website titled “Verdict against PLO in Terrorism Trial Raises Troubling Questions,” wrote:
“Militant groups are not seeking Abbas’ approval for their actions. On the contrary, Abbas has endured enormous political criticism over his security cooperation with Israel, for many years now, as they work to prevent such attacks. Both American and Israeli officials have repeatedly praised the PA’s efforts in this regard. Indeed, last year the head of Israel’s Shin Bet went so far as to publicly contradict Netanyahu’s effort to blame Abbas for rising violence in Jerusalem.”
Mar. 9, 2015
Con
Human Rights Watch (HRW), in an Oct. 15, 2002 report titled “Erased in a Moment: Suicide Bombing Attacks against Israeli Civilians,” wrote:
“[O]n the basis of evidence available through the end of September, 2002, Human Rights Watch did not find evidence demonstrating that President Arafat or other senior PA officials ordered, planned, or carried out suicide bombings or other attacks against civilians. While senior PA officials fostered an atmosphere of impunity, we also did not find evidence that they authorized specific attacks or attacks against civilians generally, or that PA officials or institutions organized or assisted in preparing or carrying out attacks against civilians systematically or as a matter of policy.”
Oct. 15, 2002
Con
Andrew Friedman, Senior Correspondent for the Jerusalem Report, in a Sep. 6, 2015 article for the Jerusalem Post titled “Boycotts Are Not the Answer, Says Palestinian Peace Activist,” wrote:
“Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has shifted the struggle against Israel from Yasser Arafat-style terrorism to diplomatic and legal battles being fought in the halls of the International Criminal Court, the United Nations as well as taking advantage of international anti-Israel initiatives such as the BDS anti-Israel boycott campaign. Abbas is aware that violence could derail these initiatives.”
Sep. 6, 2015