A Fatah official made the dubious claim the US embassy was instrumental in reinstating its official page, despite its promotion of incitement.
Facebook reinstated Fatah’s terror-promoting page only two days after shutting it without demanding the removal of violent posts inciting Palestinians to murder Jews, and now Fatah claims the US embassy in Israel worked for its restoration.
The head of information at the Fatah Commission of Mobilization and Organization Munir Radi Al-Jaghoub, responsible for the page, claims the American embassy intervened in Fatah’s favor.
“I contacted the international media, and then I received a call from the American embassy, which got involved and resolved the problem with the Facebook administration, and the page returned to action, and they apologized and explained that what happened was a mistake,” he stated earlier this month.
However, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), a media watchdog monitoring Palestinian incitement, questions Fatah’s claim.
If the US had helped to reinstate Fatah’s Facebook page, the American government would be approving Fatah’s terror promotion and murder glorification, including glorifying the murderer of an American citizen, PMW argues.
A current post on the reinstated page includes Fatah’s glorification of the murderer of American citizen Taylor Force. The post, primarily Fatah criticism of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s spokesman, includes a drawing with the name “Bashar Masalha,” the terrorist who murdered Taylor Force and injured 11 Israelis in a stabbing attack in Tel Aviv last March.
Fatah currently uploads posts glorifying terrorist murderers and promptly removes them.
Fatah’s page administrator Al-Jaghoub claimed that for six months Facebook “banned” Fatah’s pictures of “Martyrs,” mostly terrorists who have murdered or attempted to murder Israelis.
Following the reopening of Fatah’s Facebook page, Fatah uploaded posts glorifying terrorists, and promptly removed them. A suicide bomber, who murdered 11 and a sniper, who shot and killed 10, have been glorified by Fatah in such posts, some of which appeared on Fatah’s Twitter account.
The tweets include links to the original posts with the texts and images on the official Fatah Facebook page, which have since been removed.
However, PMW points out it seems Fatah has become cautious regarding its official page as the movement did not post any glorification of terrorist Dalal Mughrabi on the annual day of her attack, which is rare.
Fatah stated it was a photo of former PA Chairman Yasser Arafat holding a rifle seized from a captured Israeli soldier in the 1980s and Mahmoud Al-Aloul, current Fatah Deputy Chairman, which caused Facebook to close Fatah’s page in February. Fatah has reposted the photo.
