BBC contributor Abdel Bari Atwan’s output, April-May 2022

A post by CAMERA Arabic.

(All translations, emphases and in-bracket remarks by CAMERA Arabic unless otherwise specified)

Following CAMERA Arabic’s previous post concerning BBC contributor Abdel Bari Atwan, the Jewish Chronicle prompted YouTube to remove a video from Atwan’s personal channel. In that April 8th video Atwan praised Palestinian “hero” and “martyr” Ra’d Hazem, who had killed three unarmed Israeli civilians the day before, claiming that he singlehandedly “liberated Tel Aviv for nine hours” (archived version – Arabic only; MEMRI version – edited with English subtitles).

Atwan also called Hazem’s actions “a miracle”, justifying them under the common smear that Israel has no civilians:

“(04:17) We will never accept, it is impossible that we accept, that they are civilians. Civilians, no way. They are all military, police or security […] they are all soldiers in the Israeli military reserves. So we don’t buy the ‘civilians’ story, nor should [anybody in] the entire world buy it”

In the same article the JC quoted a call from UK Lawyers for Israel to review Atwan’s statements in light of the UK Terrorism Act of 2006, in which encouragement of terrorism is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

In response to the JC report and his video being removed, Atwan and his Hezbollah-affiliated home channel al-Mayadeen have since launched a series of at least eight YouTube videos repeating the claims and Atwan published posts of the same hateful nature on his Twitter account. Once more, the British-Palestinian pundit described the murderers of unarmed Israeli civilians as “heroes” and “martyrs” and portrayed their actions as a form of “legitimate resistance” permitted and even encouraged by both mortal and divine laws.

According to Atwan’s statement in a June 17, 2022 video, child-murderer Samir Kuntar was a “martyr”. On May 17 Hamas commander Yahya Sinwar received the “hero” title. In addition to his responsibility for Israeli civilian casualties, Sinwar also threatened to target Jewish synagogues outside Israel just weeks before the recording (a threat of which Atwan was well aware).

Atwan speculated that YouTube’s measures and UKLFI’s statement are part of a broader Jewish conspiracy aimed at hurting him personally and involving British Jewish MPs and the Israeli secret services Mossad and Shabak. In his so-called ‘analysis’ he reverted to his old habit of predicting the imminent end of the State of Israel, complete with the mass expulsion of its Jewish population by means of war, as yet another way to celebrate and promote violence against civilians.

Throughout this entire time, and despite being made aware of his conduct, the BBC continued to present Atwan on air as though he were a respectable analyst and an impartial observer, including on Israeli affairs. Atwan made his most recent BBC appearance on April 30th 2022, when at least four of his videos replete with incitement were already online. Atwan was featured alongside CAMERA Arabic advisor Dr. Meir Masri in a BBC Arabic news item concerning the attack in Ariel in which security guard Vyacheslav Golev was murdered.

CAMERA Arabic translated the most problematic segments of the videos and again in cooperation with the Jewish Chronicle, YouTube removed one of the originals from al-Mayadeen’s account (all other videos are still online at present). In the same May 26th article, the JC quoted a BBC spokesperson as saying that it does not ban contributors and that “appropriate guests are considered on a case-by-case basis”.

Here are six of the videos, with English subtitles and transcripts by CAMERA Arabic. All times specified are according to the original Arabic version:

April 14th, al-Mayadeen: Atwan accused UK Jewish institutions and MPs of forming an alliance against him, with Mossad and Shabak involvement. He also claimed that Israel had previously sabotaged the Labour Party and Jeremy Corbyn. Host Kamal Khalaf called perpetrators of terror attacks “heroes” while Atwan called them “martyrs”. (Full Arabic version here)

5:21 Host Khalaf: “Editor in chief of the ‘Rai al-Youm’ newspaper, Abdel Bari Atwan, has revealed that he is subject to a media incitement campaign, under the accusation that he had defended the heroes of the guerilla operations against the Zionist settlers in occupied Palestine. In a ‘Rai al-Youm’ editorial, Atwan explained that the campaign is carried out by the UK Jewish newspaper ‘The Jewish Chronicle’, accusing him of terrorism encouragement. This is after he praised Palestinian guerilla warrior Ra’d Hazem, the perpetrator of the Tel Aviv operation.

6:08: “The campaign against Abdel Bari Atwan was led by ‘The Jewish Chronicle’, the most prominent, most read and influential Jewish newspaper in the UK and the Western world.”

7:09 Abdel Bari Atwan: “Mr. Kamal, this campaign is not new, it has been ongoing for more than twenty years, or even twenty-five years. I have been targeted by this campaign. This campaign is led by Israeli security services: Mossad, Shabak and others. Because I was among the strong voices in the UK, namely in the British media, and I have been writing articles in all British newspapers in English.

9:10: “In the UK, as well as in many European countries, Israel is considered above the law. It can challenge whomever [it] wants, it can muzzle mouths. We have witnessed how Israel and its lobbies succeeded in sabotaging the UK Labour Party and isolating the chairman, who is Jeremy Corbyn, by the means of campaigns and accusations that he is, I mean, antisemitic.

9:46: “Now, things have evolved so that you are forbidden from describing these martyrs as martyrs.

10:42: These Israelis started interfering with everything. Look, six, I mean, colleagues, journalists, they expelled them, from what is Deutsche Welle, the German television, just because they criticized Israel! I mean, Imagine. And this trend spreads throughout most of Europe. Am I forbidden to say that Ra’d Hazem is a martyr!?

12:43: “Now the Zionists have succeeded in taking control over the media outlets and utilise them in the service of covering up the Israeli crimes.

13:11: “Our people are silent in front of this humiliation, in front of this insult they are subject to. No, these are martyrs! No, these people resist, they challenge the occupation! And resistance is a legitimate right; all laws have enshrined it, secular and divine.

17:07: “I don’t know exactly how the UK authorities would respond to this attempt to interfere with British affairs. They want to run the UK, they want to apply British law on anyone standing by his people, standing by his people’s cause. There is, brother, law, international laws! I mean, they became stronger than international laws, stronger than British laws, stronger than German laws.

17:50: “Am I forbidden to say about the martyrs, this is a martyr? Like flowers, brother! By Allah, look at those beautiful faces shown on the screen [Ra’d Hazem’s picture is shown], look at these youths; am I forbidden from identifying with them? Am I forbidden from saying ‘martyrs’? Am I forbidden from saying ‘resistance warriors’?

20:23 Host Khalaf asks: “Who exactly are the bodies who aim at silencing Mr. Abdel Bari Atwan and seek to incite against him in the UK?”

Atwan answers: “Sir, massive institutions, massive Jewish institutions. And institutions loyal to Israel. And there are also, I mean, parties. These parties, for example, the Conservative Party, right now, I mean, it is controlled, there is control, one way or another, by these institutions, they want it to adopt what is the Israeli policy. There is also the Labour Party, there are groups, I mean, Israel’s friends in the Labour Party, Israel’s friends in the Conservative Party, it is they who want to silence us. They want to enforce the Israeli policies upon us. This is the story. And these people, they have deep roots in British society.
However, in exchange there are people who support the right cause, the cause of justice, the Palestinian cause, and defend it. They were expelled from British parties because of these positions. But they, these people, although the number of Jews in the UK does not exceed 350 thousand, 400 thousand people, nevertheless they have seventy members in the House of Commons, do you hear? Seventy representatives in British parliament. Because they have formidable financial power and economical power, and of those, all of them form an alliance against Abdel Bari Atwan.

22:10: “[It is] because, they don’t want voices. They know the extent of these voices’ influence. They know the extent to which people have reacted to these voices, the extent of the blow to their plans of obstruction and coverup, in which these Jewish Israeli lobbies engage within British society. This is the gravity of the matter.

23:52: “They put pressure on BBC, brother, Mr. Kamal. They put pressure on BBC, how do they feature Abdel Bari Atwan.

24:23: “Praise Allah, until now BBC has not complied with these pressures, but I don’t know how the situation will be in the future.

26:11: “They know very well that Arab media is mostly domesticated in full. It no longer tells the truth, no longer considers Israel an enemy at all, on the contrary, a friend and an ally. And when someone like Abdel Bari Atwan comes out, and there are many like Abdel Bari Atwan, they don’t find a pulpit. They don’t find an arena in which to express their positions. And this, what happens, is the reason, truly, that lets them stretch out and expand, and believe that they own the entire universe, that they control all of media. This is the truth”

April 15th, Atwan’s personal YouTube channel: Atwan called the perpetrators of terror attacks in Beer Sheva, Bnei Brak and Tel Aviv “heroes” and “martyrs”. He compared them to Churchill, De Gaul, Washington, Gandhi and Mandela, claiming that international law permits what they did, and that “our religion” and “our Qur’an” glorify them. (Full Arabic version here – Atwan’s own subtitles are not always accurate)

“[Title:] My response to a Jewish Israeli campaign seeking to silence and imprison me – the resistance is not terrorism and shall never surrender”

0:28: “Today I would like to respond to the massive Israeli Jewish attack that I am subject to, and that others are subject to as well, those who confronted this Israeli arrogance. I mean, out goes the Jewish Chronicle newspaper, which is one of the Jewish newspapers closest to Israel, and also of the most influential ones, saying that YouTube gave [a platform to] this Abdel Bari Atwan, who supports terrorism. They said, this one glorifies those who perpetrated the recent attack operations in more than one place, in Tel Aviv, Hadera, [Beer] Sheva, Bnei Brak; [said] that he glorifies them. How can YouTube feature this video and how can they let him, Abdel Bari Atwan, appear [there]? This is a campaign of incitement! They needed to get law experts [saying], ‘this is a violation of UK terrorism laws’, and this could [get] Atwan imprisoned for more than, or for up to 15 years in prison, in the case that I am convicted of course. And they demanded the police to investigate. I mean, an unusual kind of campaign. Well, what is the crime that I committed? Well, before I talk [about] this crime, well, YouTube, in the report they [the JC] posted they admitted, that YouTube complied immediately to their requests, and deleted that, the video, from the channel. This is the tragedy, I mean, that they complied immedi… I mean, they complied with liabilities, with liabilities! They have not even asked for our opinion! And also, for the first time, it has been five years that I do videos, I mean, not a single video was deleted, and I say the same things, but when [it is] their involvement, I don’t know what [got] them involved, what trick do they have, I don’t know what is the secret password. They [the JC] got involved; because they are, of course, a “Jewish”, quote unquote, newspaper, of course, they [YouTube] complied them [the JC] in full. And I am the party [being] the victim, I am a victim! I mean, they didn’t empathize with me at all and they didn’t hear my perspective at all. I mean, imagine [that]!

Well, what is the crime which Abdel Bari Atwan has carried out, in the Jewish Chronicle’s view? And in the Israelis’ view? And in the view of the West, perhaps, [the West which] supports them? I affirm that, no, there are honourable Jews, there are Jews, indeed, who condemned the Israeli aggressions, and described Israel as racist, and the better of them, I mean, a synagogue in California, I, I mean, there are people, indeed, press, even the Israeli one, which criticized Israel and its crimes against the Palestinians. But the crime I had carried out, and YouTube punished me for, is that I said that these people [the attackers] represent the resistance. That these people, I described them as martyrs. I mean, well, where is the crime in that? Where, I mean, well, they are martyrs! Our Quran says that about them! Our religion says that about them! All international laws, divine laws and statutes, I mean, permit the resistance! Well, those who, for example, I mean, was Churchill a terrorist when he led British resistance against Nazism? Charles de Gaul, was he a terrorist when he led the French resistance against Nazism? George Washington, who is the American leader who led the American resistance against the British, the British occupation, was he a terrorist? Well, I mean, even, I mean, even Gandhi, was he a terrorist? and all, Nelson Mandela, and the list is long?

5:14:  “Resistance is not terrorism. And these are martyrs. I’m saying this another time. And, I mean, I will seek legal advice on this matter. I will go to the top lawyers, there is an army of them ready to volunteer and defend me. I did not carry out any crime, nor did my people carry out any crime. This resistance is a legitimate right! We are 74 years under occupation.

6:34: “Now, they became the rulers of the entire region, they became, I mean, anybody who says, criticised them, I will become an antisemite, I mean, to them I am accused of [being] an antisemite. Well, brother, they kill me! Brother, they slaughter our people! Brother, they force a blockade on the Gaza Strip! Brother, they starve our people! Brother, in the West Bank they open fire.

9:02: “Hundreds of billions are sent to the Ukraine, and glorify the Ukrainian resistance which kills, [while] in arms, killed Russian captives in front of cameras, [it is] these people [that] they glorify. And we, when we say, by Allah, these are martyrs, [only] using the word “martyrs” and we say about them, by Allah, heroes, of course, he who resists the occupation is a hero! Charles de Gaul is a hero! Mandela is a hero! George Washington is a hero! Churchill is a hero! Gandhi is a hero! Show me one resistance [movement] in history that wasn’t armed!

10:25: “Brother, we were not the ones who carried out massacres against the Jews! The Europeans are those who carried out massacres against the Jews! We are not the ones who burnt the Jews in the gas ovens [sic]! The Europeans are the ones who burnt Jews in the gas ovens! And we are the ones who paid the price for this! And now they all form an alliance against us. We are the victims! We are the ones who lost our homeland! But we will not surrender, not at all. By Allah, I shall not bow down. I will go all the way. Even if this will lead to me getting killed, even to my imprisonment. This is al-Aqsa Mosque, today they want to take it over, they want to Judaize it

April 19th, al-Mayadeen: Atwan’s home channel of al-Mayadeen held an honorary show in solidarity with him following the removal of his YouTube video, with Atwan concluding by saying that “the wise Jew” is the one who buys islands in Greece to which to escape. Host Wafaa Saraya repeatedly referred to the Bnei Brak and Tel Aviv perpetrators as “martyrs” and “heroes”, implying that it is “our right as Arabs” to celebrate them and their actions. She and her guests claimed that Israeli security services are behind the removal of content produced by Atwan and she even asked him about a possible assassination. (Original Arabic version unavailable online, webpage is archived without the video here)

“[Title:] Al-Mayadeen special – In Solidarity with Abdel Bari Atwan”

1:20 Host Saraya, in reference to Atwan’s deleted video: “A short video where he praises the heroes of the guerilla [Arabic: Fida’iyya, also translates as ‘redemption’ or ‘self-sacrifice’] operations. Zionist media lobbies have moved to attack Atwan and threatened him with prosecution, under the accusation that he supports terrorism”

2:57 Introduction: “The message of solidarity, recorded by editor in chief of “Rai al-Youm” newspaper, Palestinian journalist Abdel Bari Atwan, is not the first he recorded in support of the Palestinian cause and noble Jerusalem. His position in this field fills the newspapers, media outlets, screens, websites and platforms for decades. Which begs the question, why in this timing? [Indeed, it is] a campaign followed by the Israeli media revealing the existence of a special desk in the military intelligence division, to track and oversee media outlets in the Arab and Islamic worlds, where the name of journalist Atwan stood out in the list of names monitored.”

At this point, a segment from the April 14th video is shown, in which Atwan says: “I was targeted by this campaign. This campaign is led by Israeli security services. Mossad, Shabak and others.”

7:28 Atwan: “Why do I incite terrorism? Because I say about those who carry out operations, in Tel Aviv, Hadera, Beer Sheva and east of Tel Aviv [i.e. Bnei Brak], I say ‘martyrs’ about them. It is forbidden that I say ‘martyrs’ about them, Ms. Wafaa! It is forbidden that I say about them, these people have occupied Tel Aviv for nine hours [Atwan originally used the word ‘liberated’], or this martyr, who…

Saraya: “Ra’d Hazem or Diaa Hamarsheh

 14:03 Saraya addresses the PFLP’s deputy secretary general, Abu Ahmad Fouad: “General, sir, it is possible that this free media, or this free media space, we are talking about a battlefront not only in the political level, military level and media level [as well. This is] because of a report that the Israeli Walla website has published today, talking specifically about the foundation of a new intelligence unit which monitors what these influential media figures of the likes of Mr. Abdel Bari Atwan, Ghassan Ben Jiddou, Ibrahim al-Ameen or Ali Sha’eeb, this means a lot and it has prominent evidence.

14:51 Saraya asking her guest (Egyptian professor Hasan Nafaa) a rhetorical question: “Isn’t it our right as Arabs to take pride in these martyrdom-seeking youths who carry out these operations to retrieve their land and honour?”

15:13 Nafaa: “Madam, this is an oppressive attack against a noble man, a brave man who defends the Palestinian cause, a cause which I consider the most just of all the causes of the modern world. Abdel Bari Atwan is a Palestinian who suffered displacement and lived in refugee camps. Consequently he, as a human, has his right to defend his cause, defend himself and defend his existence”

19:00 Saraya, in reference to the deleted video: “He [Atwan] is accused of terrorism incitement inside the UK merely because he describes these heroes as ‘martyrs’, because they defend their land and his.

25:52 Saraya, addressing Atwan: “Mr. Abdel Bari, would you allow me one question before we turn to Mr. General [i.e. Fouad], what the Israeli Walla website published today, about the foundation of this new intelligence unit and your honour is also [mentioned there] by name. Do you consider [it] as a new stage, [one that goes] further than your isolation as influential journalists and media people, namely in this space, it may [go] further, are you personally afraid of assassination?”

Atwan: “Madam, I gathered my children and my wife, I told them, listen, I, I mean, it’s nothing. I am not mentioned alongside these martyrs, these youths of 16, 17 and girls too, it is these youths who resist, who defend al-Aqsa, they may assassinate me, no problem. They, they are criminals. They are the terrorism.”

28:00 Saraya: “I asked this question because in Palestinian history, I mean, [there are] the likes of Ghassan Kanafani or Naji al-Ali, who were targeted, eliminated and became martyrs for the sake of this [Palestinian] cause. We wish you a long life.”

48:55 Atwan: “In my estimation, the wise Zionist, or the Israeli, or the Jew, truly, is the one who said, we must buy ten abandoned islands in Greece and prepare them to be our refuge when the rockets will pour on us like rain. This is their future. This is the horror that they live under. They look for islands, because they know that these rockets will come to them. They will come to them from southern Lebanon, will come to them from Iraq, will come to them from Syria, will come to them from Gaza, they will come to them from San’aa, even from Sa’da, they will come to them from everywhere in the Arab homeland. This is what horrifies them. And this is why we, I mean, we tell the truth. We are not afraid.”

April 21st, al-Mayadeen: Atwan admitted he replaced “Jews” with “Zionists” and then “Israel” in his rhetoric so as not to appear antisemitic, because “they” told him it is not acceptable but he implied that the terms are interchangeable in essence. Host Pierre Abi-Saab ended the interview with a salute to him and his courage. (full Arabic version here)

 

 

16:28 Host Pierre Abi-Saab: “Now, there is a political question, a moral question. How is it possible to turn the victim, the murdered one, the people of the murdered one, into a murderer? I mean, this is a very old Israeli strategy, [proverb:] ‘he hit me then cried, he preceded me then complained’. Today they accuse you, they accuse us hereafter, the Arabic rejectionist media in general, as though we are the ones who encourage murder, while we are the murdered ones. This is one severe paradox.”


Atwan: “Mr. Pierre, at first, they told us: ‘don’t say Jews.’ At first they told us ‘don’t say Jews, this is racism, this is antisemitism.’ We told them, ‘fine. We won’t say Jews, we’ll say Zionism.’ Then they came and said, ‘no! Brother, don’t say Zionism either, this is also against,’ I mean, ‘antisemitism’. We said, ‘fine, no problem, sir, anti-, we don’t need to become antisemites and we don’t need to say Zionism.’”

 

Abi-Saab: “Well, what do we say?”


Atwan: “The third order, we said this, ‘what do we say?’, well we said ‘Israel’. Well, we criticize all the world’s countries, be it America, France or Sri Lanka, nobody is free of our criticism. Well except [that] Israel, ‘it is forbidden that you say Israel, because this is antisemitism.’ By Allah, we became confused with you lot. Then, now, he comes and tells you [about perpetrators of attacks against civilians:] ‘a terrorist.’ Brother, you, you all are the origin of terrorism in the world! You are the ones, I mean, Menachem Begin, and Sharon, and all, and Ben Gurion. They have carried out crimes against humanity. We became, we, the victim, became the terrorists!? And then the youths, who carry out operations. Brother, well, what do you want from me?”


18:45 Abi-Saab: “Sir, we salute you, we salute your courage, and we tell you that, but there is no time to tell you, all of us in al-Mayadeen, and all of us in the Arab world are in solidarity with you and salute your courage, thank you for giving us these moments of your time, and Good Luck, because the battle will be long and hard.”

April 25th, al-Mayadeen: Atwan asserted that the Afghans who clung onto airplane wheels at Kabul airport were lucky compared to the Israelis, whose only option will be to swim out of “liberated Palestine”. He repeated the claim that the “campaign of incitement” against him is run by Israeli Mossad and other security services. (full Arabic version here)

2:15 Host/interviewer Ramia Ibrahim addresses Atwan: “a campaign of incitement conducted against you, led by the ‘Jewish Chronicle’ newspaper.”

2:44: “Truly, it is a large campaign, and a campaign that is administered by the Israeli Mossad and the Israeli security services behind it.”

3:11: “The new thing is, that yesterday, Sunday, a message from them got to me, of course they claim that they give me a right to respond, well, what do I need from you lot? I have al-Mayadeen, Rai al-Youm, and YouTube, what do I need from you? Why would the response be under you? I mean, I refuse any dialogue with them, any kind of communication. The most recent message got to me, a long message, I mean, they put all the things I mentioned on al-Mayadeen channel and also in solidarity with me, I mean the program which al-Mayadeen did in solidarity with me, where it [al-Mayadeen] brought prominent Arab figures from all across the Arab homeland, they recorded it word for word. Look how [closely] did they follow it and have it translated, saying: ‘you…”

Ibrahim: “where they [the figures] are in solidarity with the [Palestinian] cause”

Atwan: “of course, yes. ‘You are antisemitic. You incite terrorism. You are a terrorist, one way or another.’”

16:02 Ibrahim: “Do you have conviction that we will arrive to liberated Palestine, that it will be liberated and you return, perhaps, to Ashdod?”

Atwan: “By Allah, a colleague in al-Nur Broadcast asked me this question. She told me: ‘tomorrow, when Jerusalem is liberated, what is your view? What would you like to do?’ I told her: ‘when Jerusalem is liberated, I will take the first airplane to Palestine. Because Palestine will be liberated. And afterwards, I will go pray in al-Aqsa Mosque. And I wish that sir, honourable sir Hassan Nasrallah will be the Imam [leading the prayer].’ By Allah almighty. And she told me: well, afterwards? I told her: afterwards that’s it, I don’t want to write, why should I write? I want to take…“

Ibrahim: “Period? End of story. Palestine is liberated.”

Atwan: “By the life from Allah. I want to retire from writing, from journalistic writing, from journalism specifically. I would like to set up, or build, a simple getaway, if-, in my town, Ashdod. We have land right on the sea. I want to build a small getaway”

17:26 Ibrahim: “If this hasn’t happened [yet], the [next] station, I mean, will you stay in London?”

Atwan: “No. My plan, I bought a piece of land, about half a dunam, on the coast of Rafah, right on the sea, and I would like to set up the getaway and end my life there. I want to die in Palestine.

20:15: “I am proud that my origin is from Yemen. He [Emirati official Dahi Khalfan] said unpleasant things about Yemen. I am, on the contrary… this Yemen is the origin of Arabs. We all go back to Yemen. We are all the people of Yemen.

25:13: “Now, the resistance is the one succeeding. And here is Israel in a grim condition. We spoke about it, in a Mayadeen program, that Israel was isolated from the world for 11 days, not a single airport [operating], they cannot take off and cannot land. And I remember I said, in al-Mayadeen, that the Afghans are lucky – they had an airport to run towards, they had airplanes to cling onto their wheels. By Allah, the Israelis won’t find anything, they don’t have anything but the sea. [Nothing but] swimming. I mean…“

Ibrahim: “Are you optimistic right now? If we speak about shifts in the region and the world, in a sentence, Mr. Abdel Bari, are you optimistic?”

Atwan: “Yes, of course. Very optimistic. I see it [in front of me]. By Allah, I see that in my time, definitely in your time, you are much younger than me, alright? Let’s say, so I won’t mislead you. […] I believe, in my time, in my time, by Allah, we will see it [happen]. By Allah, I will return to Ashdod. I see it [happen]. Because now Israel is in its weakest days. The world is shifting, the wars were always fought in our field, the Americans and the Europeans. Now the wars moved to theirs. America is done, its time of world control and conspiring against us is over, and Israel along with them, I mean, Israel is in a very difficult condition right now, I mean, that is great, of course, that it [Israel] is in this hardship. With Allah’s will, he will add to their hardships; with Allah’s will he will increase their weakness; with Allah’s help he will increase – because there is an axis of resistance.”

May 6th, Atwan’s personal YouTube channel: Atwan glorified the Elad attack and Hamas terrorist Yahya Ayyash (who sent suicide bombers to kill at least 45 civilians, aged 13-83, between 1994-1995). (full version here – Atwan’s own subtitles are not always accurate)

“[Title:] Tigers and not wolves – Elad’s axe is stronger than the rockets […]”

2:35: “As long as there is occupation, there needs to be resistance. And this resistance is legitimate. I mean, it is weird [that] we need to be different from the rest of humanity [and not resist]. As though we need to be submissive. Well, this is not happening. The resistance made threats. It made threats and said there will be a response by rockets should al-Aqsa be intruded upon. It seems that they worked out an appeasement, agreements of appeasement under the table. And rockets did not come. But [something] more important than rockets did come. I mean, these two youths, 19 and 20 years old, went and carried out this Elad operation.

4:28: “Well, why [might] you assassinate Sinwar? Because in his latest speech he demanded that the Palestinians take up arms, their rifles, and if there are no rifles, they must use axes and cleavers? Well, what should he say? Well, what do the Palestinian people have? Do they have cruise missiles? By Allah, do they have airplanes, F-15 and F-16? Of course, I mean, they need to resort to any weapon to resist the occupation. And this, I say a second time, is a legitimate thing. And necessarily, resistance, resistance to the occupation, its [legitimacy] is stipulated in all the laws, divine and statutory. So the Palestinian people exert their right, like the Germans exerted their right. Like the French exerted their right against the German occupation. Like the Americans against the English occupation, and the English against the German occupation. This is a legitimate thing, like in South Africa, all over the world. This is a fundamental issue and we must uphold it. And they must not terrorize us, [if] one tells you, no, this is antisemitism or, by Allah, terrorism. You are the ones who practice terrorism. You are the ones who practice terrorism against the Palestinian people. And we are the victims, we are the victims of Nazism.

7:15: “You assassinated Yahya Ayyash, martyr Yahya Ayyash. What happened? Hamas pledged four martyrdom-seeking operations, causing the death of 150 Israelis.

10:21: “Israel and the Israelis are in a state of collapse, in a state of worry, in a state of fear, thanks to these youths, because they returned to resistance. The Palestinian people returned to defending their honour, their dignity and their land. I am not with the people who way ‘these, by Allah, are lone wolves.’ No! These are not wolves! These are tigers! These are lions! They defend their honour”

11:04: “Nothing unites the Islamic nation and the Arab nation except resistance in occupied Palestine. This is a legitimate right and there’s no retraction of it, ever.”

 

 

 

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3 Comments

  1. says: Neil C

    It is difficult to find one BBC reporter/presenter/romancer who is not a ‘nut job’ when it comes to reporting on Israel. It would be amazing to actually see a single report by the BBC where at least one of Israel’s relentless achievements in science, medicine or technology is actually reported on in a positive light and praised. If you ever find one let me know….
    #defundthebbc

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