PA worship of martyrs’ blood and promotion of martyrdom on TV game show

In a game show to entertain Palestinians during Ramadan, the Palestinian Authority TV host glorified the Palestinian ideal of martyrdom death. Welcoming viewers to The Box, the host opened at least twice with praise for the “heroic martyrs,” emphasizing that they “water the land of Palestine with their blood” : Official P.A. TV host: “A thousand blessings always to the souls of our heroic martyrs who water the land of Palestine with their blood every day, until the independent State of Palestine whose capital is Jerusalem arises. Whoever doesn’t like it, let them bang their head against the iron of the Damascus Gate.” [Official P.A. TV, The Box, May 28, 2018] Official P.A. TV host: “A thousand blessings in honor of our heroic martyrs who sacrificed their bodies and souls so that we will build a homeland worthy of this martyrdom. All love, appreciation, and solidarity to their families behind them.” [Official P.A. TV, The Box, June 5, 2018] This is yet another example of the P.A. culture focusing and honoring Shahada: Death for Allah. It should be noted that the game show had nothing to do with martyrdom, and yet the P.A. TV host chose to open the show this way. Palestinian Media Watch has exposed the ongoing promotion and glorification of Shahada by the P.A. and its leaders. For example, a few days after U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and announced he would move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem (Dec. 6, 2017), P.A. TV broadcast a music video in which Palestinians are asking Allah to grant them martyrdom in Jerusalem. The full report can be viewed at PMW here.