When Palestinians tune in to the official Palestinian Authority radio station, “The Voice of Palestine,” they hear songs encouraging them to seek martyrdom in death and to sacrifice themselves for Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and “Palestine.” Catchy lyrics pass on the message that Palestinians are “not afraid of death,” and teach them that already in its mother’s womb, the fetus is “a proud Martyr” who has “Palestine etched on the heart”:
“Our Martyrs are convoys and our bones are mountains
They don’t surrender to the lowly
We aren’t deterred by imprisonment
Palestine is etched on the heart of the fetus
A proud Martyr in his mother’s womb
And the Arab state will remain ours—Arab, Arab Palestine We [hold] the rifles to our chests and our eyes are raised to you
Our homes are trenches and our souls are the sacrifice for you O Jerusalem, you will not remain stolen.”
[“The First Direction of Prayer” by Syrian singer Assala Nasri, Official P.A. radio station “The Voice of Palestine,” Feb. 3, 2018]
The Fatah-run TV station Awdah broadcast the music video of this song, too:
[Fatah-run Awdah TV, May 15, 2018]
Discussing P.A. media’s responsibilities, director general of “The Voice of Palestine” Bassam Daghlas has stated that P.A. radio works diligently to “defend Jerusalem and Palestine,” in cooperation with the P.A. Ministry of Information:
The songs speak for themselves.
One song lauded death for “Palestine,” which has been “decorated” with “Martyrs, souls and blood”:
