Fatah's reaction to Temple Mount events

This morning, three Israeli Arabs emerged from the Temple Mount where two of them took a selfie (and posted it on Facebook,) shot and killed two Israeli police officers outside Lion's Gate and then ran to the Temple Mount. Police gave chase and shot them dead, one of them dramatically after he played dead and then jumped up and tried to stab them.

In response, Israel closed the Temple Mount to all, the first time that Friday Muslim prayers were banned on the site since 1967.

Here is the autotranslated  reaction from Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party:

Fatah appeals to our people: go to the Al Aqsa mosque!

Israeli occupation and systematic Israeli policy to thin out down our people in Palestine and in Jerusalem specifically and to prevent the believers from freely reaching places of worship, and the repeated incursions by settlers into the al-Aqsa Mosque.. that is the origin of the disease. It is the beginning of a cycle of violence that does not stop, which inevitably leads to what we are witnessing in successive episodes of killing the Palestinian men in cold blood without taking into account the sanctity of the place and for the sanctity of life.

The Palestinian position must be morally superior to the occupier, and our people must search for the best ways to defend their land and holy sites, to avoid being dragged into the comfortable circle of Israel. Apart from everything that happened, what is required of our people goes beyond entering into confrontations with the occupier costing us a lot of blood. Without yielding even with what is being paid of the price. What is needed is to mobilize people, especially in Jerusalem, to defend the city and its sanctities and not to leave Israel unique to our people there. [not leave Jerusalem a Jewish-only city - EoZ] The position of Fateh must be officially supported with popular resistance and not to push our youth to search for alternatives who already know that they are fighting an unequal battle with the Israeli killing machine ..

We appeal to the people of our people to come today to the al-Aqsa Mosque and to establish prayer and to break the Israeli siege aimed at changing and character of the holy city..
The masses of our steadfast people! Get to the Aqsa mosque!

This is the first time I recall seeing a public announcement from Fatah explicitly looking for non-violent responses. I would guess that Fatah is sensitive to the effect that videos and transcripts of their incitement has been having on the West and Israel has (finally) been using them to great effect to point out the real source of the problem.

Nevertheless, the statement blames peaceful Israeli actions like allowing Jews to visit the Temple Mount, and the reaction of closing the area today, as part of a "cycle of violence." Those actions aren't violent, and Fatah is characterizing them as such to give justification to the murderers and terrorists.  Similarly, they are saying that Israel killed the murderers "in cold blood" which is also incitement.

Also it is worth noting that Fatah, nominally a secular party, is urging the politicizing of a supposedly holy place and to use prayer as resistance, not as...prayer.

Furthermore, Fatah posted the selfie that the murderers took at their "holy spot" prior to their murder spree, and referred to them as "the martyrs of Al Aqsa Mosque."

 The reactions from Fatah's fans on Facebook are uniformly happy at the attack.

❤
Your morning in heaven the most beautiful ❤❤❤
To the gardens of bliss with the prophets and friends and the martyrs and the good of those companions
You are the honor of this nation and its living conscience because our Arab nation has died of its conscience and gave up its honor to the mercy of God and the heaven that you are
To the gardens of bliss with the prophets and friends and the martyrs and the good of those companions
Glory martyrs
God has mercy on the martyrs
Glory and immortality of the righteous martyrs
To everlasting gardens.
God have mercy on them make their resting place
God have mercy on them
To the gardens of paradise.
Heroes of heroes for you, most of all.
God have mercy on them
God's mercy on your pure souls and to heaven zmrạ
God have mercy on them
May God have mercy on them and accept them martyrs in paradise higher
God have mercy on them
God have mercy on them

No one, ever, criticizes these sorts of terror attacks.

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