The Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Fatah faction celebrated the anniversary of the most lethal terror attack in Israel’s history by glorifying female terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, who led the 1978 “Coastal Road Massacre.”

In the attack, Mughrabi and other terrorists hijacked a group bus on Israel’s Coastal Highway. When the terrorists were confronted by the Israeli army, they murdered 36 of the passengers, among them 12 children and one American citizen, and wounded more than 70 others. The American victim, photographer Gail Rubin, was murdered prior to the hijacking.

According to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) this year’s annual celebration was hosted by the office of the Palestinian Red Crescent, which is under the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The invitation to the event at the Red Crescent’s headquarters was posted on Fatah’s official Facebook page and stated that it was to honor terrorist Mughrabi, dubbed as the “Bride of Palestine”

The invitation PMW

At the event, PA official Laila Ghannam, District Governor of Ramallah and El-Bireh, praised terrorist Mughrabi, and asked Allah “for mercy over the Martyrs,” according to PMW.

“The blood of our female Martyrs flows in the veins of every Palestinian, and that the woman was and will remain a pioneering symbol and man’s partner in the struggle and decision making… Every Palestinian that belongs to her land and (adheres to) her basic principles is a sister of Dalal,” said Ghannam.

Laila Ghannam with young children PMW

Abbas’ adviser and a member of the Fatah Central Committee, Sultan Abu Al-Einein, said in his speech that the terrorists “wanted the operation to unite the brothers and friends of all Arab countries, and wished to convey the message that Palestine is the cause of all Arabs.”

This is not the first time PMW has revealed the Palestinian Red Crescent’s involvement in terror glorification. The ICRC has previously stated that they do not dictate how the Palestinian Red Crescent spend the money given to it. 

In 2013, when the Palestinian Red Crescent together with the ICRC glorified terrorists by planting 150 trees bearing the names of “veteran prisoners,” the ICRC defended the Palestinian Red Crescent’s right to do so, arguing that each branch has the right “to define its own priorities and activities and to allocate funds accordingly.”

Advisor to PA Chairman Abbas and Fatah Central Committee member Sultan Abu Al-Einein PMW