Arab rioters in Hevron. Illustrative.
Arab rioters in Hevron. Illustrative.Reuters

In the approaching Palestinian local municipal elections (which have recently been postponed) the party that controls the Palestinian Authority (PA)) has chosen a convicted murderer to run for election to Hebron's City Council.

On Facebook, Fatah praised its candidate Tayseer Abu Sneineh and took pride in his participation in the murder of 6 Israelis in 1980.

"The number 2 candidate on the Fatah Movement list in the Hebron City Council elections... is one of the heroes of the Daboya operation (i.e., Beit Hadassah terror attack, 6 murdered) on May 2, 1980," the Facebook post read.

Tayseer Abu Sneineh was one of four Palestinian terrorists who ambushed a group of Israelis on their way from Friday night prayers on May 2, 1980, in Hebron, near Beit Hadassah - the only building in Hebron in which Jews lived at the time. They murdered 6 Israeli young men and wounded 20. All four terrorists were sentenced to life in prison but were released in various prisoner exchange deals in the 1980s.

Fatah's post announcing Abu Sneineh's candidacy went on to describe the terror attack as "one of the most important battles and acts of bravery of the Fatah Movement" and "one of the most courageous self-sacrificing operations." Fatah furthermore praised the killers as "heroes" and men "of delicate emotions":

"Four young people met on one of the cold days of March 1980 in a cave in the Hebron hills... on that very day the four were unknown...

" After a few months, the four carried out one of the most courageous self-sacrificing operations in the occupied areas, if not the most courageous, the attack against the Jewish settlers in Hebron...

The four heroes were not murderers, who feel a sense of enjoyment and satisfaction from the sight of blood, but rather [men] of delicate emotions, who, when the extremist Zionist occupiers denied the rights of their Palestinian people, did not find any other means besides weapons in order to restore them [the rights]." So runs the Fatah description of the murderous terror attack.

Abu Sneineh is not the only murderer who is considered a respectable figure in Palestinian politics.

Marwan Barghouti, who has been convicted and imprisoned for orchestrating the murder of 5 Israelis, is celebrated by the PA as a hero and distinguished politician. So much so, that the PA recently campaigned for awarding Barghouti with the Nobel Peace Prize.

Members of Knesset such as Ahmad Tibi and Yousef Jabareen (both of the Joint Arab List) recently visited Barghouti in prison in order to obtain his opinion about the upcoming municipal elections and other matters.

Marwan Barghouti is a Palestinian terrorist who is serving 5 life sentences for orchestrating three shooting attacks that killed 5 people: one attack in Jerusalem (June 12, 2001) in which Greek monk Tsibouktsakis Germanus was murdered by terrorist Ismail Radaida and another unidentified terrorist, another attack at a gas station in Givat Zeev near Jerusalem (Jan. 15, 2002) in which Yoela Hen, 45, was murdered by terrorists led by Mohammed Matla, and one shooting and stabbing attack at the Sea Food Market restaurant in Tel Aviv (March 5, 2002) in which Eli Dahan, 53, Yosef Habi, 52, and Police Officer Sergeant-Major Salim Barakat, 33, were murdered by terrorist Ibrahim Hasouna. When arrested by Israel in 2002, Barghouti headed the Tanzim (Fatah terror faction). After he was convicted and imprisoned, he was re-elected as a member of the Palestinian Authority parliament.

The following is a longer excerpt of the post glorifying murderer Abu Sneineh and the attack:

Posted text: "The number 2 candidate on the Fatah Movement list in the Hebron city council elections - hero of the Daboya operation (i.e., Beit Hadassah terror attack, 6 murdered) Tayseer Abu Sneineh - one of the heroes of the Daboya operation on May 2, 1980

The Daboya operation in Hebron is one of the most important battles and acts of bravery of the Fatah Movement

The development of the Daboya operation, led by people of the western sector (i.e., Fatah members planning attacks in Israel), heroes of the armed struggle of the Al-Asifa [forces] (i.e., Fatah military unit):

[...]Four young people met on one of the cold days of March 1980 in a cave in the Hebron hills... on that very day the four were unknown, and it is possible that one of them was wanted by the Israeli security authorities, but his name was not at the top of the wanted list.

A few months later, the four carried out one of the most courageous self-sacrifice operations in the occupied areas, if not the most courageous, the attack against the Jewish settlers in Hebron...

The four heroes were not murderers, who feel a sense of enjoyment and satisfaction from the sight of blood, but rather [men] of delicate emotions, who, when the extremist Zionist occupiers denied the rights of their Palestinian people, did not find any other means besides weapons in order to restore them [the rights]...

"The operation was not carried out against peaceful Jewish citizens who had just left prayer, as described by Israeli public opinion at the time, but rather against settler soldiers, who are the most racist and violent, and whose hearts were blinded by hatred. (Sic. the terrorists did open fire at Israelis returning from prayer -Ed.) They frequently harassed the [Palestinian] residents of the city after stealing their land, and this operation came in order to prove to them that this land has a people that will not sit in silence."

Beit Hadassah(Daboya) terror attack: Terror attack in which 6 Israeli young men were murdered: Tzvi Glatt, Eli HaZe'ev, Shmuel Marmelstein, Hanan Krauthammer, Gershon Klein and Ya'akov Zimmerman, and 20 were wounded on May 2, 1980, in Hebron, near Beit Hadassah - the only building in Hebron in which Jews lived at the time.

The Palestinian terrorists who committed the attack are Adnan Jaber, Yasser Ziyadat, Tayseer Mahmoud Taha Abu Sneineh, and Muhammad Abd Al-Rahman Saleh Al-Shubaki. They were all sentenced to life in prison but were released in various prisoner exchange deals in the 1980s.