The London-based Arabic-language daily newspaper A-Sharq Al-Awsat reported that the PA ordered the change in policy. The change followed closely on the heels of Prime Minister Sharon's statements that a halt to incitement is a condition for renewal of negotiations with the PA.
The London daily's report, widely quoted in foreign media, states that PA officials have already met with representatives of PA television stations. The officials have started collecting films and songs that encourage terrorism and that have been broadcast regularly by the PA for years.
The PA's governing body has not directed any change in the schools, however. Textbooks praise "martyrdom" and teach that all of Israel is Palestine. The Negev is described as "southern Palestine," and the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) is named as one of "Palestine's water sources."
The incitement is not limited to the PA-controlled areas. A fundraising art exhibition on display in White Plains, NY, just ten days ago sings the praises of "rock-throwing children and suicide bombers [who] attack Israeli civilians." Among the paintings is one that depicts Prime Minister Sharon torturing and boiling the blood of an Arab child.