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By Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook
May 16, 2006
Every year, as the date of Israel's Independence (May 15) approaches, Palestinian Authority TV broadcasts numerous programs and video clips to mourn Israel's creation -- what they call the "Nakba," the catastrophe. The recurring themes are the denial of Israel's right to exist and the call for the undoing of "the catastrophe" - a euphemism for Israel's destruction.
This year's recurring clip shows the map of Israel -- entitled "Palestine" - scrolling slowly down the screen. The date 1948 - the year of Israel's establishment - repeatedly appears on the screen, behind bars.
At the end of the clip an old woman is shown, while the words on the screen read: "Palestine is the land of my forefathers. LEAVE IT."
It is important to note that this clip, calling for Israel's destruction, has been broadcast almost daily in recent weeks on PA TV - which is still run and totally controlled by the office of Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas, not by Hamas.
Non-recognition of Israel's right to exist has been a cornerstone of PA ideology, shared by both the PLO-Fatah faction and by Hamas, and expressed in Arabic by both groups. The only substantive difference between the two groups on this issue has been the fact that Fatah has professed to recognize Israel in its English messages, while Hamas has refused to accept Israel in either its English or its Arabic statements.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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