Palestinian Authority (PA) media outlets continue to present young men who were involved in terrorist activities against Israel and who were killed in clashes with Israeli forces as innocent youths who were killed by Israel for no reason. The reports conceal the fact that these young men were active members of terrorist organizations, and deliberately omit the context and details surrounding their deaths.[1]
In one recent example, an article published by the PA's news agency on December 24, 2023 and by the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida on the following day presents terrorists from the Jenin refugee camp as athletes who were "murdered by Israeli occupation soldiers."
The article, titled "Israel Murders Athletes from the Jenin Refugee Camp," states: "Over the past two years, the number of players in the Jenin refugee camp's youth soccer team has decreased from 20 to 11, after nine players were martyred." The article provides the names of four players on the team who were "murdered" by "Israeli occupation soldiers": Rani Qatanat, Izz Al-Din Salahat, Qassam Abu Saraya, and Khalil Tawalbeh.[2] The report does not mention that all four men were members of terrorist organizations and were killed as a result of military activity against Israeli soldiers.
Moreover, the Jenin refugee camp's Youth Social Center and its soccer team are directly affiliated the Jenin Brigade terrorist group, which is made up mostly of militants from the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
Headline of the December 25, 2023 article in the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida: "Israel Murders Athletes in the Jenin Refugee Camp"
This report presents details about the terrorist activities of the four young men who are described in the Al-Hayat Al-Jadida article as innocent "athletes" murdered by Israel. The information is drawn from announcements issued by various terrorist organizations and from photos of the men posted on social media. The report also provides details about the ties between the "Youth Social Center" in Jenin and the Jenin Brigade terrorist group.
Qassam Abu Saraya – Member Of PIJ Military Wing
Qassam Abu Saraya, who was killed in June 2023, was an active member of the Jenin Brigade and was killed in a gunfight with Israeli forces that had entered Jenin in order to arrest terror suspects. The June 19, 2023 statement by the Youth Social Center announcing his death described him as a "member of the [soccer] team of the Jenin refugee camp's Youth [Social] Center."[3] On the same day, the PIJ published a statement announcing the death of the "martyr and mujahid Qassam Faisal Abu Saraya," which said: "We praise our mujahideen in the Al-Quds Brigades' Jenin Brigade, who bravely and swiftly stood up and foiled the enemy's goals. We emphasize our determination to continue fighting. The threats of the enemy will not intimidate us or prevent the Al-Quds Brigades from fulfilling their holy duty to strengthen jihad activities on all the fronts."[4]
The PIJ statement announcing Qassam Abu Saraya's death
Photos on social media show Abu Saraya carrying firearms.[5]
On the left, Abu Saraya holding an assault rifle and wearing a combat vest (Image: Twitter.com/ib73m, October 16, 2023)
It should be noted that Qassam Abu Saraya is the brother of Mustafa Abu Saraya, one of the terrorists who carried out the November 27, 2001 terror attack at the Afula central bus station, in which two Israeli civilians were killed.
Terrorist brothers Qassam Abu Saraya (left) and Mustafa Abu Saraya (right). (Image: Twitter.com/marasel_marasel, June 19, 2023)
Rani Qatanat – Member Of PIJ Military Wing
Rani Qatanat, another player on the Jenin refugee camp's youth soccer team, was also a member of the PIJ military wing, which on May 10, 2023 announced that he was killed in a firefight with Israeli forces that were carrying out operations in Jenin. The PIJ statement said: "The PIJ [is happy to] announce to our people and our nation that today at dawn, two of our mujahideen, 24-year-old Rani Walid Qatanat from Jenin Province and 19-year-old Ahmad Jamal Assaf from Qabatiya, were martyred in an armed clash with the occupation soldiers in Qabatiya in Jenin Province… We accompany our heroic martyrs, Rani Qatanat and Ahmad Assaf, to their wedding [with 72 virgins in Paradise]. Their holy blood has been mixed with the blood of the [PIJ's] senior commanders in Gaza,[6] and we stress that we will continue on the path of struggle."[7]
The PIJ statement announcing the death of Rani Qatanat.
A Telegram channel affiliated with the Jenin refugee camp shared a photo of "the Jenin Brigade' lions" Rani Qatanat and Qassam Abu Saraya posing with military rifles.[8]
PIJ terrorists Rani Qatanat and Qassam Abu Saraya posing with assault rifles (Image: T.me/jeninqassam, June 22, 2023)
Jenin Brigade terrorists at Rani Qatanat's funeral (Image: Twitter.com/3yyash995, May 10, 2023)
As was the case with Qassam Abu Saraya, the Jenin Youth Social Center's Facebook post announcing Qatanat's death omitted any mention of his terrorist activities, and published a photo of him wearing the team's soccer jersey, with a caption reading: "May Allah have mercy on you and accept you to Paradise."[9]
PIJ terrorist Rani Qatanat wearing his soccer jersey
Izz Al-Din Salahat – Member Of Fatah Military Wing And PA Police Officer
A third member of the Jenin youth soccer team who was killed while engaging in terror activities was Izz Al-Din Salahat, who was a member of Fatah's military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. The Brigades' statement announcing his death features a photo of him in uniform and holding an M-16 rifle, and explicitly states that he was killed in a firefight with Israeli forces on January 26, 2023: "Fatah's military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigades, accompany their martyr and mujahid Izz Al-Din Salahat to his wedding [with 72 virgins in Paradise]. He ascended to Heaven in the course of an armed conflict with the Zionist occupation's military forces in Jenin."[10]
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades' official statement announcing Salahat’s death
It should be noted that, in addition to being a Fatah terrorist, Salahat was also a Palestinian Authority (PA) police officer, and PA police commissioner General Yousef Al-Helou also published a statement mourning his death.[11]
On social media, there are several photos of Salahat with firearms. In one example, an X account affiliated with Fatah shared a photo of Salahat wearing an Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades headband, holding an assault rifle, and carrying a pistol in his waistband, with a caption reading: "The martyr, warrior, and hero Izz Al-Din Salahat, one of the fighters of Fatah's military wing, the Al-Asa Martyrs Brigades, and an officer in the Palestinian police."[12]
Salahat wearing an Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade headband and armed with an assault rifle and a pistol
Like in the instances mentioned above, the Jenin Youth Social Center's January 27, 2023 statement announcing Salahat's death did not provide any details about the circumstances in which he was killed. Rather, the Facebook post features an older photo of him wearing the soccer team's jersey and a quote from Fatah Central Committee chief Jibril Rajoub, who is also the chief of the Palestinian Football Association, stating that Salahat was "shot" by Israeli forces, with no additional information.[13]
The Jenin Youth Social Center's announcement of Salahat's death
Khalil Tawalbeh – Member Of PIJ Military Wing
A fourth member of the Jenin youth soccer team who was killed in the context of his terrorist activities is Khalil Tawalbeh. He was killed along with two other militants, Saeb Abahra and Sayf Abu Labda, as they were on their way to carry out a shooting attack. A Telegram channel affiliated with the Jenin refugee camp shared a picture showing Tawalbeh holding assault rifles.
PIJ terrorist Khalil Tawalbeh holding automatic rifles (Image: T.me/jeninqassam, April 4, 2022)
After Tawalbeh's death, the PIJ's military wing published an official statement describing him and his comrades as martyrs and mujahideen: "The PIJ's military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, announces to our jihad-fighting people and our Arab and Islamic nation the death of three of our brave mujahideen in the heroic West Bank: the 30-year-old mujahid Saeb Abahra from Jenin Province, the 24-year-old mujahid Khalil Tawalbeh from Jenin Province, and the 25-year-old mujahid Sayf Abu Labda from Tulkarm Province. They ascended to Heaven in a treacherous Zionist assassination operation [and] joined the ranks of their predecessors on the path of jihad and resistance."[14]
The PIJ announcement of Tawalbeh's death
It should be noted that Khalil Tawalbeh is related to Mahmoud Tawalbeh, the PIJ military wing's commander in the West Bank, who was killed by Israeli forces in 2002.[15]
Saeb Abahra and Sayf Abu Labda holding rifles and standing next to a picture of slain PIJ commander Mahmoud Tawalbeh. Abahra and Abu Labda were killed in the same operation as Mahmoud Tawalbeh's relative, Khalil (Image: T.me/jeninqassam, April 2, 2022)
The Youth Social Center in the Jenin refugee camp, however, published on its Facebook account several photos of Tawalbeh playing soccer and wearing the youth soccer team's jersey, with the text: "The Jenin refugee camp's Youth Social Center accompanies the heroic martyr Khalil Tawalbeh, a former player on the Center's [soccer] team, to his wedding [with 72 virgins in Paradise]. At dawn this morning, he ascended to Heaven as a martyr, along with the martyrs Saeb Abahra and Sayf Abu Labda."[16]
The Jenin Youth Social Center's announcement showing Tawalbeh playing soccer
The Relationship Between the Youth Social Center And The Jenin Brigade Terrorist Group
The Jenin refugee camp soccer team is affiliated with the Youth Social Center (also known as the "Jenin Club"), which was established in 1954. According to an Al-Jazeera article from February 16, 2023, the center also hosts large public and social events, including weddings and funerals. The article adds that a mourning ceremony for Farouq Salameh, "a young man from the refugee camp and a [senior] commander in the [PIJ-linked] Jenin Brigade," was held at the club.[17] Sources have described Salameh as the "commander of the Al-Quds Brigades in the West Bank,"[18] and the memorial ceremony was attended by many armed militants.[19]
Farouq Salameh, a senior commander in the Jenin Brigade, killed by Israeli forces in November 2022 (Image: T.me/jeninqassam, November 3, 2023)
Militants attending a memorial ceremony for senior PIJ commander Farouq Salameh (Image: Alquds.com, December 13, 2022)
Additional indications of the ties between the Youth Social Center and the Jenin Brigade is the name of the center's soccer team - "The Fighters' Brigade" – and the fact that the Youth Social Center regularly publishes posts about slain terrorists.
The cover photo of the Youth Social Center's Facebook page (Facebook.com/MrkzShbabMkhymJenin, February 1, 2022)
[2] Wafa.ps, December 24, 2023; Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (Palestinian Authority), December 25, 2023.
[3] Facebook.com/MrkzShbabMkhymJenin, June 19, 2023.
[4] T.me/jihad_press, June 19, 2023.
[5] Twitter.com/ib73m, October 16, 2023.
[6] A reference to senior PIJ officials Jihad Ghanam, Tarek Izz Al-Din, and Khalil Al-Bahtini, who were killed on the previous day. T.me/sarayaps, May 9, 2023.
[7] T.me/jihad_press, May 10, 2023.
[8] T.me/jeninqassam, June 22, 2023.
[9] Facebook.com/MrkzShbabMkhymJenin, May 10, 2023.
[10] T.me/AymanGouda, January 26, 2023.
[11] Facebook.com/Palestinianpolice1, January 26, 2023.
[12] Twitter.com/palestfateh1965, January 26, 2023. This Twitter account has since been suspended.
[13] Facebook.com/MrkzShbabMkhymJenin, January 27, 2023.
[14] T.me/sarayaps, April 2, 2022.
[15] Twitter.com/3zJamal, May 29, 2022.
[16] Facebook.com/MrkzShbabMkhymJenin, April 2, 2022.
[17] Aljazeera.net, February 16, 2023.
[18] T.me/jeninqassam, November 3, 2023.
[19] Alquds.com, December 13, 2022.