A Palestinian band praised bus bombings and called for the resumption of suicide attacks against Israelis in a music video published online on Sunday.
The al-Wa’ed Band’s video, which was translated by the Middle East Research Institute, opens with an image of Yahya Ayyash, a chief Hamas bombmaker who was assassinated by Israel after orchestrating several suicide bombings that killed dozens of civilians in the 1990s. The Palestinian Authority named a street in Ramallah in his honor.
“You did not let a single bus drive through a neighborhood without having chunks of the bus and body parts go flying,” said the first singer after stepping out of a bunt-out Israeli bus, then called on others to carry out suicide bombings.
“Oh Martyrdom-seeker, heed the call of the al-Aqsa Mosque, make the blast of the bomb reach further and further,” a second singer crooned. “Make Netanyahu flee in shame, unable to count the number of casualties. Scatter them all over, strike fear among their people. Show no mercy to their settlers. Dispatch them to Hell. Nothing awaits them but the grave.”
The video then depicted a mock bus bombing attack, complete with actors dressed as Orthodox Jews. “Oh Martyrdom-seeker, make them cry,” the singer wailed as the Jews boarded the bus. “Make the fire engulf them. Turn them into body parts, roast them, bringing joy to the hearts of the steadfast people.”
As the suicide bomber advanced along the bus aisles, the song continued, “With your explosive belt, we will defend our free women. We want the dead to fill the streets, and the blood to intensify the pain. Make the Zionist withdraw from the wrath of my avenging people.”
“Oh martyrdom-seeker, the Lord has chosen you,” the song concluded. “Our Prophet Muhammad will be your neighbor. In Paradise, your home has already been built. Step up and take revenge on behalf of your religion. Blow it up – may you be successful. Oh you who wears the explosive belt, your head is held high, when we bring the good tidings.”
The New York Times reported in October that violent, “nationalistic” tracks were dominating Palestinian airwaves, with one young listener saying the tunes make him “boil inside” and prepare him to throw stones at Israeli soldiers. The songs feature lyrics such as “stab the Zionist and say God is great” and “say hello to being a martyr,” and their accompanying videos often contain graphic imagery.
Israeli officials have accused Palestinian incitement, both by leading officials and on social media, of fueling the ongoing wave of terrorist attacks. The aunt of an Arab teenager who stabbed an Israeli security guard said the girl may have seen and been influenced by online videos encouraging attacks. The Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, attributed the stabbing attack in which an Israeli mother of six was killed by a Palestinian teenager last month to similar incitement. “On the day of the murder, while under the influence of the programs he had been exposed to on Palestinian television, the minor decided to commit a stabbing attack with the goal of murdering a Jew,” the agency said in a statement. It specifically cited “Palestinian television broadcasts which portrayed Israel as ‘killing young Palestinians.’”
According to Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services agency, terrorists have killed 31 people and injured over 340 in 170 stabbings, 70 shootings, and 38 car-ramming attacks since September 13, 2015. Leading Palestinian officials, including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, have been accused of stoking the violence and glorifying Palestinians terrorists who carry out attacks against Israelis.
[Photo: Middle East Research Institute]