The Dalal Mughrabi Center is a joint initiative of the NGO, the PA, the UN, and the Norwegian government! The center’s name sign prominently includes the logos of:
– The PA Ministry of Local Government
– UN Women
– The Norwegian Representative Office to the PA
Text on sign:
“Martyr Dalal Mughrabi Center
A cultural and social center and youth center
In partnership with the Burqa village council and the Committee for Women’s Affairs
Worse still, it is not only the name that glorifies the terrorist murderer, the purpose of the center is to educate about her murderous terror attack to youth. At the inauguration of the center, which is situated in the village of Burqa in the Nablus district, a member of the village council, explained about the center’s activities:
UPDATE: Acting immediately on a report by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), Norway demanded that the Palestinian Authority (PA) return Norwegian state funding for a women’s youth center named after female Palestinian terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, who masterminded an attack that killed 38 Israelis including 13 children
Background Of The Attack
group of eleven terrorists who landed on March 11, 1978, on the coastal plain near Tel Aviv. Their aim was “reach the Knesset and demand the release of Palestinian prisoners.” or to “kill as many Israelis as possible”
Landing at the beach, Mughrabi’s group met American photographer Gail Rubin, who was taking nature photographs on the beach, and asked her where they were, after which they killed her.
Both surviving members of the group later confirmed that it was Mughrabi who killed Rubin, who was the niece of US Senator Abraham A. Ribicoff.
The terrorists then opened fire at passing traffic and hijacked a taxi, killing its occupants. They seized a bus and headed to Tel Aviv, and then hijacked another bus, moving the hostages (now numbering 71) to the first bus.
Israeli forces stopped the bus, and a shooting battle ensued before it exploded. During the shootout Mughrabi allegedly raised the Palestinian flag and declared the establishment of a Palestinian state. Israel says the bus exploded after Mughrabi blew it up with a grenade, while Palestinians say it was struck by fire from an Israeli helicopter gunship.
A total of 38 Israelis, including 13 children, were killed and 72 were wounded; Mughrabi and eight other militants died as well.
Norway Expresses Shock
The glorification of terrorist attacks is completely unacceptable, and I deplore this decision in the strongest possible terms,” Norway’s Foreign Minister Borge Brende said in a statement. “Norway will not allow itself to be associated with institutions that take the names of terrorists in this way. We will not accept the use of Norwegian aid funding for such purposes.”
Brende also requested that the logo of the Representative Office of Norway in Ramallah be removed from the building of the “Martyr Dalal Mughrabi Center,” and that all Norwegian funds used for the center’s construction “be repaid.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, “Norway has done the right thing. Standing strongly against the positive commemoration of terrorists is an essential part of the international effort to eradicate terrorism.”
The ministry added, “Israel suggests that all members of the international community check where money invested in the PA ends up, and expects all other partners in this project to follow Norway’s example.”
The U.N. Is Offended By Name of Center They Funded
Like the Norwegian government, the U.N. also moved to distance itself from the center.
“The name chosen by the community center is wrong and unacceptable,” said Robert Piper, the U.N.’s deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, demanding that the world body’s logo “be removed immediately” from the building.
Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said, “The United Nations disassociated itself from the center once it learned the offensive name chosen for it and will take measures to ensure that such incidents do not take place in the future.” Dujarric added, “The glorification of terrorism, or the perpetrators of heinous terrorist acts, is unacceptable under any circumstances.”
In March, following the announcement that a PLO youth camp would be named after Mughrabi, District Governor of Ramallah Laila Ghannam praised the initiative for “remembering the pure-hearted martyrs” and insisted on a “solidarity rally” to honor the terrorists who carried out the Coastal Road massacre.
Norway’s demand came just three days after President Donald Trump, in a joint press conference with PA President Mahmoud Abbas, said peace “can never take root in an environment where violence is tolerated, funded and even rewarded,” referring to the PA’s glorification of terror as well as its payments to Palestinian terrorists and their families.
In an interview with Israel Radio in early May, senior PA official Nabil Shaath unequivocally rejected Trump’s request to end the PA’s financial support for terrorists, calling the U.S. proposal “insane.”
“It’s absurd to request that we stop paying the families of prisoners,” Shaath said. “That would be like asking Israel to stop paying its soldiers.”
Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), Wikipedia and JNS contributed to this story
