JERUSALEM – Ignoring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request not to honor terrorists, the Palestinian Authority erected a monument on Sunday in honor of the mastermind behind the 1976 “refrigerator bombing” in Jerusalem, with Palestinian officials expressing their hope that it will inspire young minds to continue following the path of “legendary martyrs.”
Inscribed with the words “heroic martyr,” the monument in Ramallah honors the late Palestinian terrorist Ahmad Jabarah Abu Sukar, who planned the detonation of a bomb-laden refrigerator in the center of Jerusalem, murdering 15 people and wounding more than 60.
Last week, Netanyahu released a video asking PA President Mahmoud Abbas to cancel the event because such ceremonies promote terror.
“Rather than dedicate a statue to a mass murderer, I ask that you consider honoring a champion of co-existence. This will help educate future generations to love peace over war, compassion over violence,” said Netanyahu.
The ceremony in Ramallah, first exposed by Israeli NGO Palestinian Media Watch, was attended by various PA officials, including the Director of the PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs, Issa Karake; the Governor of Ramallah and El-Bireh, Laila Ghannam; and PA Parliament Member Qais Abd Al-Karim.
Abu Sukar was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years, but after 28 years was released as part of a goodwill gesture from Israel to the PA in 2003. He was a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council and an adviser to late PLO leader Yasser Arafat on prisoners’ affairs. He died of a heart attack in 2013.
The Arabic text on the monument reads: “Monument for the heroic martyr prisoner Ahmad Jabarah Abu Sukkar, 1936-2013.”
The governor of Ramallah, Laila Ghannam, said Abu Sukar left behind “a legendary history” and called his death “a loss for everyone who protects human rights and every freedom fighter.”
The chairman of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, Qadura Fares, gave a speech at the ceremony, saying: “This man was not a regular man, but rather an epic of a struggle that will be written by the history of the Palestinian victory in large letters due to the greatness of our resolute prisoners.”
According to official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Director of the PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Issa Karake emphasized that the “monument is intended to implant in the minds of our sons and daughters that we are continuing to be loyal to the path of the martyrs.”
Karake added: ‘Ahmad Abu Sukkar is a real man, a fighter, and a man who left his impression on everyone and who was a school for giving, resolve, and courage. We are proud of him as one of the symbols of the Palestinian national struggle.”
Watch Netanyahu’s video lambasting the PA for inciting terror:
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