"This is the first time I see joy in my heart. This is the first time I see such joy. Thank Allah for giving him Martyrdom (Shahada)."
[Official PA TV, Sept. 12, 2014]
Click to viewPA TV has broadcast many Palestinian mothers who have expressed joy over the deaths of their children in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, because it grants the deceased the exalted Shahada status - Martyrdom-death for Allah, which bestows many rewards on the "Martyr" and his family.
Mother of Sbarro pizza shop suicide bomber, Izz Al-Din Al-Masri: "I congratulate him: Congratulations, my son, on your Martyrdom, praise Allah..."
[Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), April 30, 2014]
Mother of suicide bomber Shadi Hamamreh: "Praise Allah, this is the greatest joy, Praise Allah that he is a Martyr."
[Official PA TV, Jan. 25, 2014]
Mother of suicide bomber Darin Abu Aisheh: "I want to sing, Darin is a bride."
[Official PA TV, Aug. 3, 2011]
Palestinian Media Watch has shown that the Palestinian Authority promotes death for Allah as the ideal to strive for, both for adults and children, because they believe this superior status grants the Martyr and his family many rewards in Islamic Paradise.
PA Minister of Religious Affairs, Mahmoud Al-Habbash:
"After prophecy and righteousness there is no status Allah has exalted more than Shahada (Martyrdom)... They went smiling to their deaths... The Shahidhas merit with Allah, a merit that no one else has... 'The Shahid - his sins are forgiven with the first gush of his blood from his wound... 'The Shahidadvocates on behalf of 70 members of his family, and saves them all from hell. The Shahid lives together with the prophets and the righteous ones.'"
[Official PA TV, Nov. 8, 2013]
Note: Israel and the PA have released different statements to the press regarding the circumstances of the death of 16-year-old Muhammad Sunuqrut.
