Hamas-affiliated social media posted this image depicting the Palestinian terrorists attacking Jewish worshippers in a Jerusalem synagogu. Photo: Screen shot from the Jerusalem Post.

The Palestinian Authority’s (PA) official news agency, WAFA, and Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party glorified the two terrorists who killed five Israelis in a Jerusalem synagogue last month, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) reports.

Fatah’s official Facebook page posted a picture of the two terrorists’ graves last Thursday and referred to the murderers as Shahids – Martyrs.

“This is the place of eternal rest of Martyrs (Shahids) Ghassan and Uday Abu Jamal of Jabel Mukaber in occupied Jerusalem, who ascended [to heaven] a month and a half ago during an operation (terrorist attack) at an occupation synagogue in occupied Jerusalem,” the Fatah Facebook page posting said.

Even though the terrorist attack occurred in the western part of Jerusalem, Fatah still referred to the scene of the murder as “occupied Jerusalem.”

Two Palestinian terrorists from East Jerusalem attacked worshippers in the synagogue with guns, knives, and axes on November 18. Four worshippers were killed, along with a police officer, and seven civilians were injured.

The PA’s WAFA news agency also honored the terrorists as martyrs by reporting on their funerals.

This is just the latest example of explicit Palestinian Authority and Fatah glorification of Palestinian terrorists who killed Israeli civilians. In recent months, rising Palestinian incitement to violence against Israeli Jews has been coupled with increased Palestinian terrorist attacks.

Click here for a comprehensive Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) report outlining recent Palestinian incitement and attacks.

But the latest glorification of cold-blooded killers comes as the PA is renewing attempts to win international recognition for a Palestinian state without negotiating a peaceful settlement.

A Washington Post Tuesday editorial criticized PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ diplomatic push as futile and counterproductive, citing his refusal to respond to a U.S. proposal that envisions a Palestinian state based on Israel’s 1967 borders.

Instead, Abbas continues to ask the UN Security Council to force Israel to withdraw from the West Bank in one year. Because of a likely U.S. veto, it has no chance of being passed, the Post editorial said, and it “wouldn’t bring Palestinians any closer to statehood.”

Washington insists that the draft is counterproductive and fails to address Israel’s security concerns. Britain also will not support the new Palestinian resolution, Reuters reports.

Abbas fails to respond to a U.S. peace proposal while trying to force a flawed unilateral move. All the while, his party and his government continue to glorify terrorist killers. Somehow, the PA is still supposed to represent a partner for peace.

Steven Emerson is the Executive Director the Investigative Project on Terrorism (www.investigativeproject.org) where this article first appeared.