Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appoints Mohammad Mustafa as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA), in Ramallah, in the West Bank March 14, 2024 in this handout image. Photo: Palestinian president office/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

While the Palestinian Authority (PA) tells the world it has reformed and can rule the Gaza Strip without turning it into a terror base, the PA’s behavior shows that it is still a terror-supporting entity.

The PA continues to place terrorists on a pedestal. Palestinian Media Watch already has reported on how Mahmoud Abbas heaped praise and honor upon the terrorist murderers that Israel was forced to release from prison in order to free its hostages. Now, one of Abbas’ confidants and a senior Palestinian leader, Ramallah District Governor Laila Ghannam, is playing a central role in celebrating these released terrorists. She has made a habit of visiting their families and portraying them as heroes.

“We are proud of our released prisoners,” Ghannam proclaimed next to the mother of Ahmed Barghouti, who was responsible for the deaths of 12 people while serving as a commander of Fatah’s terror branch, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades.

Ghannam is well aware of the terrorists’ murderous crimes, as she states in her Facebook post publicizing her visit, which can be seen below. She posted a picture of herself beside the mother of the murderer of 12 and wrote that the 13 life sentences Barghouti was serving is reason to offer him blessings. Addressing the terrorists remaining in prison, she said: “We salute our heroic prisoners behind bars.”

Considering how terrorists remain its greatest heroes, the Palestinian Authority clearly has no interest in creating a terror-free Gaza.

Posted text: “I had the honor of visiting the mother and family of released and deported prisoner Ahmed Barghouti, ‘the Frenchman,’ who embraced his freedom after 23 years of imprisonment behind the bars of the occupation’s prisons. We conveyed blessings to him and his family, as he was serving 13 life sentences plus 50 years.

In such moments, we salute our heroic prisoners behind bars and anticipate the day they will be released. We also hope that those who were deported return soon to the arms of their families, as our people believe that exile will not be an eternal destiny, and the return will come no matter how long it may take.” [emphasis added]

[Ramallah and El-Bireh District Governor Laila Ghannam, Facebook page, March 2, 2025]

Itamar Marcus is Palestinian Media Watch (PMW)’s Founder and Director. Ephraim D. Tepler is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch. A version of this article originally appeared at PMW.