Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, Sept. 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has once again used medieval blood libels of Jews, saying that Jews poison the wells. Such libels are meant to justify hatred and terror against Jews, just as they did in Europe in the Middle Ages.

After Israeli police helped return a flock of sheep stolen from Israelis by Palestinians, a PA official said the following on television:

Advisor to Head of The Committee to Resist Settlements and the Wall Ayed Morrar: “There was an attack on the village of Ras Al-Auja, and they [settlers] took all the livestock they could find, between 800-1,500. Some claim that a total of 1,500 animals were stolen …  Moreover, they poisoned the water to kill the Palestinians’ livestock.” [emphasis added]

[Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, March 9, 2025]

Ayed Morrar has a history of antisemitism. Just three months ago, he spread the libel that Jews are only in the Land of Israel because it is good for them financially and they would do anything for money.

Official PA television regularly features officials and reporters repeating the well-poisoning libel, such as when a columnist said that Israel was “liable to poison the water” and a reporter said that Jewish rabbis “permit poisoning water wells.”

This recurring libel is patently false because both Israelis and the Arabs of Judea and Samaria drink water from the same Mountain Aquifer.

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