Latifa Abu Hmeid jest matką sześciu terrorystów z Fatahu i Hamasu, którzy brali udział w śmiertelnych zamachach na Izraelczyków. Otrzymała przydomek „Chansa Palestyny” od poetki z czasów wczesnego islamu, Al-Chansy Bint 'Amr, którą nazywa się “Matką męczenników”, ponieważ, kiedy jej czterej synowie zginęli w bitwie o Al-Kadasijja (637), nie opłakiwała ich, ale dziękowała Allahowi za udzielenie jej honoru przez ich śmierć. Abu Hmeid jest traktowana jako symboliczna postać przez przedstawicieli Fatahu i Autonomii Palestyńskiej, szczególnie przez palestyńskiego prezydenta, Mahmouda 'Abbasa, który często odwiedza ją i gości u siebie i obsypuje ją pochwałami.[1]
Sześciu synów Abu Hmeid brało udział w strzelaninach i zamachach samobójczych. Jeden z nich, 'Abd Al-Mun’im, działał w wojskowym skrzydle Hamasu, Brygadach 'Izz Al-Din Al-Kassam i został zabity przez Izrael. Brał udział w zamordowaniu trzech Izraelczyków na Zachodnim Brzegu 14 grudnia 1990 r. i zamordowaniu innego Izraelczyka 13 lutego 1994 r. Czterech innych synów odsiaduje wyroki dożywocia w izraelskich więzieniach: Nasser, jeden z założycieli militarnego skrzydła Fatahu, był zastępcą Marwana Barghoutiego, sekretarza generalnego Fatahu na Zachodnim Brzegu podczas drugiej intifady i brał czynny udział w zlinczowaniu dwóch izraelskich żołnierzy w Ramallah 12 października 2000 r. Odsiaduje siedem wyroków dożywocia i dodatkowe 50 laty za zamordowanie siedmiu Izraelczyków i 12 prób morderstwa. Szarif działał w Brygadach Męczenników Al-Aksa i dostarczał broni i pomocy sprawcom zamachów terrorystycznych w Jerozolimie i w Tel Awiwie w lutym i marcu 2002 r. Odsiaduje cztery kary dożywocia. Muhammad jest skazany na dwie kary dożywocia plus 30 lat za planowanie zamachów samobójczych dla Brygad Męczenników Al-Aksa. Nasr działał z Nasserem w Brygadach Męczenników Al-Aksa i obecnie odsiaduje pięć wyroków dożywocia za planowanie zamachów samobójczych. Szósty syn, Islam, jest skazany na dożywocie za zabicie izraelskiego żołnierza w maju 2018 r. po tym, jak w latach 2004-2009 siedział w więzieniu za udział w ostrzeliwaniu Izraelczyków przez Hamas.
12 stycznia 2022 r. prezydent AP, Mahmoud 'Abbas, przyjął Latifę Abu Hmeid w swoim biurze w Ramallah, jak to robił wiele razy w przeszłości. Mówiąc o jej synu, Nasserzer, zignorował jego udział w mordowaniu Izraelczyków, ale wspomniał, że ma on raka i oskarżył Izrael o zaniedbywanie jego zdrowia. Powiedział, że sprawa więźniów jest najwyższym priorytetem palestyńskich przywódców, którzy nigdy nie zrezygnują z ich praw, mimo wszystkich nacisków wywieranych na nich.[2] Na spotkaniu Rewolucyjnej Rady Fatahu w Ramallah 4 stycznia 2022 r. 'Abbas wychwalał rodzinę Abu Hmeid za ich niezłomność i poświęcenie, i wyraził nadzieję, że Nasser Abu Hmeid w pełni wyzdrowieje i zostanie zwolniony z więzienia.[3]
Tuba AP, gazeta “Al-Hayat Al-Jadida”, opublikowała ostatnio kilka artykułów gloryfikujących Latifę Abu Hmeid, nazywając ją „palestyńskim symbolem narodowym” i “bohaterką”, która “wykarmiła swoich synów mlekiem bohaterstwa, honoru i czystego nacjonalizmu aż stali się niezrównanymi rycerzami drogi oporu”. W artykule było także oskarżenie Izraela o odpowiedzialność za stan medyczny Nassera Abu Hmeida, a w jednym z nich, autor, członek Rady Rewolucyjnej, Muwaffak Matar, nawet twierdził, że Izrael „umyślnie umieszcza” raka w ciałach więźniów.
Prezydent AP, Mahmoud 'Abbas i Latifa Abu Hmeid podczas spotkania 12 stycznia (Źródło: Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, AP, 13 stycznia 2022)
Ciąg dalszy tekstu – dwa fragmenty z dwóch artykułów o Latifie Abu Hmeid z gazety „Al-Hayat Al-Jadida” – nie jest spolszczony.
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida Editorial: Latifa Abu Hmeid Is An Emblem And Model Who Nursed Her Sons On The Milk Of Heroism, Honor And Nationalism
The January 13, 2022 editorial of the Al-Hayat Al-Jadida daily said: „Umm Nasser Abu Hmeid is a Palestinian heroine, not only because she nursed her sons on the milk of heroism, honor and pure nationalism until they became unparalleled knights on the path of resistance, but because she strengthens our confidence and certainty that it is impossible to break the Palestinian determination. [This determination] will triumph, thanks to steadfastness of the kind that we witness today in Umm Nasser, whose heart is filled with the faith of one who seeks divine reward and wishes solely to please Allah and the homeland.
„Today Arab culture must renew its [commitment to the] role models of steadfastness and daring and read closely the epic biography of Umm Nasser in this context. Her steadfastness is akin to that of Al-Khansa, [namely] Tumaḍir Bint 'Amr Ibn Al-Ḥarith Ibn Al-Sharid Al-Sulamiya. Her steadfastness is not mixed with broken sobs or with a lament carried on the back of heavy tragedy, but is the steadfastness of daring and of challenge, of certainty in the inevitability of victory, which, even if it tarries, will surely come.
„We understand, of course, that Umm Nasser’s steadfastness is not without pain and sorrow, and we may discern the glimmer [of a tear] in her eye when she sees the empty beds of her six sons in the rooms of her home, beds that were emptied by the occupation when it arrested them. This pain no doubt grows when she sees her dear Nasser very ill, in the grip of the tyrannical Israeli jailor who does not provide him with the medical care he needs, even though it is [Israel’s] responsibility to do so according to every human, legal and moral law!
„It is this noble pain in a noble heart, and this undefeated spirit and free will, that turn this lady [Umm Nasser] into an emblem and underscore the purity of her pain. She is the emblem of our people today, and the world will surely understand the meaning of true resistance thanks to the steadfastness of this woman, [who maintains] her fortitude in the face of all this pain, without any despair, frustration, collapse, or tears of defeat. Hail [Umm Nasser], full of mother’s love, yours is the our glory, ours is the pride, and Palestine’s is the history and exemplary tales.”[4]
Fatah Official And Columnist In PA Daily: Israel „Deliberately Plants” Cancer In Palestinian Prisoners
Muwaffaq Matar, a member of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council and a columnist for the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, likewise wrote an article praising Latifa Abu Hmeid and her sons, and accused Israel of deliberately causing Palestinian prisoners to become ill with cancer „in some way or other.” He wrote: „This Palestinian woman is the mother of six heroes, five of whom – Jihad, Nasser, Sharif, Nasr and Muhammad – are incarcerated in the prisons of the imperialist racist Israeli occupation, while the sixth, 'Abd Al-Mun’im, is a martyr. She has been dubbed 'the Khansa of Palestine’ and 'the Oak of Palestine,’ and is a national emblem. The leader of Fatah and president of the Palestinian people, Abu Mazen [Mahmoud 'Abbas], showed his respect and appreciation by kissing the head of this paragon of steadfastness, fortitude and sacrifice, Latifa Muhammad Naji Abu Hmeid, known as Umm Nasser Abu Hmeid. We believe that every one of the 14 million Palestinians or more, in the homeland and outside it, is yearning for the moment they get to witness the determination, honor, strength, hope and victory [that shine out from] her face…
„The racist occupying Zionists are now again burning Umm Nasser’s heart over a slow flame. Having already killed her son 'Abd Al-Mun’im, they are now letting her eldest son, the prisoner Al-Nasser, be consumed by a deadly cancer that resembles them in every detail and in its essence. For they are like a cancer, which invades as many living beings as possible in order to spread and cause death…
„The narrators of history have discovered that the Palestinian prisoner has a magical supernatural power that allows him to cultivate a personal and collective national awareness after implementing the fateful decision [to carry out the operation for which he was imprisoned], willingly and following [careful] planning. By doing so he shatters not only the shackles, the metal bars and the darkness of the dungeon, but the very notion of imprisonment, proving that the oppressing Israeli terrorist cannot break his spirit and curb his will to rise up and seek freedom, even when he is in shackles. This is what [the Israelis] are now doing to the prisoner Abu Hmeid, who remains in chains even though he is unconscious due to two [kinds of] cancer. One [kind of cancer] is human – [namely,] the racist Zionist Israeli occupier, who attacks any Palestinian, Arab and freedom-lover. The other [kind of cancer] is a natural [disease] which the first creature [i.e., the Israeli] deliberately plants, in some way or another, in the bodies of prisoners that have adopted the path of struggle seeking to restore their people’s freedom and liberate their homeland. We Palestinians are proud… that we have a school that teaches steadfastness, namely the honorable lady Umm Nasser Abu Hmeid…”[5]
Illustration of Latifa Abu Hmeid and her sons on the Twitter page of Mounir Al-Jaghoub, the spokesman of Fatah’s Recruitment and Organization Commission (Twitter.com/MonirAljaghoub, January 13, 2022)
[1] On the praise lavished upon her and upon her sons by PA and Fatah officials and activists over the years, see MEMRI reports:
Special Dispatch No. 8336, Palestinian Authority President 'Abbas Orders To Rebuild Home Of Mother Of Six Terrorists; Palestinian PM Praises Her, October 28, 2019;
Special Dispatch No.8173, Palestinian Culture Minister To Mother Of Six Terrorists: You Are A Model Of Defiance Against Israel, July 16, 2019;
Special Dispatch No.7806, Palestinian Authority President 'Abbas Orders Rebuilding Of House Of Latifa Abu Hmeid – Mother Of Six Terrorists Who Were Involved In Shooting And Suicide Attacks – After It Was Demolished By Israel, December 16, 2018;
Special Dispatch No. 6934, Praise And Support For Imprisoned Terrorists By Palestinian Authority President 'Abbas, Palestinian Authority Officials, May 21, 2017;
Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 1318, Palestinian Authority, Fatah Lead Campaign Of Solidarity With And Glorification Of Hunger-Striking Palestinian Prisoners, Including Murderers Of Israeli Civilians After Oslo Accords, June 5, 2017;
[2] Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (PA), January 13, 2022. About PA economic support for Palestinian prisoners, families of prisoners, and „martyrs,” see MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 7583, Palestinian Authority (PA) President 'Abbas: 'If We Had Only A Single Penny Left, We Would Pay It To Families Of The Martyrs And Prisoners’, July 24, 2018.
For more on PA payments to the families of prisoners and martyrs families, see MEMRI reports:
Special Dispatch No.8042, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas: Palestinian Authority Facing Financial Crisis, But We Refuse To Accept Money From Israel If Salary Of Martyrs’ Families Is Deducted, May 1, 2019;
Special Dispatch No.7980, Palestinian Authority, Fatah Continue Official Support And Encouragement Of Armed Struggle Against Israel, April 2, 2019;
Special Dispatch No.7736, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas: We Will Continue To Pay The Families Of Martyrs, Prisoners, And The Wounded; There Are Six Million Palestinian Refugees, October 30, 2018;
Clip No. 6179, Former Chief Palestinian Negotiator Nabil Shaath: We Will Not Stop Payment To Prisoners And Their Families, August 27, 2017;
Inquiry and Analysis No. 1321, Palestinian Authority, PLO Officials: Allowances To Prisoners Will Continue; 'This Issue Is Not Subject To U.S.-Israeli Extortion,’ June 16, 2017;
Special Dispatch No. 7070, Palestinian Media Stresses: President Mahmoud 'Abbas Refuses To Halt Payments To Prisoners, Families Of Martyrs, August 28, 2017;
Special Dispatch No. 7001, ’Abbas, PA Officials, Reaffirm Commitment To Continue Paying Allowances To Prisoners And Martyrs’ Families, July 10, 2017;
Inquiry and Analysis No. 1327, 2017 Palestinian Authority Budget Shows: Salaries, Benefits For Prisoners, Released Prisoners Several Times Higher Than Welfare For Needy, August 22, 2017.
The allowances paid by the PA to incarcerated and released prisoners and to the families of „martyrs” were described in detail by MEMRI President Yigal Carmon in his July 6, 2016 testimony before the U.S. Congress. See MEMRI Daily Brief No. 97, MEMRI President Yigal Carmon’s Testimony To House Committee On Foreign Affairs, July 6, 2016: Palestinian Authority Support For Imprisoned, Released, And Wounded Terrorists And Families Of 'Martyrs,’ July 6, 2016.
[3] Wafa.ps, January 4, 2022.
[4] Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (PA), January 13, 2022.
[5] Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (PA), January 16, 2022.
