New Palestinian pop music encourages knife attacks against Israelis
New pop music songs blasting in cars and stores in Jerusalem and the West Bank support and incite more Palestinian violence against Israelis, with lyrics like “Stab, stab!” and “Jerusalem is burning,” according to Public Radio International (PRI).
This comes at a time where Israeli soldiers and citizens have fallen victim to a wave of almost daily stabbings, shootings and vehicular attacks by young Palestinians.
Songs like “The Lovers of Stabbing” appear in online videos featuring footage of stabbing attacks; like the one of Alaa Abu Jamal who drove a company car into a bus stop, exited the vehicle and stabbed nearby pedestrians, killing one and injuring another last October.
According to PRI, trending 30-year old musician named Qassem Al Najjar says, “I want to sing for my beloved. I want to sing a romantic song. But presence of Israeli occupation puts a big mission and duty on my shoulders.”
About five to 10 of these CDs are sold daily for about $1.25 each and are most often heard blasting in cars and shops in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The production details are generally omitted as shop owners fear possible consequences by Israeli authorities.
“Maybe people outside our country, when they listen to these songs, they say, ‘These people want to kill only.’ But this is the only way to make our land free,’ Fadi, a record shop owner in Ramallah said.
In October, The Foreign Desk did an investigative report on Palestinian propaganda inciting and encouraging knife attacks on social media platforms, where popular Arabic hashtags such as “The Intifada has started,” “The third Intifada,” The Jerusalem Intifada,” "The Knife Intifada," "Poison the Knife before You Stab," and "Slaughtering the Jews" were trending along with memes and postcard-type images calling for more attacks. (See slideshow)
The latest violent campaign against Israelis, which began in September 2015, known as the “Wave of Terror” or “Knife Intifada,” has resulted in about 27 deaths.
