• Fatah exaggerated the “success” of the Savoy attack by inflating number of murdered Israelis, claiming 50-100 Israeli soldiers were killed as opposed to the real figure of 8 civilians and 3 soldiers

• Fatah: “45 years (sic.) after the Savoy operation, we say that the struggle with the Zionist enemy is still open”

As Israel is about to start Memorial Day this evening to commemorate its fallen soldiers and terror victims, it is shocking to be reminded constantly that the PA continues to celebrate the murders of both Israeli soldiers and civilians.

A branch of Fatah recently reiterated that “the struggle with the Zionist enemy is still open.” The statement was made on the backdrop of the movement’s celebration of the anniversary of the “heroic Savoy operation.”

In 1975, eight Palestinian terrorists took over the Savoy Hotel in Tel Aviv – killing 3 during the takeover – and took guests and staff as hostages. The next morning, when Israeli forces carried out a rescue operation, the terrorists murdered 5 hostages and 3 soldiers. Seven of the terrorists were killed.

Now, several decades later, Abbas’ Fatah Movement still describes the murders as a “heroic operation” and its perpetrators as “the heroic members of the squad.” Fatah’s Nablus branch glorified the attack as “one of the greatest high-quality operations,” and even exaggerated the “success” of the “operation” by inflating the numbers of killed Israelis:

“The self-sacrificing operation at the Savoy [Hotel] is considered one of the greatest high-quality operations of the Al-Asifa forces, the military wing of the Fatah Movement, and dozens of [Israeli] officers were killed in it (sic., of the 11 murdered 3 were soldiers attempting a rescue operation). There is no precise number of those killed (sic.), but the number is between 50 to 100 killed soldiers and officers on the Israeli side, and over 150 wounded soldiers and officers (sic.).”

[Facebook page of the Fatah Movement – Nablus Branch, March 10, 2021]

Fatah further stressed the “quality” of the attack by pointing out that it was none other than arch-terrorist Abu Jihad who “personally oversaw the operation.” The PA credits Abu Jihad with organizing the murders of at least 125 people. Palestinian Media Watch has documented that the PA has turned Abu Jihad into a role model for Palestinian society.

“Leader Martyr Khalil Al-Wazir ‘Abu Jihad’ personally oversaw this operation.”

Fatah posted an image of an old poster featuring the terrorists
who carried out the Savoy attack holding various weapons.
Text on poster: “A Greek boat and flamethrowers in the Tel Aviv operation”

Fatah’s post on Facebook also included the alleged “goal and instructions” of Abu Jihad to the “heroic” terrorists. One of the instructions supposedly stated “The cultured face of our revolution will triumph, through the cooperation and our treatment of the hostages, as we will not kill even one of them.” If this was in fact said at the time, obviously it was not carried out as the terrorists murdered 11 Israelis.

Fatah also included a photo of a monument dedicated to the Savoy terrorists. The monument features the names of “the heroic Martyrs.”

The following is a longer excerpt of Fatah’s post glorifying the Savoy attack:

Posted text: “45 years (sic., 46 years) since the heroic Savoy operation (i.e., terror attack, 11 murdered)
Communications Office, [Fatah’s] Nablus Branch

In the life of the fighting nations and peoples, including our Palestinian people, there are eternal memories and struggles, and a people that does not read the history of its struggles, which were immersed in the blood of the Martyrs, is not worthy of living. Our Palestinian people has eternal national memories in the month of March, the most prominent of which is the Savoy operation on March 6, 1975.

The self-sacrificing operation at the Savoy [Hotel] is considered one of the greatest high-quality operations of the Al-Asifa forces, the military wing of the Fatah Movement, and dozens of [Israeli] officers were killed in it (sic., of the 11 murdered 3 were soldiers attempting a rescue operation). There is no precise number of those killed (sic.), but the number is between 50 to 100 killed soldiers and officers on the Israeli side, and over 150 wounded soldiers and officers (sic.). One of those killed was [Israeli Army] Colonel Uzi Yairi, one of the senior intelligence officers who commanded the Verdun Operation (sic., while Yairi was commander of the elite Sayeret Matkal unit, PMW found no evidence he participated in Operation Spring of Youth, known in Arabic as the Verdun Operation, much less commanded it –Ed.), in which the three leaders [Kamal Nasser, Kamal Adwan, and Abu Yusuf Al-Najjar] (i.e., senior leaders of the Black September terror organization) were assassinated. The operation was revenge for the assassination of leaders Kamal Adwan, Kamal Nasser, and Abu Yusuf Al-Najjar. It should be noted that leader Martyr Khalil Al-Wazir ‘Abu Jihad’ (i.e., terrorist responsible for murder of 125) personally oversaw this operation…

The goal of the operation and the instructions of Martyr leader Abu Jihad to the heroic members of the squad:

1. The goal is the release of our heroic prisoners from all the Israeli prisons.
2. To avenge the death of the three Martyr leaders.
3. Through the heroism and courage of the Fatah members, we will serve as an example to all the revolutionaries in the world.
4. We will act as one in carrying out the operation, with a spirit of cooperation, comradery, and love between the members of the squad.
5. The cultured face of our revolution will triumph, through the cooperation and our treatment of the hostages, as we will not kill even one of them (sic., civilians were murdered both during the takeover of the hotel and during the Israeli rescue operation).
6. If there are women and children, we must treat them well.
7. We will realize the right of return to our historical land and wave the flag of Palestine on the land of Palestine.
8. Whoever is captured by the enemy must hold his head high with pride like the mountains of the Galilee…’

45 years (sic., 46 years) after the Savoy operation, we say that the struggle with the Zionist enemy is still open, and that it will only end when the Palestinian people’s historical rights are achieved: return, self-determination, and building the independent Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem.”

[Facebook page of the Fatah Movement – Nablus Branch, March 10, 2021]

Savoy terror attack: In March 1975, eight terrorists traveled by boat from Lebanon to a Tel Aviv beach. They took over the Savoy Hotel and took guests as hostages. The next morning, Israeli forces attacked and killed seven of the terrorists. Eight hostages and three soldiers were killed by the terrorists during the attack.

The Verdun Operation is the Arabic name for an Israeli military operation against PLO targets in the Lebanese cities of Beirut and Sidon on April 10, 1973 (Operation Spring of Youth in Israel.) During the operation, Israeli army forces killed three senior PLO leaders, all of whom were also senior members of the Black September terror organization: Kamal Adwan, Kamal Nasser, and Abu Yusuf Al-Najjar.

Kamal Adwan and Kamal Nasser were both senior members of Black September, a secret branch of Fatah, who were killed by Israeli forces in April 1973. Kamal Nasser was also the spokesperson for the PLO and Fatah. Kamal Adwan was responsible for Fatah terrorist operations in Israel.

Abu Yusuf Al-Najjar – was Arafat’s deputy and among the founders of Fatah. He was the Commander of Al-Asifa, Fatah’s military unit, and member of Fatah’s Central Committee and PLO’s Executive Committee. He also was the Commander of Operations of the terror organization Black September, a secret branch of Fatah, and involved in the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics (Sept. 5, 1972). He was killed by Israel in 1973.

Abu Jihad (Khalil Al-Wazir) – was a founder of Fatah and deputy to Yasser Arafat. He headed the PLO terror organization’s military wing and also planned many deadly Fatah terror attacks in the 1960’s – 1980’s. These attacks, in which a total of 125 Israelis were murdered, included the most lethal in Israeli history – the hijacking of a bus and murder of 37 civilians, 12 of them children.