That, of course, is not what the PA emphasized in this case, portraying her as a victim because she has a total of seven sons in Israeli prisons.
For reasons the PA did not exactly intend, she indeed could not be a better symbolic choice to personify their bid for statehood, combining propaganda, deception, claiming victim status, and the evasion of accountability all in one package.
"Mother of 4 terrorist murderers chosen by the PA to launch statehood campaign," by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik for Palestinian Media Watch, September 18:
The Palestinian Authority chose the mother of 4 terrorist murderers, one of whom killed seven Israeli civilians and attempted to killed twelve others, as the person to launch their statehood campaign with the UN. In a widely publicized event, the PA had Latifa Abu Hmeid lead the procession to the UN offices in Ramallah and to hand over a letter for the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.
The official PA daily reported that she launched the UN campaign last week, and noted that she is the "mother of seven prisoners and of the Shahid (Martyr) Abd Al-Mun'im Abu Hmeid." However, the paper did not mention that 4 of her imprisoned sons are murderers.
Palestinian Media Watch reported last year that Abu Hmeid then had 4 sons in Israeli prisons who were each serving between two and seven life sentences, a total of 18 life sentences. At that time she was in the news because the PA Minister of Prisoners' Affairs, Issa Karake, decided to honor her with an award, "the Plaque of Resoluteness and Giving... inscribed with the names of her four sons who are imprisoned."
Remember, these are supposed to be the "moderate" guys:
The PA minister explained then why the mother of 4 murderers of Israelis deserves such honor:
"It is she who gave birth to the fighters, and she deserves that we bow to her in salute and in honor."
The four sons are serving a total of 18 life sentences for the following crimes:
Nasser Abu Hmeid - 7 life sentences + 50 years - commander in Fatah's military wing the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in Ramallah. Convicted of killing seven Israeli civilians and 12 attempted murders.
Nasr Abu Hmeid - 5 life sentences - Member of terror faction of Fatah, Tanzim, and convicted of involvement in two terror attacks and arms dealing.
Sharif Abu Hmeid - 4 life sentences - a member in one of the brothers' units carrying out terror attacks against civilians and soldiers. Accompanied a suicide bomber to his attack in March 2002.
Muhammad Abu Hmeid - 2 life sentences + 30 years - involvement in terror attacks.
A fifth son, Abd Al-Mun'im Muhammad Yusuf Naji Abu Hmeid, the one referred to as "Martyr," was a member of the military wing of Hamas, Izz A-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, and planned and carried out the ambush and murder of an Israeli intelligence officer.
PMW has not been able to determine for which crimes the rest of the sons are imprisoned.
The following are the reports about the mother of the terrorists launching the PA statehood campaign:
PA TV News interviews Abd Al-Mun'im Wahdan, a member of the "Palestine - the 194th state" national campaign:
Wahdan: "We of the 'Palestine - the 194th state' national campaign [calling for] a Palestinian state with full sovereignty on the territory of Palestine, send a delegation from institutions, organizations, and popular factions. This delegation was headed by Um Nasser Abu Hmeid - this fighter woman, who is the mother of seven prisoners and the mother of the heroic Shahid (Martyr) from the [military wing of Hamas] Izz A-Din Al-Qassam Brigades. This campaign included a letter in which the people demand that the UN recognize Palestine as a state with full sovereignty, like the other countries." [PA TV (Fatah), Sept. 8, 2011]
"The 'Palestine - the 194th State' campaign has embarked on its national activities in support of realization [of the appeal to the UN] in September and obtaining UN membership for the State of Palestine, by conveying a letter to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, via his representative in Ramallah. The campaign started out opposite the UN building in Ramallah, with the participation of a number of heads of factions and national forces, representatives of official and popular institutions, independent personalities, and members of trade unions. Hajja Latifa Abu Hmeid, mother of seven prisoners and of the Shahid (Martyr) Abd Al-Mun'im Abu Hmeid, handed the letter to the representative of the UN Secretary General in Ramallah." [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 9, 2011]
"[In a procession which set off] yesterday from opposite the Cultural Auditorium in Ramallah in the direction of the UN representative office in Ramallah, the 'Palestine - the 194th State' national campaign was inaugurated... when Latifa Abu Hmeid, known as the 'mother of the prisoners', handed over a letter addressed to UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, via his representative in Ramallah... She was chosen [for this] because she is a symbol of Palestinian suffering as a result of the occupation's (i.e., Israel's) policy... She is the mother of prisoners Muhammad Abu Hmeid and his brothers Nasr, Nasser, Sharif, Basel, Islam and Jihad. She is prevented from seeing her sons who are sitting in the occupation's prisons." [Al-Ayyam, Sept. 9, 2011]
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Not one single penny of my tax dollars should be wasted on those barbarians. Terminate all aid NOW!!!