During the uprising in 2015, you voiced full support for the so-called martyrs, stating that “We welcome every drop of blood spilled in Jerusalem.” It is tragic that you and many other Palestinian officials defend the use of “martyrdom” language when killing innocent Israeli civilians, many of whom want to end the occupation. In an interview on Israeli television Channel 2 in April 2016, however, you changed your tone when you said, “In one school, we found 70 boys and girls who were carrying knives. We took the knives and spoke to them and said: ‘This is a mistake. We do not want you to kill and be killed…’”

But then, in a sign of official endorsement, the village of Surda-Abu Qash in early 2016 named a park after Muhannad Halabi, a 19-year who was killed by Israeli police following a stabbing attack against Israeli civilians. Your public support of such occurrences only encourages more violence. It’s time for you to be honest with your own public by ending your damaging narrative. The young and impressionable would rather embrace the ‘glory’ of martyrdom than listen to your half-hearted, occasional pleas to abandon violence. Meanwhile, you are undermining your position in the eyes of Israelis as you are portraying yourself as a double-talker and a weak leader who is not in control.