Palestinian town won’t rename center honoring ‘hero’ Dalal Mughrabi

A Palestinian town is refusing to change name of a women’s center in the West Bank named after a notorious terrorist, saying local residents would not capitulate to international pressure.

Earlier this week, both the UN and the Norwegian government withdrew support for the center named after Dalal Mughrabi, condemning the move as “offensive” and a glorification of terrorism. Norway’s foreign minister went a step further and demanded the money his government donated for the center’s construction be returned.

The head of Burqa’s city council, Sami Daghlas, told the official PA news outlet Wafa this week that local residents had chosen to “commemorate a Palestinian hero who sacrificed herself for her country and therefore they have no intention of changing its name, regardless of the price.”

He said locals would “never capitulate to pressure or blackmail,” and would not oppose returning Norway’s donation, saying it only amounted to “few thousand dollars.”