PA song says an apple a day will keep Israel away

A new song about Palestinian resistance that was broadcasted on Palestinian Authority state television on Tuesday 2 September has elicited a barrage of mocking and jeering responses.

The song, sung by Hafez Mussa, is titled “Without Weapons” and defines “legitimate resistance” as nonviolent, unarmed and peaceful. One of the lyrics “Plant olives, plant lemons, plant apples. Do not let the oppressor in my country rest” inspired a plethora of memes by Palestinians, making fun of the song and its message. Many saw the song as discrediting other forms of resistance, except for the “resistance of planting fruits and vegetables” on their land.

Other Palestinians sarcastically replaced the lyrics of songs by armed groups such as Hamas’s Qassam Brigades - which typically glorifies armed resistance against the Israeli occupation - with lines that glorified apples and courgettes.

The song is seen as reflective of the PA’s policy on resistance, with President Mahmoud Abbas well known for adamantly opposing armed action in any shape or form.

The hashtag “Apple Revolution” was widely used. Memes included photos of vegetable stalls with the caption of “The Palestinian Authority’s exhibition of light and medium weapons.”

Another meme depicted Israel’s Iron Dome - used to intercept rockets fired from Gaza - with the caption: The Iron Dome intercepts three fruits from the models Apple 1, Lemon 2, and Olive 3.”

In one video, a fake rocket launcher was stocked with apples while an actor played the role of a resistance fighter.

"In the name of God, this is our speedy and shattering response to the crimes of the Israeli occupation, where we will target the Ntzarim military camp with two apples. Allahu Akbar!" the actor said.

The derisive response on social media forced the singer to issue an apology and clarification on his own Facebook page.

“I never meant to say I am against armed resistance,” Mussa wrote. “I fully support it until the last breath and until every inch of the land returns to us. The song was misunderstood, and I apologise for that.”

Mussa added that a song in support of armed resistance will be published soon.

The song, revealed the singer, was written at the request of Ziad Abu Ein two years ago. Abu Ein was a PA cabinet minister, and the head of the Anti-Wall and Settlement Commision. He died last December of a heart attack, after an altercation with Israeli soldiers in the village of Turmusaya following a nonviolent protest of planting olive trees on the lands slated for confiscation by Israel.