JSR Special Investigation : Laila Ghannam, Governor of Ramallah, hosts murderers and attack planners
Laila Ghannam, Governor of the Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate, has been systematically meeting in recent weeks with dozens of released terrorists, some of whom are responsible for the murder of Israeli citizens, and some of whom were released in recent hostage deals after serving decades in prison. The visits are documented and published on the official Facebook page of the Governor herself. Omer Rahamim, CEO of the Yesha Council, said in response: “Anyone who embraces terrorists who tried to murder Jewish children is a terrorist themselves. The official visit of the Governor of Ramallah to attack planners is not accidental, but part of a deliberate policy of glorifying terrorism, funded and sponsored by the Palestinian Authority.”
Information revealed by us at the Judea and Samaria Situation Room (JSR) indicates that the Governor of Ramallah, Laila Ghannam, has been conducting a series of meetings and support visits in recent weeks with dozens of Arab terrorists released from Israeli prison. These visits are not only not conducted in secret, but take place in a highly public manner, including press releases and social media posts. This represents explicit support by a senior Palestinian Authority official for terrorists and terrorist activities against Jews.
Ghannam, born in 1975, serves as Governor of the Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate on behalf of PA President Mahmoud Abbas. She is the first and only woman to hold such a senior position in the Palestinian Authority. In Western countries, she used to be cited as a symbol of a modern and moderate Palestinian government. The recent visits present a completely different picture, in which Ramallah Governor Laila Ghannam is exposed as a local PA leader operating publicly to support terrorism and terrorist operatives.
The Terrorists Supported by the Governor of Ramallah
The documentation gathered by the Yesha Council, in cooperation with “The Real Price” project of Hakol Hayehudi (“The Jewish Voice”), details the identities of those she met with and the acts for which they were imprisoned:
Last Wednesday, Ghannam hosted released terrorist Fakhri Barghouti in her office, a Fatah terrorist organization council member who served time in prison for involvement in the murder of shuttle driver Mordechai Yekuel (may God avenge his blood), who was murdered in January 1978 while driving Arab laborers back to their work. The visit was also attended by his son, Shadi Barghouti, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in a 2003 shooting attack in Binyamin, in which soldiers Roi Yaakov Salomon, Erez Idan, and Elad Pollack (may God avenge their blood) were murdered. Shadi was released in February 2025 in a hostage deal. Both are residents of Kobar — a village from which many terrorists have emerged over the years.
Among the others she met with:
- Muhammad Dalaisha: A senior Fatah official and one of the central planners of the 2005 shooting attack at the Halamish junction, in which two children were seriously injured.
- Mazen Qadi: Who drove the terrorist who carried out the 2002 attack at the “Seafood Market” restaurant in Tel Aviv, in which three people were murdered and 35 were wounded. Qadi also carried out multiple shooting attacks in the Binyamin area.
Also among those hosted: Abdel-Basset Shawabkeh, a senior Fatah Tanzim operative in Ramallah; Muhammad Nakhleh, a Fatah operative and member of a military cell that carried out an attack in which two Jews were wounded; Saad el-Din Ghabr, who planted a bomb in a Jerusalem pub and carried out numerous shooting attacks during the Second Intifada; and Amir Abu Radaha, who was arrested in the 1990s for the murder of a minor and provided a car to terrorists who carried out an attack in which a Jew was murdered.
The “Price” project of Hakol Hayehudi showcases the heavy blood price of releasing terrorists in deals with Hamas during the “Tkuma” [formerly “Swords of Iron”] War. 993 arch-murderers and terrorists were released in these deals.
For further information and reading of “the Price” project click here..“The Palestinian Authority is a Terrorist Entity”
In response to the exposure, Omer Rahamim, CEO of the Yesha Council, stated:
“Anyone who embraces terrorists who tried to murder Jewish children is a terrorist themselves. The official visit of the Governor of Ramallah to attack planners is not accidental, but part of a deliberate policy of glorifying terrorism, funded and sponsored by the PA.
The time has come for the State of Israel and the world to stop deluding themselves: the Palestinian Authority is a terrorist entity that poses a tangible danger to the entire State of Israel, and to the residents of Judea and Samaria in particular.
The Israeli government must declare the PA a terrorist organization, work toward its full dissolution, and revoke the Oslo Accords, which brought us nothing but blood and bereavement. We cannot tolerate an entity that provides a tailwind to murderers.”
The Arab Lie and Global Disregard
The visits by Ramallah Governor Laila Ghannam expose the truth that foreign governments prefer to ignore. While American and European officials continue to fund the Palestinian Authority and speak of a “partnership for peace,” its senior official photographs herself embracing individuals who planned and murdered Israeli citizens, and posts the photos on social networks.
The story of the Governor who supports terrorism was revealed just hours before a PA police officer attempted to ram Israeli soldiers at the Enav checkpoint and was neutralized — after which the Fatah organization, Abbas’s movement, issued an official ‘Shahid’ (martyr) notice for him.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Who is Laila Ghannam? A public supporter of terrorism and of terrorists who murdered Jews and served time in prison, while holding an official position as the Governor of the Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate on behalf of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas—the first woman to hold this position.
- What did the Yesha Council expose about Laila Ghannam? That the Governor of Ramallah conducts documented, official visits to released terrorists, some of whom are responsible for the murder of Israelis, and publishes the photos on her official Facebook page.
- Who are the terrorists Ghannam visited? Among those she met with: a planner of an attack in which children were wounded, the driver of a terrorist who murdered three people in Tel Aviv, and a lifer who participated in the murder of three soldiers — most of whom were released in recent hostage deals.
- What is the position of the Yesha Council? CEO Omer Rahamim called to declare the Palestinian Authority a terrorist organization and to work toward its full dissolution and the revocation of the Oslo Accords.