Palestine's biggest music star made an appearance on official Palestinian Authority (PA) TV station.
Mohammed Assaf, winner of the 2013 Arab Idol song contest, was on official PA TV two weeks ago, where he reprised his winning song "Oh flying bird," as translated by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW).
The song claims numerous Israeli cities far west of the "green line," including the coastal cities of Haifa and Akko (Acre), as well as Tzfat (Safed), Tiberias, Nazareth and Beit Shean, as part of "beautiful Palestine."
"My country Palestine is beautiful. Turn to Safed, and then to Tiberias, and send regards to the sea of Acre and Haifa. Don't forget Nazareth, the Arab fortress, and tell Beit Shean about its people's return," read the lyrics of the song.
Assaf was named as a UNRWA ambassador following his victory in the Arab Idol talent show.
PMW notes it has documented at least 12 different versions of the "Oh flying bird" song on official PA TV, including music videos, performances by singers and children's programs.
Among the cities represented as Palestine in the different versions are Yafo, Ramle, Tzfat, Tiberias, Akko, Haifa, Nazareth, Beit Shean and Beer Sheva.
By Ari Yashar
[This story has been edited from the source material.]
