Is The Palestinian Authority a Terrorist Organization Under International Law?

1. Introduction of the Issue

The Specter of Terrorism

Palestinian Media Watch  which is generally considered a credible news source:

Use by mainstream press

International media regularly cite and quote PMW translations as accurate representations of Palestinian Arabic-language media. News organizations that cite PMW as a source include: Chicago Sun-Times^[12][13] the Associated Press,^[14][15] The Telegraph^[16][17] and The Washington Post.^[18]

has recently documented multiple terrorist attacks against Israel promoted at the highest levels by the Palestinian Authority:

Fatah official: Murdering Israelis is Palestinian "right"  

PA TV song: “Nothing is sweeter than Martyrdom”  

Songs promoting violence become Palestinian hits  

Most would agree that this is an organized effort by the Palestinian Authority to create a campaign of terrorist acts against Israel. Does this make the Palestinian Authority a terrorist organization under International Law? 

  2. Discussion

 

"I came here to kill you." "No, you came here to die."

The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1566 (2004) defined Terrorism as:

"criminal acts, including against civilians, committed with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or taking of hostages, with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public or in a group of persons or particular persons, intimidate a population or compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act, which constitute offences within the scope of and as defined in the international conventions and protocols relating to terrorism, are under no circumstances justifiable by considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other similar nature," 

The above has the following key points:
  
1) Actions against civilians.

2) Intent to cause death or serious injury.

3) Purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public.

4) Or intimidate a population or compel a government to do or abstain from any act.

and explicitly notes that the above is never justified by political,  ideological, racial, ethnic or religious reasons. 

We can easily find the Palestinian Authority currently guilty of all the above by their own admission courtesy of  Palestinian Media Watch.

 3. Conclusion

The Palestinian Authority meets the definition of a Terrorist Organization as defined by The United Nations.