Up until the day after the massive terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, the Palestinian media was voicing increasingly virulent anti-American sentiment. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, there was a sudden reduction in direct anti-US rhetoric, and more subtle references to America’s having to rethink its “superpower” status.

The following excerpt from an editorial “Give Peace a Chance” (written by the editor of the Palestinian Authority owned daily) and the caricature below illustrate the ongoing anti-Americanism expressed in the Palestinian Authority. Note the use of the word “earthquake” here, implying that the attacks were a natural disaster.

“…Three weeks after the “earthquake,” the Americans had to revise [their thinking] on many issues, perhaps the most important of which is its foreign policy that regarded others from an exaggerated sense of superiority – [one which] caused it not to see things clearly. The earthquake forced the Americans to get down out of their ivory tower and take a realistic look at what is happening on the planet. They view themselves as its master, but actually they have discovered that there has been a huge build-up of hatred against them…”(Al Hayat Al Jadida, Oct. 3,2001) (PMW 10/04/01)