Hanan Ashrawi is the most articulate spokesperson of the Palestinian Authority and of the Palestinian people in general. She is a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Committee and the first woman elected to the PLO Executive Committee. Ashrawi, who has a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Virginia, is an advocate of human rights and particularly of women’s rights in Arab society. Her fluent English, her expertise in literature, her familiarity with American culture and politics and her impressive rhetorical skills all make her a very popular interview subject with media outlets around the world. She represents her people’s positions clearly and succinctly as she describes her vision for a just and lasting peace with Israel, sometimes even embarrassing the Israeli representatives who confront her during live broadcasts. The Palestinians could not have a better ambassador than Hanan Ashrawi.

Over the past few months, however, Ashrawi’s tone has changed — more precisely, ever since the Palestinians first launched their campaign for international recognition for Palestine as a member state of the United Nations. During a series of meetings she held with European and US leaders and other people of influence both in the Palestinian Authority and around the world, she began describing what she calls Israeli “crimes.” Slowly but steadily, this articulate spokeswoman has adopted a more militant phraseology that employs extreme descriptions and comparisons, which few Palestinian public figures would use.

Ashrawi now uses terms like “ethnic cleansing,” “apartheid” and “the premeditated killing of civilians.” Hardly a day goes by in which the aides of this member of the PLO’s Executive Committee don’t release at least one statement to the Palestinian, Israeli and international media with the phrase “Israel’s calculated crimes.” Her close allies and supporters, who happen to include left-wing Israeli activists, claim that she has the right to use such radical language in order to put pressure on Israel, leading to the recognition of Palestinian statehood. From their perspective, all means are legitimate and permissible in order to obtain the final objective.

Recently, Ashrawi took her extreme rhetoric up another notch, casting doubts on her comments’ overall contribution to achieving the Palestinian objective. In fact, her most recent comment could well amplify the distrust and animosity between the parties. That happened after the American NBC news network announced that it would soon shoot a six-episode suspense series called "Dig" in Jerusalem. The series tells the story of an FBI agent stationed in the Israeli capital and investigating a murder. While unraveling the mystery, he encounters Jerusalem’s unique historical legacy, with some of the filming taking place in the City of David archaeological site. The project has been commended by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, and the municipality will provide logistical support.