Is the Winner of the Global Teacher Prize, Presented by Pope Francis, Married to a PLO Terrorist Who Murdered 13 Israeli Settlers?

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Teacher of the Year

Recently the Varkey Foundation, founded by Bill Clinton, gave its Global Teacher Prize to Palestinian teacher Hanan Al-Hroub. The award was partly premised on Mrs. Al-Hroub's commitment to "teaching non-violence." 

The prize was presented by Pope Francis, speaking by video. Various other luminaries, including Matthew McConaughey, Tony Blair and the current ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum were also on stage to congratulate the winner.

In her acceptance speech Hanan Al-Hroub declared:

I am proud to be a Palestinian female teacher standing on this stage. I accept this as a win for all teachers in general and Palestinian teachers in particular. We, as teachers can build the values and morals of young minds to ensure a fair world, a more beautiful world and a more free world.

However, two days ago, the pro-Palestinian, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed (New Arab) reported that the Pope's favorite teacher is married to a "freedom-fighter." 

Hanan Al-Hroub was born and raised in the alleys of Dheisheh refugee camp and has experienced first-hand the suffering of its people. The camp is close to the city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, where she went to school. She married a Palestinian freedom fighter, Omar al-Hroub, who took part in one of the most daring guerrilla operations in the occupied territories, the Dabboya operation, in Hebron in May 1980. When the guerrillas were being pursued in the mountains they attacked a group of settlers going from the illegal Kiryat Arba settlement to the Dabboya building near the Ibrahimi Mosque. Thirteen settlers were killed, including their military leader in Hebron, and dozens were injured. Months after the operation, the guerrillas were captured; Omar was imprisoned and spent many years in Israeli prisons before being released. It was then that he met and married his life partner who became the best teacher in the world.

The piece was in turn picked up by The Palestine Chronicle and the Middle East Monitor. I read it a few hours ago on the blog IsraellyCool.

Omar Al-Hroub is a common Arab name so it's possible this is a case of mistaken identity.

No doubt, western mainstream media (which last week went overboard reporting on the prize) will go into overdrive attempting to confirm/disconfirm this report.

Not.