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| Violence-Diplomacy strategy |
Palestinian leaders from both Fatah and Hamas argue that terror -- including suicide terror against Israel, which they call “resistance” or “armed struggle” -- is as a valid political tool, and should be combined with diplomacy. They refer to violence as “seeding,” which is followed by diplomacy; i.e. stopping terror in order to let diplomacy reap the fruits of the terror. Palestinians have argued that in recent years this tactic has proven to be a successful strategy.
Fatah say that Yasser Arafat represents the model, the “expert on the timing of seeding the [armed] struggle and reaping diplomacy.” [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 9, 2006]. Hamas argues that it has succeeded: “Praise to Allah, we [Hamas] have demonstrated glowing success in combining diplomacy and resistance.” [Hamas representative Ayman Taha, Al-Rissala, May 17, 2007].
Most importantly, the use of Palestinian terror is seen as a function of its profitability and the PA’s capabilities. As former Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei (Abu Alaa) said in August 2010 when asked if the Palestinians should be using armed “resistance”:
"I see and analyze. And if it [resistance] gives me [benefit] without costing me, yes." [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 5, 2010].
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has expressed this sentiment as well: "Now (in 2008) we are against armed conflict because we are unable. In the future stages, things may be different. I was honored to be the one to shoot the first bullet in 1965 [Fatah terror against Israel began in 1965], and having taught resistance to many in this area and around the world, defining it and when it is beneficial and when it is not... we had the honor of leading the resistance. We taught everyone what resistance is, including the Hezbollah, who were trained in our [Fatah] camps." [Al-Dustur, Jordan, Feb. 28, 2008]
Palestinians across the political spectrum state that “armed resistance” is a valid tool. Moreover, if after the current stage of negotiations the Palestinians feel that they have not achieved their political demands, they will return to violence -- as soon as it is beneficial and they are able. |
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| "The rifle seeds – Diplomacy reaps" |
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Senior PA leader Rajoub: "Resistance is Fatah's strategic right - in all its forms"
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), Nov. 29, 2012
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Fatah Central Committee member, Jibril Rajoub:
"Whoever invades our territory, will leave in a wooden plank (i.e., in a coffin). This land is our land... Out of loyalty to your blood, Yasser Arafat, you who died during this month, we will not return the sword to its sheath until there is a state... Resistance is Fatah's strategic right - in all its forms... We are ready - if there's shooting, we'll shoot. If there are demonstrations, we'll demonstrate."
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PA daily columnist: "Armed resistance and popular resistance are one single resistance"
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 23, 2012
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Columnist for official PA daily Yahya Rabah:
“The message that came through clearly from the heart of the [battle] field, and from the heart of the hot resistance is a message – supported by actual proof –stressing that our people is one; the project to bring about the liberation, the independence, and the building of the state, is one single project; their armed resistance and the popular (i.e., non-violent) resistance, are one single resistance; and the path and destiny of [the nation] in the West Bank, in the Gaza Strip, and in Jerusalem, are the same single path and destiny.”
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Fatah official: "Every phase has a particular form of resistance" and armed resistance is still an option
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Source:
Wattan TV website, Oct. 8, 2012
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PA TV host: "Have the Palestinians, or the PLO, removed from their lexicon the term 'revolution,' in the sense of armed revolution?"
Member of the Fatah Central Committee, Mahmoud Al-Aloul: "No. No one has eliminated armed struggle or resistance as an option. Recently, at the last Fatah conference, there was an important declaration in the Introduction to the Political Program that we considered an integral part of the Political Program and whose important points stated that Fatah, for example, is a national liberation movement, and that Fatah believes that resistance, in all its forms, is the legitimate right of occupied nations when confronting their occupiers. I do not think that there's a single Palestinian who has eliminated resistance, or any form of resistance whatsoever, from consideration, or from his plans. That's in principle and in theory. We have to understand this well: Every form of resistance has certain conditions that are necessary for its use. So every phase has a particular form of resistance best suited to it, and everyone has agreed that at this stage, that form is popular resistance (i.e., non-violent). At the same time, armed resistance has absolutely not been eliminated from anyone's options. It needs a suitable climate not only among us... We hope that what is being spoken of as the "Arab Spring" and changes in the Arab world will create the climate so that the Palestinians can employ it (i.e., armed resistance)."
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Non-violent struggle is "no less important than armed struggle"
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 2, 2012
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Headline: "International lawyer Jonathan Kuttab in meeting on Wednesday – the non-violent struggle, which is being maligned, must become our principal means…"
"Participants in a meeting on Wednesday reacted enthusiastically to guest [speaker], international attorney Jonathan Kuttab, an expert on non-violent struggle. [Kuttab] reviewed the significance of this [type of] struggle, which in his opinion is 'maligned'… Kuttab said that non-violent struggle is a means of struggle no less important than armed struggle – neither in terms of training and preparation, nor in terms of effectiveness and results – in conditions like those of the Palestinian nation. This is because, in view of the unfortunate condition of our cause, popular resistance is the means, perhaps the only means, of the non-violent struggle that will prove feasible and effective. He explained that sometimes, many people misunderstand non-violent struggle, believing it to be a sort of ceasefire, surrender, or [attempt] to avoid real battles. However, in reality, non-violent struggle is not just refraining from violent means, for it is a multifaceted ideological system based on foundations that differ from – and sometimes are the opposite of – armed struggle. If the armed or military struggle demands the destruction of as many enemy installations as possible while limiting loss of life on one side, the opposite is true of the non-violent approach to struggle: the death of as many victims as possible among the oppressed side (i.e., the Palestinian side) serves to strengthen it, while civilian deaths among the enemy (i.e., among Israelis) diminishes the legitimacy of its struggle."
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Fatah official glorifies terrorists as “Martyrs,” praises principle of alternating violence with negotiations
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), July 8, 2012
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PA TV live broadcast of ceremony commemorating anniversary of the death of Ghassan Kanafani – Tulkarem.
Mohammad Shtayyeh, member of the Fatah Central Committee:
"We, of the Fatah movement, do not cry over Martyrs. It is natural that a fighter should die as a Martyr, [as did] Abu Jihad, Abu Iyad, the Martyr, the symbol Yasser Arafat, and thousands more. But what makes Ghassan Kanafani special is that he died as a Martyr early on, like the Martyrdom-seekers Kamal Adwan, Kamal Nasser, Abu Yusuf Al-Najar, and Abu Ali Iyad…
Today we recall Hani Al-Hassan, who said: 'Military action seeds, and political action reaps.'"
Note: Abu Jihad (Khalil Al-Wazir) was a founder of Fatah and deputy to Yasser Arafat. He headed the PLO terror organization's military wing and planned many deadly Fatah terror attacks, including the most lethal in Israeli history, the hijacking of a bus and killing of 37 civilians, 12 of them children.
Abu Iyad (Salah Khalaf) was a founder of Fatah and Head of the Black September terror group. Attacks he planned included the murder of two American diplomats, as well as the murders of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972.
Ghassan Kanafi was a writer and a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Kamal Adwan was responsible for Fatah’s terrorist operations and a senior member of Black September. He and Kamal Nasser were killed by Israeli forces in April 1973.
Abu Yusuf Al-Najjar was Arafat's deputy, and commander of operations for the Black September organization. He was killed by Israeli forces in April 1973.
Abu Ali Iyad was appointed head of Fatah military operations in 1966, and was responsible for several terror attacks.
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Fatah leader: “Fatah believes that the resistance in all its form” is a “legitimate right”
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), Jan. 26, 2012
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PA TV program Special Interview devoted to the fourth anniversary of the death of George Habash.
Studio guests: Fatah Central Committee member Mahmoud Al-Aloul; Deputy Secretary General of the Popular Front, Abd Al-Rahim Malouh; and member of the Palestinian National Council, Azmi Al-khahwaja.
Al-Aloul: "Fatah believes that the resistance, in all its forms, is the legitimate right of occupied nations in the face of their occupiers. Right now, in implementation, we say that every stage has its [appropriate] form."
PA TV host: "Of course; it's a new stage."
Al-Aloul: "The broadening of the margins of [political] maneuvering sometimes make it difficult for others to understand one correctly, but that is the reality."
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PLO official: Popular resistance is appropriate “right now,” but “all forms of resistance” are a “legitimate right”
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), Jan. 12, 2012
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PA TV News:
Wasil Abu Yusuf, Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Front and member of the PLO Executive Committee:
"Popular resistance is the appropriate form [of struggle] right now, within the framework of the Palestinian people's resistance to the occupation, settlements, and the [security] fence, along with an emphasis on [the fact] that all forms of resistance are a legitimate right of the Palestinian people."
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DFLP leader: “The PLO has not ruled out the armed struggle”
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 10, 2012
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| "Member of the Democratic [Front for Liberation of Palestine] central leadership, Sayel Khalil, said [during workshop held by the Struggle Front and the Political National Guidance in Tulkarem] that… the PLO has not ruled out the armed struggle and the Palestinian national struggle in its many forms, [chosen] in accordance with the [needs of] the period. He noted that we have a unified national strategy that fits the interests of our people in accordance with the [current] Political phase." |
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Fatah official: “If the Israeli side refuses peace, then all the options are open to our people”
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 8, 2012
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| "Member of the Fatah Central Committee, Jamal Muhaisen delivered greetings from the President [Abbas], the central committee and the revolutionary council… emphasized that our people and its leadership seek peace. He said, 'If the Israeli side refuses peace, then all the options are open to our people…' … Muhaisen addressed Israel, saying: 'We are a people that will not raise a white flag, because we are a fighting people. You have an opportunity to be part of the region. If not, your fate will be like the fate of all the invasions of Palestine, all of which ended in defeat.'" |
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Official speaking in Abbas’ name: Fatah’s program of "struggle” will not change, “resistance in all its forms” is a “right”
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 5, 2012
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"The Ramallah and El-Bireh branch of Fatah held an official and popular central rally to mark the occasion… attended by member of the Fatah Central Committee Mahmoud Al-Aloul, representing President Mahmoud Abbas… In a speech he delivered on behalf of the President, Al-Aloul said: 'On this day, when some pioneers from among our people stepped forward, believing in their Lord and the ability of their people to sacrifice, and refusing submission and oppression – there was an outbreak [of the Fatah revolution], there was the first bullet, there was Fatah…'
Al-Aloul stated that since its inception, the [Fatah] movement has adopted a clear program pertaining to the struggle and to social issues, which it will not change, based on the armed struggle and the people's long-term war. It continued with this and adhered to this, because it [the Fatah movement] believes that resistance in all its forms is the legitimate right of occupied peoples… He emphasized that the leadership, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, has made every effort, offered every opportunity to seek peace, and cooperated with every initiative… Al-Aloul said that 2012 is the critical year of the popular resistance. He called upon Fatah members to participate in it in order to deal with the Israeli aggression. He emphasized, 'We can no longer restrain the villagers, the residents and the youth in their resistance. The popular resistance will erupt alongside the political activity, whose aim is to earn the world's [support], to lay a siege against the Israeli policy, and to isolate the occupation."
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Fatah official: Fatah supports “ongoing armed struggle” (i.e., violence) as well as “popular struggle”
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), Jan. 4, 2012
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Rally marking 47th anniversary of the Palestinian revolution, broadcast from Ramallah:
Fatah Central Committee member Mahmoud Al-Aloul:
"This movement from the outset presented a clear program for social struggle, and has not changed it to this day. It is a program of struggle which is based on ongoing armed struggle and popular struggle. This is what [the movement] has consistently upheld completely, to this day.
Did we not present a new political program, in which the Fatah movement believes that the struggle in all its forms is the legitimate right of occupied peoples in standing up to their occupiers? But every stage has its own form of struggle. You remember when you called the Martyr (Shahid) Khalil Al-Wazir 'the first bullet, the first stone'? When he turned to the stone, he did not rule out the possibility of the bullet. That is Fatah."
Note: Abu Jihad (Khalil Al-Wazir) – one of the founders of Fatah and deputy to Yasser Arafat. Headed PLO’s military wing. Planned many deadly Fatah terror attacks, including the most lethal in Israeli history, the hijacking of a bus and killing of 37 civilians, 12 of them children. |
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Fatah has a right to all forms of struggle, including armed struggle
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 1, 2012
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Excerpt from a long article about Fatah by Bakr Abu Bakr, marking 47th anniversary of the start of Fatah's activity. The article, occupying a full page, is printed against the background of the Fatah logo. Writer refers to Israel as the 'Zionist enemy'.
Headline: "Fatah is winning through activity and the masses"
"The [Fatah] movement emphasizes its right to engage in all forms of the struggle, as approved by international laws - including the armed struggle. It has chosen, at the present stage, the mass struggle, popular struggle, or peaceful struggle as the direction of the struggle."
Note: The PA has claimed for many years that all its terror is justified by international law. This is a reference to UN resolution 3236, which "recognizes the right of the Palestinian people to regain its rights by all means in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations." However, the resolution goes on to state that the use of "all means" should be "in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations..." The UN Charter prohibits targeting civilians, even in war. |
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Fatah official: Popular resistance and armed resistance both be used in their “proper place”
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), July 1, 2011
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Program about Palestinian - Fatah-Hamas reconciliation and the appointment of a transitional Prime Minister.
Guests: Abbas Zaki, member of the Fatah Central Committee
From studio in Gaza: senior Hamas official Ismail Radwan
PA TV host: ”In other words, resistance is sacred. [So] you would agree with this principle: ’Resistance is the right of the Palestinian people, a sacred right, but weapons are not sacred, and every situation has its own circumstances and its own timing’?”
Radwan: ”I say to you that it’s not a matter of weapons or no weapons. Weapons are sacred when I use them against the occupation, which knows only the language of force. So while the popular resistance has been good (i.e., effective), at the same time the armed resistance has also been good. I tell you honestly, we [Hamas and Fatah] may well agree on organizing the resistance, whether popular or armed or in all other forms of resistance -”
[Host allows Zaki to respond]
Zaki: ”Firstly, I agree with him that popular resistance, against the backdrop of the current situation, does work, and [the security fence route adjustment around] Bil’in proves that it’s an effective means which can achieve results. However, we the Palestinian people – [UN General Assembly] Resolution 3236 gives the Palestinian people the right to use all means of struggle, including the armed struggle. But the use of the armed struggle requires a [certain] atmosphere, it requires internal order, it requires that using it will be of great benefit to you and will carry a heavy price for the enemy. Unfortunately, all of this is absent.”
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Armed struggle is "impossible under current conditions," but "moment of resistance" will arrive
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 11, 2011
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Adli Sadeq, PLO Ambassador to India and regular columnist for official PA daily:
“On the Palestinian level, no one disagrees that the armed struggle is difficult, or impossible, under current conditions. Our obligation right now is to prevent the violation of our commitment to a work plan which will maintain public order, protect society from disruptions, and allow the political players to compensate for the abstention from the most noble means of resistance (when it is strategically possible) –i.e., the armed struggle – by means of advantages and achievements in our political standing. …
The armed forces and groups, wherever they may be, must gather together under the flag of the national entity, with their weapons and with their vision, and must willingly forego their ability to coerce on the internal level. The use of resistance as an excuse is not convincing; Palestinian experience has show us that when the moment of resistance arrives, whether the estimates are mistaken or accurate, it is the legitimate leadership that will be on the frontlines, and that is who will push society into the conflict – as happened in the lengthy Second Intifada, when the security services and Hamas fought together.”
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PA daily coumnist: Our obligation right now is to abstain from armed struggle (violence)
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 11, 2011
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| “On the Palestinian level, no one disagrees that the armed struggle is difficult, or impossible, under the current conditions. Our obligation right now is to prevent the violation of our commitment to a work plan which will maintain public order, protect society from disruptions, and allow the political players to compensate for the abstention from the most noble means of resistance (when it is strategically possible) –i.e., the armed struggle – by means of advantages and achievements in our political standing. … The armed forces and groups, wherever they may be, must gather together under the flag of the national entity, with their weapons and with their vision, and must willingly forego their ability to coerce on the internal level. The use of resistance as an excuse is not convincing; Palestinian experience has shown us that when the moment of resistance arrives, whether the estimates are mistaken or accurate, it is the legitimate leadership that will be on the frontlines, and that is who will push society into the conflict – as happened in the lengthy Second Intifada, when the security services and Hamas fought together.” |
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Fatah spokesman: "We want to die as Shahids [Martyrs] in exchange for political profit"
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), May 4, 2011
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Fatah spokesman Osama Al-Qawasmi:
“If resistance [violence] doesn’t serve the Palestinian political project, then it’s a crime against us. We don’t want resistance for the sake of resistance, we don’t love death, we want life, and when we die as Shahids (Martyrs) we want to die as Shahids in exchange for political profit which all of us are able to realize.” |
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Palestinian strategy is to engage in both diplomacy and violence
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Apr. 10, 2011
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Official PA daily columnist, Adli Sadeq:
"When the results [of the Al-Aqsa Intifada] forced us to return to the option of politics and national resolve upon the land, unity was withheld from us with various excuses, and we found ourselves divided, with one of the strategic aims of the occupiers having been, and still being, to destroy our ability to realize the two opposite options: politics (i.e., diplomacy) and resistance (i.e., violence)!” |
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PA daily columnist opposes violent resistance, but only because it is ineffective
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Mar. 14, 2011
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Muwaffaq Matar in his column, from article “A Question along the Way:”
Headline: “Netanyahu is gambling with Jewish children”
"We dare not return to armed activity. We believe that it is no longer appropriate in our situation and in our reality, since the non-violent popular resistance is more effective. We aim for alertness and caution – not only regarding the danger of falling into a trap where our resistance becomes terrorism and crime, in light of the rise in official and popular worldwide support for our non-violent and legitimate struggle, but out of concern for ourselves and at ourselves, because justice is with us so long as human values guide every movement in our lives. Just as our aspiration for freedom, liberty and independence is a right, [so] we take care to purify our path and our means from the desire for revenge or submission to the Satan of murder for the sake of murder.” |
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Fatah leader: Armed resistance is a right but is not currently possible
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 2, 2011
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Nabil Shaath is a member of the Fatah Central Committee and Fatah’s Commissioner of International Relations:
“During a political gathering held by Fatah – Tubas branch, under the heading, “The Principles are our Bridge to a State”, Shaath noted that the American administration and Israel are applying pressure to the Palestinian leadership to return to negotiations. He said, ‘However, we decided that our present strategy will be a continuation of the popular struggle in all its forms and through all its means; a launching of international activity in order to obtain further international recognition of a Palestinian state; and pursuit of Israel and war criminals in international forums.’…
Shaath noted that the leadership is opposed to the idea of returning to negotiations without a change in the balance of power on the ground. He added that right now there is no room for the realization of our people’s right to armed resistance, due to several considerations and the results that it might bring about on the ground.”
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Fatah member: "Fatah has not laid down the rifle, despite its call for peace"
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 11, 2011
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Fatah member, university head of Student Council, Qassam Azmouti:
"[Fatah] head of the [Arab-American] University [in Jenin]'s Student Council, Qassam Azmouti, noted that Fatah, is the mother of the first Shahid (Martyr) the first prisoner, and the first bullet, and will continue to be the symbol of rebellion and a pioneer of the defenders of Palestine, the land, and the people. He emphasized that Fatah has not laid down the rifle, despite its call for peace, and it remains faithful to the oath of all the Shahids under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas."
Click to view bulletin |
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Former PA PM: "All options are open to us, including all forms of resistance"
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Source:
Al-Quds, Oct. 20, 2010
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“Head of the PLO Jerusalem department, Ahmed Qurei… emphasized that ‘all options are open to the Palestinians for the restoration of their national rights and for the use of them in such a way as to have positive effect, for the benefit of their national interest.’
He noted that negotiations and political and diplomatic activity and the resistance must be included within the framework of the negotiations possibilities, including all forms of resistance. He stated that ‘all options are open to us: negotiations, popular activity, sitting strikes, civil disobedience, and armed resistance. None of these [options] may be rejected…’" |
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PA Minister: Violence and war still an option
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), Aug. 20, 2010
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Friday sermon by Mahmoud Al-Habbash, PA Minister of Religious Affairs at the mosque at Mahmoud Abbas’s offices in Ramallah. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was in the audience:
"Jerusalem is not just a city. Al-Aqsa is not just a mosque. Jerusalem is the key to peace, and Jerusalem can ignite a thousand and one wars. Unless the issue of Jerusalem is solved, so that it returns to its owners; unless Jerusalem will be Palestinian, as it was throughout history, the capital of the Palestinian state and the capital of the Palestinian people, the place which is the object of heartfelt longing and which all Muslims aspire to reach; unless Jerusalem is like that way, there is no peace. There is no peace without Jerusalem. There is no stability without Jerusalem. If Jerusalem is dishonored, if Jerusalem is disgraced, if [Jerusalem] is lost, it may leave the door open to all possibilities of struggle, all possibilities of war. The term 'war' cannot be erased from the lexicon of this region as long as Jerusalem is occupied, as long as Jerusalem is disgraced, as long as the residents of Jerusalem are being targeted. It's not possible; Jerusalem has to return to its owners. And we are its owners."
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PA: Armed conflict is function of profitability
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 5, 2010
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Interview with Ahmad Qurei (Abu Alaa), former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister, head of the PLO's Jerusalem Department, on the conflict with Israel:
Qurei: "All the options are open, as I see it. Negotiations, political activity, popular activity and [armed] resistance - and we must continue with it."
Question: "Today, what is the [best] option, in your opinion?"
Qurei: "All of the above."
Question: "Including [armed] resistance?"
Qurei: "I see and analyze. And if it [resistance] gives me [benefit] without costing me, yes."
Note: The interview originally appeared in Al Sharq Al-Awsat (London) and was reprinted in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. |
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Abbas supports diplomacy now because it is the only option
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 6, 2010
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PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, at a meeting with writers and journalists in the home of the Palestinian Ambassador to Jordan:
"'We don't accept the statement [of Hamas]: a [Palestinian] state of resistance and refusal. What we hear from everyone is that the basis is negotiations, at a time that the entire world agrees about this, despite the absence of other options, we either have negotiations or no negotiations, what has put Israel in the corner.
We are unable to confront Israel militarily, and this point was discussed at the Arab League Summit in March in Sirt (Libya). There I turned to the Arab States and I said: 'If you want war, and if all of you will fight Israel, we are in favor. But the Palestinians will not fight alone because they don't have the ability to do it.' He (Abbas) said: 'The West Bank was completely destroyed and we will not agree that it will be destroyed again,' in addition to 'the inability to confront Israel militarily.'" |
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Fatah spokesman says "Fatah will not restrain itself for long"
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 1, 2010
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| “Fatah spokesman, Osama Al-Qawasmi ... said that the situation in the occupied territories is in danger of exploding as a result of the Israeli settlement policy, which is gathering speed. He emphasized that Fatah will not restrain itself for long concerning these provocative steps... He emphasized that the Palestinian people, having remained resolute in the face of all international plots against the composition of its national identity and against its presence upon its land, will not submit to and accept the policy of dictates and establishing facts on the ground, which Israel is trying to enforce... Al-Qawasmi emphasized that the Fatah movement will not stand by idly in the face of these Israeli provocations and threats [the continued building in East Jerusalem]. He warned that the situation is no longer tolerable, owing to the Israeli policy which is targeting the land, the people, and the places that are holy to Islam and to Christianity.” |
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Fatah Central Committee member: Negotiations are "tactical" and "temporary"
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Source:
Al-Dustour (Jordan), June 10, 2010
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| "Dr. Nabil Shaath, Commissioner of International Relations and member of the Fatah Central Committee… stated that the decision to renew negotiations was a tactical decision, i.e., a temporary, defensive decision… and it is dependent upon the possibility of attaining tangible results for the Palestinians. He concluded: 'Even the resistance uses defensive tactics in order not to miss opportunities.'" |
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Fatah Central Committee member: Palestinians will return to violence when it is in "our people's interest"
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 7, 2010
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| “Dr. Nabil Shaath, member of the Fatah Central Committee… emphasized that ‘the Palestinian people has the right to defend itself, and it has the right to act in the way of the armed struggle. We have acted in this way for 100 years. Fatah led it [the armed struggle] for 23 years, and Hamas adopted it for 15 years. We are proud of all of our Shahids (Martyrs), and it is our right to return to the armed conflict whenever we view that as our people's interest.’" |
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PA editorial: Armed struggle not possible now, so choose popular struggle
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 24, 2010
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"I have no doubt that the occupation is destined to pass from the world... I also have no doubt that out of the options for the national struggle to be rid of the occupation, the popular struggle is the one that is needed, since the option of the armed struggle is impossible at the present time."
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PA leader Zaki: Armed struggle still option if negotiations fail
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Source:
Al-Ghad (Jordan), May 22, 2010
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"Abbas Zaki, member of the Fatah Central Committee, does not believe that a Palestinian-Israeli agreement will be achieved in the shadow of the extreme right-wing [Israeli] government, but he leaves the door open to a 'return to [UN] Resolution 181 and to all forms of the struggle, including the armed struggle, if the negotiations fail: the door is open to a return to the UN, such that Resolutions 242 and 338 will no longer have any value, and there will be a return to Resolution 181 [of November 29, 1947], which is the Partition Plan and the birth certificate of the State of Israel and of the Palestinian State. In addition, [there will be] a return to UN Resolution 3236, which grants the Palestinian people the right to all forms of the struggle, including the armed struggle...’ He called for ‘a gathering that will bring together the Fatah and Hamas leadership, under Mahmoud Abbas'... and added: 'We are in favor of anyone who defends the homeland and bears arms in order to defend it, because he supports the idea of Fatah and of the resistance. Likewise, we stand with anyone who comes out against the Zionist lobby and isolates Israel and puts it in a corner.'”
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Fatah MP: We do not reject armed struggle even if it is not current focus
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 21, 2010
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“Dr. Nabil Shaath, Fatah Foreign Affairs Commissioner... said: 'The popular struggle is a fundamental principle whose importance equals that of the armed struggle, since it is the responsibility and task of all the people. The current distancing from the armed struggle does not mean its absolute rejection… He noted that the difficulty of the conflict required the Palestinian people to diversify its activities of struggle – along with an emphasis on the importance of the armed struggle, which laid the basis for the existence of the state and contributed to maintaining the right and presenting it to the world – especially since the armed struggle at the present time is not possible, or is not effective, because of the difficulties with which the Palestinian people contends: the internal division, the ongoing siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, and the intensive settlement attack against Jerusalem."
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Fatah MP: Armed struggle is our right, but is not possible now
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 20, 2010
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"MP Dr. Nabil Shaath, member of the Fatah Central Committee and its Commissioner of Foreign Relations… emphasized that Fatah's stated strategy for the struggle is to adopt the growing popular and 'non-violent' struggle against Israel, because of the inability to engage in the armed struggle, which has become undesirable now, although it is the right of the Palestinian people, which all international treaties and resolutions have guaranteed... 'I have said this to the leaders of Hamas, I have said to [Hamas PM] Ismail Haniyeh during my meeting with him in Gaza, that Arab, regional and international conditions do not permit us to engage in the armed struggle, and that our efforts must be concentrated on strengthening the non-violent resistance…'
Shaath emphasized that the non-violent struggle is no less honorable than the armed struggle, and that it does not signify submission to Israeli demands."
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Senior Fatah member: Violent resistance not possible now
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), Apr. 18, 2010
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Azzam Al-Ahmad, Fatah Central Committee member:
"[Mocks Hamas for their claim that they are carrying out resistance:] Where? On Mars? Was the volcano in Iceland a result of their action? Where is the resistance that they are talking about? We speak honestly. We are now calling for (non-violent) popular resistance, and we are actively doing it. We are actively doing it because the circumstances right now do not allow us to do anything beyond this (i.e. violent resistance). If [Hamas] are referring to the armed struggle, let them update me and I'm ready to join if they're doing something, but I know that they're detaining anyone trying to shoot a single bullet from Gaza towards Israel." |
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Fatah leader: Palestinians not restricted in battle against Israel
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), Apr. 2, 2010
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Jibril Rajoub, member of the Fatah Central Committee:
"We have a resolution of the [2009 Fatah] Congress that our battle with the Israelis is open, and our options are not limited to popular resistance."
Note: PA TV News broadcast with report on the detention and release of Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki. Click here to view |
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Fatah will use armed struggle and non-violence
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 3, 2010
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At a political conference held by the Institute for Development Studies in Gaza, politicians and spokesmen emphasized the importance of taking bold violent and non-violent decisions to end the internal Palestinian discord:
Headline: "At political conference in Gaza organized by the Institute for Development Studies on the subject of dialogue – demand to take bold decisions to end the [Hamas-Fatah] discord and to agree to national reconciliation"
“Ashraf Jum'a, a member of the Fatah parliamentary faction in the Legislative Council (Palestinian Parliament) … stated that political changes had come about following the events of June [2007] in Gaza [Hamas takeover] and following the war, and that Fatah was clear about its political approach, insofar as it announced at its Sixth Conference its adherence to the armed struggle for the liberation of Palestine, and has also adhered to the platform of President Mahmoud Abbas since 2005 – turning to a political process and to non-violent resistance." |
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Fatah prides itself on deadly terror attacks
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 6, 2010
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Headline: "On the 45th anniversary of its founding: Fatah is still the leader of the national struggle and the foundation stone of the Palestinian State"
"Fatah has the greatest number of prisoners in the jails of the Israeli occupation... In addition, it is the largest faction that has sacrificed Shahids (Martyrs) from among its commanders and members [in the past] and until a few days ago, when special forces of the Israeli occupation army executed three of its members in Nablus [referring to the three terrorists who were killed by Israel two days after they murdered Rabbi Meir Chai in Dec. 2009]." |
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Fatah: Armed struggle is our right
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), Aug. 17, 2009
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Sultan Abu Al-Einein, member of the Fatah Central Committee and Secretary of Fatah’s Lebanon branch:
"Mahmoud Abbas said in front of the entire [Sixth General Fatah] conference : 'Any people whose land is occupied has the right to carry out resistance in all its forms, to carry out a national struggle in all its forms, including the armed struggle.' I want to say: Any people that willingly relinquishes its right to carry out resistance in all its forms – all its forms! Including the armed struggle! – is not worthy of existence. Any people whose land is occupied! It's a right bestowed upon us by . . . international law. It's a right that is given to us, and we will not abandon it.
We want peace, but not a peace of obedience, not a peace of submission, and not a peace that is based on the Palestinian people receiving a state that is a small settlement or an economic colony. We will not accept that . . . . The international community must be aware that the option of negotiations is our option and our decision, but it won't be the sole option forever." |
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Official Fatah platform: Resistance in every manner
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), Aug. 10, 2009
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Mahmoud Al-Aloul, member of Fatah Central Committee, in a PA TV News broadcast:
"The Fatah Sixth General Conference approved the movement's political platform. The platform emphasizes the right of the Palestinian people to resist the occupation in every manner. A member of the Conference, Mahmoud Al-Aloul, submitted a document comprising five points, focusing on Fatah as a movement for national liberation and on the right of the Palestinian people to resist the occupation in every manner." |
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Marwan Barghouti: The armed resistance will continue
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 4, 2009
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Marwan Barghouti, Fatah Secretary in the West Bank and member of Fatah Central Committee, speaking at the Sixth General Fatah Conference in August 2009:
"Finally, Barghouti once again renewed the promise and the oath to our people and to Fatah members everywhere, that the flag of the resistance will remain flying and will not come down until the occupation ended, and that we will continue in the path of the Shahids (Martyrs) and the prisoners – ‘the way of Fatah,’ the way of the struggle. [He added:] ‘The last day of the period of occupation is the first day of peace in the region; there is no peace, no security and no stability except with the disappearance of the occupation and the settlers, and the end of the occupation is closer than many imagine it to be. The fate of the settlements in the [West] Bank and in Jerusalem will be no better than that of Gush Katif and Kfar Darom in Gaza. The occupation will end up in the dustbin of history as an example of the racism and of the Fascist and Nazi regimes. Our people, bearing the most noble, respectable and just cause known to humankind in modern history, will prevail.'"
Note: Marwan Barghouti - serving five life sentences for orchestrating terror attacks against Israeli civilians. When arrested in 2002, he headed Fatah's military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. After he was convicted and imprisoned, he was re-elected member of the Palestinian Authority parliament. |
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The loftiest form of resistance is armed struggle
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), Aug. 4, 2009
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Jamal Huweil, elected to the Fatah Revolutionary Council at the General Fatah Conference, Aug. 4-6, 2009:
"The resistance is all-encompassing. That's what we learned in Fatah. It begins with hatred of the occupier in the mind, in the consciousness, and in the heart. It continues with Molotov cocktails, the stone, writing graffiti, boycotting Israeli products, and the loftiest [form of resistance] is the armed struggle. And we, praise to God, were among the greatest in carrying out this activity, but we do not act in vain.” |
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Willingness to continue Fatah struggle will not end
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Source:
Al-Filistiniya TV (Fatah Party), Aug. 4, 2009
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Jamal Huweil, elected to the Fatah Revolutionary Council at the General Fatah Conference, Aug. 4-6, 2009:
"We [in Fatah] need a generation that is first of all capable of representing our young people, a generation that is capable of spearheading the next platform of the Fatah movement – whether on the subject of negotiations and the political process, to persuade this people about the political option, or the option of resistance. We have the greatest capability, and we still keep the embers of the resistance [alive] – and as you know, I came out of prison only 40 days ago. We still keep the embers of the resistance [alive] and are ready to continue on the path of our struggle, if we are clearly asked to do so by the Fatah movement – to continue with our struggle in all its forms. We are ready, with great willingness that will not lessen." |
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Fatah military leader: Fatah leads in blending negotiations and terror
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Source:
Ma’an, Palestinian news agency, Aug. 4, 2009
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Zakariya Zubeidi, Former head of Jenin’s Fatah terror group, Al-Aqsa Martyrs, who received amnesty from Israel:
"Resistance can and should coexist with the strategy of negotiation with Israel, that has become identified with Fatah since the Oslo peace accords of the 1990s..."
Asked his views on the program of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Zubeidi smiled and said that he was happy that the PA security forces are being trained internationally. "I am happy that our army is trained in Jordan in Egypt, in Russia, in several countries all over the world," he said. "In case there is a future war, we will have some people who will be trained." |
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Fatah: Will not abandon armed struggle as strategic choice
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), July 29, 2009
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Jibril Rajoub, Member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council:
“Fatah arose to realize the independent Palestinian national identity as necessary factor in the equation of the conflict, by means of struggle in all its forms, foremost among them the armed struggle. [This principle] will not fall at the [Sixth] Conference, and there is no force in the world that can cause it to fall. And I say to you, all Fatah members – this is a strategic choice that is not subject to geography, nor to blackmail, nor to the place and time of the gathering of the Conference." |
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Fatah: Force, armed struggle must support negotiations
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Source:
Al-Filistiniya TV (Fatah Party), July 26, 2009
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Tawfiq Tirawi, elected to the Fatah Central Committee at the General Fatah Conference Aug. 4-6, 2009:
"Most members of the movement believe that it is imperative to emphasize, in the political platform of the Fatah movement, that we are still under occupation and that the legitimate resistance, in all its forms, must be re-considered… This doesn't mean that we don't want negotiations, but we don't want negotiations just for the sake of negotiations. There must be factors supporting the negotiations. The negotiations are [a type of] resistance, but they must be supported – supported by the stone, by demonstrations, by strikes, sit-ins, supported by all forms of the struggle, of which the greatest, or the most violent and the final [form] is the armed struggle. . . . The negotiations always need force to influence them positively." |
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Fatah leader: Fatah coordinated terror with Hamas
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Source:
Al-Filistiniya TV (Fatah Party), July 23, 2009
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Jibril Rajoub, member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council:
"It was Fatah that carried out resistance; it was Fatah that coordinated the resistance with Hamas, not the security mechanisms or the security commanders. Do you understand me?" |
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Fatah MP: Terror to be used "in the proper place and at the proper time"
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), July 22, 2009
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Muhammad Dahlan, Senior Fatah MP: "Regarding negotiations with Israel, we have to set a logical time limit of two years, in my opinion. The political plan guarantees the continuation of our national struggle in all its forms, in a way that will fulfill our national aspirations within this period of time."
PA TV Host: "[Does] the [violent] resistance and struggle continue?"
Muhammad Dahlan: "This is our right, a legal right. The international community affirms it for us. But it is the responsibility of the leadership to use it when it wants, in the proper place and at the proper time. We cannot leave it in the hands of youth who use their own judgment. This is the difference between [PA] using this right and just anyone using it. I lived with Chairman Yasser Arafat for years. Arafat would condemn [terror] operations by day while at night he would do honorable things. I don't want to say any more about this." Click here to view |
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Fatah MP: Fatah still for armed resistance and does not recognize Israel
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Source:
Al-Quds, July 22, 2009
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Rafik Al-Natsheh, president of the Fatah Movement's Disciplinary Court, head of PA Parliament:
"The Fatah Movement will prove at its Sixth Congress to all the collaborators and know-nothings that it will continue to maintain the option of resistance in all its forms, and will not recognize Israel." |
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PA: Weapons and abilities ready for armed struggle, waiting for Fatah timing
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), July 19, 2009
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Abbas Zaki, PA representative to Lebanon:
"We have UN General Assembly Resolution and Proposed Resolution 3236 [concerning] the use of all means of the struggle, including the armed struggle… The Palestinian people is once again waiting for the knights of the Fatah movement – and all of the factions look forward to the great wealth and reserve [of abilities] for the great struggle of the Fatah movement. This reserve [of abilities] must explode in the face of the enemy, rather than explode as a result of [the situation within] the disorganized family that currently prevails among us." |
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PA official: Armed struggle still valid alternative to negotiations
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), July 19, 2009
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Interview with Head of PA National Guidance Directorate and former member of Fatah Supreme Council, Naef Switat:
Switat: "There is a major (central) enemy to the Fatah movement, and that is Israel..."
Interviewer: "Could there be a change in some of the strategies of the Fatah movement, over the course of the Sixth Congress, in the first sessions on the first and second day, in this regard, and especially [concerning] relations with Israel in this context?"
Switat: "To my view, there is a need to repair and improve the general policy, and especially the political platform. Meaning, the statement that negotiations are a strategic choice is a statement that does not solve problems, nor does it provide results. It is clear from [our] experience that that struggle and resistance are the natural right of every nation that is subjected to occupation, and negotiations are one of the means that should be used; it's not the only way. Whether the armed struggle is the only way or [whether] negotiations [is the only way] - neither this nor that is correct. Right now there is a need to create a political platform that will coordinate between the resistance and struggle in all its forms and negotiations as one of the forms of the struggle." |
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Fatah member: Fatah goal is Palestine, not peace
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), July 7, 2009
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Kifah Radaydeh, Fatah Regional Committee member, Jerusalem
"Fatah is facing a challenge, because [Fatah] says that we perceive peace as one of the strategies, but we say that all forms of the struggle exist, and we do not rule out the possibility of the armed struggle or any other struggle. The struggle exists in all its forms, on the basis of what we are capable of at a given time, and according to what seems right...
What exactly do we want? It has been said that we are negotiating for peace, but our goal has never been peace. Peace is a means; and the goal is Palestine. I do not negotiate in order to achieve peace. I negotiate for Palestine, in order to achieve a state.”
Click to view video
Click to view bulletin |
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Fatah official: The "resistance" brought about Oslo Accords
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Source:
Al-Quds, Apr. 6, 2009
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Sultan Abu al-Aynayn, Fatah Secretary General in Lebanon:
"The resistance [i.e. terror] brought about the Oslo Accords. There are 250,000 Palestinians who have returned to their homeland. The arms that were used against the Israeli enemy in Gaza and on other place."
Host: "More that 40,000 rifles."
Sultan Abu al-Aynayn: "Were brought [into the PA] in accordance with [Oslo] Accords. When we refer to the negative aspects of the Oslo Accords, we should also look at their other aspects." Click to view video |
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Abbas: "We are against armed conflict because we are unable"
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Source:
Al-Dustour (Jordan), Feb. 28, 2008
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Mahmoud Abbas, PA Chairman:
"Now we are against armed conflict because we are unable. In the future stages, things may be different. I was honored to be the one to shoot the first bullet in 1965 [Fatah terror against Israel began in 1965], and having taught resistance to many in this area and around the world, defining it and when it is beneficial and when it is not... we had the honor of leading the resistance. We taught everyone what resistance is, including the Hezbollah, who were trained in our camps [i.e. PLO camps in the 60s]." |
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Fatah leader defends Arabs' right to "struggle and resistance"
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), Feb. 26, 2008
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Mahmoud Ismail, member of the PLO Executive Committee:
"I want to cite the actions and future actions of President [Abbas], from the starting point that the Palestine cause is the essential and central cause of the Arab Nation. It's not surprising that [to] certain journalists of the current despicable American era, our [Arab nationalist] language of the 50s and 60s is outdated, when we talk about the nature of the struggle between the Arab Nation and its enemies: the Imperialists and Zionists, who attack and occupy our territories inside Palestine and outside, in Iraq, in the remains of South Lebanon and the Golan.
"We [however,] take pride in this [Arab nationalist] language because we are the authentic Arabs who believe in our Arabism, our faith, our cause, our Nation, in our right to struggle and to resistance [euphemism for terror] in all possible ways in all the occupied lands, in Palestine, Lebanon, the Golan and Iraq." |
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Fatah spokesman: Fatah strategy combines violence with negotiations
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Source:
Al-Quds, June 23, 2007
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Ahmad Abd Al-Rahman, Fatah spokesman:
“Just as [armed] resistance to the occupation is an elementary form of the struggle, so the other aspect of this form of resistance is the path of negotiations and peaceful means… We base our struggle upon a dual strategy, which rests upon [armed] resistance and negotiations.” |
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Diplomacy must be combined with violence to succeed
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Source:
Al-Risala (Hamas website), May 21, 2007
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Hamas representative to Palestinian Parliament, Ismail Al-Ashqar:
“’The world respects only the strong’ … He vaunted the achievements which Hamas has reaped, and also emphasized that the movement had succeeded in combining diplomacy with resistance.” |
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Arafat was expert on timing of terror and diplomacy
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 9, 2006
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Yasser Arafat, former PA Chairmen and PLO leader
“Yasser Arafat was an expert on the timing of seeding the struggle and reaping diplomacy… He taught us that diplomacy in the national struggle is like agriculture… He warned us that there is a time for harvest, which must not be early or delayed.” |
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PA Minister: Oslo gave Palestinians the tools to wage the "great Intifada"
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Source:
Al-Alam TV (Iran), July 4, 2006
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Ziyad Abu Ein, PA Deputy Minister of Prisoners Affairs:
"The Oslo Accords are not the dream of the Palestinian people. However, there would never have been resistance in Palestine without Oslo. Oslo is the effective and potent greenhouse whish embraced the Palestinian resistance. Without Oslo, there would never have been resistance. In all the occupied territories, we could not move a single pistol from place to place. Without Oslo, and being armed through Oslo, and without the Palestinian Authority's "A" areas, without the training, the camps, the protection afforded by Oslo, and without the freeing of thousands of Palestinian prisoners through Oslo - this Palestinian resistance and we would not have been able to create this great Palestinian Intifda."
Click to view video
Click to view bulletin |
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Palestinian goal: Destroy Israel in stages
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), Feb. 4, 2005
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Ibrahim Mudayris, Official, PA Ministry of Religious Trusts and Religious Affairs:
"We might return to the 1967 borders by diplomacy, but we shall not return to the 1948 borders (i.e. eliminate Israel) by diplomacy. The 1948 borders- no one on earth recognizes as ours. Therefore we shall return to the 1967 borders, but we have not given up on (Israeli cities) Jerusalem and Haifa, Jaffa, Lod, Ramle and Tel Aviv. Never. Your father's blood was shed here, at the villages, at Ashqelon, Ashdod, Hirbia (all in Israel) and hundreds of villages and towns that demand it from us. [Their blood] shall curse anyone who will concede a grain of earth of those villages. The land of Palestine will demand the Palestinians return as Muhammad returned- as a conqueror."
Click here to view |
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Fatah leader: Negotiations are the "fighter's rest," return to violence is an option
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), Jan. 10, 2005
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Samir Al-Mashharawi, member of Fatah Central Committee:
“Now [PA President] Mahmoud Abbas is suggesting the idea of negotiation. If we see that Abbas grants us an opportunity – by negotiations – for a national achievement with no casualties and no bloodshed on our side, [then] yes! What harm could it cause us? When all of the diplomatic doors are shut, as happened after the Oslo agreement, we have the Intifada (PA terror campaign, 2000-2005); we have our people; we have our perseverance in the resistance (violence). We view this period of negotiations as the “fighter’s rest.”
Click here to view |
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Fatah: We must include the rifle and a time for “fighter’s rest”
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), Jan. 10, 2005
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Samir Al-Mashharawi, member of Fatah Central Committee:
“We of Fatah say – we must include all of this, and choose the right time for the rifle and the right time for negotiations... We may view this period devoted to negotiations as the ‘fighter’s rest’.” |
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Fatah Revolutionary Council member: The rifle seeds and diplomacy reaps
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), Dec. 5, 2004
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Diab Al-Luh, member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council:
“We have learned in the struggle that there is a stage of planting and cultivation. The struggle of the rifle seeds and the diplomatic struggle reaps. We, the Palestinians, have planted in the many years of our struggle, our Shahids (Martyrs), our wounded and our brave prisoners, who have planted productive seeds.”
Click here to view |
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Palestinian “moderates” call to stop suicide terror “because we do not see results.”
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Source:
Al-Quds, June 19, 2002
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From petition signed by Hanan Ashrawi Sari Nusseibeh and others
"We, the undersigned, out of our sense of national responsibility, and in light of the difficult situation of the Palestinian people, hope that those who stand behind the military actions against civilians in Israel, will reconsider their actions and will cease to encourage our boys to perform these operations, because we do not see results from these actions... We believe that these operations do not advance the fulfillment of our endeavor, for freedom and independence... Military actions are defined positively or negatively not by their own criteria [i.e. the success of the attack itself] but rather according to the achievement of political goals...“ |
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PA Minister: Acceptance of Oslo to gain foothold; "struggle" will continue
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Source:
Al-Ayyam, May 30, 2000
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PA Minister of Supplies, Abd El Aziz Shahian:
“The Palestinian people accepted the Oslo agreements to gain a foothold and not as a permanent settlement, since war and struggle on the land is more efficient than a struggle from a distant land…The Palestinian people will continue the revolution until they achieve the goals of the ’65 revolution…[i.e., destruction of Israel].” |
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PLO chief negotiator: PA plans to return to terror when negotiations break down
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Source:
Private recording, Jan. 15, 1996
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Nabil Shaath, chief PLO negotiator for 1993 Oslo Accords, at a closed meeting:
"We decided to begin liberating our homeland step by step. This is the strategy. It is now impossible for the peace process to stop, for if it does, all the acts of violence will return to Israel. We say: Should Israel continue - no problem. And so we honor the peace treaties and non-violence, so long as the agreements are fulfilled step by step. [But] if and when Israel says "enough," namely - "we won't discuss Jerusalem, we won't return refugees, we won't dismantle settlements, we won't withdraw to the borders," in that case it is saying that we will return to violence. But this time, it will be with 30,000 armed Palestinian soldiers and in a land with elements of freedom. I'm the first one to call for it. If we get to a deadlock we shall return to the fighting and struggle, as we have fought for 40 years or more." Click here to view |
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