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Abbas: Resistance, including violence, is “determined at each stage by the national interest”
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), May 14, 2012
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Abbas speaks on Nakba Day:
"Unfortunately, what was agreed in Doha [reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas] was opposed by senior Hamas members in Gaza, who prevented its implementation with groundless excuses. They [Hamas] preferred narrow party interests to the supreme national interest, using the word 'resistance' as if there was disagreement about it among Palestinians. I want to remind [them] that resistance to the occupation is a broad all-inclusive concept, with various means and tools, which are determined at each stage by the supreme national interest. It was we [Fatah] who initiated armed resistance for many years, and thanks to it, we obtained recognition of our rights, and [recognition] that the PLO is the legitimate and sole representative of the Palestinian people.”
Click to view video |
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Abbas says he rejects armed struggle and wants peace in interview with German paper
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 1, 2012
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Headline: "Welcomed Irish representative, the Central Elections Committee, and a delegation of released prisoners – President [Abbas] to German newspaper: If the present situation continues, they'll be building a settlement in my office in Ramallah. Israel must hurry and bring about peace, because no-one knows what the Arab Spring will bring."
Interview with President Mahmoud Abbas
Die Zeit: "The Israelis doubt [Palestinian intentions] because rockets are still being fired on Israel from Gaza."
Abbas: "If there's reconciliation with Hamas, that front [southern Israel] will be quiet."
Die Zeit: "Are you able to commit to that?"
Abbas: "I commit myself to that. I have already shown, during the period of my presidency, that I fulfill my promises. During the past five years there has not been a single incident in the West Bank related to Israeli security. The Israeli politicians deny this, but the Israeli generals, and those responsible for intelligence, will tell you: We take our hat off to Abbas. He does excellent work!"
Die Zeit: "It is said that Netanyahu's government has no interest in talks. Why, then, are you continuing with negotiations?"
Abbas: "We have no choice. We will never return to the armed struggle! Never! There will be only non-violent resistance to the occupation."
Die Zeit: "Is that your conclusion from the blood-drenched second Intifada (i.e., the Palestinian terror campaign), which brought with it many suicide terror attacks between the years 2000-2005?"
Abbas: "Such a thing [the Intifada] must never be repeated. We want peace; therefore we must take responsibility for Israel's security: Five years without a single unfortunate incident! Why does the other side not understand this?..." |
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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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Abbas: The PA can ignore US demands even though US gives PA $460 million annually
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 24, 2011
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“The President [Abbas] emphasized that in September the Palestinian leadership will pass a resolution which no-one will have dreamed of, if the available options concerning the peace process fail…
[Abbas] continued: ‘The US is assisting us in the amount of $460 million annually. This does not mean that they dictate to us whatever they want, because we do what we view as beneficial to our cause. I recall that they said, ‘Don’t go to the Arab Summit in Damascus’, but we went. They demanded that we should not sign the Egyptian reconciliation document [between Fatah and Hamas], but we sent Azzam Al-Ahmed to sign it.’
President Abbas made it clear that the Arab Peace Initiative is the ideal solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict… He noted that the Palestinian Authority published the Peace Initiative in the Israeli media and on the ‘streets’, in order to bring it to the attention of the Israelis...
The President continued: ‘When we reach an agreement concerning the establishment of a Palestinian state, we are ready to agree to [the presence of] an international security force, on condition that there is not a single Israeli, civilian or soldier, in our state.”
Click to view bulletin
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Abbas opposes violence as Palestinians lack capabilities, but supports war if Arabs join
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 24, 2011
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"He [President Abbas] emphasized that he supports the options that the Arabs will choose, and added: ‘I have said more than once that if the Arabs want war – we are with them. I cannot fight alone. We tried military action during the second Intifada and during the attack on Gaza at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009, after the [Hamas] refusal to renew the ceasefire, and it brought destruction upon us. 25% of the homes in Gaza are still in ruins.’
He noted that he opposes military action and that he believes that popular operations resisting settlement and the [security] fence lead to clear positive results for the Palestinian cause. He noted that 50% of the participants in these demonstrations are Israelis, while 25% are foreigners.
He added: ‘We are determined to continue this activity, and we do not wish to turn to armed struggle, because our capabilities and the international atmosphere do not allow for it.'" Click to view bulletin |
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Abbas hints that violence is an option
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 22, 2010
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Abbas at press conference following meeting with Egyptian President Mubarak:
“[President Mahmoud Abbas] stated that the Palestinian leadership has seven options, the first being the option of direct negotiations. President Mahmoud Abbas said: ‘We shall give negotiations the opportunity that they deserve, and if they fail, the other options will follow one after the other.’ He emphasized that there can be no talk of renewing direct negotiations with Israel without a complete halt to settlement in Jerusalem and all Palestinian areas.” |
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Abbas hints that violence is an option if negotiations with Israel fail
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Oct. 29, 2010
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“During a joint press conference with the Egyptian Foreign Minister... the President [Abbas] said: ‘We spoke about the Palestinians’ options, and we said that these options will proceed one after the other, but the first of them is the renewal of direct negotiations, if Israel will cease all its settlement activities.’ He added: ‘Afterwards, there are other options, the first of which is to appeal to the US and to speak with it. We will ask it to adopt a position on all the issues, and especially on the Palestinian state and recognition of the 1967 borders as the borders of this state.’ He continued: ‘Afterwards there are options that we will take to the Security Council, up until the final options that we spoke about, but right now we are focusing on the first option. At the same time, this does not prevent us from preparing ourselves for all the options that will follow. We have seven options, not one, but we will not pass up the first option until all efforts in its regard have been exhausted. Then we’ll go on to the second option, which is to speak to the US, and if that does not succeed we will move on to the third option, and so on.’”
Note: Palestinians frequently mention armed resistance as one of the "options." |
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Abbas: "We are not able" to wage another Intifada
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 28, 2010
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Excerpt from interview with Mahmoud Abbas, initially published in Al-Hayat (London), September 26, 2010, and reprinted in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, September 27, 2010:
Interviewer: [Concerning the definition of Israel as a Jewish state] “In fact, this means that the State of Israel would be for Jews only, and the significance of that is-“
Abbas: “That has great significance. When they say ‘a Jewish state’, they want to rid themselves of all the Arabs who are among them… We shall not agree to a solution to the problem at the expense of the Arabs. Their presence in Israel preceded the establishment of the Israeli state, hundreds of years before the Jewish presence in Israel. It is their [the Arabs’] right to remain, and it is their right to be citizens with equal rights and obligations in that state.”
Interviewer: “Do you suspect that Israel is considering forced expulsion, collective expulsion?”
Abbas: “It has been proposed, by Liberman.”
Interviewer: “You are referring to the exchange of inhabitants for territory?”
Abbas: Yes. The question of exchanging inhabitants and territories – that is also something they [Israel] should forget about.”
Interviewer: “They should forget about it?”
Abbas: “Yes, they should forget about it. We absolutely won’t accept it.”
Interviewer: “… You don’t want a military Intifada (PA terror campaign, 2000-2005), and when you say, ‘We won’t accept it’, what tools do you possess, Mr. President…?”
Abbas: “I possess the right/justice. I hold the right/justice, and proof of that is that the whole world is on my side, without exception. They are in favor of my right, and in favor of demanding my right. I h |
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Abbas: "If the Arabs would want to fight, we’d be the first to fight"
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Source:
Al-Ayyam, Sept. 6, 2010
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Interview with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Tripoli, Libya:
“We tried the Intifada (PA terror campaign) in 2000, and it destroyed everything that we had built. If the Arabs would want to fight, we’d be the first to fight. I told them at the [Arab] Summit in Sirt [Libya]: ‘If you want war, take the lead.’ It’s not possible for us [Palestinians] to go ahead alone; they must be first, with us behind them. We shall not permit them to fight using us. One of them [Arab leaders] spoke about resistance. I said to him, ‘The Palestinian people is not interested in resistance. We, as the [National] Authority, are not interested in resistance, Hamas has abandoned resistance, they are preventing [launch of] rockets and they speak of a tahadiyeh [ceasefire]. Therefore, if he [the Arab leader] is interested in resistance, let him carry it out himself. Nothing is easier than raising a banner [that says], ‘Forward, men!’ And half an hour later we’ll get a slap in the face and find ourselves on the floor. It’s not possible for a responsible person to behave this way.”
Click to view bulletin |
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Abbas: "If all of you [Arab States] will fight Israel, we are in favor"
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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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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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Abbas opposes "armed resistance" but supports all-out Arab war against Israel
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Source:
Al-Ayyam, May 7, 2010
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PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas:
“At the [Arab] summit [in March 2010] there was talk of armed resistance, and we opposed this call. We opposed it for a simple reason: all sectors of the Palestinian people are opposed to armed resistance. We and Hamas. Therefore, if we do not want armed resistance, why do the Arabs want to force it upon us? We also said that if the Arabs want war, we are with them. If they don’t want war, and at the same time do not want peace, a situation of neither peace nor war is impossible. We said that the Arab [Peace] Initiative is still relevant. Unfortunately, some say that Israel does not want it – and of course that is correct – but the Arabs have done nothing to promote it, neither on the international level nor on the local level. I personally have asked Arab journalists to publish this initiative, but they refused.”
Note: In similar statements Abbas has explained the opposition to violence with the fact that Palestinians lack the "capabilities" and that the international community "does not allow for it." Click to view item |
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Abbas: We continue Arafat's path resting on a glorious heritage of struggle
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Source:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 12, 2009
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Mahmoud Abbas, PA Chairman, speaking at official PA ceremony commemorating 5th anniversary of Arafat's death:
"Yasser Arafat was the leader of this battle, and the leader of the path, and the commander, and the father of the contemporary Palestinian national movement. We recall his role and emphasize his position in the movement, while we continue his long path of struggle, and complete the difficult path, drenched with sweat and blood and tears. Our path today rests upon a glorious heritage of struggle, which we formed with courageous hands and with national sense and thought, to which was added action. We combined the armed struggle with political action.
Our rifle was not the rifle of highway robbers. It was a rifle that was politically committed, striving for a noble objective. We have influenced and have been influenced by the world, with ideas about ways of liberation and political changes, and we have built excellent relations with the forces of liberation and self-liberation in the world…"
Note: Abbas’s speech was also published in the other PA daily, Al-Ayyam, Nov. 12, 2009. |
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Abbas to use all means to free terrorists
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Source:
Palestinian TV (Fatah), Oct. 6, 2009
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Mahmoud Abbas, PA Chairman, interview:
TV Host: "The occupation [Israel] released 20 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for a video confirming that [Israeli hostage] Gilad Shalit is alive. What do you think about this?"
Mahmoud Abbas: "I see it from only one perspective – 20 female Palestinian prisoners have left prison. The price may be high or low, that is not the issue. The issue is that some prisoners have left prison, which gives hope to many others. We have 11,000 prisoners. We will definitely, always and forever, act to free them using all means."
Click here to view |
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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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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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Abbas: Terror in future is still an option
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Source:
A-Sharq Al Awsat, Mar. 3, 2003
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Mahmoud Abbas, then Secretary-General of the PLO Executive Committee:
“The armed struggle necessitates certain conditions and opportunities that do not exist for us in Palestine. We cannot equate what is happening in Palestine with what is going on Lebanon or Algeria. Therefore military activities under these circumstances and means are ineffective. For this reason, we stated that we have no choice but to stop it [i.e. military activities] for a year, which is not a submission from our point of view. As long as the circumstances are not equivalent.” |
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