Fatah official Rajoub: US embassy move is “attack and declaration of war… on Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, Christians… We need confrontation… between this fascist [Trump]… and the entire world”
Official PA TV program Topic of the Day, hosting Deputy Secretary of the Fatah Central Committee Jibril Rajoub, on US President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to transfer the US embassy to Jerusalem
Deputy Secretary of the Fatah Central Committee Jibril Rajoub: “There is a clear status quo on everything regarding Jerusalem from 1948 until today, from 1967 until today. The Americans recognize this, and the entire international community also recognizes this. [US President-elect Donald] Trump in effect is coming and saying: ‘I want to change this status quo.’ If so, he has a problem, not just with the Palestinians and not just with the Arabs. And therefore I say that we as Palestinians need to think carefully. This is an attack and a declaration of war on the entire world: on the Palestinians, on the Arabs, on the Muslims, on the Christians, on international legitimacy, and even on the US interests and American national security. We need to build a strategy that will merge all of these forces. There are places in Jerusalem that are holy to 2.5 billion Christians and Muslims. By what right does he [Trump] want to give it to the 13 million Jews in the world, half here and half abroad? By what right does he want to give them the keys to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre? And therefore, we need to mobilize the entire world, to mobilize it in the strategic sense. We need to initiate a strategy, and not to make do with responses from the side; to initiate a strategy on the national level, on the regional level, and on the international level.”
Official PA TV host: “You are part of the Palestinian leadership after all. What is your message to the Palestinian street when you speak about this strategy? Have you, for example, prepared a plan for the day after the transfer of the embassy?”
Jibril Rajoub: “Excuse me, my friend, we are all working on this, but since we are on TV, we need people to understand the exact context. I’m not interested in the statements on a particular matter by this or that Palestinian figure. This is a change of American policy. This is defiance of international legitimacy. This is defiance of the international community. This is defiance of the Arabs and the Muslims. After all, in 1984 they tried to transfer the embassy, but our Saudi brothers said they would cut ties with them, so they didn’t do it. Also in the 1990s they tried in the American Congress. We need the confrontation and the clash to be between this fascist who is coming to the White House (i.e., Donald Trump) and the entire world: the Christians, the Muslims, and the Europeans. Because this matter is connected to international legitimacy, and is connected to Islam and Christianity - not just Islam and Palestine. We as Palestinians have been, and remain, at the forefront of the war to defend the sites holy to Islam and Christianity. We don’t need anyone to tell us what to do. And therefore, I agree with you that we need to mobilize our ranks. The goal here is the land, the people, the holy sites, and history. We need to build a strategy of struggle, also in the sense of non-violence, so that [the strategy] will also include the social, political, and geographic components of all of the Palestinians in order to deal with Trump, to deal with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s policy, and to deal with this racist and fascist occupation.
Next week there is a meeting of the [Fatah] Central Committee, and I think we need to put the topic of building a strategy at all levels on our agenda, in order to deal with this dangerous change that threatens world peace, regional stability, and peace in the region. I think that the Israelis are also divided in their opinions on his policy. That is to say, everyone understands the consequences of what will happen due to the words of this crazy person.”
Jibril Rajoub also holds the following positions: Head of the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Palestinian Football Association, Chairman of the Palestine Olympic Committee, and Chairman of the Palestinian Scout Association (PSA).
Deputy Secretary of the Fatah Central Committee Jibril Rajoub: “There is a clear status quo on everything regarding Jerusalem from 1948 until today, from 1967 until today. The Americans recognize this, and the entire international community also recognizes this. [US President-elect Donald] Trump in effect is coming and saying: ‘I want to change this status quo.’ If so, he has a problem, not just with the Palestinians and not just with the Arabs. And therefore I say that we as Palestinians need to think carefully. This is an attack and a declaration of war on the entire world: on the Palestinians, on the Arabs, on the Muslims, on the Christians, on international legitimacy, and even on the US interests and American national security. We need to build a strategy that will merge all of these forces. There are places in Jerusalem that are holy to 2.5 billion Christians and Muslims. By what right does he [Trump] want to give it to the 13 million Jews in the world, half here and half abroad? By what right does he want to give them the keys to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre? And therefore, we need to mobilize the entire world, to mobilize it in the strategic sense. We need to initiate a strategy, and not to make do with responses from the side; to initiate a strategy on the national level, on the regional level, and on the international level.”
Official PA TV host: “You are part of the Palestinian leadership after all. What is your message to the Palestinian street when you speak about this strategy? Have you, for example, prepared a plan for the day after the transfer of the embassy?”
Jibril Rajoub: “Excuse me, my friend, we are all working on this, but since we are on TV, we need people to understand the exact context. I’m not interested in the statements on a particular matter by this or that Palestinian figure. This is a change of American policy. This is defiance of international legitimacy. This is defiance of the international community. This is defiance of the Arabs and the Muslims. After all, in 1984 they tried to transfer the embassy, but our Saudi brothers said they would cut ties with them, so they didn’t do it. Also in the 1990s they tried in the American Congress. We need the confrontation and the clash to be between this fascist who is coming to the White House (i.e., Donald Trump) and the entire world: the Christians, the Muslims, and the Europeans. Because this matter is connected to international legitimacy, and is connected to Islam and Christianity - not just Islam and Palestine. We as Palestinians have been, and remain, at the forefront of the war to defend the sites holy to Islam and Christianity. We don’t need anyone to tell us what to do. And therefore, I agree with you that we need to mobilize our ranks. The goal here is the land, the people, the holy sites, and history. We need to build a strategy of struggle, also in the sense of non-violence, so that [the strategy] will also include the social, political, and geographic components of all of the Palestinians in order to deal with Trump, to deal with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s policy, and to deal with this racist and fascist occupation.
Next week there is a meeting of the [Fatah] Central Committee, and I think we need to put the topic of building a strategy at all levels on our agenda, in order to deal with this dangerous change that threatens world peace, regional stability, and peace in the region. I think that the Israelis are also divided in their opinions on his policy. That is to say, everyone understands the consequences of what will happen due to the words of this crazy person.”
Jibril Rajoub also holds the following positions: Head of the Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Palestinian Football Association, Chairman of the Palestine Olympic Committee, and Chairman of the Palestinian Scout Association (PSA).