A new "armed battle" similar to the Second Intifada "is on the table and being seriously discussed," according to Fatah
Video and text posted on the Facebook page of the Fatah Commission of Information and Culture
Posted text: “Fatah Movement Central Committee [Secretary and] member Jibril Rajoub: What happened in Jerusalem, the West Bank, inside the [pre-]1967 [borders] (i.e., violent Arab riots inside Israel; see note below), and the Gaza Strip shows that the occupation is in distress, as this is the first time that the Palestinians are agreeing as one. The Fatah Movement’s entry into an armed battle is on the table of the Central Committee, and we will also raise this before the factions, because Fatah is the one that brought about the outbreak of the revolution.”
Video:
The video shows an interview of Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub with the international Arabic news network Asharq News.
Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub: “In our estimation – we the Palestinians – this situation requires we [Fatah] take a position and also the international community, which understands the scope of the fascist and Nazi state terror that is being carried out against the Palestinians, regardless of where they live…
We in Fatah are seriously thinking of reexamining all the rules of engagement with the occupation. In the national dialogue [between the factions], we are striving to formulate a policy or strategy of struggle that has a political aspect, a legal aspect, but also an aspect of confrontation with the occupation so that this policy will rest on a strategy agreed upon by all elements of the Palestinian people and all the Palestinian national action factions. We are convinced that the argument [with Israel] has reached the stage that either the world will give us a solution or we will continue the cycle of blood and killing –and the killing and suffering will not be only among the Palestinians or only on the Palestinian side.”
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Asharq News interviewer: “That leads us to the question: How realistic today are the possibilities that have been raised that Fatah will enter an armed confrontation with the occupation – one of the methods that perhaps you meant, and I will let you [answer] the question – in the West Bank, as happened in the 2000 [second] Intifada (i.e., PA terror campaign 2000-2005, more than 1,100 Israelis murdered); and what about Jerusalem?”
Jibril Rajoub: “That possibility is on the table of the [Fatah] Central Committee, and we are seriously discussing this matter. We will also raise this matter in our discussions with the factions. If the world wants to push us into a corner, we are not the only ones who will die, and we are not the only ones who will suffer. As far as we’re concerned, the struggle with all its forms is a means, and the goal is ending the occupation. We own the armed struggle. We are the ones who brought about the outbreak of the revolution – us, us, us! We will not continue to boast about the past, but if there is a need for us to return to bearing arms, I say that we – starting with the Central Committee and down to the last of the lion cubs in this [Fatah] Movement (i.e., child members of Fatah) – we are all potential Martyrs. However, we are fighting so that we will live and so our people will live. We hope that the international community will pick up on the [emotional] turmoil and the feeling of bitterness that exists among all the Palestinians, who have begun to defy death and prefer death over a life of humiliation, suffering, and hardships under the rule of the neo-Nazis who are a danger to us, our security, our stability, our [Arab] oil, and our interests. But I tell you and all the Arabs and Muslims: We are remaining here, and here we are standing firm. Our only choice is unity on the project of the [Palestinian] state and determining the means and methods of the struggle and resistance.”
Jibril Rajoub also serves as Head of the PLO Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, Chairman of the Palestinian Football Association, Chairman of the Palestine Olympic Committee, and Chairman of the Palestinian Scout Association (PSA).
Fatah/Hamas Riot and Rocket War 2021 – On April 30, 2021, facing certain electoral defeat, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas cancelled the first PA elections scheduled in 15 years. Hamas, which expected to win the elections, denounced it as a “coup.” In need of a conflict to divert public discontent, Abbas artificially generated a crisis over Jerusalem. His Fatah party called for "raising the level of confrontation,” and Abbas' spokesman told Palestinians "the battle of all battles is here.” Jerusalem Arabs responded by attacking Jews with rocks and Molotov cocktails. Hamas, Abbas' political rival, could not allow Abbas to lead the battle, so on May 10, 2021, Hamas launched rocket barrages targeting Israeli population centers including Jerusalem. Over the next 11 days, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired over 4,300 rockets into southern and central Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing 9 Israelis and 3 foreign nationals, and wounding hundreds. In response, Israel launched Operation Guardian of the Walls to target Hamas terror leaders and terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. Already in mid-April, a planned eviction of some Palestinian families illegally living in Jewish-owned buildings in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem had led to clashes between Palestinian residents and Israeli police. This dispute provided Palestinians with a pretext for violent rioting. Adding to the crisis, Israeli Arabs started rioting throughout Israel, especially in cities with a mixed Jewish and Arab population. Two Jews were murdered and many were wounded. According to Walla, an independent Israeli news site, 10 synagogues were wholly or partly burned down; fires were set in 112 Jewish homes and 1 Arab home mistaken for a Jewish home; 386 Jewish homes were plundered and 673 were damaged; 849 cars were set ablaze; and there were 5,018 rock-throwing attacks. In response, Jews started attacking Arabs and their properties as well, but on a much smaller scale. No mosques were burned; 13 Arab homes were damaged; 13 Arab-owned cars were burned; and there were 41 rock-throwing attacks by Jews. [Walla, May 16, 2021] The fighting between Israel and Hamas ended with a ceasefire on May 21, 2021.