Abbas: “We are the Canaanites! … [Israel is] the enemy”

Speech at the Jalazone refugee camp

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas: "I say to [Israel]: Every stone you have built on our land and every house you have built on our land - there is no escaping that they will disappear, Allah willing. And the more they announce houses here or settlements there - they will all disappear, Allah willing, and will be in the garbage dump of history . And [Israelis] will remember that this land belongs to its people; this land belongs to its inhabitants; this land belongs to the Canaanites who were here 5,000 years ago - and we are the Canaanites!...

We will enter Jerusalem as fighters by the millions. We will all enter it, all of the Palestinian people and all of the Arab and Islamic and Christian nations! Everyone will enter Jerusalem! We will not agree that they consider our Martyrs terrorists - our Martyrs, the homeland's Martyrs! And we will not agree that they deduct one penny from their money (referring to Israel's Anti "Pay-for-Slay" Law; see note below -Ed.). All of their money will return to them - because for us the Martyrs, the wounded, and the prisoners are the most sanctified. And therefore for months we have been rejecting their statements about  deducting this money. Either it will be paid in full - down to the last penny, as they say - or we will not accept their money from them. And we say to them there is no escaping paying us our money despite you. We will not allow a deduction here and a deduction there; we will not be inferior to you. Either you will agree to credit- Give us our [money by] right or we will take it by all means (i.e., Palestinian term includes use of terror). Almighty Allah said while addressing you: 'O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed and fear Allah that you may be successful' [Quran, Sura 3:200, Sahih International translation]. In other words, you will succeed, Allah willing! I turn to our people in Gaza and I say to them: Enough! Enough of this rift! Who benefits from this rift? It only benefits the enemy; and the Hamas leadership is acting for the enemy and not for Palestine. They must change their minds; we seek unity - since today, since yesterday, and since 10 years ago. We seek unity and unity must include Gaza, Jerusalem, and the West Bank for there to be a State of Palestine whose capital is East Jerusalem... 

The Muslims and the Christians in this land are brothers. The Christians are not a minority; the Christians are members of this people. The churches are our churches, the places of worship are our places of worship, and the Christians are our people and our brothers until the Day of Judgment. Therefore, we are together like this (he demonstrates by interlacing his fingers -Ed.), and nobody will divide us!"

Israel's Anti "Pay-for-Slay" Law - Israeli law stating that the PA payments to terrorists and the families of dead terrorists is a financial incentive to terror. The law instructs the state to deduct and freeze the amount of money the PA pays in salaries to imprisoned terrorists and families of "Martyrs" from the tax money Israel collects for the PA. Should the PA stop these payments for a full year, the Israeli government would have the option of giving all or part of the frozen money to the PA. The law was enacted by the Israeli Parliament on July 2, 2018. During the parliamentary vote, the law's sponsor Avi Dichter said: “The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee received much help in its deliberations... from Palestinian Media Watch who provided us with authentic data that enabled productive and professional deliberations, nuances that are very difficult to achieve without precise data.” [Israeli Parliament website, July 2, 2018] In accordance with the law, as of September 2021 Israel’s Security Cabinet had ordered the freeze of 1.857 billion shekels ($580.15 million) - the sum equivalent to the PA payments to terrorists in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

The terms “all means,” “all means of resistance,” “all forms,” are ‎used by PA leaders to include using all types of violence, including deadly terror ‎against Israeli civilians such as stabbings and shootings, as well as throwing rocks and Molotov Cocktails.