PA official: Armed struggle still valid alternative to negotiations
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."
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."