Palestinian journalist quotes Arafat about Oslo Accords: “I promise you that you will see the Jews fleeing from Palestine like mice fleeing from a sinking ship,” accuses Israel of poisoning Arafat
Article by Abd Al-Bari Atwan, Palestinian journalist and editor of the online newspaper Rai Al-Yawm:
Headline: “A quarter of a century since the Oslo trap: Why did we oppose it from day one?”
“On this day exactly a quarter of a century ago, the PLO leadership and the Palestinian people entered the largest trap in modern Arab history, which was carefully set for them by the Israelis and their allies the Westerners and some of the Arabs. They entered it with their eyes open, while believing the lie of peace and the establishment of the independent Palestinian state – a lie that was exposed afterwards by the reality on the ground…
I remember that he [former PLO and PA President Yasser Arafat] took me aside when we left his office in the Jugurtha neighborhood of Tunis – on the pretext of going out for a walk and in order to get away from the listening devices – and he told me: ‘I want to tell you something that I ask you not to note or attribute to me, except after my death.’ He let out a sigh and said: ‘I am entering Palestine through the door of Oslo, despite all of my reservations, in order to return the PLO and the resistance to it, and I promise you that you will see the Jews fleeing from Palestine like mice fleeing from a sinking ship. This will not happen in my lifetime, but it will happen in your lifetime.’ He confirmed to me that he did not believe the Jews at all, and I swear that he spoke the truth…
President Arafat achieved the Martyrdom-death (Shahada) that he hoped for through Israeli poison (sic., this libel has been disproven by medical teams; see note below), after they besieged him in his office for months (see note below –Ed.) because he refused to sign the Camp David agreements and relinquish Jerusalem and the right of return [for Palestinian refugees], and he brought about the outbreak of the second armed Intifada (i.e., PA terror campaign 2000-2005). He brought weapons from every possible place, and I know very well that he cooperated with and supported the Jihad fighters of the Hamas Movement in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank with money and weapons. As part of this he also established a bridge with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and with its leadership, and they would send weapons in ships inside barrels and throw them into the sea opposite the shores of Gaza, because he understood that the Israelis were not interested in peace, in any concessions, or in the establishment of a Palestinian state.
I am not revealing this information, part of which may already be known, in order to defend the deceased Arafat, but as historical testimony, together with my firm belief that the Oslo Accords were a historic mistake.”
Following PLO and PA Chairman Yasser Arafat's death in November 2004, the PA created the libel that Israel murdered Arafat, and it has been spreading it since. In 2012, samples were taken from Arafat’s remains and tested for poisoning by Swiss, Russian, and French teams of scientists. The Swiss team concluded that the tests were "coherent with a hypothesis of poisoning" - but a member of the team also stated that "our study did not permit us to demonstrate categorically the hypothesis of poisoning by polonium." The Russian scientists concluded that "there was insufficient evidence to support the theory that Yasser Arafat died in 2004 by polonium poisoning." [Reuters, Nov. 8, 2013] In March 2015, three French judges ruled that "it has not been demonstrated that Mr. Yasser Arafat was murdered by polonium-210 poisoning." The French prosecutor stated that there was "not sufficient evidence of an intervention by a third party who could have attempted to take his life." [France 24, Sept. 2, 2015] The French prosecutor also explained that the polonium and lead found in Arafat’s grave were “of an environmental nature.” [Jerusalem Post, March 17, 2015].
Despite these results, the PA continues to blame Israel for Arafat’s death without any proof or backing for this claim.
Operation Defensive Shield – a large Israeli military operation in April 2002 in response to the many suicide bombings during PA terror campaign (the second Intifada, 2000-2005). Israel put Arafat under siege and invaded six of the largest West Bank cities in an attempt to destroy the terror infrastructure.
Headline: “A quarter of a century since the Oslo trap: Why did we oppose it from day one?”
“On this day exactly a quarter of a century ago, the PLO leadership and the Palestinian people entered the largest trap in modern Arab history, which was carefully set for them by the Israelis and their allies the Westerners and some of the Arabs. They entered it with their eyes open, while believing the lie of peace and the establishment of the independent Palestinian state – a lie that was exposed afterwards by the reality on the ground…
I remember that he [former PLO and PA President Yasser Arafat] took me aside when we left his office in the Jugurtha neighborhood of Tunis – on the pretext of going out for a walk and in order to get away from the listening devices – and he told me: ‘I want to tell you something that I ask you not to note or attribute to me, except after my death.’ He let out a sigh and said: ‘I am entering Palestine through the door of Oslo, despite all of my reservations, in order to return the PLO and the resistance to it, and I promise you that you will see the Jews fleeing from Palestine like mice fleeing from a sinking ship. This will not happen in my lifetime, but it will happen in your lifetime.’ He confirmed to me that he did not believe the Jews at all, and I swear that he spoke the truth…
President Arafat achieved the Martyrdom-death (Shahada) that he hoped for through Israeli poison (sic., this libel has been disproven by medical teams; see note below), after they besieged him in his office for months (see note below –Ed.) because he refused to sign the Camp David agreements and relinquish Jerusalem and the right of return [for Palestinian refugees], and he brought about the outbreak of the second armed Intifada (i.e., PA terror campaign 2000-2005). He brought weapons from every possible place, and I know very well that he cooperated with and supported the Jihad fighters of the Hamas Movement in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank with money and weapons. As part of this he also established a bridge with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and with its leadership, and they would send weapons in ships inside barrels and throw them into the sea opposite the shores of Gaza, because he understood that the Israelis were not interested in peace, in any concessions, or in the establishment of a Palestinian state.
I am not revealing this information, part of which may already be known, in order to defend the deceased Arafat, but as historical testimony, together with my firm belief that the Oslo Accords were a historic mistake.”
Following PLO and PA Chairman Yasser Arafat's death in November 2004, the PA created the libel that Israel murdered Arafat, and it has been spreading it since. In 2012, samples were taken from Arafat’s remains and tested for poisoning by Swiss, Russian, and French teams of scientists. The Swiss team concluded that the tests were "coherent with a hypothesis of poisoning" - but a member of the team also stated that "our study did not permit us to demonstrate categorically the hypothesis of poisoning by polonium." The Russian scientists concluded that "there was insufficient evidence to support the theory that Yasser Arafat died in 2004 by polonium poisoning." [Reuters, Nov. 8, 2013] In March 2015, three French judges ruled that "it has not been demonstrated that Mr. Yasser Arafat was murdered by polonium-210 poisoning." The French prosecutor stated that there was "not sufficient evidence of an intervention by a third party who could have attempted to take his life." [France 24, Sept. 2, 2015] The French prosecutor also explained that the polonium and lead found in Arafat’s grave were “of an environmental nature.” [Jerusalem Post, March 17, 2015].
Despite these results, the PA continues to blame Israel for Arafat’s death without any proof or backing for this claim.
Operation Defensive Shield – a large Israeli military operation in April 2002 in response to the many suicide bombings during PA terror campaign (the second Intifada, 2000-2005). Israel put Arafat under siege and invaded six of the largest West Bank cities in an attempt to destroy the terror infrastructure.