Abbas: Terror in future is still an option
Mahmoud Abbas: “We did not say the armed struggle should be stopped. We are saying we must stop the militarization of the Intifada. The armed struggle requires certain conditions and capabilities that we do not have in Palestine. We cannot equate what is happening in Palestine with what is going on in Lebanon or Algeria. Therefore military activity under these circumstances is futile. For this reason, we stated that it must be stopped for a year, which is not a concession on our part. As long as the conditions are not equal, what can be done? After two and a half years of struggle, the result was that we regressed, to a point further back than where we started.”
Interviewer: “But what if the Israeli soldiers desecrate the sanctity of the Palestinian home (i.e., enter the Palestinian territories)?”
Abbas: “Resistance is our right. The Intifada must continue, and it is the right of the Palestinian people to resist and use everything in its power to protect its existence. I will add that if the Israelis come to build a settlement on your land, it is your right to protect [it] using everything at your disposal.”
Interviewer: “Including the use of arms?”
Abbas: “Using all options and using arms, as long as they come to you in your home. This is the right of the resistance. The prohibition applies only to Martyrdom-seeking operations (i.e., suicide attacks), and to going out to fight it [the Israeli army] in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. There is no justification for going out to fight the army.”
Interviewer: “But what if the Israeli soldiers desecrate the sanctity of the Palestinian home (i.e., enter the Palestinian territories)?”
Abbas: “Resistance is our right. The Intifada must continue, and it is the right of the Palestinian people to resist and use everything in its power to protect its existence. I will add that if the Israelis come to build a settlement on your land, it is your right to protect [it] using everything at your disposal.”
Interviewer: “Including the use of arms?”
Abbas: “Using all options and using arms, as long as they come to you in your home. This is the right of the resistance. The prohibition applies only to Martyrdom-seeking operations (i.e., suicide attacks), and to going out to fight it [the Israeli army] in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. There is no justification for going out to fight the army.”