Fatah: Stages plan is still Palestinian Authority policy
- "1967 borders are not the Palestinian demand and not the final right," says Fatah official
- Fatah Spokesman denies Israel's legitimacy in any borders, "occupation is 76 years"
- Top PA official Rajoub: Hamas' massacre on Oct. 7 "was part of a war of defense the Palestinian people is waging" against "76-year-old occupation"
- Fatah official: Hamas can join PLO, neither Hamas nor Fatah need to recognize Israel
- Fatah official: Why would Fatah ask of Hamas to recognize Israel when "Fatah itself has not done that"
- Palestinian national youth team coach denies Israel's right to exist, all is "Palestine"
Whereas the PA and Fatah pretend to the world that they would be content with a Palestinian state within the June 4, 1967 borders to live in peace side by side with Israel, there's a different message when addressing the Arab/Palestinian public. Here the goal echoes former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's "stages plan," which meant Palestinians would conquer Israel bit by bit.
Still today, PA/Fatah leaders believe that the way to destroy Israel is to agree to a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders as a first step, leaving Israel with indefensible borders. Then demand/conquer more Israeli land over time until all of Israel has become "Palestine".
Recently, a Fatah official said explicitly that the 1967 borders "are not the Palestinian demand and not the final right,"a different wordingfor thestages plan:
Fatah official and An-Najah National University political science lecturer Raed Debiy: "We once again remind that [UN] Resolutions 242 and 338 (see note below -Ed.) and the establishment of a Palestinian state in the June 4, 1967 borders are not the Palestinian demand and not the final right [of the Palestinians], but rather this is the logical and realistic thing that we have agreed to on the basis of the international community's demand."
[Official PA TV, Oct. 9, 2024]
That Palestinian leaders envision the entire State of Israel as "Palestine" and don't recognize Israel's right to exist in any borders has been documented by Palestinian Media Watch for almost three decades. The slogan "From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free" that has become popular around the world, is the short and accurate expression of this ideology seeking the destruction of all of Israel. Another way of saying that all of Israel is illegitimate is to say that the "occupation" has lasted "76 years" – i.e., since the establishment of Israel in 1948.
A spokesman of Fatah stressed that Fatah doesn't recognize Israel's right to exist at all, stating that "the Palestinian struggle against the occupation" has been going on for "76 years":
Released terrorist and Fatah Spokesman Abd Al-Fattah Doleh: "The history of the Palestinian struggle has lasted 100 years, together with the British occupation, and 76 years against this criminal occupation (i.e., Israel), but the Palestinian people is not surrendering."
[Official PA TV, Oct. 10, 2024]
During the 2023 Gaza war, the PA has begged Hamas to join the PLO, and one Fatah official stressed that recognizing Israel is not a condition to join at all, neither for Hamas, nor for Fatah:
Fatah Revolutionary Council member Jamal Nazzal: "Now they [Hamas] need to say that the one who can save us is the PLO. The one who can save us is the plan of Palestinian [PA] President [Abbas], the plan of the PLO. This is not a reduction in the value of Hamas... It is only required to say ‘Let's leave the matter in the PLO's hands. Let's leave this matter in the hands of President Mahmoud Abbas. Let's eliminate Israel's excuses with which it has convinced the world that Hamas wants to destroy it." …
Official PA TV host: "Are we close to the moment when the Hamas Movement and Islamic Jihad Movement will join the PLO, /as the sole legitimate representative of our people? …
Jamal Nazzal: "We need to eliminate Israel's excuses and say: ‘Now we are in the framework of the PLO's plan.' This does not constitute a call on Hamas to concede on its plan or recognize Israel. There is no prerogative or obligation on Hamas or Fatah to recognize Israel, we just have to honor the PLO's commitment."
[Official PA TV, Topic of the Day, Feb. 25, 2024]
Fatah Revolutionary Council member and regular columnist for the official PA daily Muwaffaq Matar also stressed that Fatah never has recognized Israel:
"Muhammad Nazzal – the deputy of one of the many heads of Hamas, the armed branch of the [Muslim Brotherhood] organization in Palestine – appeared in a TV interview… and said: ‘Hamas' argument with the PLO and the PA is not political, but rather stems from Hamas' refusal to recognize Israel'! He continued… and saidthat ‘the PLO and the Fatah Movement demand that Hamas recognize Israel'! But how could it be that Fatah would ask his organization Hamas to do what Fatah has not done at all?"
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 11, 2024]
As its ruling party Fatah, the PLO also still seeks Israel's destruction after 76 years of "occupation":
Head of PLO Department of Human Rights, Qassem Awad: "Under the leadership of the PLO, we stand firmly on the Palestinian principles, which our people have never given up on during more than 76 years of occupation (i.e., since Israel's founding), that is the length of time of the ongoing crime against the Palestinian people."
[Official PA TV, March 3, 2024]
Similarly, top PA official Jibril Rajoub described Hamas' terror war against Israel as a "defense" against the "76-year-old occupation":
Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub: "What happened on Oct. 7 [2023] (i.e., Hamas' invasion and massacre) is part of a war of defense that the Palestinian people is waging against this occupation (i.e., Israel), in response to the Israeli crimes that are a continuation of the same crimes that are 76 years old today,which is the age of this occupation, against all of Palestine and the Palestinians."
[Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub, Facebook page, Jan. 17, 2024]
That all of Israel is "Palestine" is also the message fed to young Palestinian athletes. A national coach told his athletes that Israeli cities of Jerusalem, Haifa, Jaffa, and Acre are part of "the Palestinian entirety":
Palestinian national youth team coach: "Today we are the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Today we are Jerusalem, Haifa, Jaffa, and Acre (i.e., all Israeli cities). Today we are Hebron, Bethlehem, and Ramallah. Today we are Nablus, Tulkarem, and Qalqilya. Today we are proud Jenin... Today we are the diaspora and the Interior (i.e., Palestinian term for Israel). Today we are the Palestinian entirety."
[Radio Mawtini (Fatah radio station), Facebook page, Sept. 23, 2024]
It is about time that the international community that continues to push Israel to accept the PA as rulers of Gaza, recognize that the PA's rejectionism is alive and well, and when it comes to final goals, the PA seeks the same as Hamas. the only difference is tactical.
The following are longer excerpts of statements cited above and notes:
Excerpt of a column by Muwaffaq Matar, Fatah Revolutionary Council member and regular columnist for the official PA daily
Headline: "‘Goebbels-ism' – a school for lies in the Muslim Brotherhood style"
"At this opportunity we recall Joseph Goebbels, who was in charge of propaganda in the Nazi party and was closest to Hitler in the period of his rule, and who immortalized the saying ‘lie and lie until people believe you' (sic., while a similar quote is often attributed to Goebbels, there is no evidence he actually used it). We think that the one who became an example of all those who attempt to crush justice, the facts, and the truth learned this rule from ‘the Muslim Brotherhood' organization in their propaganda for themselves and against their rivals. After [Goebbels] committed suicide a day after Hitler committed suicide in April 1945, it became essential to search there among the Muslim Brotherhood organization that would serve as an example [for telling lies], given that they are the source. But the problem is that it is difficult to choose [one] name from among them that would replace Goebbels as an example of ‘the path of the lie' as an alternative to the truth, because there are hundreds like this, and they are competing among themselves in highlighting their expertise in behaving this way.
For example, two days ago [Feb. 9, 2024] Muhammad Nazzal – the deputy of one of the many heads of Hamas, the armed branch of the [Muslim Brotherhood] organization in Palestine – appeared in a TV interview that was broadcasted on an Arab satellite channel, and said: ‘Hamas' argument with the PLO and the PA is not political, but rather stems from Hamas' refusal to recognize Israel'!He continued in his Goebbelsian way and said that ‘the PLO and the Fatah Movement demand that Hamas recognize Israel'! But how could it be that Fatah would ask his organization Hamas to do what Fatah has not done at all?
As for the PLO leadership… it emphasizes that Hamas and others must respect the PLO's commitment to the international institutions' resolutions (which number in the hundreds) [parentheses in source] that are connected to the Palestinian right (the Palestinian cause) [parentheses in source]. This is because it is the only legitimate representative of the Palestinian people… The PLO is a national legal government that enjoys international recognition, and no faction has the right to set out against the outlook of the Palestinian people's supreme interests, which were embodied by the decisions of the [Palestinian] National Council (i.e., the legislative body of the PLO), which represents all sectors of the Palestinian people, by a majority of approximately two-thirds."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 11, 2024]