Fatah uses weapons when effective, “popular resistance” includes sabotage of Israeli water and electricity systems – Fatah official
Official PA radio The Voice of Palestine host: "Fatah has not discarded the rifle, but the stage and the place require different methods of action from period to period. What are the demands of this stage?" …
Fatah Revolutionary Council member and former Jenin District Governor Akram Rajoub: "When we talk about popular resistance, we are talking about form and content. The form is what we saw in the first Intifada, and the content is the political outcome. The first Intifada forced the occupation to sit with the PLO and make a political agreement. Today, if we turn to popular resistance, we will necessarily talk about a state and borders and Jerusalem... If we are close to our people… we will have popular resistance… This popular resistance needs to spread over the area of the West Bank. There are forms of popular resistance that are not limited only to demonstrations and processions… There is more than one means that can be used in popular resistance to the occupation… They have water pipes that reach them… The land is our land, water is taken from it, and their pipes pass through our lands-"
Host: "The means in our hands are simple-"
Akram Rajoub: "We don't need weapons. Weapons must not be used. You only need a hoe and a pickaxe, and this will stop the water for all the settlers. And with electricity, it's the same thing. You need a person with a little knowledge, and you can disrupt the electricity, so it won't reach the settlements. There is more than one way that can be taken in confronting the occupation, in popular means. Regarding weapons, Fatah has not discarded the weapons, and has not decided to discard the weapons... The issue of weapons is an issue of a vision. When Fatah believed that carrying weapons did not yield a political result and did not provide protection to the Palestinian people, Fatah decided that this stage was not a stage of weapons. Therefore, it set this matter aside, and said clearly: We want a state, we want to use our capabilities and resources in confronting the occupation, in a way that will not cause damage to the Palestinian people."
[The Voice of Palestine, official PA radio station, Facebook page, Jan. 19, 2026]