Columnist in official PA daily: Israel poisoned Arafat
From an article by regular columnist Adel Abd Al-Rahman:
Headline: "Israel is the new Crusade"
"Whoever has been following the [Israeli 2013] election campaign of the bloc comprised of the Likud-Yisrael Beyteinu, the Bayit HaYehudi, and Shas parties as well as the centrist parties (Labour, Yesh Atid, and Kadima) [sees that] the Israeli arena lacks any political vision that can foresee a solution [to the Israel-Palestine conflict], and that it is following the fascist trends of the right-wing parties. Even the forces aligned with what is called the left ('Hatnua', for example), in spite of their rigor [in promoting] a two-state solution, they continue to cling to Zionist anti-peace goals in that they refuse [to allow] refugees to return and insist that the Palestinians recognize the 'Jewishness' of the state!
The difficulty that emerges from the [common] policy of the various Israeli political forces, especially the right-wing forces, shows that the country of ethnic cleansing is descending towards fascism and towards triggering war in the region. [Israel] is substantiating its colonialist nature, it being no more than a new Crusade against the region, so that it is impossible for it (i.e., Israel) to co-exist and blend with the countries of the region and their peoples. Therefore, the Arab nations must… profoundly reassess the Arab peace initiative that Israel killed as soon as it was announced at the 2002 Beirut summit, when it [Israel] invaded the towns and villages of the [West] Bank, laid siege to leader Yasser Arafat and later assassinated him by poisoning."
Headline: "Israel is the new Crusade"
"Whoever has been following the [Israeli 2013] election campaign of the bloc comprised of the Likud-Yisrael Beyteinu, the Bayit HaYehudi, and Shas parties as well as the centrist parties (Labour, Yesh Atid, and Kadima) [sees that] the Israeli arena lacks any political vision that can foresee a solution [to the Israel-Palestine conflict], and that it is following the fascist trends of the right-wing parties. Even the forces aligned with what is called the left ('Hatnua', for example), in spite of their rigor [in promoting] a two-state solution, they continue to cling to Zionist anti-peace goals in that they refuse [to allow] refugees to return and insist that the Palestinians recognize the 'Jewishness' of the state!
The difficulty that emerges from the [common] policy of the various Israeli political forces, especially the right-wing forces, shows that the country of ethnic cleansing is descending towards fascism and towards triggering war in the region. [Israel] is substantiating its colonialist nature, it being no more than a new Crusade against the region, so that it is impossible for it (i.e., Israel) to co-exist and blend with the countries of the region and their peoples. Therefore, the Arab nations must… profoundly reassess the Arab peace initiative that Israel killed as soon as it was announced at the 2002 Beirut summit, when it [Israel] invaded the towns and villages of the [West] Bank, laid siege to leader Yasser Arafat and later assassinated him by poisoning."