Fatah official: Use violence at the right time; recognizing Israel was a mistake and should be retracted
Fatah Central Committee Member Tawfiq Tirawi:
“When there are negotiations, the negotiations need leverage. Leverage on the ground for negotiations [can be] armed resistance, popular resistance, civil disobedience against the occupation, appeals to the UN, etc. You have to use all forms of struggle [as leverage]. True, there are circumstances that can sometimes dictate the form of struggle. At one time or another, the time may be right or wrong for it (i.e., for a certain form of struggle). But ultimately, if the Palestinian negotiator goes [to negotiate] without an activity that supports him, and with no factors that support him, his position will be weak. We have no popular resistance, to speak frankly, and we have no armed resistance. We have what we obtained by appealing to the UN, which is [the ability] to approach international institutions and organizations…
There is no Israeli partner for peace, in my opinion. We made a mistake when we recognized Israel, and we must retract our recognition of Israel. We made a mistake when we lowered our demands and [agreed to] the 1967 borders. I say, we must return to no less than the [UN] Partition Plan. This is my opinion, and this is what we must tell people – because essentially the two-state solution is over and dead.”
“When there are negotiations, the negotiations need leverage. Leverage on the ground for negotiations [can be] armed resistance, popular resistance, civil disobedience against the occupation, appeals to the UN, etc. You have to use all forms of struggle [as leverage]. True, there are circumstances that can sometimes dictate the form of struggle. At one time or another, the time may be right or wrong for it (i.e., for a certain form of struggle). But ultimately, if the Palestinian negotiator goes [to negotiate] without an activity that supports him, and with no factors that support him, his position will be weak. We have no popular resistance, to speak frankly, and we have no armed resistance. We have what we obtained by appealing to the UN, which is [the ability] to approach international institutions and organizations…
There is no Israeli partner for peace, in my opinion. We made a mistake when we recognized Israel, and we must retract our recognition of Israel. We made a mistake when we lowered our demands and [agreed to] the 1967 borders. I say, we must return to no less than the [UN] Partition Plan. This is my opinion, and this is what we must tell people – because essentially the two-state solution is over and dead.”