PA leaders: Our weapons are for future wars with Israel
PA leaders: Our weapons
are for future wars with Israel
Jibril Rajoub:
"The weapon of the Resistance is sacred to us.
We will not harm it, go after it, or keep track of it...
At the moment of truth, we will all enlist together,
we will all fight together"
[Official PA TV, Sept. 30, 2014]
Jibril Rajoub:
the battle will be in all the Palestinian territories,
in which all members of the Palestinian people
will participate"
[Al-Quds, Oct. 3, 2014]
Abu Al-Einein (Abbas' advisor):
"It's wrong to think that Fatah has abandoned the rifle...
We are giving peace a chance,
but our rifle is still loaded with bullets"
[Official PA TV, Sept. 23, 2014]
by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Palestinian Authority and Fatah leaders continue to assure Palestinians that participating in a peace process does not mean the end of Palestinian warfare against Israel, but only that the use of violence is on hold. This is the official position of the PA leadership.
Palestinian Media Watch has documented that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas himself has said a number of times that he opposes violence against Israel only because it is not currently in the Palestinian interest. He has given two main reasons for this. First, Palestinians are not prepared militarily, and second, a war would heavily damage the infrastructure in the Palestinian areas.
The following are some of the recent statements by Palestinian leaders about the use of violence in the future:
Official PA TV program Personal Encounter:
Deputy Secretary of the Fatah Central Committee Jibril Rajoub: "They [Hamas] tell you: 'The weapon of the Resistance.' Brother [Hamas], your weapon, the weapon of the Resistance, is sacred to us. We will not harm it, go after it, or keep track of it. But could you store it away? At the moment of truth, we will all enlist together, we will all fight together."
[Official PA TV, Sept. 30, 2014]
[Al-Quds, Oct. 3, 2014]
Abbas' advisor on NGOs, Sultan Abu Al-Einein: "Our Palestinian national unity (i.e., between Fatah and Hamas) is our weapon against the Israeli enemy. We agree to the option of resistance in all its forms - we [Fatah] are the pioneers of the armed struggle. It's wrong to think that Fatah has abandoned the rifle or thrown away the rifle. We are giving peace a chance, but our rifle is still loaded with bullets... The time has come to agree on a system - if our [people] are killed, so theirs will be killed."
[Official PA TV, Sept. 23, 2014]