Fatah official: Israel seeks to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque
The following statement was made just after the Duma arson attack, in which two Palestinian houses in the West Bank were attacked and set on fire, killing an 18-month-old baby and his parents (see note below for more information):
Headline: “Zaki to Dunia Al-Watan: ‘Relations with Israel need to be reexamined, its attacks are worse than those of ISIS’”
“Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki stressed that relations with Israel need to be reexamined, and demanded of the Arab world and the entire world to annul the recognition of it [Israel], isolate it, and put it on trial. Likewise, he emphasized that attacks to destroy ISIS should not be carried out, as it does not commit even part of the terror of an organized country like Israel, but rather these attacks should be carried out to destroy Israel, since its attacks are worse than those of ISIS.
He added in an interview with Dunia Al-Watan: ‘What happened (i.e., the arson attack and murder) is a war crime and eradication [of the Palestinians], which is included in the framework of terror of the organized country. Therefore, the entire world must know and see the crimes committed by Israel, instead of dealing with what is called ISIS and the fundamentalist and religious extremists. It is true that ISIS’ has harmed the world, but the worst kind of terror, according to the legal and true definition, is occupation.’ Zaki stated that Israel commits the worst kind of terror [by continuing] the occupation, and implementing Nazi methods, as the burning of people in their houses at 2.30 a.m. constitutes a serious war crime…
Zaki noted that the purpose of the conflict today is to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and continued: ‘This is their historic opportunity. The fact that the Arabs are in a religious, ethnic, and tribal conflict [with each other], allows them to realize their dream.’ The arson today was meant to sow fear in our hearts. The time has come to take a serious stand and draw a clear line between the possibility of reaching mutual understanding with the enemy and the possibility of getting rid of it and realizing our Palestinian dream.”
Note: Duma arson attack - On July 31, 2015, two Palestinian houses in the West Bank village of Duma were set afire by Molotov cocktails thrown through their windows. 18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh was killed in this attack, his father, Saad Dawabsheh, died of injuries 8 days later, and his mother, Reham Dawabsheh, died of injuries 5 weeks later. Israeli leaders and citizens from all sectors of society condemned this attack, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas that all Israelis were disgusted by the crime, adding, “We will not countenance terrorism of any kind.” He ordered the security forces "to use all means at their disposal to apprehend the murderers and bring them to justice forthwith."
There is suspicion that this was a nationalist attack carried out by Jewish extremists in revenge for Palestinian terror attacks. However, the crime remains unsolved with no named suspects.
Headline: “Zaki to Dunia Al-Watan: ‘Relations with Israel need to be reexamined, its attacks are worse than those of ISIS’”
“Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki stressed that relations with Israel need to be reexamined, and demanded of the Arab world and the entire world to annul the recognition of it [Israel], isolate it, and put it on trial. Likewise, he emphasized that attacks to destroy ISIS should not be carried out, as it does not commit even part of the terror of an organized country like Israel, but rather these attacks should be carried out to destroy Israel, since its attacks are worse than those of ISIS.
He added in an interview with Dunia Al-Watan: ‘What happened (i.e., the arson attack and murder) is a war crime and eradication [of the Palestinians], which is included in the framework of terror of the organized country. Therefore, the entire world must know and see the crimes committed by Israel, instead of dealing with what is called ISIS and the fundamentalist and religious extremists. It is true that ISIS’ has harmed the world, but the worst kind of terror, according to the legal and true definition, is occupation.’ Zaki stated that Israel commits the worst kind of terror [by continuing] the occupation, and implementing Nazi methods, as the burning of people in their houses at 2.30 a.m. constitutes a serious war crime…
Zaki noted that the purpose of the conflict today is to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and continued: ‘This is their historic opportunity. The fact that the Arabs are in a religious, ethnic, and tribal conflict [with each other], allows them to realize their dream.’ The arson today was meant to sow fear in our hearts. The time has come to take a serious stand and draw a clear line between the possibility of reaching mutual understanding with the enemy and the possibility of getting rid of it and realizing our Palestinian dream.”
Note: Duma arson attack - On July 31, 2015, two Palestinian houses in the West Bank village of Duma were set afire by Molotov cocktails thrown through their windows. 18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh was killed in this attack, his father, Saad Dawabsheh, died of injuries 8 days later, and his mother, Reham Dawabsheh, died of injuries 5 weeks later. Israeli leaders and citizens from all sectors of society condemned this attack, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas that all Israelis were disgusted by the crime, adding, “We will not countenance terrorism of any kind.” He ordered the security forces "to use all means at their disposal to apprehend the murderers and bring them to justice forthwith."
There is suspicion that this was a nationalist attack carried out by Jewish extremists in revenge for Palestinian terror attacks. However, the crime remains unsolved with no named suspects.