The Palestinians In Their Own Words

Palestinian Quote Sheet #50

On peace, war and armed struggle against Israel:

"The failed attempt to achieve peace made us realize that the only way to solve the Palestinian problem in a just and comprehensive manner is to implement the PLO's covenant... meaning a return to the armed struggle, which is the only language the Israelis understand....

"The Fatah movement will not allow the continuation of a situation which is neither war nor peace, imposed on the region by the Israeli and American governments.... The Palestinian people are ready for war. As much as they are experienced in peace, the Palestinian people are experienced in war, where they have yet to fail."

--- Ruhi Fatuh, Secretary General of the Palestinian Legislative Council and member of the Revolutionary Council of Fatah, Yasser Arafat's mainstream faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Fatuh said the return to armed struggle should take place if a Palestinian state is not established by 5 May 1999, when the Israel-PLO accords expire. (Al-Ayyam, 12 June 1998. Translation courtesy of Middle East Media and Research Institute - MEMRI, )

"We will turn the territories of the [Palestinian] Autonomy into [the Israelis'] graveyard. This will be the beginning of the end and a regression to a state of overall explosion, for which Israel will be held responsible, as it is responsible for the failure of the peace process today."

--- Chief Palestinian negotiator Sa'eb Ariqat, saying that if the Israelis try to re-enter areas under the Palestinian Authority they would not get out alive. (Al-Manar, 8 June 1998. Translation courtesy of MEMRI.)

"Defining the situation with Israel today as peace is a mistake. There is no peace with Israel, which is an imperialistic state by nature.... Rather, it is a truce, mainly because Israel wants to dominate the region and shuns peace with its neighbors. Such was revealed when the idea of a Middle East [economic] market was raised [by Israel]."

--- Senior advisor to the PLO Executive Committee Jamal Al-Sorani. (Al-Bayader Al-Siasi, 13 June 1998. Translation courtesy of MEMRI.)

On the Palestinian Covenant:

"...The [Palestinian] National Council did not vote to annul the [Palestinian] Covenant, but rather announced its readiness to change the Covenant under certain terms. If the terms are met, it will be amended. Otherwise, the Covenant will remain as is. The Covenant has yet to be changed, and this is better understood by the enemy than by our own people...."

--- Secretary General of the Arab Liberation Front Mahmoud 'Abbas, otherwise known as Abu 'Abbas. The Israel-PLO Accords of 1993 required the Palestinian National Council to amend the Covenant, which calls for Israel's destruction, with no further conditions attached. (Al-Bilad, 11 June 1998. Translation courtesy of MEMRI.)

On Jewish rights to the Western Wall in Jerusalem:

"The Al-Buraq [Wailing] Wall is part of the Al-Aqsa [Mosque]. I tell this to foreign reporters who refer to the Al-Buraq Wall as Jewish [property] because Jews call it the 'Wailing Wall'. We stress that the Al-Buraq Wall belongs to the Muslims alone. This is not my personal view, but rather, that of Islam."

--- From the Friday sermon at Al-Aqsa mosque by Sheik Iqrima Sabri, the Palestinian Authority-appointed Mufti of Palestine and Jerusalem. The Wailing or Western Wall, a retaining wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, dates to Herodian times, several centuries before the advent of Islam and the construction of Al-Aqsa Mosque on the mount. (Voice of Palestine radio, 12 June 1998. Translation courtesy of MEMRI.)

To Quote Sheet #48 | To a text file of all quote sheets | To Quote Sheet #50

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