The Palestinians In Their Own Words

Palestinian Quote Sheet #39

The following statements by Palestinian leaders date from between April 1995 and July 1996.

On violence against Israel:

"If the negotiations reach a dead end, we shall go back to the struggle and strife, as we did for 40 years. It is not beyond our capabilities.... "If and when Israel will say, `That's it, we won't talk about Jerusalem, we won't return refugees, we won't dismantle settlements, and we won't retreat from borders,' then all the acts of violence will return. Except that this time we'll have 30,000 armed Palestinian soldiers who will operate in areas in which we have unprecedented elements of freedom."

--- Palestinian Authority Planning Minister Nabil Shaath, at a symposium shown on Palestinian television. (The Jerusalem Post, 15 March 1996)

"Our forces will fight, of course. They have already received their orders."

--- Marwan Bargouthi, explaining that Palestinian soldiers will shoot at Israeli soldiers should Israel reenter regions under the Palestinian Authority. Bargouthi is Secretary General of Fatah, Yasser Arafat's mainstream faction of the PLO. (The Independent, 12 March 1996)

"We must remember that the main enemy of the Palestinian people, now and forever, is Israel. This is a truth that must never leave our minds."

--- Palestinian Authority Justice Minister Freih Abu Middein, speaking at Al Azhar University in Gaza. (Al-Nahar, 11 April 1995; The Jerusalem Post, 17 April 1995)

"Jerusalem is under occupation and the Moslems of the world should liberate it by jihad and put it under Islamic and Arabic authority. The jihad is not just a war jihad - we are talking about all means to get back Jerusalem."

--- Sheikh Akram Sabri, the Palestinian Authority-appointed mufti (Muslim religious leader) of Jerusalem, in an interview with the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat. (Al-Sharq al-Awsat, 7 April 1995; The Jerusalem Post, 3 May 1995)

"[Palestinians should] rise up with all their might against the occupation."

--- Sheikh Akram Sabri in a sermon at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque. (The Jerusalem Post, 14 June 1996)

"If the Israelis decide to throw the peace to the sea, we will send them to hell and the explosion this time will be more violent and more destructive. In comparison, the attacks in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Ashkelon will look like banal actions."

--- Statement by youth group of Fatah, Arafat's faction of the PLO (Ha'aretz, 8 July 1996)

To Quote Sheet #38 | To a text file of all quote sheets | To Quote Sheet #40

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