Monday, July 13, 2009

Video: Fatah: “Our Goal Is Not Peace, But Rather Palestine” (Updated)

Not that for a moment this will change anyone's mind about the two state solution, but once again, we see that Fatah is no different than Hamas--except that they make it easier for apologists for Palestinian Arabs to label them 'moderates'. Here comes one Fatah moderate now:

Kifah Radaydeh, the deputy head of the Jerusalem chapter of Fatah, says openly that the PA will resume violence and terror against Israel when Fatah is "capable," and "according to what seems right."

"It has been said that we are negotiating for peace,” she further stated, “but our goal has never been peace. Peace is a means; the goal is Palestine."

Radaydeh is considered a “promising and rising young force” in Fatah, according to a PMW source, “and this report will likely give her extra prominence. But we have to publicize her words in order that the truth about the PA and Fatah be known.”

Read the whole thing.

Of course, this is no different than what Abbas has been saying. Here are quotes from an interview he gave last year.
The Arab Situation
"Now we are against armed conflict because we are unable. In the future stages, things may be different..."

We reject the Jewishness of the state
The Palestinian President emphasized his rejection of what is described as the Jewishness of the state [Israel], and said: "We rejected this proposal at the Annapolis conference last November in the USA, and the conference was almost aborted because of it..."

The Resistance [Editor's note: PA euphemism for terror]
The Palestinian President spoke about the resistance, saying: "I was honored to be the one to shoot the first bullet in 1965 [Fatah terror against Israel began in 1965] ,and having taught resistance to many in this area and around the world, defining it and when it is beneficial and when it is not... we had the honor of leading the resistance.We taught everyone what resistance is, including the Hezbollah, who were trained in our camps [i.e. PLO camps in the 60s and 70s]."

Recognition of Israel
"I don't demand that the Hamas movement recognize Israel. I only demanded of the [Palestinian] national unity government that would work opposite Israel in recognition of it. And this I told to Syrian President Bashir Assad, and he supported this idea."

Al-Dustur, February 28, 2008
Radaydeh and Abbas agree that 'negotiations' are merely a tool to be used when terrorism is ineffective. Based on Abbas's definition of 'recognition' of Israel and his lack of negotiating quid pro quo--it is clear that for the PA negotiations have nothing to do with concessions, unless Israel is the one doing the conceding.

True negotiations is not something the Arab world has done a lot of vis-a-vis the Western world. It's about time they got some practice.

UPDATE: IMRA has the transcript:
"Fatah is facing a challenge, because [Fatah] says that we perceive peace as one of the strategies, but we say that all forms of the struggle exist, and we do not rule out the possibility of the armed struggle or any other struggle. The struggle exists in all its forms, on the basis of what we are capable of at a given time, and according to what seems right...
What exactly do we want? It has been said that we are negotiating for peace, but our goal has never been peace. Peace is a means; and the goal is Palestine. I do not negotiate in order to achieve peace. I negotiate for Palestine, in order to achieve a state."
And adds further examples of Israel's peace partners in the PA:

1. The Fatah flag still shows the map of Israel under rifles. The same
symbol (see right) appears on the Fatah website ( http://www.fateh.ps ) and
other official Fatah publications.

2. Fatah MP Najat Abu-Bakr said in a PA TV interview last year that Fatah's
goal remains the destruction of Israel, but that their political plan is to
focus on the West Bank and Gaza Strip:

"It doesn't mean that we don't want the 1948 borders [all of Israel]...but
our current political program is to say that we want the 1967 borders." [PA TV, Aug. 25 2008]. Click to view www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw-JZ5u0Oi4

3. A PA TV educational documentary broadcast monthly since 2007 includes the
following words denying the existence of Israel:

"Another section in Palestine which is the Palestinian coast that spreads
along the [Mediterranean] sea, from... Ashkelon in the south, until Haifa,
in the Carmel Mountains. Haifa is a well-known Palestinian port. [Haifa]
enjoyed a high status among Arabs and Palestinians especially before it fell to the 'occupation' [Israel] in 1948. To its north, we find Acre. East of
Acre, we reach a city with history and importance, the city of Tiberias,
near a famous lake, the lake of Tiberias [Kinneret- Sea of Galilee]. Jaffa,
an ancient coastal city, is the bride of the sea, and Palestine's gateway to
the world." [PA TV, August 2007-June 7, 2009, dozens of times] Click to view http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMw755MDJ5k

4. Muhammad Dahlan, senior PA official, recently stressed that Fatah
adamantly refuses to recognize Israel, and that even Palestinian Authority
recognition is to have better standing internationally in order to receive
foreign aid:

"I want to say for the thousandth time, in my own name and in the name of all of my fellow members of the Fatah movement: We do not demand that the Hamas movement recognize Israel. On the contrary, we demand of the Hamas movement not to recognize Israel, because the Fatah movement does not recognize Israel, even today... It's required of the government but not of Hamas; it's required of the government but not of the Fatah, so that this government will be able to offer the necessary assistance, to carry out the necessary reconstruction, to offer assistance to the sick, to bring relief to needy families... This can be dealt with [only] by a government that has relations with the international community, one that is acceptable to the international community, in order that we can work together and benefit from the international community." Click to view www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9WA1XI-HIY
[PA TV March 17, 2009]

Apparently, moderation is in the eye of the appeaser.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

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