YASSER ARAFAT THROUGH THE YEARS.
"The goal of our struggle is the end of Israel, and there can be no compromise."
Yasser Arafat (Washington Post, 29 March 1970)
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"You are the generation that will reach the sea and hoist the flag of Palestine over Tel Aviv."
Yasser Arafat (ANSA, Cairo, 25 July 1974)
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"Even if only one guerilla cub survives the prolonged struggle, I am confident that he will raise the flag of Palestine overJerusalem... Jerusalem is destined to be the eternal capital of our sovereign, independent Palestinian state under the P.L.O. leadership."
Yasser Arafat (Associated Press, 8 May 1979)
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"Peace for us means the destruction of Israel. We are preparing for an all-out war, a war which will last for generations."
Yasser Arafat (El Mundo, Caracas, Venezuela, 11 February 1980)
"The victory march will continue until the Palestinian flag flies in Jerusalem and in all of Palestine - from the Jordan River to the Meditteranean Sea and from Rosh Hanikra to Eilat."
Yasser Arafat, in a speech at the University of Beirut (Sawt Falastin, 7 December 1980)
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"The war of attrition against the Zionist enemy will never cease."
Yasser Arafat (Al Destour, 26 December 1983)
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"Jerusalem is the capital of our Palestinian state. It is our Jerusalem. And as brother Yasser Arafat said... Jerusalem is not only a Palestinian cause. It is a Palestinian, Arab, Islamic and Christian cause. It is the central issue. And the central axis in all of the realms of our activities."
Falastin al-Thawra, the P.L.O.'s official magazine, in an editorial on 15 August 1993
The agreement "will be a basis for an independent Palestinian state in accordance with the Palestine National Council resolution issued in 1974... The PNC resolution issued in 1974 calls for the establishment of a national authority on any part of Palestinian soil from which Israel withdraws or which is liberated."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O.(Radio Monte Carlo, 1 September 1993. The resolution referred to is the "Phased Plan", which calls for the creation of a Palestinian state as the first in a series of stage culminating in the destruction of Israel.)
"Anyone who relinquishes a single inch of Jerusalem is neither an Arab nor a Muslim."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O.(Voice of Palestine, Algiers, 2 September 1993)
"The Palestinian state is within our grasp. Soon the Palestinian flag will fly on the walls, the minarets and the cathedrals of Jerusalem."
Yasser Arafat (The New York Times, 3 September 1993)
"Palestine is only a stone's throw away for a small Palestinian boy or girl."
Yasser Arafat (Jordanian TV, 13 September 1993)
"When we say the Palestinian state is coming, it will undoubtedly come..."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O. (Jordanian TV, 13 September 1993)
“ The Palestinian flag "will fly over the walls of Jerusalem, the churches of Jerusalem and the mosques of Jerusalem."
Yasser Arafat (Jordanian TV, 13 September 1993)
"Not exceeding the beginning of the third year, we'll discuss the final status which will lead to an independent Palestinian state with its capital in what we call holy Jerusalem. It is a matter of time."
Yasser Arafat (Associated Press, 26 September 1993)
"Yasser Arafat stressed the continuation of struggle until the Palestinian flag is hoisted over Jerusalem's walls." Voice of Palestine, Algiers, 24 October 1993
"I know [declaring a Palestinian state] is a problem for the Israelis. So we'll declare our national authority, which is really a state..."
Yasser Arafat (U.S. News and World Report, 8 November 1993)
"He speaks of his Jerusalem and I speak of my Jerusalem. I'm speaking of a Jerusalem that was occupied..."
Yasser Arafat (Associated Press, 8 December 1993)
"We will remain together until we reach Jerusalem, with God's help."
Yasser Arafat, in a letter to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (Voice of the Palestinian Revolution, Baghdad, 15 November 1993)
"Soon we will raise the flag of Palestine over the liberated Palestinian land."
Yasser Arafat (Voice of Palestine, Algiers, 17 November 1993)
"I am not Mr. Chairman. I am His Excellency, the President of Palestine."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O., in response to a greeting by Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt (Jerusalem Post, 17 December 1993)
"Since September 13, Arafat has reached a new level of megalomania no one had ever imagined." a member of the P.L.O. Executive Committee (U.S. News and World Report, 27 December 1993)
Arafat is "a mixture between Nelson Mandela's charisma and Idi Amin's or even Saddam Hussein's methods of governing."
Yasser Abd Rabbo, senior P.L.O. official (U.S. News and World Report, 27 December 1993)
"We still have before us the task of completing the comprehensive Israeli withdrawal from all the occupied territories, at the forefront of which is Holy Jerusalem, the capital city of our independent state."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O. (Voice of Palestine, Algiers, 31 December 1993)
"It is a revolution until victory, until victory, until victory."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O. (Voice of Palestine, Algiers, 31 December 1993)
"Here is Palestine being reborn again as a national entity on its way to becoming an independent state."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O. (Voice of Palestine, Algiers, 31 December 1993)
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"Jerusalem is the capital of the Palestinian state."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O. (The Jerusalem Post, 2 January 1994)
"The heroic intifada, which has entered its seventh year, is an extension of the 29-year-old Palestinian revolution and will go on relentlessly... It is continuing, continuing, continuing."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O. (Associated Press, 7 January 1994)
Arafat "is beyond hope of reform. He has taken decisions alone for so long that he is fossilized in his ways."
Haidar Abdel Shafi, former head of the Palestinian delegation to the peace talks with Israel (Washington Post, 16 January 1994)
"People have turned against not just Chairman Arafat, but anyone associated with the peace process."
Saeb Erakat, one of the chief Palestinian delegates to the talks with Israel (The New York Times, 5 March 1994)
Arafat "wants to control the Palestinians and to put all the strings in his hand."
a leader of Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction of the P.L.O. in Ramallah (Associated Press, 1 April 1994)
"I am convinced that our people are now on the way to establishing a Palestinian state. The agreement signed in Cairo is the first step in establishing the state, and therefore it should be implemented."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O., in an interview immediately after the signing ceremony in Cairo on 4 May 1994 (Radio Monte Carlo, 4 May 1994)
"Arafat doesn't think he is accountable. Important posts aren't filled because he can't find people he thinks are loyal enough, not because we lack the experts."
a P.L.O. military commander (The Jerusalem Report, 5 May 1994 issue)
"It does not matter if we are 5, 20 or 24. Arafat will, as usual, make every decision himself. That has been the problem all along." a senior P.L.O. official in Tunis, on the 24-memberPalestinian authority (The New York Times, 11 May 1994)
"The battle is for it."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O., on making Jerusalem the capital of Palestine (Algerian Radio, 31 May 1994)
"We are now preparing our national institutions for the establishment of the Palestinian state whose capital will be holy Jerusalem."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O., in a speech before the Organization of African Unity in Tunis on 13 June 1994 (Yediot Aharonot, 14 June 1994)
“In the name of Allah…believe me, there is a lot to be done. The Jihad will continue…Our main battle is Jerusalem. Jerusalem…And here we are, I can’t- and I have to speak frankly- I can’t do it alone…No, you have to come and fight and to start the Jihad to liberate Jerusalem…No, it’s not their (Jews) capital.. It is our capital. It is your capital…This agreement (Israeli-PLO accord) I am not considering it more than the agreement between our prophet, Mohammed and the Quraish tribe- a despicable truce. The same way Mohammed had accepted it, we are accepting now this peace effort…From my heart, and I am telling you frankly from brother to brother, we are in need of you. We are in need of you as Moslems, as warriors of Jihad. Again I have to say…onward to victory, onward to Jerusalem! They will enter the mosque as they entered it before.’” (Yasser Arafat, Johannesburg mosque, May the 10th 1994)
"My heartiest blessing to the children of the stones, to the heroes of the stones."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O., in a speech in Gaza City (Associated Press, 1 July 1994)
"We must redouble our efforts to build our Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O., in a speech in Jericho (Voice of Israel, 5 July 1994)
"We are taking the flags to Palestine, in order to fly them in Gaza, in Jericho and afterwards in Jerusalem as well."
a senior aide to P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat, on the preparations to move the organization's headquarters from Tunis to Gaza (Yediot Aharonot, 12 July 1994)
"We will fight until a Palestinian state is established."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O., in a letter congratulating Saddam Hussein on Iraqi Independence Day (Yediot Aharonot, 24 July 1994)
"The Palestinian people will continue their war until the establishment of a state whose capital will be Jerusalem."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O., in a congratulator letter to Saddam Hussein on Iraqi Independence Day (Yediot Aharonot, 24 July 1994)
"Today, we are celebrating our independence for the first time on Palestinian land, and we will continue to celebrate on Palestinian lands that will be freed from the Zionist enemy. We will take all open and freed land, and we will establish our state on those territories from which the Israeli enemy leaves."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O., in a speech to 5,000 people in Gaza (Yediot Aharonot, 16 November 1994)
"In order to obtain the goal of returning to Palestine, all of us sometimes have to grit our teeth. But it is forbidden that this harm the continued struggle against the Zionist enemy. Cooperation and understanding between the P.L.O. and the rejectionist organizations is what will lead to the speedy retreat of Israel from the occupied territories in the first stage, until the establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem. Only a state like that can then continue the struggle to remove the enemy from all Palestinian lands."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O., in a letter to heads of the rejectionist front in neighboring Arab countries (The Jerusalem Post, 18 November 1994)
"Arafat has lost credibility not just in the eyes of Hamas and Jihad men, but also among his own men."
Dr. Haidar Abdel Shafi, former head of the Palestinian delegation to the peace talks with Israel, in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Serra (Yediot Aharonot, 22 November 1994)
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"All of us are willing to be martyrs along the way, until our flag flies over Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine. Let no one think they can scare us with weapons, for we have mightier weapons – the weapon of faith, the weapon of martyrdom, the weapon of jihad."
P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat, in a speech given to Palestinian laborers in Gaza in January 1995. (Parade Magazine, New York Newsday, 25 June 1995)
"We are going to continue the Palestinian revolution until the last martyr to create a Palestinian state."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O., in a speech in Gaza City marking the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Fatah faction of the P.L.O. (Agence France Presse, 1 January 1995)
"Let no one think that they can scare us with their stronger weapons, for we have a mightier weapon - the weapon of faith, the weapon of martyrdom, the weapon of holy war."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O., at a funeral for 3 P.L.O. policemen who were killed in a gun battle with Israeli soldiers (The New York Times, 4 January 1995)
"Our nation is a nation of sacrifice, struggle and jihad."
P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat, in a speech relayed by telephone to a rally in Hebron (Voice of Palestine, 14 February 1995)
"We promise you, oh our great nation, and we promise you, oh our pure martyrs, that we will continue the revolution until the victory and until the flag of my country flies over the towers of Jerusalem. This is a revolution until victory."
P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat, in a message to mark Land Day (Voice of Palestine, 31 March 1995)
"Israel must withdraw from Jerusalem so that it becomes the capital of a state of Palestine."
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the P.L.O., at a meeting of Arab League Foreign Minister (Agence France Presse, 6 May 1995)
"I say once more that Israel shall remain the principal enemy of the Palestinian people, not only now but also in the future."
Freih Abu Middein, Minister of Justice in the P.L.O.'s Palestinian Authority, in a speech read in the name of P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat at the Shawa Cultural Center in Gaza. (Voice of Palestine, 12 May 1995)
"We are all seekers of martyrdom in the path of truth and right toward Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Palestine."
P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat, in a speech given at Al-Azhar University in Gaza on 19 June 1995 (Palestine Broadcasting Corporation, 19 June 1995)
"The commitment still stands and the oath is still valid: that we will continue this long jihad, this difficult jihad... via deaths, via sacrifices."
P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat, in a speech given at Al-Azhar University in Gaza on 19 June 1995 (The Jerusalem Post, 3 August 1995)
"Yes, we are proud of the Palestinian girl, the Palestinian woman and the Palestinian child who fulfilled these miracles. The Palestinian woman participated in the Palestinian revolution. The Palestinian girl participated in the Palestinian revolution. Abir al-Wahidi, commander of the central region [al-Wahidi participated in the murder of Israeli Zvi Klein in December 1991] and Dalal al-Maghrabi, Martyr of Palestine [al-Maghrabi took part in the Coastal Road Massacre in March 1978, in which 37 Israelis were killed]. I bow in respect and admiration to the Palestinian woman who receives her martyred son with joyful cheering. The soul and blood for you, O Palestine!"
P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat, in a speech given on 3 September 1995 at the al-Fatah girls school in Gaza to mark the opening of the school year (Israel Channel Two Television, 19 September 1995)
"The Israelis are mistaken if they think we do not have an alternative to negotiations. By Allah I swear they are wrong. The Palestinian people are prepared to sacrifice the last boy and the last girl so that the Palestinian flag will be flown over the walls, the churches and the mosques of Jerusalem." Yasser Arafat, in a speech given on 6 August 1995 at a party to celebrate the birth of his daughter (Haaretz, 6 September 1995; The Jerusalem Post, 7 September 1995)
"Be blessed, O Gaza, and celebrate, for your sons are returning after a long celebration. O Gaza, your sons are returning. O Jaffa, O Lod, O Haifa, O Jerusalem, you are returning, you are returning."
P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat, at a reception held in his honor in Gaza (Maariv, 7 September 1995)
"The struggle will continue until all of Palestine is liberated."
PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat (Voice of Palestine, 11 November 1995)
"Liberated Jenin is just the first step. This year, we shall pray under the Palestinian flag in Bethlehem and we shall also pray in Jerusalem."PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, in a speech given in Jenin on 19 November 1995 after Israeli forces had left the city. (Davar Rishon, 20 November 1995, page 2)
Abu Ammar [Yasser Arafat] visited us and spoke with us...Abu Ammar also thinks as I do. In the long run - he will get all of Palestine. He will not give up on one inch of Palestinian land...I don't want to continue living in Gaza or Jenin. My place is in Palestinian Beersheba."
Suleiman Adwan, a PLO policeman and member of the "Al Quds" Brigade, Jenin (Davar Rishon, 20 November 1995, page 2)
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"There is no doubt we must be prepared for all contingencies."
Yasser Arafat, in a speech to the Palestinian legislative council in Ramallah, 10 October 1996 (The Jerusalem Post, 11 Octob"Without full Palestinian rights with a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital there won't be peace.... We can't rule out a return to the gun. If Israel can't meet its obligations the peace will be destroyed." Yasser Arafat's spokesman Nabil Aburodeina (Interview with Independent Media Review and Analysis, 17 April 1996)
"Are there no stones left in Hebron? Where are the stones and where are the mobs? Prepare yourselves for a struggle if the Israelis do not retreat from Hebron." Yasser Arafat, addressing Arab legislators in Hebron, 22 October 1996 (Yediot Aharonot, 23 October 1996)
"War! War! Continue the struggle!" Yasser Arafat, in a speech at the Dehaishe refugee camp near Bethlehem, 22 October 1996 (Arutz-7 Radio, 23 October 1996)
"We sacrifice our blood and ourselves for Palestine!" Response chanted by the Palestinian crowd to Arafat's above call for war (Arutz-7 Radio, 23 October 1996)
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Q: Is it possible that the Palestinians will return to the armed struggle?
Arafat: Anything is possible.
Q: Including the armed struggle?
Arafat: It is not possible to foresee what will happen to the entire region, not just in Palestine. The entire region is in danger and on the verge of complete chaos, as a result of violations of the peace agreement by Israel.
Q: In your opinion, is Hamas a terrorist organization?
Arafat: The Hamas movement is one of many patriotic movements.
Q: Even its military wing?
Arafat: Even its military wing. One should not forget that the movement took an active part in the intifada.
Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Yasser Arafat in an interview with a Russian newspaper. Hamas has committed terrorist attacks in which scores of Israeli civilians have been killed. (Novoya Vremya, 25 May 1997)
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"Question: Do you feel sometimes that you made a mistake in agreeing to Oslo?
Arafat: No... no. Allah's messenger Mohammad accepted the al-Khudaibiya peace treaty and Salah a-Din accepted the peace agreement with Richard the Lion-Hearted."
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, (Al-Quds, 10 May 1998)
"If [Palestinians] do not regain their full rights and an independent state, we will not let any one in the region live in peace and security." Nabil Abu Rdainah, aide to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. (Al-Ahram, 12 May 1998, via Reuters)
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"We carried out the longest intifada (Uprising) in history. They [the Israelis] should know that we can start it again if they try to prevent us from exercising our rights... The [Palestinian] state will be established with Jerusalem as its capital whether they like it or not. If they don’t like it they can drink from the waters of the Dead Sea... We, the Fatah and the PLO, are ready to fight a new battle of Karameh every single day if anyone tries to stop us from exercising our rights, particularly that of proclaiming an independent state." - PA Chairman, Yasser Arafat, in a speech to 3,000 Fatah members in Ramallah marking 31 years since Israeli forces clashed with Jordanian soldiers defending the Palestinian terrorist base in Karameh, Jordan, Agence France Presse, March 19,1999; Jordan Times, March 20, 1999
On September 21, PA Chairman, Yasser Arafat, said that Israel had so far implemented the terms of the Sharm e-Sheikh Memorandum "to the letter."
He told reporters in Alexandria, after meeting Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, that "the Israeli side implemented the first phase precisely and well."
He said he had briefed Mubarak of Israel's implementation of the accord and discussed prospects for a final peace treaty. He reiterated, however, that the Palestinians are looking for a "land for peace" deal that will also guarantee the return of Palestinian refugees and lands that Israel captured in 1967, including east Jerusalem. (The Jerusalem Post, September 22, 1999)
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"If Israel does not accept the peace, the armed struggle will continue." - Hussam Shahin, Jerusalem Fatah leader (the organization of Yasser Arafat aligned with the Palestinian Authority), at a celebration in Jerusalem at Orient House marking the 35th anniversary of the organization, on January 4, 2000.
"Ehud Barak has disappointed me, even though he was elected to the position of Prime Minister because of me." Yasser Arafat in an interview with an Italian newspaper in February, 2000.
"We have a few weeks left ahead of us, but they are the most important and critical, because at the end of it we will declare statehood. The state will be established with its capital Jerusalem, and whoever doesn't like it can go drink from the Dead Sea. The state is ours, ours, ours."- Yasser Arafat speaking to a crowd of 6,000 Fatah supporters in Nablus, on June 25, 2000.
"Whoever has forgotten, I want to remind him of...seven years of intifada [violent uprising], and I say we are willing to start again."- Yasser Arafat, June 25, 2000
"Whether they like it or not, Jerusalem is the single most important element of these negotiations, and Jerusalem will be the capital of the Palestinian state whether they like it or not. And if they don't, they can go and drink the Dead Sea." (Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Palestinian Authority, after a meeting with Prime Minister Goran Persson of Sweden, June, 2000.)
"My response is that our people is (sic) continuing the road to Jerusalem, the capital of our independent Palestinian state. To accept or not to accept it, let him go to hell." Yasser Arafat, Chairman, Palestinian Authority, spoken in English in an interview after the Arab League Summit in Cairo, October 22, 2000.
"Every time that you hear me declare a cease fire and a halt to the violence ignore these declarations. You know that I am under heavy pressure from the United States and Europe. You should ignore this and continue. You should know that we are in difficult financial situation because of the Intifada. We will not receive any more money from the United States and Israel will stop the monthly transfer of funds. Our only hope for getting money is from the Arab states. But the Arab states will not give money if there is not blood. Therefore, press, press, press ["idhas, idhas, idhas"]."- Yasser Arafat to Marwan Barghouti, General Secretary of Fatah (and Arafat's Tanzim militia) in the West Bank,, Nov. 8, 2000.
"After the Camp David Summit it became clear to the Fatah movement, as brother Abu-Ammar [Yasser Arafat] had warned, that the next phase requires us to prepare for conflict [with Israel], because PM Barak is not a partner capable of complying with our people's aspirations. In light of this estimation, Fatah was the most prepared for a conflict among all other [Palestinian] national movements..."
"...Since brother Arafat is busy with many various missions, authority was delegated to leaders in the field, who are on the lowest level of the organizational hierarchy. However, the leadership of the Palestinian Authority (PA) remained the source of authority, and it alone was the factor capable of leading the operations of the Intifada throughout the homeland. I can say for certain that brother Abu-Ammar is the ultimate authority for all operations, and whoever thinks otherwise, does not know what is going on.
"..When we declare the establishment of a state and independence, we will have the right to liberate the rest of the occupied land, because this land is not under dispute, as the Israelis claim, but rather it is occupied land which must return to its owners."
"[At the Camp David Summit] we thought that President Clinton would be able to put pressure on the Israeli government before leaving the White House so that Barak would agree to a political solution acceptable to us. But it became clear that the American position coincides with the Israeli position: sharing sovereignty over Al-Haram Al-Sharif (the Temple Mount) with us, and dividing East Jerusalem into four or five parts in order to guarantee Israeli control there." Sakhr Habash, a member of the Fatah's Central Committee, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, December 7, 2000. Translation by MEMRI
"On this occasion of the Feast, Palestine, the Arab nation, the Muslim nation, this (Palestinian) people, despite the siege and the dangerous military escalation and these circumstances and confrontations we will continue until Palestinian flags fly atop the mosques and churches of Jerusalem, and they will be seen from afar." Yasser Arafat, after mosque prayers in Gaza during the Haj, March 4, 2001.
"We at Palestine Broadcasting call for the grace of God for our martyrs and for his healing for the wounded and for freedom for our prisoners.
And our Palestinian people will continue their glorious intifada in the face of unprecedented escalation by the Israeli Occupation and its settlers against our people...May God grant that by the next Feast we have realized our goals, liberating the land, establishing an independent Palestinian state with holy Jerusalem as its capital under the leadership of His Excellency President Yasser Arafat, president of the state of Palestine." Youssef Al-Kazaz, Senior Voice of Palestine commentator, March 5, 2001.
SPEECH BY YASSIR ARAFAT ON AL NAKBAH 2001
"On this day, commemorating the day of the "Naqba" may 15, 1948, our people, the courageous people, its men, women and children, that declared to the world with its holy blood and the words of truth and justice and the word of history that our people, the Palestinian people has been exposed to misery unlike any other in history and that this great people, which has displaced by a greater conspiracy, whose homeland has been raped by weapons and aggression, has not and will not accept this dark future drawn for it by this greater conspiracy which threatens the people themselves, their holy sites, their lives and their future.
"53 years of continuous suffering and pain and living outside of their country, our people still stand firm against this conspiracy with a strong will that cannot be shaken, will not kneel down, will not surrender. 53 years of continued sacrifice, we gave all this, waiting for the world to wake from its long sleep and to find the Palestinian truth that lights the torch with the blood of martyrs for the homeland and freedom.
"Blind power will not be able to survive for so long in the face of what is right and just and historically true and the attempts to counterfeit history with rockets, shells, planes and tanks will not succeed, because we are the rightful owners and a just cause like ours cannot be killed by tanks, shells, poisonous gas, prohibited weapons and guided missiles, that have killed innocent babies and civilians living under siege for more than 8 months, facing escalations at every level by every means.
"The time has come for the world to wake up, the time has come for the international community to tell the aggressors to say stop to the military escalations, stop the killing and destruction of the Palestinian people. The Palestinian people will not be defeated, whatever the aggressors use. Held in the arms of their mothers, they are hit with rockets and their holy blood is shed while the world remains ignorant of the crimes committed against the Palestinian people. How much longer will the world remain deaf while Palestinian blood is spilt?
"Isn't it the right of the Palestinian people to live like any free nation? We tried, in good faith, for to achieve the peace of the braves, for peaceful normalization and to become good neighbors. But the executioners continue with walk through puddles of our blood with their military escalations and siege on our towns, and villages and refugee camps. This comes at a time of double standard policy, of walking all over international resolutions that we had accepted to put an end to this and bring about a peace of the braves, to bring about a state for our people and to protect their holy sites, Muslim and Christian.
"A just and comprehensive peace needs to put an end to the occupation and settlements in our homeland, a fair peace can only come about when the Palestinian people receive their rights, otherwise there will never be peace in the region.
"Today, on Al Naqba day, I want to renew my declaration that the way to achieve peace is as clear as the sun in the sky: a full Israeli withdrawal of its army and its settlers, from all Palestinian land occupied since June 4, 1967, and for the implementation of resolution 194. Yes, this is the only road to peace, the peace of the braves, the kind of peace that offers security and stability, for our children and for their children. Blind military might will not bring about peace, it will not bring our people to its knees. We will continue in this way until the day we raise the Palestinian flag over Jerusalem, over Jerusalem's mosques and Jerusalem's churches. "From here, from within the middle of the siege and the aggression, we appeal to the Arab nations, to the Muslim nations, to the Christians all over the world, to the International community, to protect our Christian and Muslim holy sites. I call upon our friends in the UN, the United States, the EU, Japan, China, Russia, to act immediately in order to stop this military aggression, to offer international protection for our women, men and children who all face aggression from the occupier by all kinds of weapons.
"Resolution 194 has to be implemented for there to be peace, for those Palestinians who live expelled from their homes. Their's is a holy right, and its the responsibility of the international community to secure this right of the Palestinian refugees.
"And I say to the Palestinian people, who have endured the killing of innocents, barbaric shelling, destruction of their homes and farms, the bombing of their factories and the uprooting of trees, "faith, faith, courage, courage", stand strong in the face of this increasing aggression for the sake of freedom, and the freedom of our land and our holy places, the land of the prophets and messengers, the land of our fathers."
"We tell the Israelis that military escalation and building settlements on our land will not bring peace, but will bring a catastrophe for both peoples. Let the Jordanian-Egyptian initiative, along with the agreements signed, and the Mitchell report, the international resolutions, 242, 338, 194, be the basis to launch a comprehensive, just and lasting peace,
and to revive the peace process, to put it back on track again for the future of the Palestinian and the Israeli peoples and all the world.
"And I say to you steadfast courageous people, that your sacrifices will not be for nothing, that victory will come from God.” Yasser Arafat on the anniversary of Al Nakba (the Catastrophe) Tuesday the 15th May 2001
"I want you to kill as many settlers as possible....Do not pay attention to what I say to the media, the television, or public appearances. Pay attention only to the written instructions that you receive from me."--- Yasser Arafat, July, 2001.
"...The tanks, planes, and missiles will never subjugate our people, because it is at the forefront [of the battle], until Judgment Day. Oh mountain, the wind cannot move you; thus it is with our people, no one can move it...''
"We are now at a crossroads, but I say that the Palestinian caravan is on its way to the first direction of prayer [i.e. Jerusalem], to the third holiest place [Jerusalem], to the place from which the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven [Jerusalem, according to Koranic tradition], and the cradle of Jesus's birth [sic]. To noble Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Palestine, whether anyone agrees or not [i.e. Israel]..."
"Our people turns in this direction with great pride, with determination, and with courage - despite continued attempts on the part of whoever thinks he can subjugate the Palestinian people with his tanks, his planes, his missiles, and his artillery."
"'There is still a group of people of our nation who cling to the truth and defeat their enemies whose opponents cannot harm it... The Prophet was asked, Who are [these people] and where are they? He answered: In Jerusalem and its surroundings, and they are at the forefront [of the battle] until Judgment Day..."'
"This is the grace of Allah, to be at the forefront. And therefore all must know that we, 104 years after the First Zionist Congress in Basle [in 1897] - in which the false claim of 'a land without a people for a people without a land' was made - are today on our land, and we are fighting, struggling, and confronting, with firm will, strength, and faith, and I would like to stress that this people will win, and it will win...''
"My brothers, you represent this principle [Qaida], and the strong foundations of this people, who struggled and waged Jihad; I have great hope in you and in your heroes, because we believe that we have in us the firm, solid, reliable, and sound principle [Qaida]..."
"[We have undergone] a major phase of Operation Oranim [according to Arafat, an IDF operation], called [also] Operation Hell. But this mass killing only intensifies our stubbornness, our faith, and our perseverance; we will persevere, Allah willing, on this path until every boy of the boys of Palestine, and every girl of the girls of Palestine, raises the Palestinian flag over the walls of Jerusalem, its mosques, and churches - Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Palestine... This is the will and these are the aspirations of our Arab nation and of all the free men and men of honor throughout the world; they are watching you and yearning for you to realize this dream for them..."
"I say these words so all will hear them, from Sharon to Netanyahu, to the last of the [listeners] in America, Japan, Indonesia, South Africa, Russia, in the North and in the South: 'The Palestinian people will determine its victory whether anyone agrees or not' [i.e. Israel]; 'they see this as far [from coming about], while we see it as soon to come, and we have patience' [Koran], 'and they shall enter the mosque, as they entered it the first time' [Koran]. Allah will not break his promise, Allah will not break his promise... Out of our commitment to Allah, to the homeland, and to the Christian and Muslim holy places over which we are custodians, we shall conclude the journey, we shall conclude the journey, we shall conclude the journey..."
Yasser Arafat at the headquarters of the Palestinian Workers' Association in Gaza City, October 27, 2001: Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (Palestinian Authority), October 28, 2001
To the brothers, the family of Al-Hotary and the Noble People of Qalqilya,
With hearts that believe in Allah's will and predetermination, we have received the news about the martyrdom of the martyr…. Al-Hotary, the son of Palestine, whose noble soul ascended to… in order to rest in Allah's Kingdom, together with the Prophets, the men of virtue, and the martyrs. The heroic martyrdom operation … who turned his body into bombs … the model of manhood and sacrifice for the sake of Allah and the homeland…
[Unclear lines] that the martyr be… in Allah's mercy and will… Allah's grace and satisfaction… will inspire all members of his family… The best of condolences. To Allah we belong and to him we return back [Koran],Yasser Arafat, To the relatives of the Dolphinarium bomber- who killed at least 21 Israeli teenagers and injured about 100 others.
A RECENT STATEMENT BY YASSER ARAFAT.
(After his call for the ending of violence and suicide bombings on December 16th 2001)
"Oh you who stand fast, oh heroes on the land of the 'night journey and ascension to heaven [of the Prophet Muhammad as told in the Koran],' on the land of the first direction of prayer, oh heroes in the third most holy site [in Islam], in the birthplace of Jesus and the place of our master Muhammad's ascension to heaven.
"I tell you that we are now in a historic stage... you are defending the first direction of prayer and the third most holy site, the site of the Messiah's birth; your steadfastness is most important not only for Palestine and not only for the Arab nation, but also for all the Christians and Muslims in the world..."
"Oh brothers, there is a conspiracy to Judaize Jerusalem, therefore I tell you, oh my comrades to this journey, you are standing now at the frontline of battle in the midst of challenging, in Jerusalem, you are blessed to be in this region..."
"The Prophet said 'there still exists a group within my nation who is keeping the faith, who are challenging their enemy and who cannot be harmed by their enemy and they shall be the victorious, Allah willing.'"
"The Prophet was asked: 'Where are they [located]?' and replied, 'in Jerusalem and its surroundings and they shall remain on the frontline until judgment day.' Indeed, you are in the frontline. I am committed to it, I am committed to it, I am committed to it. Oh mountain, no wind can shake you."
"No one can rule that nation of giants [i.e., the Palestinian people]. One-hundred and four years passed since the first [Zionist] convention in Basle [Switzerland, 1897] where it was claimed that our land is 'a land without a people for a people without a homeland [i.e., the Jews].' When Golda Meir was asked about the Palestinian people she said 'there are no Palestinians.' Today, the martyr Muhammad al-Dura and all our martyrs in paradise tell them: 'We are a nation of giants, we shall defend the front line(3) land.'"
[Pointing to a little girl, Arafat continued]: "This little cutie is the first of our soldiers, we are encountering a conspiracy to Judaize Jerusalem, but as long as you stand fast at the forefront on this frontline land, no one can harm it... The one who will impose his position will be the nation of giants, Allah willing."
"One of our cubs or one of our flowers [i.e., a male or female Palestinian youth] will wave the flag of Palestine, Allah willing, over the walls of Jerusalem, its churches and its mosques, whether someone likes it or not, and whomever does not like it can drink the water of the Dead Sea."
"I appeal to my beloved in Jerusalem: 'More determination, more strength, more resolve. And Allah willing, we will pray in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Allah willing, Allah willing."
"I say these things so that they be heard by far and near in the whole world, the nation of giants will defend this holy land with its blood, its souls, its property and with everything it has. This land is a holy land, this is the land of our nation of giants, from the cradle to the grave..."
"We stand by the child, by the flower, by the man, by the woman, by the old man, and by the young man. We all redeem the holy Christian and Muslim sites, we will defend them and will strengthen them since this is our destiny, to live on the frontline until judgment day. [Islamic tradition states that] 'One martyr of these is worth seventy' [namely, one martyr on the front line in Jerusalem, is worth seventy martyrs on any other front of Jihad]. Why? Because we are in the holy land..."
"We shall fight on this blessed land, on this blessed land, this is our message and it is not by accident that one-hundred and four years after [the First Zionist Congress] and despite all the conspiracies and all the blood that was spilled, this nation continues to raise its head and its flag, Allah willing, Allah willing. One of our flowers and one of our cubs will wave the flag over the walls of Jerusalem, over its mosques and over its churches..."
Yasser Arafat, in an address to Jerusalemites WAFA in Ramallah, (Palestinian News Agency, December 18, 2001)
*
"I am willing to kill for my people, so (are you saying that) I should not be able to lie and cheat for them?".
Yasser Arafat.
"Arafat never came to a bridge he didn't double-cross." King Hussein of Jordan (speaking in English)
"We don't trust him (Yasser Arafat) Why on earth should you trust him!" Aide to Yasser Arafat (unnamed) in Beirut talking to US government official.
“It is sometimes a duty to lie” al-Ghazali, quoted in Laffin, The Arab Mind,
“I lift my voice to utter lies absurd, for when I speak the truth, my hushed tones scarce are heard” (Abu l’Ala 973-1057, quoted in ibid., p. 50).
"Finally, the Palestinians have begun today to take the reins into their own hands. They have begun to act directly against Arafat's men, the czars of corruption... Arafat himself must go, as head of the corrupt PA and as someone whose political survival is pointless - particularly when the military arm of the Fatah organization that he heads is accusing him of responsibility for this tragedy...
"Arafat has destroyed the foundation of the life of the Palestinian people, and led it to terrorism, destruction, and pointless death out of despair. He has torn the land apart, as Saddam Hussein tore the Iraqi homeland apart and humiliated his people. This man has entered the stage of political idiocy that is manifested by clinging to power and hoping for longevity.
"The leader of the corruption is Arafat himself, and the first to know this are the Arab leaders... Clearing the path to peace or to the road map will be impossible as long as this man, who abuses the lives of his people in order to survive, remains [in power]." Ahmad Jarallah, editor of the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa (Kuwait), July 20, 2004.
"What joy for the Israeli aggression! What joy for the master murderer Sharon and his bloody gang! They deserve this wonderful gift from President Arafat, who has given it to them with his stubbornness and determination to buck the tide that is demanding reform in the PA...
"We reiterate our request to President Arafat who, despite everything that has happened, still has the power to take control of matters. He is to blame, and he must comply with the desire of the Palestinian people and the international community, and must act quickly for the sake of repairing the Palestinian home in order to cope with the dangers and conspiracies against the legitimate hopes and rights [of the Palestinian people]." Galal Dawidar, Al-Akhbar (Egypt), July 21, 2004.
(Galal Dawidar also wrote an article critical of Arafat in Al-Akhbar on July 19, 2004.)
"Palestinian President Yasser Arafat lost much of his honor in the attack on his police commander General Ghazi Al-Jibali. Then Arafat lost the last vestige [of his honor] when he made an even greater mistake, appointing his cousin General Moussa Arafat head of General Security. The new commander is no less corrupt than his predecessor, and he is loathed by most of the Palestinian people. It may be that the rapid decision to appoint [Moussa Arafat] will even lead to civil war in the Gaza Strip - or, at best, a series of assassinations and liquidations...
"All the PA institutions are corrupt and illegitimate. Corruption is a contagious disease, and President Arafat allowed this disease to spread until it turned the Palestinian body politic into a reeking, rotting corpse...
"In the name of the silent majority, we demand that President Arafat withdraw his support of the corrupt ones, fire them all, and use the younger forces with clean [hands] among the Palestinian people. This is the only way out of this anarchy and decline..."
Abd Al-Bari 'Atwan, editor of the pro-Saddam London daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), July 19, 2004.
"Arafat is internationally ostracized, but clings to his seat at the expense of international support for the Palestinian people and its cause. Thus he has become a heavy burden... What is necessary now is to sacrifice a Palestinian state for the sake of preserving the Muq'ata [Arafat's headquarters] in Ramallah.
"Now that the situation is as bad as it can get, does Mr. Arafat realize that his time is past and that he must retire willingly - or that things will reach their natural end in other ways?"
Columnist Dr. Fahd Al-Fanek in the Jordanian government daily Al-Ra'i, July 20, 2004.
"According to the road map, which Arafat had already agreed to, the [Palestinian] security agencies were supposed to consolidate over 12 security agencies into three. Nevertheless, he resisted, only to declare limited steps when it was too late. The people of Gaza, who had demanded the removal of police chief Ghazi Al Jabali for his corruption, also demonstrated against appointing Moussa Arafat, the Palestinian leader's cousin, as head of national security. They demanded the removal of an official for his corruption, only to find that Arafat brought in someone even more corrupt...
"In May, I wrote in this column calling on Arafat to resign. Last week, UN special envoy to the Middle East Terje Roed-Larsen, who is a great supporter of the Palestinians, criticized Arafat's act. If this is the opinion of a [friend], then Arafat must rethink the opinions of others, and [about] who should be blamed [for this]." Jihad Al-Khazen, former editor of the London Arabic-language daily Al-Hayat Al-Hayat (London, in English), July 20, 2004.
"Arafat no longer cares about anything but his own 'freedom of movement.' He doesn't care about [UN special envoy to the Middle East Terje Roed] Larsen's statements to the [U.N.] Security Council regarding the transition from Sharon's Gaza withdrawal to the beginning of a full withdrawal [from the Palestinian territories] and 1.5 million Palestinians' liberation from the yoke of occupation and humiliation. Arafat's personal freedom is more important than the freedom of the Palestinians. In all negotiations conducted by Arafat, it appeared that he was acting according to the saying ... 'If I'm not part of the solution, I'll ruin the [whole] game.'
"All Arabs, particularly their rulers, must tell this man, 'This matter is bigger than you are,' and the Palestinian people is much more important than Abu Ammar [Arafat]. Abu Ammar's actions are not liberation strategy but survival maneuvers, and [as far as he is concerned] the Palestinian people, and the region, can go to hell.
"The question remains: [should] we imprison the entire region together with [Arafat] in his prison in Ramallah? Or should we first liberate the Palestinians, leaving Arafat for last? In my view, liberating the Gaza residents and taking them out of Sharon's prison takes priority over liberating Arafat from his prison."
Columnist Dr. Mamoun Fendi, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), July 19, 2004.
“If you want to know what leaders of non-democratic regimes really believe, don’t listen to their declarations to Western statesmen and journalists, but to what they say among themselves” (Former United States Ambassador, Malcom Toon,quoted in Dispatch From Jerusalem, Jan/Feb. 1994).
THE HAMAS CHARTER
Hamas interviews
Interviews with Hamas women
Hamas in its own words
A CRY FROM THE HEART
Has there ever been a peace process?
CAN ISLAM MAKE PEACE WITH ISRAEL?
WHY DID YASSER ARAFAT SIGN THE OSLO ACCORD?
The treaty of Hudabiyyah
The treaty between Saladin and Richard I
Peace? What peace?
Sermons in Palestinian mosques
The truth about Arafat and the Palestinians
Yasser Arafat over the years
Arafat’smissingbillions
Aid money used for weapons
Obituary of Yasser Arafat
Egyptian tributes to Arafat
Abu Mazen
Holocaust denial
Hanan Ashrawi
Faisal Husseini
AhmedQurei
Marwan Barghouti could succeed Arafat
Palestinian leadership should get real
Hamas on the 1967 borders
Arafat and the Viet Cong
The Hizbullah programme
The Gaza disengagement