The Palestinian Authority is unhappy with remarks made by a United States official equating the 14 months of Palestinian violence against Israel with \"terror.\" Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield said on Friday that the violence is \"an ongoing process of calculated terror and escalation.\" Arafat-aide Ahmed Abdul Rahman said, \"We condemn these statements by Mr. Satterfield because they are in fact misleading, biased to the Israeli side and failing to tell the truth.\" Rahman said that Palestinian violence is actually justified by the U.S. Constitution, which \"considers resisting the foreign occupation as a legitimate right for peoples.\"
Israel, on the other hand, was pleased with Satterfield\'s remarks, with Prime Minister Sharon\'s press advisor Raanan Gissin calling them a \"very good step.\" Gissin said that the intifada \"was a strategic decision by Arafat to launch a terror campaign against Israel. There was nothing spontaneous about it.\"
Another point of contention between Israel and the PA was the U.S. decision of Friday to include Hamas and Islamic Jihad on its list of terrorist organizations and to limit their financial operations. Gissin said that the decision \"limits their operations in the United States. But now they must be put on a most wanted list to stop other countries from giving them sanctuary.\" Rahman protested the new classification, saying that Hamas and Jihad \"do not conduct any action against the United States,\" but direct their violence only \"against the Israeli occupation.\"
Israel, on the other hand, was pleased with Satterfield\'s remarks, with Prime Minister Sharon\'s press advisor Raanan Gissin calling them a \"very good step.\" Gissin said that the intifada \"was a strategic decision by Arafat to launch a terror campaign against Israel. There was nothing spontaneous about it.\"
Another point of contention between Israel and the PA was the U.S. decision of Friday to include Hamas and Islamic Jihad on its list of terrorist organizations and to limit their financial operations. Gissin said that the decision \"limits their operations in the United States. But now they must be put on a most wanted list to stop other countries from giving them sanctuary.\" Rahman protested the new classification, saying that Hamas and Jihad \"do not conduct any action against the United States,\" but direct their violence only \"against the Israeli occupation.\"