In a Dec. 12 interview with London\'s Arabic-language daily Al-Hayat, Farouq Al-Qaddumi, the head of the PLO\'s political department, said that the events of Sept. 11 ”will be a lesson to the U.S.” In the interview, which was translated into English by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Qaddumi added, “This was the first time that Arabic names entered every American household.\"
While the PLO officially condemned the Sept. 11 attacks, thousands of Palestinians were seen dancing in the streets of PLO-controlled cities as the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center crumbled. These scenes were similar to the ones in 1991 when Arabs danced from their rooftops as Iraqi Scud missiles rained down on Tel-Aviv neighborhoods. In addition, many rallies have been held in Arafat’s autonomous areas and throughout the Muslim world since Sept. 11, to express solidarity with Osama-Bid Laden and his Al-Qaeda terrorist network.
Regarding Israel, Al-Qaddumi said, \"resistance is not a conventional war.\" But this war [The Oslo War] \"is a war based on the element of surprise, in time and place. In this war, one incites the public for 20 hours, and fights for perhaps two hours.\"
While the PLO officially condemned the Sept. 11 attacks, thousands of Palestinians were seen dancing in the streets of PLO-controlled cities as the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center crumbled. These scenes were similar to the ones in 1991 when Arabs danced from their rooftops as Iraqi Scud missiles rained down on Tel-Aviv neighborhoods. In addition, many rallies have been held in Arafat’s autonomous areas and throughout the Muslim world since Sept. 11, to express solidarity with Osama-Bid Laden and his Al-Qaeda terrorist network.
Regarding Israel, Al-Qaddumi said, \"resistance is not a conventional war.\" But this war [The Oslo War] \"is a war based on the element of surprise, in time and place. In this war, one incites the public for 20 hours, and fights for perhaps two hours.\"