The official website of the Fatah militia and terrorist organization, headed by PLO leader Yasser Arafat, bluntly stated, ?a legitimate Palestinian entity forms the most important weapon that Arabs have against Israel, the outpost of the imperialist powers.? The statement was part of a manifesto marking the 38th anniversary of the founding of the Fatah, on January 1, 2002. Pointedly emphasizing that the Fatah was founded in the late 1950?s and carried out its first terrorist attack on Israel in 1965, the celebratory article states, ?Fateh believes that the Zionist movement constitutes the biggest threat against not only the Palestinian national security but also against the security of the Arab world.? Eliminating this threat, as mentioned above, can best be accomplished through the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The statement outlines what Fatah sees as the ?historic right of the Palestinian people? to self-determination, the right of return, the establishment of a sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital.? The way Fatah recommends to attain these rights is through a combination of ?the popular armed revolution? and other forms of the ?revolution? at the ?organizational, military, political, and diplomatic levels. The complementary nature of the different forms of revolution guarantees the continuity of the struggle until victory is achieved.?
As proof for the success of this combined approach, the Fatah website praises the ?1987 Intifada? for having ?forced Israel to recognize the PLO as a peace partner with whom it had to sign a peace agreement based on UN resolutions 242, 338 and the principle of land for peace. Once these resolutions are implemented, a Palestinian state will be established after the removal of the Israeli occupation and its settlements.? Israel, for its part, claims the Fatah, ?aimed to divide the occupied territories into cantons surrounded by settlements. Such a situation will not allow for any kind of territorial continuity that is the pre-requisite for establishing our state with Jerusalem as its capital on the basis of UN Resolution 181.?
Fatah blames the latest PLO offensive against Israel on ?Sharon?s obnoxious visit to al-Aqsa Mosque.? Reinforcing its consistent position that all of Israel is a target for liberation, the Fatah statement details the spread of the current Arab offensive from Jerusalem ?to Gaza, the West Bank and other parts in the 1948-occupied territories.?
Fatah, according to the anniversary statement, does not consider any form of Arab attacks on Israelis to be terrorism. ?The US? listed some Palestinian forces as terrorist organizations. Our leadership,? the article states, ?rejects this and considers the Israeli occupation, settlements, and daily attacks as the worst form of terrorism that aims to uproot us from our lands.? At the same time, the Fatah website states, ?suicide operations in Israel enabled Sharon to carry out what seemed to be retaliatory attacks against the PNA including the reoccupation of certain PNA-controlled areas.? Therefore, ?the PNA had to take some preventative measures that do not in any way harm our national unity. These measures were taken to face Israeli allegations that Palestinians use violence in their resistance against the Israeli occupation.?
The Fatah manifesto also details a program for the future. It calls for ?a joint understanding between the PNA and the Islamic and national forces on what constitutes the specified goals of the current stage. These are the liberation of the 1967-occupied territories, the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, the implementation of the right of return, and the removal of the Israeli settlements.?
Finally, in case there was any doubt as to which party was responsible for the ongoing warfare between Israel and the PLO, the Fatah statement dispels it: ?Palestinians create miracles, and they will remain the party that makes the war or peace decision? Revolution until victory.?
The statement outlines what Fatah sees as the ?historic right of the Palestinian people? to self-determination, the right of return, the establishment of a sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital.? The way Fatah recommends to attain these rights is through a combination of ?the popular armed revolution? and other forms of the ?revolution? at the ?organizational, military, political, and diplomatic levels. The complementary nature of the different forms of revolution guarantees the continuity of the struggle until victory is achieved.?
As proof for the success of this combined approach, the Fatah website praises the ?1987 Intifada? for having ?forced Israel to recognize the PLO as a peace partner with whom it had to sign a peace agreement based on UN resolutions 242, 338 and the principle of land for peace. Once these resolutions are implemented, a Palestinian state will be established after the removal of the Israeli occupation and its settlements.? Israel, for its part, claims the Fatah, ?aimed to divide the occupied territories into cantons surrounded by settlements. Such a situation will not allow for any kind of territorial continuity that is the pre-requisite for establishing our state with Jerusalem as its capital on the basis of UN Resolution 181.?
Fatah blames the latest PLO offensive against Israel on ?Sharon?s obnoxious visit to al-Aqsa Mosque.? Reinforcing its consistent position that all of Israel is a target for liberation, the Fatah statement details the spread of the current Arab offensive from Jerusalem ?to Gaza, the West Bank and other parts in the 1948-occupied territories.?
Fatah, according to the anniversary statement, does not consider any form of Arab attacks on Israelis to be terrorism. ?The US? listed some Palestinian forces as terrorist organizations. Our leadership,? the article states, ?rejects this and considers the Israeli occupation, settlements, and daily attacks as the worst form of terrorism that aims to uproot us from our lands.? At the same time, the Fatah website states, ?suicide operations in Israel enabled Sharon to carry out what seemed to be retaliatory attacks against the PNA including the reoccupation of certain PNA-controlled areas.? Therefore, ?the PNA had to take some preventative measures that do not in any way harm our national unity. These measures were taken to face Israeli allegations that Palestinians use violence in their resistance against the Israeli occupation.?
The Fatah manifesto also details a program for the future. It calls for ?a joint understanding between the PNA and the Islamic and national forces on what constitutes the specified goals of the current stage. These are the liberation of the 1967-occupied territories, the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, the implementation of the right of return, and the removal of the Israeli settlements.?
Finally, in case there was any doubt as to which party was responsible for the ongoing warfare between Israel and the PLO, the Fatah statement dispels it: ?Palestinians create miracles, and they will remain the party that makes the war or peace decision? Revolution until victory.?