From the UAE daily Al-Bayan comes news that the PLO doesn't recognize Israel's right to exist (with thanks to IMRA [www.imra.org] and MidEastweb [www.mideastweb.org ]):"In the strongest Palestinian reaction to the practices of Ariel Sharon's government toward the Palestinians, Palestinian Foreign Minister [as published] Faruq Qaddumi has stated that the PLO no longer recognizes Israel and adheres to its national charter, which includes clauses that call for Israel's destruction. He pointed out that the recognition of Israel by the "Oslo group", as he put it, can no longer be justified in reality after Israel had violated all the agreements it concluded with the Palestinians."In exclusive remarks to Al-Bayan yesterday morning in Dubai, Qaddumi said that the massacres committed by the Israeli troops against the Palestinians must be met with massacres against the Israelis at the hands of the Palestinians. He praised all types of military operations carried out by the Palestinian resistance fighters against Israelis."Qaddumi's remarks are the first of this kind by a senior Palestinian official in the PLO since the signing of the Oslo agreement. Qaddumi is one of the most prominent aides of Palestinian President Arafat, who is besieged in Ramallah. The remarks follow several hints by a number of Palestinian leaders indicating that the Palestinians are thinking of
withdrawing their recognition of Israel following Sharon's remarks about the cancellation of the Oslo agreement."Abu-al-Lutf [Faruq Qaddumi] noted that the Palestinians will continue to treat the Jewish state as an alien entity so long as it does not recognize the Palestinians' right to self-determination and statehood. He noted that the new Palestinian stance of withdrawing recognition of Israel is primarily based on the Israeli side's failure to honor the agreements concluded with the Palestinians."The Palestinian Foreign Minister, who declined to clarify whether or not the new stance vis-a-vis Israel is an official one, noted that the Palestinian people have the ultimate say in this regard. However, he renewed his trust in the PA's administration of the Palestinian affairs at home "the same as we are responsible for the Palestinian affairs abroad.""The Palestinians, he added, are an indivisible part of the Arab nation and any improvement in the nation's affairs means improvement for us as well...He also stressed that the question of Jerusalem and the refugees are the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict."
withdrawing their recognition of Israel following Sharon's remarks about the cancellation of the Oslo agreement."Abu-al-Lutf [Faruq Qaddumi] noted that the Palestinians will continue to treat the Jewish state as an alien entity so long as it does not recognize the Palestinians' right to self-determination and statehood. He noted that the new Palestinian stance of withdrawing recognition of Israel is primarily based on the Israeli side's failure to honor the agreements concluded with the Palestinians."The Palestinian Foreign Minister, who declined to clarify whether or not the new stance vis-a-vis Israel is an official one, noted that the Palestinian people have the ultimate say in this regard. However, he renewed his trust in the PA's administration of the Palestinian affairs at home "the same as we are responsible for the Palestinian affairs abroad.""The Palestinians, he added, are an indivisible part of the Arab nation and any improvement in the nation's affairs means improvement for us as well...He also stressed that the question of Jerusalem and the refugees are the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict."