PA Officials Reiterate Warning of Renewed 'Armed Struggle'

The Palestinian Authority (PA) is a subsidiary agency of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The current head of the Palestinian Authority, Abu Mazen (also known as Mahmoud Abbas), founded Fatah along with Yasser Arafat. It is crucial to recognize that the groups under the Palestinian Authority predate Hamas in terms of terror activity. Fatah, a group that is under the PLO umbrella, has a constitution which is very similar to Hamas' charter. Fatah's constitution calls for the destruction of Israel and the eradication of Jewish national existence (Article 12), and for the use of terrorism as an indispensable part of the struggle for that goal (Article 19). The goals, therefore, are largely similar to those of Hamas. Consider that Yasser Arafat, who was the head of the Palestinian Authority, was the godfather of Palestinian terror.

Fatah suicide terrorist 'farewell video'
Keeping this information in mind, the following declarations from Palestinian Authority officials in support of violence should not come as a surprise to those who strongly believe that the Palestinian Authority is a solid partner for any kind of peace between Israel and Muslim-Arabs in Gaza or the West Bank.

Arutz 7 reports:

A Palestinian Authority official reiterated on Wednesday the oft-repeated threat that Fatah will "return" to armed attacks against Israel if negotiations do not produce the results the movement wants.

Addressing a pro-Fatah rally of more than 100,000 people in the Samaria city of Shechem (Nablus), the PA Mayor Jamal Muhsein threatened: "Whoever thinks that negotiations are the only choice for Fatah is wrong. On the contrary, all options are open, including armed struggle, as long as we seek peace and others do not. Jerusalem is the gate to peace as well as the gate to war."

Another high-ranking local representative of Fatah, which is headed by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, told the crowd that his organization is "renewing its pledge to the PLO as it had done before."

Regarding reconciliation talks with the Hamas organization underway in Egypt at this time, the Fatah official said that his movement "seeks dialogue and real reconciliation," but first Hamas had to "give the Gaza Strip back to legitimate Palestinian [authority]." Clarifying his view of the relations between the two movements, he added, "We are ready for Hamas to join the PLO, not for the PLO to join Hamas."

Abbas Also Threatened 'Return to Armed Struggle'
The threat that the PA would "return" to the option of armed struggle is far from a new one. It has been made regularly, at least once a year, since the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993.

One year ago, almost to the day, in a February 27 interview with Jordan's Al-Dustour newspaper, PA leader Mahmoud Abbas was quoted as saying, "At present, I am against an armed struggle against Israel because we can't do it, but in the coming stages, things may change. ...I do not rule out a return to the way of armed struggle against Israel."

This is in line with the Fatah Constitution, which states (Article 19): "Armed struggle is a strategy and not a tactic, and the Palestinian Arab People's armed revolution is a decisive factor in the liberation fight and in uprooting the Zionist existence, and this struggle will not cease unless the Zionist state is demolished and Palestine is completely liberated."

A Fatah communique issued while the Fatah-led PA was in the midst of negotiations with Israel, in 2001 explained its pursuit of this struggle: "Fatah believes that... a legitimate Palestinian entity forms the most important weapon that Arabs have against Israel."

A Return to Terrorism?
Over the years, while Fatah spokespeople were threatening to return to terrorism, their operatives in the field never ceased their participation in terrorist attacks.

Most recently, on the first day of this month, Abbas's Fatah organization in Gaza claimed to have launched a short-range rocket towards Jewish targets in southern Israel. It was one of three launched that day.

Other examples of attacks perpetrated by Fatah during the ongoing negotiations with Israel include a double suicide bombing in February of last year. Three people were killed in the attack on an open-air mall in Dimona. In 2007, Fatah claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in the southern city of Eilat that killed three people.

Even as recent as 2008, Fatah terrorists carried out suicide bombing attacks on Israel. While less hostile than Hamas, this group is still a terrorist group and should not be considered a legitimate friend for peace.

Established in 2000, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades are composed of numerous West Bank militias affiliated with the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's secular, nationalist Fatah faction, the largest faction of the Palestinian Liberation Organization.
Both Hamas and Fatah, since September 2000, have deliberately murdered hundreds of Israelis each and maimed thousands more in suicide bombings and hundreds of other terrorist attacks. Due to extraordinary Israeli measures of security, many attacks have been thwarted.

Also See:
- Inside a Hamas Meeting
- Question: How did the troubles with Gaza begin?
- The Middle East Conflict?
- During Financial Crisis, Obama Administration Plans to Send $900 Million to Gaza

Posted in: Hamas,Islamic Terror,Palestinian Authority