Yasser Arafat shows support for the roadmap by calling for martyrs

[L@mplighterM]

Part 1 of 2
Special Dispatch Series - No. 515
June 3, 2003 No.515

Arafat's Nakba Day Speech



The following is the full text of a speech marking Nakba Day delivered by Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. (1)
'To Those Who Believe in Returning'

"'We desired to show favor to those considered weak in the land, and to make them leaders and make them inheritors of our bounties, and to establish them on the earth...'" (2)

"Our heroic Palestinian people, in the homeland and in the diaspora, our beloved brothers in the noble Arab homeland, our friends, the free and honorable men in the world, our residents standing fast in the refugee camps [who believe in] steadfastness and return, our sons and the fruit of our loins in the prisons and houses of detention, our generations that increase in courage and honor."

'The Accursed Day of May 15, 1948, On Which the State of Israel Was Established'

"The great imperialistic Zionist conspiracy against our Arab nation and our homeland Palestine, which began with the Zionist Congress in 1897 in Basel, Switzerland, reached its accursed peak on May 15, 1948. On this accursed day, the state of Israel was established by force of arms, as [the result of] imperialistic conspiracy, on the ruins of our homeland Palestine. Our people [were] strewn from our homeland, in exile, in the diaspora, and in the refugee camps by massacres. Has the world forgotten, and [have] our people forgotten, the massacre of Deir Yassin and Qibiya and Nahalin and the other massacres in 1947, 1948, and since?"

"In 1947, the imperialistic forces that controlled the U.N. at that time forced the partition of our homeland, Palestine, into two states: one Palestinian Arab and one Israeli Jewish. But the State of Palestine did not arise, and never saw the light [of day], and [none gave even] minimal consideration to the decision of international legitimacy [i.e. the U.N.] regarding our people [and its right to] an independent state on the historic land of Palestine."

"Our Palestinian people had to choose between two paths: between disappearing and being eradicated, and steadfastness, conflict, and adherence to our right over our eternal homeland Palestine. Our Palestinian people, a people of bravery, did not hesitate to choose the path of standing at the front of the battle for the land, at the front of the battle blessed by Allah, the first direction of prayer and the third most holy place, the place Muhammad reached during his night journey, and the place of Jesus' birth."

"Our people [do] not accept humiliation, contempt, submission, obedience, enslavement, and imperialism in the places holy to Christianity and Islam... because it is a believing and noble people and in its blood flows the blood of faith and honor, love of the homeland and love of the nation [that increase] as the conspiracy expands."

'Palestine is the Land of the Battlefront'

"Palestine is our homeland, the land of the battlefront and the holy land, our homeland and the homeland of our fathers and grandfathers, the homeland of our grandchildren and of the generations to come. Palestine is our homeland. It has no substitute, and we have no other homeland. Every Palestinian refugee looks forward to the day when he will embrace the homeland and restore its identity and the honor of the citizen in his homeland Palestine."

"'They are those who have been driven out of their homes unjustly only because they affirmed: Our Lord is Allah.'" (3)

"Our Palestinian people which stands fast on the land of the battlefront, our meritorious Arab nation, we are the nation of the brave, a nation [like] the phoenix. [The Palestinian people are] the strongest number in the equation of war and peace in the Middle East today. This is our situation and our truth in this continuing struggle that we wage for the sake of our right to our homeland Palestine."

"In the beginning, some wondered where the Palestinian people [were]. Do they dare ask today where [they are]? Is there anyone who will say today about our people that the older ones are dead and the young ones have forgotten? And what have they to say about the Palestinian knight4 Fares, Fares 'Ouda, the boy who challenged a tank with a stone and fell as a martyr for the sake of the holy places, the homeland, and freedom?"

"The Palestinian truth cries out today. It is clear as the sun throughout the world, and no one will continue to be estranged from it and ignore it – because Fares 'Ouda said the words that every Palestinian [should be say], before falling as a martyr in the Israeli tank fire: 'Either [we obtain] a homeland, freedom, and independence, or [we go in the path] of martyrdom for the sake of Allah, the homeland, and honor!"

"For the past 55 years, martyrs and wounded have fallen for the sake of the freedom of the homeland and the return of its sons. Today, thousands of Palestinian men and women are locked away in the occupation's prisons and houses of detention, because they do not accept the occupation and persecution and are determined [to attain] freedom and independence. They have the blessing, and they have the promise and the vow that their freedom and their rescue are our greatest concern and our supreme goal. Their freedom is the freedom of the homeland."

'The Martyrs Improve the Land with Their Blood'

"In the cities of Palestine, in its refugee camps, in its settlements and villages, its plains, its mountains, its groves of trees, and its coasts, over 70,000 martyrs and wounded have fallen defending the homeland's freedom and independence and the places holy to Islam and Christianity. They have blessing and glory. They are among the martyrs and the saints, who are the best friends [of the martyrs] who improve [the land] with their blood for the sake of independence and freedom and the establishment of the independent State of Palestine whose capital is Jerusalem, if Allah wills it, they will 'enter the mosque as they had entered it the first time;' (5) Allah never fails in His promise.'"6

"By means of our battles, our sacrifices, our national unity, and our determination, our nation has imposed itself and its cause on the equation in the Middle East and on all attempts to eradicate it, to make it disappear, or to turn it into a people scattered in diaspora, in exile, and in the refugee camps. The political truth with which none disagree today is that war will break out in Palestine and peace will begin from Palestine, the independent Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem."

'Whoever Thinks a False Peace Can Deceive our People is Hallucinating'

"We have declared in the past that the option of peace, the peace of the brave, which we signed with our partner Yitzhak Rabin of blessed memory, is our strategic option. But despotic power and enormous conspiracy rejected and are still rejecting our option for the sake of a just, eternal, and comprehensive peace in Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon and in the entire region in accordance with international legitimacy and its resolutions: 242, 338, 425, 194, 1397, and other resolutions and agreements, the most recent of which is the road map."

"Whoever thinks that a false peace can deceive our people is hallucinating. There will be no peace without a full Israeli withdrawal from all the Palestinian and Arab territories, to the June 4 [1967] line. Likewise, the illegal settlements, which plunder our land, our nation, and our freedom, must cease to exist. The settlers must leave our Palestinian land. Peace cannot come about and security cannot be maintained in the shadow of the occupation and the settlements."

"We support a just, eternal, and comprehensive peace, a peace of the brave in exchange for a full withdrawal from our Palestinian and Arab land. This is the principle approved by the Arabs according to the initiative of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. This is the basis for the principle of the Madrid peace conference, the Washington [conference], and the Cairo [conference], and the Sharm Al-Sheikh, Taba, Wye River and Paris [conferences], and other [conferences]. [This principle is] land for peace."

'I Call on Our People and Our Noble Arab Nation to Close Ranks'

"At a time when the conspiracy is expanding and the conspirators against us and against the entire region proliferate, I call on our people and our noble Arab nation to close ranks for the return of our occupied territories, for the sake of our freedom and our defense of the places sacred to Christianity and Islam in the blessed land. [I call on our people and on our nation] to stand against this storm that is passing over all of us in the region. We will triumph, with Allah's help."

"My heroic sisters and brothers, I call on you, everyone, to [be subject] to national discipline, to respect the general regime and social solidarity [according to which] those with means will offer help to the needy. We are [aboard] the ship of freedom, clinging to solidarity, and united. This is the source of strength and loftiness for our people, in the face of the most arrogant conspirator and the machine of war and destruction in its possession. "

"I bless you all, and shake the hand of each one of you, every woman, elderly person, boy, or girl, and tell them: This homeland, the places holy to Christianity and Islam, Jerusalem and the other holy cities, our villages and refugee camps, are all our [responsibility]. I instruct you to protect this [responsibility] and defend it with your soul and your blood."

"'Do thou endure with fortitude, and thou canst do so only with the help of Allah; and grieve not for them, nor feel distressed because of their plottings.'" (7)

[L@mplighterM]

Part 2


Endnotes:
(1) Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (Palestinian Authority), May 16, 2003. All subheadings added by MEMRI
(2) Koran 28:5
(3) Koran 22:40
(4) A play on words – "knight" is fares in Arabic.
(5) Koran 17:7
(6) Koran 22:47
(7) Koran 16:127

[ibrodsky]

More evidence that the Palestinians are violating the road map and have no intentions of complying.

[L@mplighterM]

Comply? Never had and never will!

I’d like to see reality pills handed out to western world leaders because they sure the hell need them. There’s a substantial number of Muslims/Arabs that want world conquest and domination and I’m afraid that they’ll succeed in their quest.

I believe it when Muslims/Arabs within western countries say that they aren’t interested in implementing Shari law or eliminating Christians and Jews but there’s plenty of evidence that a few can control the masses.

[Am Yisrael]

This is exactly why we need to get rid of the PA. Just look at the points being implied in the speech:

- A zionist conspiricy set up Israel

- A zionist conspiricy got rid of the Palestinians

- Remember Deir yassin? (Arafat always brings this up. Maybe Sharon should bring up the Hebron massacre in every patriotic speech)

- The non establishment of a Palestinian state was due to the zionist conspiricy controlling the UN (not because the Arabs rejected it)

- More religious incitement (this time he is inculding Christians... yet Christian Palestinians have caused little problem to Israel since Intifada. I guess hes trying to woo the Christian world onto his side).

- Talking of a boy who died because he choose to fight the IDF. (notice the way he talks... its damn incitement again!! Wheres amnesty international and the UN when you need them?)

-"There will be no peace without a full Israeli withdrawal from all the Palestinian and Arab territories, to the June 4 [1967] line" (hmmm... with this dictator in power there is definetely no chance for peace)

- More religious and nationalistic incitement.


I think we are really set for peace with a bugger like this dont you? :(

[ibrodsky]

Muslims lament Israel's existence
Meg Bortin/IHT International Herald Tribune Tuesday, June 3, 2003

PARIS If the American threat of preemptive military action against Iraq inflamed the Muslim world over the winter, the war itself fanned the flames, with a sharp new rise in hostility toward the United States, the latest Pew survey has found.

Animosity is so high that solid majorities in five populations surveyed expressed confidence in Osama bin Laden to "do the right thing" in world affairs.

And, at a time when the Israeli government has accepted the right of Palestinians to statehood, most Muslim populations surveyed believe by wide margins that the needs of Palestinians cannot be met so long as the state of Israel exists.

The poll, conducted by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, surveyed more than 15,000 people in May. Muslim populations included were Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Palestinian Authority and Turkey.

The survey shows that negative attitudes among Muslims toward the United States have soared anew since the war, both in the Middle East and beyond.

Anti-Americanism peaked in Jordan, where 99 percent of the people now have a somewhat or very unfavorable opinion of the United States, up from 75 percent last summer, the survey found. Hostility was also extremely high in the Palestinian Authority (98 percent).

More than eight out of 10 in Turkey and Pakistan questioned since the war have a negative view of the United States, as do seven out of 10 in Lebanon and two-thirds in Morocco. The most extreme shift was seen in Indonesia, where 61 percent had a favorable opinion last summer but now only 15 percent do.

Steven Simon, an analyst of Muslim affairs with the Rand Corporation, said the about-face in Indonesia could be explained by "a rising sense of Islamic identity of a kind that is new" for that country.

Part of this new self-perception, he said, is tied to the return of people who went through the Islamic fundamentalist camps in Afghanistan and became radicalized there. "The way they see the United States as having acted in the last couple of years confirms views like, 'The United States is evil, the United States wants to devour the Muslim world.'"

As for the spike in hostility in Jordan, he said, the war in Iraq was "colossally unpopular" there and heightened the resentment of the country's largely Palestinian population, who already saw U.S. policies in the Middle East as "helping to perpetuate a situation that is grossly unfair to Palestinians."

Even in Nigeria, traditionally a friend of the United States, favorable opinion sank to 61 percent after the war from 77 percent last summer.

Several Muslim populations also express strong dislike of Americans as people. Nine out of 10 Palestinians, eight out of 10 Jordanians and 60 percent of Turks say they feel somewhat or very unfavorable toward Americans. The rise is sharpest in Jordan, where fewer than half had a negative view last summer.

Still, among Muslims with an unfavorable view of the United States, most put the onus on President George W. Bush - who has included two Muslim countries in his "axis of evil" and has focused his war on terror on the Islamic world - rather than America in general.

Distrust today blazes so brightly that majorities in seven of eight Muslim populations surveyed - Turkey, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Lebanon, Jordan and Kuwait - expressed fears that the United States could become a military threat to their country.

In Morocco, 79 percent said they felt Islam was under serious threat today, and people in other countries largely agreed, in many cases far more strongly than last summer. In Pakistan, for example, 64 percent now say Islam is seriously threatened, up from 28 percent in summer 2002. The threat is perceived most sharply in Jordan, by 97 percent, up from 81 percent last summer.

Perhaps as a consequence, bin Laden was one of the three "leaders" most trusted by the nine Muslim populations surveyed, outranking even the UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan. The Qaeda leader's confidence rating was matched only by Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.

As for the crisis in the Middle East, in a wave of sentiment that bodes ill for the future of the U.S.-sponsored "road map" to peace, Muslims lined up strongly behind the opinion that "the rights and needs of the Palestinian people cannot be taken care of as long as the state of Israel exists."

The conviction that no way can be found for Israel and the Palestinians to coexist is strongest in Morocco (90 percent), followed by Jordan (85 percent), the Palestinian Authority (80 percent), Kuwait (72 percent), Lebanon (65 percent), Indonesia (58 percent) and Pakistan (57 percent).

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who chairs the Pew project, called these results "very disheartening, and very dangerous, frankly."

"I hope that this is temporary and that, if there are some improvements in the situation because of the peace process, it will change," she said. "There is no way Israel is going to disappear. We will just have to find some way to mitigate those feelings."

Even beyond the Muslim world, the United States is seen as favoring Israel over the Palestinians unfairly. Those sharing this attitude range from 99 percent in Jordan to a surprising 47 percent in Israel itself. Only in the United States does a plurality say that U.S. policies in the Middle East are fair.

Overall, Muslim populations see U.S. policies as destabilizing the Middle East, as do pluralities in many other countries surveyed. Nearly 50 percent take this view in France and Spain, as do 63 percent in Morocco, 74 percent in Indonesia, and 91 percent in Jordan.

Regarding the U.S.-led war, disappointment was widespread among Muslims that Iraq put up so little resistance. More than 70 percent shared this view in Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan, Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco and the Palestinian Authority. The notable exception was Kuwait, which was invaded by Iraq in 1990 and where 61 percent said they were happy Iraq did not put up much of a fight.

Despite the animosity toward America, the survey found "a considerable appetite in the Muslim world for political freedoms," the Pew report says.

In eight of the nine Muslim populations surveyed, at least 50 percent believe Western-style democracy can work in their countries. The exception is Indonesia, where 53 percent see democracy as a Western way of doing things that would not work in their country.