“Moderate” Fatah leader calls for “armed uprising” against Israel

Robert Spencer Jan 27, 2014 at 3:47pm Fatah, Israel, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian jihad

 

“Of course, Israel cannot be expected to negotiate with anyone who is dedicated to its destruction. But while I know you have had differences with the Palestinian Authority, I believe that you do have a true partner in President Abbas…” — Barack Obama, March 21, 2013

“Fatah Leader Calls for ‘Armed Uprising,’” by Maayana Miskin for Israel National News, January 26:

A senior member of Fatah, the party headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, has called to renew terrorist attacks on Israel, Maariv/nrg reports.
Fatah Central Committee member Tawfik Tirawi reportedly told Al-Miadin that there will be no new Arab state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza in the near future, and not even in 20 years. For that reason, he said, Fatah must resume the “violent uprising” against Israel – meaning terrorism.
“That’s the only way things will change,” he argued.

Fatah must “join all of the organizations, both those operating under the Palestinian Authority, and those outside it,” he added, in an apparent reference to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Hamas remains openly committed to obliterating Israel, while Islamic Jihad recently threatened to resume suicide bombings.

Tirawi argued that Fatah never truly abandoned terrorism. “Fatah never abandoned any form of action, including armed resistance,” he insisted.
Tirawi clarified that he is pessimistic regarding the chances of establishing a PA-led Arab state through negotiations because he believes the PA will reject any compromise deal of the type offered by United States Secretary of State John Kerry.

PA leaders have repeatedly declared that they are unwilling to compromise on their demands, which include the expulsion of all Israeli Jews from land over the 1949 armistice line, sole control of the Temple Mount – Judaism’s holiest site, the “right of return” for millions of Arabs descended from those who left Israel in 1948, the release of all terrorists, and the right to import weapons.

This is the latest in a string of incendiary statements by senior Fatah officials – statements which belie the PA’s official stance in undertaking negotiations with Israel.
Just a few days ago, the Fatah party’s official Facebook page featured a video by the group’s armed wing – the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades – in which it threatened to bomb Tel Aviv and promised to continue rocket attacks from Gaza.

Earlier this month, Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki told Syrian state TV that the PA’s participation in US-brokered talks is part of a wider strategy to destroy Israel, and that whatever concessions it receives through diplomatic means will simply be the “first step” in achieving that long-term goal.