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Palestinian Arabs

?Palestinians? squash all hope of peace


By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
November 24, 2004

The newly empowered “moderate” PA leadership Tuesday pledged to remain true to Yasser Arafat’s platform of seeking to flood Israel with millions of Arab “refugees.”

They also insisted there would be no final peace until the PLO flag was raised over a Jerusalem under “Palestinian” sovereignty.

PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas reiterated the traditional “Palestinian” unwillingness to compromise knowing the status of Jerusalem and the so-called Arab “right of return” are deal breakers for Israel.

That intractable position notwithstanding, Washington continued to tout the legitimizing of Abbas as overall “Palestinian” leader in the upcoming “democratic” PA election as the best chance for achieving peace in the region.

Remaining true to Arafat

"We will follow in the path of the late leader Yasser Arafat, and we will work toward fulfilling his dream," Abbas said during a special session of the Palestinian Legislative Council to commemorate the deceased arch-terrorist.

Crucial to that dream was the “right” to flood the Jewish state with as many as four million alleged Palestinian Arab refugees.

"We promise you that our hearts will not rest until the right of return for our people is achieved and the tragedy of the refugees is ended,” Abbas declared.

Interim PA Chairman Rouhi Fattouh and PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia echoed Abbas regarding the “refugees,” and added there would be no peace with Israel until the “Palestinians” controlled at least half of Jerusalem.

"Our people, under the PLO and the eternal leader Yasser Arafat, have scored many achievements through huge sacrifices and the blood of the martyrs," said Qureia, referencing the deaths of “Palestinian” terrorists as they carried out murderous attacks on Israeli civilians for the sake of political gains.

However, Qureia reminded the gathered officials, “There is still a lot to be done to achieve our national goals.”

PA’s trump card

During a 1998 seminar at Al-Najah University in Shechem, senior Fatah Central Committee member Sakher Habash admitted the true meaning of the “right of return” for the “Palestinian” cause.

“To us, the refugees issue is the winning card which means the end of the Israeli state,” Habash said.

Habash recognized that for this reason alone Israel had refused to even consider a “Palestinian” right of return.

Willful blindness

Ignoring the “new” leadership’s continued commitment to Arafat’s self-described “phased plan” for the destruction of Israel, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said he believed big changes were in store that would lead to peaceful coexistence.

“I think this is a moment of opportunity that should not be lost, and I think that what I have heard today suggests that the Palestinian Authority is committed to reform,” Powell said during a Jericho press conference after meeting with Abbas, Qureia and Fattouh Tuesday.

Attempting to allay “Palestinian” concerns following Arafat’s demise, Powell told reporters that “President [George W.] Bush’s commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state…hasn’t changed.”

“What has changed is a new set of circumstances in the aftermath of [Arafat’s] passing. With new leaders coming forward from the Palestinian side, or a new arrangement of leaders on the Palestinian side, and with an election coming up, I think it gives us the opportunity to reenergize the roadmap process.”

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