By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
Dec 10, 2004
PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas has again insisted on the right to flood Israel with millions of Arabs labeled as “Palestinian” refugees, and by doing so demographically destroy the Jewish state.
“All Palestinian refugees must have the right to return to Palestine [sic] in line with UN Resolution 194,” Abbas told the Beirut Daily Star in an interview on Thursday. [Translation of the interview was provided by IMRA.]
This right "is not an issue for debate" and "is a common goal" of all Palestinian Arab factions, said Abbas, who is also known as Abu Mazen.
In its response to the interview, the Zionist Organization of America pointed out UN resolution 194 falls under Chapter VI of the world body’s charter, making it a recommendation rather than a legally binding decree.
Hailed by the West as a “moderate,” the PA presidential election frontrunner first indicated he was unwilling to compromise on the “right of return” during speech to the “Palestinian” parliament on November 23.
“We promise you [Yasser Arafat] that our heart will not rest until we achieve the right of return for our people and end the tragic refugee issue,” Abbas said during a memorial parliamentary session for the deceased arch-terrorist.
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.
Abbas is Fatah’s candidate in the upcoming January 9 PA election.