By Ryan Jones
Oct 23, 2005
?Palestinian? strongman Mohammed Dahlan told roaring crowds in Gaza Saturday that their ?liberation? could never have been possible without the terrorist efforts that had killed thousands of Israeli Jews over the past decade.
The ?armed struggle? - a euphemism for anti-Jewish terrorism ? had brought about Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, Dahlan asserted during a hero's welcome upon returning to the Strip after weeks of medical treatment in Belgrade for a slipped disc.
The former security chief insisted, however, that the time had arrived for the ?Palestinians? to ?control their weapons? and engage fully in democracy and diplomatic efforts to relieve Israel of its biblical homeland.
But Dahlan promised not to forget those who had sacrificed so much to murder and maim their Jewish enemies.
?Our goal is not only to establish our independent state with Jerusalem as its capital on the 1967 occupied land, but to give the respect and dignity for those who have spent their lives fighting for Palestine,? he told the Arab throngs.
Dahlan, who currently serves as PA minister of civil affairs, has been singled out by Washington as a favorite among the so-called ?Palestinian moderates.?
?I like that young man [Dahlan],? US President George W. Bush was widely quoted as saying after a 2003 summit with Israel and ?Palestinian? leaders.