Interview with Faysal Al-Husseiny, in the newspaper ‘Al-Arabi’ (Egypt), June 24, 2001.
On his way to Kuwait, where he died later on of a heart attack, Faysal
Al-Husseiny gave an interview – which turned to be his last – to the Egyptian
(Nasserite) daily, ‘Al-Arabi’.
Following are excerpts from the interview with reporter Shafiq Ahmad Ali.
Subtitles are given by the translator.
Published by MEMRI, the Middle East Media Research Institute, an
independent, non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of
the Middle East.
Q: “What is happening now, unfortunately, is a natural consequence of Arafat’s
signing the Oslo Accords which did not explicitly state that the settlements
should be removed, or even halted … and did not explicitly
determine the future of Jerusalem and the right of return … but – among other
mistakes you recently admit – it did explicitly state that the PA must confiscate
weapons from Palestinian civilians …”
A: “Following the signing of the Oslo Accords… I said three things:
First: following a long period of “pregnancy” we brought a child into the
world who is smaller, weaker, and uglier than what we had
hoped for. However, despite it all, this is still our child, and we must nurture,
strengthen and develop it so that he is able to stand on his own two feet.”
“Second, we are the Jews of the 21st Century. Meaning, we the Palestinians
will be the Jews of the early century. They infiltrated our country
using various methods; using all kinds of passports, and they suffered greatly in
the process. They even had to face humiliation but they did it all for one goal:
to enter our country and root themselves in it prior to our expulsion out of it.
We must act the in the same way they did. return , settle it, and develop new roots in our land from where we were
expelled; what ever the price may be.”
“Third, the Greek Army was unable to break into Troy due to
disputes and disagreements . The Greek forces started
retreating one after the other, and the Greek king ended up facing the walls of
Troy all by himself, and he too suffered from illnesses and disputes,
and ended up leading a failed assault on Troy’s walls.”
“ the people of Troy climbed on top of the walls of their
city and could not find any traces of the Greek army, except for a giant wooden
horse. They cheered and celebrated thinking that the Greek troops were routed,
and while retreating left a harmless wooden horse as spoils of war. So they
opened the gates of the city and brought in the wooden horse. We all know
what happened next.”
“Had the U.S. and Israel not realized, before Oslo, that all that was left of the
Palestinian National movement and the Pan-Arab movement was a wooden
horse called Arafat or the PLO, they would never have opened their fortified
gates and let it inside their walls.”
“Despite the fact that we entered these walls in order to build, unlike the
Greeks who entered them in order to destroy, I now tell you all, all these to
whom I spoke in a secret meeting during the days of Oslo: ‘climb into the horse
and don’t question what type of material the horse is made of. Climb into the
horse, and we shall transform your climbing into that horse into a beginning of
a building era rather than an era of the end of hope.”
“And indeed, there are those who climbed unto the horse and are inside
whether they supported the Oslo Accords or not.”
Q: “But the horse began to ignore criticism from the people, both from those
who supported Oslo and those who opposed it. criticism about the
true democracy that should lead the horse and about the horse’s corruption.”
A: “Your words remind me of the famous meeting we had with all the
Palestinian factions three years following Arafat and the PLO’s return to
Gaza…the debate revolved around the same issues you are raising – i.e.,
democracy, corruption, etc.”
“In that meeting – and those who attended are still alive and can attest to it – I
asked to speak. I told everyone: three years ago I said ‘climb into the horse’
and everyone entered into the horse and the horse entered into the walled-in
.
Now, the time has come for us to say: ‘come out of the horse and start
working. Don’t stay inside the horse and don’t waist time and energy while you
are inside the horse arguing whether this was a good horse or not. Look, it is
thanks to this horse that you were able to get into the walled-in city.”
“So come down out of the horse and start working for the goal for which you
entered the horse to begin with. In my opinion, the Intifada itself is the coming
down out of the horse. Rather than getting into the old arguments … this effort
could have been much better, broader, and more significant had
we made it clearer to ourselves that the Oslo agreement, or any other
agreement, is just a temporary procedure, or just a step towards something
bigger …”
“Praise Allah, by now we have all come out of the horse, those who were with
Arafat and those from the opposition. Personally, I never had any complaints
regarding the fact that they entered the horse while being opposed to it.
However, I would have complaints had they stayed inside the horse and
never came out of it. Now that we all came out of the horse, I ask of you and
of all journalists to lay aside all the analyses of past events, all the old
disputes, and judge people on the basis of what they are actually doing now …
our slogan from now on should be “the Intifada is always right …”
The strategic goal: a state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean
Sea.
Q: “What are the borders of the Palestinian state you are referring to, and what
kind of ‘Jerusalem’ would you accept as the capital of your state?”
A: “With this question you are dragging me into talking about what we refer to
as our “strategic” goals and our “political” goals, or the phased goals. The
“strategic” goals are the “higher” goals, the “long-term goals,” or the
“unwavering goals,” the goals that are based on solid Pan-Arab historic rights
and principles.
Whereas the “political” goals are those goals which were set for a
temporary timeframe, considering the the existing international
system, the balance of power, our own abilities, and other considerations which
“vary” from time to time.”
“When we are asking all the Palestinian forces and factions to look at the Oslo
Agreement and at other agreements as “temporary” procedures, or phased
goals, this means that we are ambushing the Israelis and cheating
them.
However, the truth is that we are doing exactly what they are doing.
The proof for that is that they are aware of, and are not trying to hide, the fact
that there is nothing that unites them more around the territory which extends
from the Nile to the Euphrates, than their slogan, which was taken from the
Torah, and reads: ‘These are the borders of the greater land of Israel.'”
“If, for some reason, they had to temporarily declare their state over “a part” of
the greater land of Israel, they would publicly declare that this is their “political”
strategy, which they will have to temporarily accept due to international
circumstances. On the other hand, their “higher strategy” is always “The
Greater Land of Israel.”
“We are exactly like them. In 1947, in accordance with
Partition Plan, they decided to declare statehood on 55% of the land of
Palestine, which they later increased to 78% during the War of 1948, and then
again to 100% during the War of 1967. Despite all that, they
never attempted to make secret of their long-term goal, which is “Greater
Israel” from the Nile to the Euphrates.
Similarly, if we agree to declare our state over what is now only 22% of
Palestine, meaning the West Bank and Gaza – our ultimate goal is the
liberation of all historical Palestine from the River to the
sea, even if this means that the conflict will last for another
thousand years or for many generations.”
“In short, we are exactly like they are. We distinguish the strategic, long-term
goals from the political phased goals, which we are compelled to temporarily
accept due to international pressure. If you are asking me as a Pan-Arab
nationalist what are the Palestinian borders according to the higher strategy, I
will immediately reply: “from the river to the sea.” Palestine in its entirety is an
Arab land, the land of the Arab nation, a land no one can sell or buy, and it is
impossible to remain silent while someone is stealing it, even if this requires
time and even a high price.”
“If you are asking me, as a man who belongs to the Islamic faith, my answer is
also “from the river to the sea,” the entire land is an Islamic Waqf which can
not be bought or sold, and it is impossible to remain silent while someone is
stealing it …”
“If you are asking me as an ordinary Palestinian, from the “inside” or from the
Diaspora, you will get the same answer and without any hesitations. However,
what I am able to achieve and live on right now, due to the
international system, is not, of course, Palestine “from the river to
the sea.”
In order for us to fulfill all of our dreams regarding Palestine, we must,
first of all, wake up and realize where we are standing. On the other hand, if
we will continue to behave as if we are still dreaming, we will not find a place
to put our feet on …”
“As I once said in the past: our eyes must continue to focus on the higher goal.
The real danger is that I might forget , and while advancing towards my
short-term goal I might turn my back on my long-term goal, which is the
liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea…”
