Middle East Media Research Institute, April 14, 2008.
“When Israel’s ideology will collapse, and after we take Jerusalem, Israel’s
ideology will collapse altogether, and then we will proceed with our own
ideology, inshallah , and we will throw them out of all of
Palestine.” So said Abbas Zaki, the Palestinian Authority’s ambassador to
Lebanon on Lebanese television last week, according to a translation by MEMRI
(Middle East Media Research Institute).
Expressing strong support for terror attacks against Israel, Zaki said, “We
believe wholeheartedly that the Right of Return is guaranteed by our will,
by our weapons, and by our faith.”
Asked if this means he believes “in weapons, not just in negotiations,” Zaki said
that neither of them is effective by itself: “The use of weapons alone will not
bring results, and the use of politics without weapons will not bring results. We
act on the basis of our extensive experience. We analyze our situation carefully.
We know what climate leads to victory and what climate leads to suicide.”
“We talk politics,” Zaki said, “but our principles are clear. It was our pioneering
leader, Yasser Arafat, who persevered with this revolution, when empires
collapsed. Our armed struggle has been going on for 43 years, and the political
struggle, on all levels, has been going on for 50 years. We harvest U.N.
resolutions…”
‘Israel must pay a heavy price’
Speaking with young Arabs who see themselves as Palestinians, Zaki said, “The
important thing is that in any operation, Israel will pay a price. We
don’t want cases in which you don’t kill even a chicken, but Israel kills
20 of you. I salute any operation that makes Israel pay a heavy price.”
‘We’ll drive them all out of all of Palestine’
Zaki said that the PLO is the sole legitimate
representative of the Palestinian people, and that it remains true to its values
and ideology:
“In light of the weakness of the Arab nation and the lack of values, and
in light of the American control over the world, the PLO proceeds through
phases, without changing its strategy. Let me tell you, when the ideology of
Israel collapses, and we take, at least, Jerusalem, the Israeli ideology will
collapse in its entirety, and we will begin to progress with our own ideology,
Allah willing, and drive them out of all of Palestine.”
From Munich to Hevron
A mastermind of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre of 11 Israeli athletes,
Zaki has long been a leading inciter against Israel and an outspoken proponent
of anti-Israel terrorism.
Despite his warm words for Arafat, Zaki was one of his opponents at the end of
Arafat’s career. In July 2002, Zaki – then a member of the Fatah Supreme
Council – said that then-PA Chairman Arafat “has to go… Wherever he went, he
brought with him corruption and instability.”
