Posted on 04/22/2004 3:47:22 PM PDT by joesnuffy
TROUBLE IN THE HOLY LAND PLO: Charter denies Israel's right to exist Never changed, declares official who notes Arafat means 'armed' when he says 'struggle'
Posted: April 22, 2004 5:00 p.m. Eastern
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
Despite claims to the contrary, the Palestinian Liberation Organization has never changed its charter declaring Israel has no right to exist, the PLO's "foreign minister" Farouk Kaddoumi said in an interview today.
Speaking to the Jordanian newspaper Al-Arab, the PLO official also said when Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat talks about the need to pursue the "struggle" against Israel, he is referring to the "armed struggle," the Jerusalem Post reported.
In addition, Kaddoumi revealed the PLO has given him the "portfolio" of supporting the Iraqi resistance against the U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq.
"There is no doubt that the Palestinian revolution supports the Iraqi resistance and we have seen demonstrations in the occupied Palestinian territories in backing the intifada and resistance in Iraq," he said, according to the Post. "I'm in charge of this issue and I condemn the American position."
He noted the establishment of an armed group in Iraq named after slain Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin as an "excellent phenomenon" that would increase pressure on the U.S.
Kaddoumi is one of the few PLO leaders still living in exile in Tunisa.
Asked about U.S. and Israeli demands to halt terror attacks as a condition for resuming the peace process, Kaddoumi replied, according to the Jerusalem paper: "They can go to hell!"
Kaddoumi said though it is widely believed the PLO now recognizes Israel's right to existence, in fact the charter was never changed.
"The Palestinian national charter has not been amended until now," he explained. "It was said that some articles are no longer effective, but they were not changed. I'm one of those who didn't agree to any changes."
The armed struggle, he said, was the only way to force Israel to accept the demands of the Palestinians.
Kaddoumi was asked what Arafat means when he talks about the continuation of the "struggle."
He responded, according to the Post, "Yes, the national struggle must continue. I mean the armed struggle. In the past we abandoned our political parties in favor of the armed struggle.
Arafat's Fatah movement, he continued, "was established on the basis of the armed struggle and that this was the only way to leading to political negotiations that would force the enemy to accept our national aspirations. Therefore there is no struggle other than the armed military struggle."
Kaddoumi commented on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
"If Israel wants to leave the Gaza Strip, then it should do so," he said told the Jordanian paper, according to the Post. "This means that the Palestinian resistance has forced it to leave. But the resistance will continue. Let the Gaza Strip be South Vietnam. We will use all available methods to liberate North Vietnam."
My my. The rhetoric of the American Left has certainly caught on in the radical Muslim world, hasn't it? I think that that from now on, the symbol of radical Islam should be the donkey.
Farouk might then come back from exile and take over the PLO. All the Hamas and Fatah guys now working for Israel might not like the loss of income once Yassir is "retired," but there may be other opportunities.
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