Top Palestinian Official: Negotiations Are Ineffective, Give War a Chance

  • From: "Muslim News" <editor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <submit@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2002 14:24:36 -0000

In an article in the Palestinian Authority daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida,
titled "A Chance for the Fighting Negotiator," Palestinian Information
Ministry Director-General Hassan Al-Kashef urged Palestinians not to
return to diplomatic negotiations, and to allow the process of war to
run its course: 

Negotiations Proved Ineffective 

"Today's most effective negotiator is the fighter active in the West
Bank, Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem. It is he who consciously and
courageously targets soldiers and settlers." 

"Since the traditional Palestinian negotiator [the veteran PLO and PA
leadership] has become ineffective and incapable of breakthroughs, and
since he has been given all the time and opportunity he needed [and
failed], I propose that he cease his activity, and his public, covert,
individual, and collective contacts [with Israelis]." 

"He must also stop issuing declarations. He has nothing new, and no
capability, to [pull out of] his hat. This negotiator has held rounds of
talks the length and breadth of the planet since Oslo, and tomorrow will
hold contacts the length and breadth of the land of historic Palestine,
without our arriving at a permanent solution and without our restoring
our rights in the interim stage - and all this with Israeli leaders less
extreme than Sharon." 

Fighting Strengthens Us 

"Currently, the fighting negotiator is holding a serious, in-depth
dialogue with all circles of decision [makers] in Israel, with all
political and media circles, and with all the research centers.
Furthermore, he is maintaining a dialogue with all strata and sectors of
Israelis. The fighting negotiator, who opens fire [with] his national
consciousness, with great accuracy and to great effect in the area to be
liberated, demands our complete support." 

"He is not asking too much: He wants us to demonstrate greater patience,
[greater] trust in ourselves, more profound capabilities, a firm stance,
and more solid unity. This fighting negotiator sacrifices his blood for
us and asks for nothing in return, except loyalty. Through him, we are
all stronger. The leadership is stronger, the national establishment is
stronger, the factions are stronger, and the people is stronger." 

"All the fighting negotiator asks for is that we give him time and
opportunity. It won't take long. He will not exhaust us with
declarations, negotiations, and years-long campaigns - unlike our
traditional negotiator, whose time has come to be replaced, taken out of
the game. [The traditional negotiator] is worn out; he has begun to bore
us, and has brought us to despair of the chance of reaching any goal at
all." 

No Agreement Now 

"We will lose much, and the loss will be shameful and historic, if we
agree [now] to restore calm with security measures requiring us to
protect the occupation's soldiers, bases, and settlers." 

"We will lose even more by agreeing to an interim solution that solves
nothing and does not put an end to the occupation. We will lose
interaction with Israeli society - an interaction that brings 1,000
Israeli [army] officers to take a stand and 14,000 Israelis to
demonstrate in Tel Aviv." 

"We will lose if we extricate Sharon from the crisis he is in - a crisis
that will cause him to end his life in political and military defeat.
Economically and militarily, Sharon will bring Israel nothing but the
worst [predicament] in its history." 

"The opportunity is given now to the fighting negotiator. It is our
opportunity..." 
 
Source:  Al-Hayat Al-Jadida 
 

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