Abbas' "Moderate" Fatah Conference Calls for Armed Struggle

MEMRI/The Lid ^ | 8/6/09 | The Lid

[Shellybenoit]

Once again Fatah, the terrorist group considered "moderate" by the US is showing its true colors. Under the tutelage of President Abbas, the party created by Yassar Arafat has it both ways, sometimes it tries to maintain a public shroud of "moderation," and at other times refuses to sit at the negotiation table and calls for "armed struggle."

Since Bibi Netanyahu Made his speech offering to sit down and have talks with the Palestinians with no preconditions, there has been no movement toward talks. You see, the Palestinians refuse to talk unless Israel agrees to give them everything they want before negotiations. That doesn't sound like moderation.

It gets worse. Yesterday a Senior Member of Fatah, the supposedly moderate party run by Palestinian Authority President Abbas, has denied that the party has or ever will recognize Israel. This senior Fatah member Rafik Natsheh, a good friend of President Abbas, also says that the party will NEVER recognize Israel or give up terrorism.

This week, Fatah is holding a rare membership conference (the last one was 20 years ago). The rhetoric of the conference is not about moderation, but continuing Fatah's strategy of violence:

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

Claude Rains could not be reached for comment. But I think we all know what he would say.