Posted on 03/18/2009 5:28:37 AM PDT by SJackson
| Fatah: We Do Not Recognize Israel |
When Western countries met last month to pledge billions of dollars in funding to the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, they stressed that Hamas would not receive funding until it recognized Israel. However, a senior Fatah leader, Muhammad Dahlan, admitted yesterday on Palestinian Authority television that Fatah - just like Hamas - still does not recognize Israel.
Furthermore, he said that the Palestinian Authority's apparent "recognition" is to make the PA "acceptable" to the international community, and therefore allow it to continue to receive international aid:
It is only the Palestinian Authority government, Dahlan insisted, that must "recognize" Israel - not out of conviction or sincerity, but in order to receive the needed help of the international community. This help would not come, says Dahlan, if the PA government did not "recognize" Israel.
The inherent contradiction between the Fatah, headed by "Chairman" Mahmoud Abbas, not recognizing Israel, and the Palestinian Authority, headed by "President" Mahmoud Abbas, "recognizing" Israel, was not challenged by the interviewer.
This is not merely Dahlan's opinion but apparently official PA ideology. It is nearly identical to the 2006 declaration made by Mahmoud Abbas himself that while PA ministers have to "recognize" Israeli ministers across a negotiating table, for functional purposes, this does not imply political recognition by Fatah of Israel:
The following are the two declarations - yesterday's by Dahlan and the earlier one by Abbas - that Fatah does not recognize Israel.
Interview with Muhammad Dahlan, PA TV March 16, 2009:
It is not being demanded of Hamas that it recognize Israel. The government must deal with people's problems... The entire Palestinian economy is dependent on Israel. The government's role is to manage the day-to-day life of the Palestinian people. I cannot force my thinking and my position [non-recognition of Israel] on the government, and then [were I to do so] - should the Palestinian people pay the price for this position? No. I maintain the position of the Hamas and of the Fatah not to recognize Israel, but the government is required to offer medical treatment, to make education easier and take care of it. It must carry out reconstruction. Do you imagine that Gaza's reconstruction is possible under the shadow of this political bickering between us and the international community?
Moderator: Why must the new government recognize the PLO's commitments?
Dahlan: It's not the political parties [that must recognize]; it's required of the government and not of the parties. It's required of the government but not of Hamas; it's required of the government but not of the Fatah, so that this government will be able to offer the necessary assistance, to carry out the necessary reconstruction, to offer assistance to the sick, to bring relief to needy families... This can be dealt with [only] by a government that has relations with the international community, one that is acceptable to the international community, in order that we can work together and benefit from the international community."
The following interview with Mahmoud Abbas was broadcast on Al-Arabiya [based in Dubai] and Palestinian TV on Oct. 3, 2006:
The host is discussing with Mahmoud Abbas the difference between Hamas and Fatah preventing the establishing of a Palestinian unity government.
Abbas [snaps]: Hamas is not required, Hamas is not required to recognize Israel... It is not required of Hamas, or of Fatah, or of the Popular Front to recognize Israel, all right?
The PLO, in 1993, recognized Israel. As Israel recognized the PLO. Every person has the right to say 'I do not recognize,' okay? It's your right. It is the right of every organization. But the government which will be formed, and which will function opposite the Israelis on a daily basis... every hour and perhaps every second, there will be contact between Palestinian ministers and Israeli ministers. And I ask - how can this government, or these ministers, not recognize their counterparts, and then solve people's problems?" [Abbas then gives an example of $500 million in taxes intended for the Palestinians, but put on hold by Israelis. The Palestinian finance minister has to come to an agreement with the Israeli finance minister regarding the transfer of that money.] "So how can he make an agreement with him if he does not recognize him?
So I do not demand of Hamas nor any other [organizations] to recognize Israel. But from the government that works with Israelis in day to day life, yes.
The west gets played like a violin yet again. How naive and stupid we must seem to them.
Why doesn’t Obuma talk to them?
If you'd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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He will, we all know Dahlin is the most moderate of the palestinians, and you can trust a guy named Mohammed, just ask Hussein.
“Give us $10 billion and we could come with something about recognizing Israel’s right to exist. I spit at this $900 million the US is giving us. $10 billion would build us enough bombs to make some noise against Israel, who should not exist.”
$10 billion? The cost of the Camp David accords was estimated, very quietly, to have been at least $20-$30 billion, and that was almost a decade ago. Remember even if Israel bears the cost of any population moves they make, we have 3 million palestinians to move out of Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, and they all have to be supported. At $25,000 a head (I believe Israel spent about $200m a head and climbing from Gaza), that's $100 billion, and I don't think the Saudis will be picking up the tab. It's an issue that the international community needs to discuss, the practical option is to settle them in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, leaving the West Bank and Gaza to deal with. Egypt had the good sense to keep all their palestinians confined to Gaza, so they're off the hook.
No, we didn’t give it to them, those were the estimates of the cost to the US had Arafat agreed to terms at Camp David and accepted a state, but he didn’t. It probably would have been partially to the Palestinian Authority, big chunks through USAID and UNWRA for the relocation and infrastructure costs. I have to assume that if BHO is successful in brokering a deal, we’ll be footing the bill, and I suspect the cost will dwarf those numbers. Of course who worries about tens of billions anymore.
Obama wants few strings attached to Hamas was my original point.
One thing in English and another in Arabic. And the West falls for it every time.
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