Fateh Central Committee member Sakhr Habash told Albawaba that the death of Israeli soldiers in Jerusalem and Bethlehem last week led to a change in Israel “that had forced it to face the possibility and burden of re-occupying the (Palestinian) territories and a long term resistance war.” But Israel, he said, started to back out on such plans and “the group of peace supporters who had been hiding in the shadow of Palestinian blood, the group including (Shimon) Peres and Yossi Beilin who were hoping for peace in the Middle East have now gathered around Barak who, after failing to launch a war with the help of Ariel Sharon, now wants to launch the peace of Rabin”.
Habash said these developments reflected their weakness while emphasizing Palestinian strength and their determination to liberate their land.
He stressed that the Intifada will continue in different forms subject to the varying conditions.
Palestinians, he said, call for an investigation (into the bloodshed), the deployment of an international force to provide temporary protection for the Palestinian people otherwise “they will not return to the negotiating table with a biased American mediator steered by the Zionists at the White House.”
Habash demanded “an Israeli withdrawal from all (occupied) areas, the evacuation of settlers and the implementation of agreements, at that point we can say that the Intifada has met its goals.”
The Palestinian official said Fateh does not want to impose its decisions on other groups but said that if Israel carried out a troop withdrawal from the land it occupies and honored its peace agreements, “what other demands would the groups have?”
But he added that he didn’t see any danger threatening the Palestinian national unity.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
