A military leader of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas has rejected Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's approach to dealing with Israel, telling Time magazine that it constitutes "a terrible mistake."
"The (Palestinian Authority) people are making a terrible mistake," a Hamas leader who calls himself Abu Ali told the magazine in an interview due on newsstands Monday.
"Arafat is calling for a UN commission to investigate Israeli crimes," he said. "We think that in making such a call, Arafat is proving that he doesn't understand Israel at all. Israel doesn't respect the UN or its resolutions."
Ali said, however, that "Israel respects force."
"Force makes Israel bow its head," he said. "South Lebanon and Hizbollah are the best examples of Israel's respect for force."
Ali also criticized the Palestinian faction Fateh for straying from its "revolutionary nature" and rejected Arafat for instead being "committed to the strategy of negotiations."
"Most Fateh leaders are interested these days in achieving financial gains and not in liberating Palestine," Ali charged. "Fateh is becoming a fat cat, and fat cats don't play aggressively. They are only in favor of filling their stomachs with food."
Hamas has long opposed dialogue with Israel and has claimed responsibility for a number of anti-Israeli attacks since the 1993 Oslo peace accords – WASHINGTON (AFP)
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