 |
BETHLEHEM – Every Israeli is a legitimate military target, declared a senior delegate of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization in a WND interview.
"I don't believe there are civilians in Israel. All of Israeli society is a military society and therefore a military target," Rashideh al-Mughrabi said in an in-person interview.Mughrabi is a senior deputy to the Fatah congress taking place this week in Bethlehem at which hundreds of voting Fatah members will discuss the future of their party and pass official resolutions outlining its major objectives. Mughrabi is one of six voting Fatah delegates from Lebanon.
She is the sister of Dalal al-Mughrabi, one of the most infamous anti-Israel terrorists in history. Dalal led an attack in March 1978 that killed 36 Israelis.
Rashideh said her only regret about her sister's attack was that she herself could not participate.
"If I feel any sorrow it is because I wasn't allowed to participate in the operation since Abu Jihad (a Fatah terrorist who planned the attack) decided that two sisters cannot participate in the same attack," she said.Mughrabi said for her the only solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict "is for every Israeli to pack up and leave."
"When I heard of the operation, I felt very, very proud," she told WND.
She said some Jews can stay in a Palestinian state, but "they cannot rule us as occupiers."
U.S. and Israeli policy considers Fatah to be moderate.
In Dalal Mughrabi's attack, she and 10 other Palestinians infiltrated Israel by sea, landed on a beach, killed an American photographer and then hijacked and blew up a crowded bus, killing 35 Israelis and wounding 70.
Mughrabi long has been glorified as one of the most important "martyrs" in Palestinian society. Official Fatah institutions, such as girls' schools and police training camps, bear her name. Songs and poems in her honor are routinely broadcast on Fatah television and radio.
Abbas' Fatah party this week initiated its first official congress since 1989.
Abbas opened the meeting by praising Palestinian "martyrs" and declaring...
"although peace is our choice, we reserve the right to resistance, legitimate under international law.""Resistance" is a term used by the Palestinians usually to refer to terrorism against Israeli civilians.
Contrary to popular perception, Abbas' Fatah party has never officially recognized Israel as a Jewish state or even as a country with the right to exist.
In 1994, the Palestine Liberation Organization, or PLO, signed what was known as the "recognition principals" in which it formally agreed to recognize Israel. Fatah is the largest faction of the PLO, and as such, is thought to be party to the recognition agreement.
Fatah as a party, however, never officially declared it recognized the Jewish state. The last time the Fatah party held its official congress – in which it amended its charter – was in 1989. At that time, Fatah declared jihad on Israel and called for the Jewish state's destruction.
PLO leader Yasser Arafat later made a statement to the French media in which he claimed the portion of Fatah's charter calling for the destruction of Israel was null and void, but the terms were never officially nullified. According to Fatah bylaws, the group's charter can be changed only by vote during an official Fatah congress session.
Israel had hoped this week's congress would moderate the party's objectives.
But senior Fatah sources speaking to WND said a list of resolutions to be voted upon includes text affirming as one of Fatah's main objectives the "resistance" and "armed struggle" against the Jewish state.
Last month, Qadura Fares, a PA minister and member of parliament, confirmed in a WND exclusive interview his Fatah party will vote on whether to incorporate "resistance" against Israel in its official charter.
"We have to decide about resistance. I think the Palestinian people, just as anyone in the world, have a right to resistance to defend our freedom," Fares said. "We won't [give up] the resistance and embark on a strategy of only negotiations with the Israelis."Abbas secured special permission from Israel to allow Fatah members to travel to Bethlehem to attend the conference from other West Bank towns and the Gaza Strip as well as from Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
According to a list obtained by WND, the Fatah delegates slated to attend the Bethlehem event include such notable jihad supporters as:
- Kamal Ranam, the chief of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorist group in Ramallah. Ranam is accused of personally carrying out recent shootings, attacks against Israeli forces operating in the Ramallah and a shooting attack in northern Samaria in December 2000 that killed the leader of the ultra-nationalist Kahane Chai organization, Benyamin Kahane. Ranam last year was granted amnesty by then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as part of a gesture to bolster Abbas.
- Jamal Abu Al-Rub, a leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades from the Samarian village of Qabatya, just outside Jenin. Al-Rub is commonly known on the Palestinian street by his nickname, Hitler, for his routine public executions of Palestinians his group has suspected of collaborating with Israel. Al-Rub is accused by the Jewish state of planning several terror attacks.
- Zacharia Zubeida, a former Al Aqsa Brigades terrorist leader from Jenin who was also pardoned by Olmert in 2007. Zubeida is accused of multiple terrorist attacks and for a time was one of Israel's most wanted terrorists.
- Abu Mahar Ranam, a Fatah central committee member who openly opposes peace talks with Israel.
- Sultan Abu al-Ainiin, Fatah's main representative in Lebanon. He is known for his excellent relations with the Hezbollah terrorist group.
"We have to check our political ideology. Many things happened in last 20 years since our last congress," he said. "We must renew and evaluate our internal laws, the structure of our movement and our messages for Palestinian unity. Lastly, we must elect a new leadership for Fatah institutions."
Related News
Official: banned Gaza Fatah congress members to vote by telephone - Xinhua Fatah party holds first internal vote in 20 years - AFP Fatah readying to elect new leadership - Top News India
