by MEMRI
PLO Ambassador To Iran: We Will Liberate Palestine 'From The River To The Sea' – With Everything From Stabbing And Vehicular Attacks To Launching Rockets
A March 1, 2017 article in the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar about
PLO Ambassador to Iran Salah Al-Zawawi included excerpts of an
interview with him focusing on the PLO-Iran relationship. Al-Zawawi also
stressed in the interview that armed struggle using all means was a
legitimate path to liberating Palestine "from the river to the sea."
It
should be noted that on February 19, the Palestinian news agency Wafa
reported that "the ambassador of the state of Palestine in Iran, Salah
Al-Zawawi" would be part of the Palestinian delegation to the Sixth
International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada, held in
Tehran on February 21,[1] and that the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website also lists him as Palestine's ambassador to Iran.[2]
Following are excerpts from the article, including statements by Al-Zawawi:
Salah Al-Zawawi at the the Sixth International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada (image: Tasnim, Iran, February 21, 2017)
"In February 1981, the late [Palestinian
Authority (PA)] president Yasser Arafat appointed Salah Al-Zawawi as PLO
envoy to Tehran, after the late Hani Al-Hassan retired and left for
Beirut. Following the signing of the Oslo Accords between the PLO and
the Zionist enemy, Iran refused to recognize the PA that was born of
this agreement, and also rejected the replacement of Al-Zawawi and the
appointment of a new ambassador. Thus, Al-Zawawi remained in office, and
has spent the past 32 years of his life in Tehran.
"Al-Zawawi reminisced about the opening of
the [PLO] embassy [in Tehran], which was attended by Abu 'Ammar
[Arafat], [then-PLO ambassador to Tehran] Hani Al-Hassan, Ahmad Khomeini
[son of the leader of the Iranian revolution, Ruhollah Khomeini], and
former Iranian foreign minister Ebrahim Yazdi. During it, [he said], the
Palestinian flag was raised over the former Israeli Embassy building.
He expressed his pride in the fact that Arafat was the first official to
visit Tehran, and added: 'After the victory of the Imam Khomeini's
revolution, Arafat said: "Starting today, my front stretches from Tyre
to Khorasan..." [Al-Zawawi added:] 'Palestine-Iran relations run deeper
than any political differences the two sides face, and even after the
PLO's recognition of Israel, ties between the two revolutions remain...'
"Underlining the [PLO-Iran] relations that
have existed since time immemorial, Al-Zawawi said: 'Our relationship
with the Imam Khomeini began back when he was still in exile. The Imam's
revolution [i.e. Iran's Islamic Revolution] was based on two main
foundations: Islam, and Palestine [including Jerusalem, which is], the
first direction of prayer [for Muslims, and the location of] the
third-most important mosque [Al-Aqsa]. Once the Imam Khomeini's
revolution had triumphed, he said: Today Iran, and tomorrow Palestine,
and added: Without restoring Palestine, Iran's independence will remain
lacking as well.' Al-Zawawi added: 'The Imam [Khomeini] adopted our
[Palestinian] revolution when he was in the [Iraqi] city of Al-Najaf,
which is holy [to Shi'ites], and it was then also that he issued his
historic fatwa regarding the transfer of zakat [alms] and one-fifth [of a person's income] to the Palestinian fighters who risk their lives.'
"Al-Zawawi speaks lovingly of Khomeini,
saying: 'The Imam would see in his mind's eye the future of Palestine,
and he declared the last Friday of Ramadan to be International Qods
[Jerusalem] Day, [because] he could see what [ordinary] people do not
see.' [Al-Zawawi continues:] 'I look at the dark days we
live in now: the Zionist enemy is attempting to swallow up the West
Bank, annex Jerusalem, and see it as the capital of the Zionist entity.
This is in addition to [the Zionists] stepping up settlement
construction and allowing [themselves] to harm Al-Aqsa mosque.'
"The Palestinian ambassador likes
repeating the history of [Palestinian-Iranian] ties even prior to the
victory of the Islamic Revolution [in Iran]. He stresses that most
Iranian commanders were trained at Fatah camps in Lebanon, that some of
them died as martyrs fighting alongside Palestinian fighters and are
still on the list of Palestinian martyr families, and that [Fatah]
continues to pay allowances to their families in Iran.
"[Al-Zawawi continues:] 'The Iranian
ideological compass is linked to Palestine, so that wherever you go in
Iran, you will find a street or monument named for Palestine. In the
holiest site for [Shi'ite] Islam, that is, the seat of the [Eighth
Shi'ite] Imam Ali Al-Ridha in Mashhad, there is a large courtyard, the
Al-Quds Courtyard, that features a model of the Dome of the Rock, and
after every prayer the Iranians chant anti-U.S. and anti-Israel
slogans...'
"The Palestinian ambassador was careful to
mention anything [that the Palestinians have] in common with Iran,
saying: 'We are facing a U.S.-run Western plan, which will not end
except through combat and jihad, carried out by all means. The regime
here was established on the basis of Islam and the Shi'ite sect, and we
as a movement connect to it in the martyrdom aspects of Karbala and
Hussein. The Imam Hussein's rebellion is a fundamental matter in the
Shi'ite conscience, and the principle of the victory of the bloody sword
underlines that the few can also triumph [over the many], and that
those with few weapons can defeat those with an abundance of them...'
"[Al-Zawawi], one of the most veteran
Palestinian diplomats, does not deny [that there are Palestinian]
disagreements with Iran, but [explains that] 'every side has to
understand the other side's tendencies, and we must fight to liberate
Palestine. For our people in the 1948 territories [meaning Israeli
Arabs], a different kind of fighting is needed than the kind needed for
the people of the West Bank, and the West Bank requires a different kind
of fighting than Gaza. [Additionally,] there is the diplomatic
struggle.' He added: 'Certainly, everyone should fight in their own way,
from carrying out stabbing and vehicular attacks to launching rockets.
That is how we will liberate Palestine from the river to the sea... Some
[types of?] jihad aredictated by geography, and everyone should
contribute from where they are, using the means at their disposal and in
accordance with their various situations. All means of combat are
legitimate in order to realize Allah's promise for liberation: From [the
traditional dance] Dabke to armed struggle.'
"Providing a political analysis of what is
happening with the Palestinian cause today, Al-Zawawi said: 'We are not
facing an ordinary enemy, or a small-scale plan. Rather, we are
fighting the most dangerous international plan, especially after the
U.S. adopted the [idea the Palestinians must recognize Israel as] a
Jewish state. The U.S. transitioned from one phase to the next, fully
aware of what its next step will be, and we were deceived.' He added:
'The ethnic and sectarian conflicts taking place today – their purpose
is to take over and dismantle the region's resources and spark wars
among the Arabs in order to distance them from Palestine – [all this]
promotes the establishment of Greater Israel.'
"The Palestinian ambassador no longer
believes in the Oslo Accords. Moreover, he says: 'When the PLO signed
the agreement, a Palestinian state was supposed to be established in the
West Bank and Gaza in 1999, but it did not happen.' Eighteen years have
passed since then, and therefore Al-Zawawi determines that Israel and
the U.S. will not allow the establishment of a Palestinian state. He
said decisively: 'Oslo is bankrupt. U.S. President Donald Trump is the
Zionist face of this enterprise. Additionally, the futility of dialogue
with the enemy is now becoming clear.'
"For the Palestinian ambassador, the
internal [i.e. intra-Palestinian] division adds fuel to the fire: 'Can
you believe how divided we are and how we are unable to unite[?] I do
not accept any excuses whatsoever [for this] from the factions.' He
added: 'At this time, we have no choice but to unite because the enemy
is taking advantage of our division to Judaize Palestine, which is
slipping away before our very eyes.'
"As for the Sixth Conference to Support
the Palestinian Intifada, he believes that it expresses Iran's
commitment to the Palestinians: 'The belief of fellowship [between us
and the Iranians] is known to all. [The Iranians] are the bearers of the
black standard, who leave Khorasan for Jerusalem.' He added: 'If we see
the conference as a political and media phenomenon, then it has
achieved what it was expected to achieve under these harsh conditions,
when everyone seeks to eliminate the Palestinian cause. The conference
gave us a chance for dialogue amongst ourselves. Furthermore, it was
attended by heads of parliament from Arab countries and around the
world, who discussed the next phase of the Palestinian struggle.'"[3]
MEMRI
Source: https://www.memri.org/reports/plo-ambassador-iran-we-will-liberate-palestine-river-sea-%E2%80%93-everything-stabbing-and-vehicular
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