Fatah: We Never Relinquished the Right to Armed Struggle
By: C. Jacob and B. Chernitsky*
Palestinians| 545| September 3, 2009
| Introduction During and after Fatah's Sixth General Conference, senior Fatah officials and columnists repeatedly emphasized that Fatah had never relinquished the right to armed struggle.(1) The armed resistance was also a main theme in a series of pamphlets titled "Al-Mutamar 6" ("The Sixth Conference"), published just before the conference, and during its first three days, in the Palestinian Authority daily Al-Ayyam. These pamphlets, concerning the Fatah movement, its values, and its icons, glorified the armed struggle and the Fatah leaders who carried it out. Nabil Sha'th: Fatah's Political Plan Underlines Both Commitment to Peace and Adherence to Resistance, Armed Struggle Fatah Political Bureau Chairman Nabil Sha'th declared at the conference that even though Fatah was committed to peace and to the two-state solution, "[its] plan sets out the forms and methods of the struggle, and underlines the right of the Palestinian people to resistance and to armed struggle, as guaranteed by international law, and to diverse types of struggle as devised during the Intifada of the Stones [1987-1991], including methods of struggle such as those used in Bil'in and Ni'lin, as well as various types of political and diplomatic struggle and negotiations."(2) Fatah Central Committee Members: Fatah Never Relinquished the Armed Struggle 'Azzam Al-Ahmad, head of the Fatah faction in the Palestinian Legislative Council and member of the movement's central committee, declared: "Fatah's political plan is not new, because the movement still clings to the option of the two-state solution, and to the peace process. The movement never relinquished the option for struggle, not even for armed struggle, and this must be instilled in the consciousness of the Palestinian people; however, everything must be considered according to the existing circumstances. As long as there is hope for negotiation, we will give it a chance; however, if Israel continues to trample signed agreements underfoot, and to evade its obligations, we are entitled to use other means – and if we turn to struggle along the lines of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, it will be Israel's fault."(3) Fatah Spokesman: "The Only Way to End the Resistance is to End and Remove the Occupation" Fatah spokesman and Revolutionary Council member Fahmi Al-Za'arir said, "Resistance and struggle are legitimate means for any society under occupation. The only way to end the resistance is to end and remove the occupation. Fatah Revolutionary Council member 'Abd Al-Fatah Hamail declared, "The new movement leadership will act to implement the political plan prepared by the Fatah conference's political committee, [because this plan] stressed the principles of the movement and of the Palestinian people and their right to struggle and resistance in the forms approved by the international legitimacy, as well as the option of negotiations – which is not only Fatah's option, but the national option, provided that the negotiations do not continue without end, but are of limited duration."(6) Sixth Conference Members: Fatah Clings to Its Principle of Resistance The Palestinian weekly Al-Bayadir Al-Siyassi interviewed members of the Fatah Sixth General Conference; in the interviews, the interviewees stressed that the movement was clinging to its principles and to resistance by all means:(7) Palestinian Academic 'Issa Abu Zahira: It Is Unimaginable that Someone Who Struggled His Whole Life for Palestine and Its Independence... Would Give All This Up Political science lecturer 'Issa Abu Zahira wrote in the Al-Quds daily: "...What is the future direction of Fatah's political thought? Is it towards its essence – that is, the movement that struggled and bore arms for liberation – or is it towards political and diplomatic activity and negotiations, without resistance and struggle?... "1. The conference was held in Bethlehem, under an occupation that continues to act with coercion and tyranny – yet despite this, [the conference] stressed that the Palestinian people has the right to resist the occupation by all means, including armed struggle, in accordance with the principles of international law, which provides the right to resist occupation by all possible means, and first by armed struggle. "2. The conference members – whether from the younger generation, the interim generation, or the founders – are the ones who struggled; who were imprisoned, arrested, and exiled; who bore arms; who resisted the occupation; and who tasted bitterness for many difficult years. Therefore, it is unimaginable that someone who struggled his whole life for Palestine and its independence, for Jerusalem, for the right of return, and for other national aims would give all this up in the space of a few days in exchange for some post or other. "3. Fatah is not a private movement – that is, it does not belong only to Fatah members, but is the general property of the Palestinian people, and it is the one who defends the national enterprise. Therefore, its leadership knows that it is acting for the sake of the goals of the entire Palestinian people – not only for the good of the movement. And if, Heaven forbid, the movement makes a decision that harms the Palestinian people and its supreme interests, it would be a political mistake that would harm both [the movement] and the achievements of its national and historic struggle. In my opinion, this is not reasonable [that Fatah's leadership would do this]. "4. The people who won the elections, not mentioning any names, are the finest sons of the movement, and have an impressive record of resisting the occupation. [In addition], an interim generation has emerged, known for its persistence in defending the national legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. This is not sycophancy towards those who won; we know that those who did not win also struggled and suffered greatly from the occupation. "5. [4 in the original] Building the [Palestinian] institutions, and the continued building of the country, do not under any circumstances mean relinquishing the sacred rights of the Palestinian people. Further, building and liberation complement each other. Columnist Salah Subhiyya, who writes on Palestinian websites, wrote: "The conference was successful in discussing all the [Fatah] movement's issues, and in arriving at a political announcement that ratified 'the Palestinian people's right to resist occupation by all means, according to international law – including armed struggle.' The "Sixth Conference" Pamphlets: Glorification of Armed Struggle Alongside Commitment to Peace Process The armed struggle is a prominent theme in the "Sixth Conference" pamphlets, published July 30, 2009-August 6, 2009 in Al-Ayyam. This theme is expressed through images of Fatah leaders carrying weapons, articles about leaders who fought against Israel, slogans by Arafat and others, and various other texts. At the same time, the pamphlets stress that just as Fatah always led the armed struggle, it was also the first to pursue the political option. The following are examples: "O my homeland, my homeland, my homeland, homeland of my forefathers "O fidai, fidai,(14) O my people, my eternal people "With my determination, my fire, the volcano of my vengeance and the yearning in my blood for my land and my home, "I climbed mountains and waged my battle... "O my homeland, my homeland, my homeland, homeland of my forefathers "O fidai, fidai, O my people, my eternal people The political option is occasionally mentioned as a strategy complementing the armed struggle. For example, one section quotes Abu Jihad as asking, "Why don't we negotiate while we fight?"(16) Another text states: "The rifle and the olive branch – this was the slogan coined by the Al-Aqsa Brigades as a revolutionary [ideal] that accompanied the intifada of the glorious Palestinian people after [Ariel] Sharon's feet trampled [the sanctity of] the Al-Aqsa mosque in 2000. [This ideal was] a revolutionary reaction to the unacceptable proposal presented to Arafat at the second Camp David summit, a proposal that he rejected out of hand... because [nobody] may disdain the firm national principles of the Fatah movement, which were ratified by the PLO. This is what [Yasser] Arafat taught us as a living man and as a shahid, [bearing] the rifle and the [olive] branch..."(17) |
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