Israeli Concessions at Oslo Led to the Intifada
MEMRI-TV is hosting a clip of an excerpt from a 4 July 2006 interview on Iranian television in which Ziyad Abu 'Ein, member of the Fatah Central Committee, had this to say about the Oslo Accords. (Bolding mine)
The Oslo Accords were not what the Palestinian people dreamt of. The dream of the Palestinian people is the return, self-determination, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, and the liberation of its land. However, there would have been no resistance in Palestine if not for Oslo. It was Oslo that strongly embraced the Palestinian resistance. All the occupied territories - and I was one of the activists in the first and second Intifadas, and I was arrested by Israel several times... If not for Oslo, there would have been no resistance. Throughout the occupied territories, we could not move a single pistol from one place to another. If not for Oslo, the weapons we got through Oslo, and if not for the "A" areas of the Palestinian Authority, if not for the training, the camps, the protection provided by Oslo, and if not for the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners through Oslo - this Palestinian resistance could not have carried out this great Palestinian Intifada, with which we confronted the Israeli occupation.
Can the reality of the situation be stated more clearly? Fatah wants Israel gone. They’ll accept lesser deals along the way, but will use them to move their plans along so that in the end they can destroy Israel. If I am an Israeli and I read these statements, why in the world would I negotiate or compromise with any such groups?
