What are the goals of the Palestinian Authority? And what about Hamas, what are their goals? These two transcripts of a recent interview of a PA official and a sermon by a Hamas cleric are chilling reminders of their ultimate goals.
First, this excerpt from an interview with a PA official translated by MEMRI, the Middle East Media Research Institute:
Memri Transcript:
Palestinian Authority representative in Lebanon Abbas Zaki gave an interview to NBN TV on April 9, 2008. Zaki, aka Sharif Mash'al, is a former Palestinian Legislative Council member for Hebron, former Fatah operations head, and current PLO Central Council member. He headed the PLO Lebanon Committee and the Palestine National Liberation Army's political commissariat, and was an opponent of the Oslo Accords.
The following are excerpts from the interview. To view this clip, visit: http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1738.htm.
Abbas Zaki: "We believe wholeheartedly that the Right of Return is guaranteed by our will, by our weapons, and by our faith."
Interviewer: "Do you still believe in weapons, not just in negotiations?"
Abbas Zaki: "The use of weapons alone will not bring results, and the use of politics without weapons will not bring results. We act on the basis of our extensive experience. We analyze our situation carefully. We know what climate leads to victory and what climate leads to suicide. We talk politics, but our principles are clear. It was our pioneering leader, Yasser Arafat, who persevered with this revolution, when empires collapsed. Our armed struggle has been going on for 43 years, and the political struggle, on all levels, has been going on for 50 years. We harvest U.N. resolutions, and we shame the world so that it doesn't gang up on us, because the world is led by people who have given their brains a vacation - the American administration and the neocons."
Young Palestinian: "As I recall, the invasion of 1982 and the destruction of South Lebanon was not just in response to missile attacks, but in response to operations as well. Israel does not use only the missiles as a pretext. It uses any activity of the resistance as a pretext."
Abbas Zaki: "The important thing is that in any operation, Israel will pay a price. We don't want cases in which you don't kill even a chicken, but Israel kills 20 of you. I salute any operation that makes Israel pay a heavy price."
"The PLO is the sole legitimate representative , and it has not changed its platform even one iota. In light of the weakness of the Arab nation and the lack of values, and in light of the American control over the world, the PLO proceeds through phases, without changing its strategy. Let me tell you, when the ideology of Israel collapses, and we take, at least, Jerusalem, the Israeli ideology will collapse in its entirety, and we will begin to progress with our own ideology, Allah willing, and drive them out of all of Palestine."
Here is the sermon by a Hamas cleric, again translated by MEMRI.
Memri Transcript:
In a Friday sermon that aired on Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV on April 11, 2008, Yunis Al-Astal, Hamas MP and cleric, told worshipers that Rome, "the capital of the Catholics, or the Crusader capital," would soon be conquered by Islam, just as Constantinople was. It then, he said, would become "an advanced post for the Islamic conquests, which will spread through Europe in its entirety, and then will turn to the two Americas, and even Eastern Europe."
The following are excerpts from Al-Astal's sermon: To view this clip, visit: http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1739.htm.
To view Al-Aqsa's MEMRI TV page, visit: http://www.memritv.org/content/en/tv_channel_indiv.htm?id=175.
Yunis Al-Astal: "Allah has chosen you for Himself and for His religion, so that you will serve as the engine pulling this nation to the phase of succession, security, and consolidation of power, and even to conquests thorough da'wa and military conquests of the capitals of the entire world.
"Very soon, Allah willing, Rome will be conquered, just like Constantinople was, as was prophesized by our Prophet Muhammad.
"Today, Rome is the capital of the Catholics, or the Crusader capital, which has declared its hostility to Islam, and has planted the brothers of apes and pigs in Palestine in order to prevent the reawakening of Islam. This capital of theirs will be an advanced post for the Islamic conquests, which will spread through Europe in its entirety, and then will turn to the two Americas, and even Eastern Europe.
"I believe that our children, or our grandchildren, will inherit our jihad and our sacrifices, and, Allah willing, the commanders of the conquest will come from among them. http://www.memritv.org/subject/en/95.htm