By ITAMAR MARCUS AND NAN JACQUES ZILBERDIK, PALESTINIAN MEDIA WATCH—
Even at the height of the peace negotiations with Israel, in December 2013, Fatah official Tawfiq Tirawi said that Palestinians were not committed to non-violence. Rather, he said that negotiations are just one option, and do not preclude use of the “rifle,” which the Palestinians have never abandoned.
Last week, Palestinian Media Watch reported that Tirawi had essentially proclaimed the end of the peace process, saying that “the two-state solution does not exist.” He further called for Israel’s destruction, asserting that “Palestine is Gaza… the West Bank… and Haifa, Jaffa, Acre,” meaning all of Israel is “Palestine.”
In his earlier statement, Tirawi made it clear that violence, killing and Martyrdom are the keys to Palestinian future success. “Not a centimeter of Jerusalem will be liberated unless every grain of Palestinian soil is soaked in the blood of its brave people,” Tirawi stated at an event marking World Teachers’ Day in December 2013. “Negotiations will not bring Jerusalem back to us,” he continued, explaining that Palestinians before “have conducted negotiations, while not laying down the rifle:”
“I say, from a position of responsibility, not a centimeter of Jerusalem will be liberated unless every grain of Palestinian soil is soaked in the blood of its brave people. For Jerusalem doesn’t need negotiations, because negotiations will not bring Jerusalem back to us. What will bring back Jerusalem are the struggle and the resolve… We have conducted negotiations, while not laying down the rifle. It may be resting but we will not neglect our principles. We will rest the fighter’s rest, but each period has its method of struggle.”