5 February 2000

Statement on the recent meeting between Barak and Arafat
and on the resolution of the Central Council on
the declaration of a state next September

The latest meeting between the chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Yasir Arafat, and the Prime Minister of the Zionist entity, Ehud Barak, that Took place last Thursday confirms once again the pointlessness of the negotiations on what is called the Palestinian track, and shows up the weakness afflicting the Palestinian negotiators.

Once again Barak is imposing his conditions and dictates on the Palestinian Authority.  Barak has decreed redeployment of occupation troops from an area of 6.1% of the West Bank, an area that he has delineated unilaterally. He has refused to include the suburbs of al-Ayzariyah and Abu Dis, near Jerusalem, in the redeployment area. These are the regions that the Palestinian Authority has demanded so that it can declare them a capital of an imaginary Palestinian state, in return for the PA's submission to abandon Jerusalem to remain under Zionist sovereignty, and a capital of the occupation state.

The Palestinian Authority has rejected the maps of areas of redeployment drawn up by the Zionists.  It has become customary, however, for the PA to eventually accept the things that it has been rejecting. Its initial rejection and display of firmness are always followed by a breakdown and submission to what the Zionist enemy dictates.  This is precisely what happened with the last redeployment that included 5% of the West Bank - an arrangement that was at first rejected, but later, it was accepted.

We have said repeatedly that the Palestinian Authority goes to the negotiations psychologically defeated and feeble, with no source of strength and unable to apply pressure after having given up its sources of strength and isolated itself from our people. It has lorded it over their heads, resorted to all sorts of repression, deprived them of their freedoms and rights, tracked down those who carry on the struggle, opened the prisons and detention centres to honourable citizens and members of the opposition, and shredded national unity. For that reason our people pin none of their hopes upon this Authority. They  also expect nothing from such an Authority but more squandering of their rights and the holy places.

The resolution of the PLO's Central Council, issued at its latest meeting a few days ago, came in line with the Authority's approach.  Declaring a state has become a tactical matter for the Authority.  Many times it has hinted that it was planning such an announcement, only to submit in the end and accept the Zionist and American orders and conditions. The United States and the Zionists want to see the declaration of a Palestinian state postponed until after the conclusion of the final status talks.  That way the declaration of a state would come as a cheap reward for liquidating the Palestinian cause and all critical issues, in exchange for a state in name only that conforms to Zionist conditions, that has been stripped of sovereignty, will, and honour.

Such a freakish state has been and always will be acceptable to the Zionist leaders because they consider it to be entirely in the interest of their usurping entity.  What our people want is not a declaration of just any kind of state.  They want to build a real state that enjoys the basic components of a state on the ground, that exercises its own sovereignty and will on the liberated Palestinian land.

Our people and our nation know that our rights and our land cannot be regained  by begging the Zionist enemy.  They can only be seized back from that enemy through the steadfastness of our people, through the escalation of their heroic resistance, and through the solidarity of the Arab and Islamic peoples with them, supporting their steadfastness and struggle.  The defeat of the enemy forces and puppet militias allied with them in south Lebanon confirms that only resistance can compel this enemy to submit.

Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas - Palestine