"Arafat and Abu Ala have abandoned not only me, but all Palestinians."

 

An Interview with Ahmed Saadat, Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine: 4 February 2004.

He has been in Jericho Prison, guarded by British and American officials, since 1 May 2002.  Israel accuses him of planning the murder of the Minister of Tourism, Rehavam Zeevi.  The Palestinian Supreme Court ordered his release, but the "rais" [i.e. Arafat] turned a deaf ear.

 

JERUSALEM. He is the conspicuous leader of the "Jericho Six”, who were swapped like small change on 1 May 2002 to end the Israeli military siege of Yaser Arafat in the Mukata in Ramallah. 

Accused by Israel of planning the murder of the Minister of Tourism, Rehavem Zeevi, on 17 October 2001, in response to the "targetted killing" of his predecessor as leader of the PFLP, Abu Ali Mustafa, Ahmed Saadat passes the time during his 50th year, as a prisoner “with no privileges” in Jericho Prison.

This interview, the second that  he has given to western media - and the first to a Spanish newspaper - during his imprisonment, has been compiled from several telephone conversations ("I’ll call you, you can’t call me"; "let’s get to the point, they let me speak for only a few minutes"), and from several questions and answers sent by e-mail.

Q:  Did you order the murder of the Israeli Minister of Tourism, Rehavam Zeevi?

A:  There is not a single piece of evidence linking me to the murder of that racist minister.  The Palestinian Supreme Court understood this in June 2002, when it ordered that I and one of my two current cellmates should be released.  The PNA and Yasir Arafat refused to comply with that judgement, and preferred to violate the Palestinian judicial system so as not to upset Israel and the United States.  I remain a prisoner, in fact, because Arafat is afraid of Israel’s threats.

Q:  Do you feel abandoned not only by Arafat, but also by the Government of Abu Ala?

A:  Arafat and Abu Ala have abandoned not only me, but all the Palestinians by accepting the political premises of the United States, which is very close to the Zionist programme and strategy, as a starting point and a mooring for our cause. My fate, our fate, is tied to negotiations with Israel.  Using the excuse that they are trying to protect us from Israel, the PNA is breaking its own laws and defying its own courts. Instead of protecting us, it is protecting itself.

Q:  Do you think that the Road Map can be carried out?

A:  The main purpose of the Road Map is to end the legitmate Palestinian resistance to tie the Palestinians into the so-called "War on Terror”. The Road Map is not a peace initiative, but a security plan. It was stillborn because of the 14 reservations that Sharon attached to it and Bush accepted, and in case that  was not enough, Israel began to construct the Apartheid Wall that that prevents any possibility of putting it into practice. The PFLP has always rejected because it ignores the heart of the conflict, which is the illegal Israeli occupation of the Palestinian nation.

Q:  Perhaps so, but after many years of armed conflict without results, perhaps there will be an opportunity for diplomacy….

A:  Neither I, nor my party, nor most of Palestinians wanted violence. But the Israeli occupation forces us to it.  I could give you numerous arguments on this subject, but I will emphasize just one:  our resistance is tied to the occupation. If the occupation were to end, and we were allowed to create a free, viable, just and democratic Palestinian state, the violence would end qutomatically.

Q:  As a result of the construction of the West Bank wall, Abu Ala and Arafat have spoken in the last few weeks about the binational state instead of the two state solution.  What do you think of this option?

A:  Abu Ala said this, but not Arafat. The fact is that the Apartheid Wall ends any possibility of establishing an independent Palestinian state. But I believe that this is nothing more than a political manoeuvre.  The PFLP favours the creation of an independent state in all Palestine. It would be a unified state that would reject any discrimination by religion, colour or nationality. The solution of two states coexisting peacefully and in security would not end the historical conflict between our nation and the Zionists of Palestine.

Q:  Are elections essential to resolve the internal Palestinian crisis?

A:  Of course, but several factors are necessary for holding elections. First, the withdrawal of the Israeli forces of occupation. The second, the Palestinian Government must be convinced of the necessity of holding free and independent elections with equal conditions for all the parties. We in the leftist oppositions think that the PNA and Fatah will not call elections for fear of losing their privileges. In the last government reshuffle, we missed an excellent opportunity to remove from power the politicians and corrupt ministers who defend their own interests and not those of the population which they claim to represent.

 

 

Interview with Diario Español ABC; translation and all errors therein, by Lawrence of Cyberia.

 

 

 

Interview with Diario Español ABC, translated from the web site of the DFLP.

 

Return to Ahmad Saadat biography.