Mahmoud Abbas vowed at Yasser Arafat’s former compound to continue his predecessor’s bloody path—and he used the language of blood and violence specifically.
During the memorial, held at Abbas’ Mukataa compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the Palestinian president said, “The path of the shahids – Arafat, George Habash (founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) and (assassinated Hamas spiritual leader) Sheikh Ahmed Yassin – is the path that we cherish; it is aimed at upholding the Palestinians’ nationalist and sovereign resolutions.”
All of the people that he quoted wanted to destroy Israel and replace the Jewish state with a Palestinian state—from the river to the sea, as they say. And there was this nod to Arafat’s hudna:
Speaking to thousands of supporters, Abbas said the Palestinians were determined to pursue the “peace of the brave that Arafat stood for.” Alluding to Hamas, Abbas added that “the Palestinian nationalist resolution will not be dictated by external elements.”
The “peace” that Arafat stood for was to declare in English that he wanted peace, while declaring in Arabic that he would not rest until all of “Palestine” was in Palestinian hands. The textbooks of the Palestinians are still missing Israel in their maps, and the Palestinian media still incites against the Jewish state.
But the world calls Abbas a “moderate.” I fail to see what is moderate about calling for martyrdom. But then, I actually read the words that Palestinian leaders say, and believe that when they are calling for the destruction of Israel, it isn’t just flowery rhetoric.