Protest Clinton whitewash of Fatah

November 4, 10:01 PMNY Israel Conflict ExaminerRichard Shulman

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A.P. photo/ Irfan Mahmood

(1) The recent Fatah Conference and its key leaders rejected final peace with Israel, upheld terrorism, praised terrorists, and allied itself to Iran; (2) Sen. Spector therefore urged Sec. of State Clinton to withhold Fatah funds; (3) Clinton whitewashed Fatah; and (4) The Zionist Organization of America contested her defense of those anti-American terrorists.   

Previously, Sen. Spector had written to Clinton of his concern at the U.S. financing the Fatah regime, whose Conference featured “posters of children brandishing weapons.”  “…senior Fatah officials routinely referenced and glorified perpetrators of terrorism.”  Speakers “continuously championed the notion that Palestinians maintain the right to commit violence against Israel …”
 
“In fact, as the ZOA documented at the time, the August 2009 Fatah Conference reaffirmed Fatah’s refusal to accept Israel’s existence as a Jewish state, glorified terrorists living and dead by name, praised the ‘armed struggle,’ insisted on the so-called ‘right of return,’ [designed to destroy Israel] and rejected an end of claims in any future peace agreement with Israel.”

Although the U.S. and major media label Fatah “moderate,” former PA PM Ahmed Qureia praised suicide bombers who killed dozens.   Other “Fatah officials urged the continuation of armed resistance and asserted that Fatah would not recognize the State of Israel.”  Among them were Abbas, Fatah Executive Committee head Marwan Barghouti, Fahmi Al-Za’arir, senior Fatah official Jibril Rajoub, and Husam Khader.

ZOA states that Clinton’s response to Specter mistakenly characterized the Conference as having showed ‘a broad consensus supporting President Abbas, negotiations with Israel, and the two-state solution.’  “…she whitewashed the anti-peace, pro-terror, anti-Israel themes of this Conference by inaccurately stating that, “At the Congress, President Mahmoud Abbas and the Fatah leadership reaffirmed Fatah's strategic choice to support a peaceful resolution of the conflict and respect for the Quartet principles, including previous commitments of the PLO. 

[The Conference did support Abbas, as Clinton states, but he shared the Conference’s pro-terrorism.  She is relying on his false label of “moderate” to suggest that its support of him is to their credit.] 

In its own letter to Clinton, ZOA maintains, “These are not merely the unrepresentative views of ‘some individual Fatah delegates’ as you maintain in your letter to Senator Specter – they are unequivocal statements of support for terrorism by well-known, senior leaders of Fatah from Mahmoud Abbas down. Nor can it be said, as you contend in your letter, that these statements do not reflect the platform of the Fatah Conference.  On the contrary, the Fatah platform calls for increased international pressure on Israel, opposes any normalization of relations between Israel and Arab states and refuses to declare that Fatah has no further demands from Israel beyond a peace settlement.  The platform also calls for a ‘strategic channel with Iran to be opened’ – at a time Iran is defying the world by seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.  These facts are a matter of public record.”

Abbas did denounce terrorism.  He reiterated the Arab position, however, that Arab attacks on Israeli civilians are not terrorism.  Therefore, his endorsement agreements against terrorism, that the Palestinian Authority has not honored since they were signed 16 years ago, are not credible.

Reminding Clinton of her former position, ZOA added, “As Senator, you distinguished yourself by pointing to the poisonous and vile incitement to hatred and murder that permeates the Palestinian Authority.  You even said that such incitement would have ‘dire consequences for peace for generations to come’ and that ‘It is clear that the Palestinian Authority, as we see on PA TV, is complicit’ in terrorist attacks and that we should condition U.S. aid to the PA on a ‘cessation of Palestinian propaganda and hateful rhetoric.’  Such rhetoric cannot be dismissed as it glorifies murderers and incites others to emulate their example.”  The Fatah conference reveals the real challenge to peace  (11/3 press release by the New York-based ZOA, of which I am a member).   

Although the conference contradicts the Fatah label of “moderate,” it is on the basis of that label that Israel is urged to make concessions and try to negotiate a lasting peace.  Genuine moderates would denounce and dismantle terrorism. 

Sen. Clinton’s unexplained turnabout on terrorism is disturbing.  It makes the tenure of Pres. Obama even more disturbing.

To see what Fatah thinks of Clinton, click here