MEMRI August 27, 2014
Special Dispatch No.5828
http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/8128.htm

Marwan Barghouti In Message From Israeli Jail: The Time Has Arrived For
Fatah Members To Take Part In Comprehensive Resistance Against Israel

Against the backdrop of the fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Fatah
Central Committee member Marwan Barghouti issued a message from the Israeli
prison where he is incarcerated for directing multiple terror attacks in
which many Israeli civilians were killed and wounded.

In his message, published in full by the Gazan internet daily
Alwatanvoice.com on August 20, 2014, Barghouti urged Fatah, which he called
the leader of the "Palestinian revolution," to adhere to the path of
resistance in all its forms, both non-violent and violent; this, in order to
end the occupation and siege, and in order to leverage the ongoing
Palestinian national struggle and the attainment of independence, even at
the cost of martyrdom or imprisonment.
Criticizing the policy of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Fatah vis-à-vis
Israel, Barghouti claimed that the PA's negotiations with Israel in recent
years have proven ineffective in obtaining Palestinian rights, which include
establishing an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital and the
refugees' return to their homes. He also called for holding Legislative
Council and presidential elections with the agreement of all Palestinian
factions, and for establishing a new political regime that would replace the
current one, which, he said, has turned out to be impotent. Barghouti also
urged Fatah to refresh its leadership, its organizational framework and its
ideology.

The following are excerpts from his message: [1]

Fatah, Which Had The Honor Of Firing The First Bullet Against The Zionist
Enemy, Will Also Fire The Last

"Brothers and sisters, valiant sons of the Fatah movement, greetings to
Palestine, greetings to proud Fatah, greetings to the revolution and the
intifada, greetings to the resistance, greetings to the steadfast stance, to
the power of resistance and victory, and to freedom and dignity.

"Allow me to address you from the depths of my heart... in order to
strengthen you, congratulate you and renew the commitment and vow that the
banners of Palestine, Fatah and the resistance will continue to fly until
our great people actualizes its right to liberty, the [Right of] Return and
independence.

"This is a vow [to realize] freedom – for the free; [to continue] the
struggle – for the fighters; to keep [the promises] for those who carry them
out. This is a vow to the Fatah members and to all Palestinians, Arabs, free
men, and friends around the world. This is a vow to continue our struggle
and [to continue] in the path of our triumphant struggle. This path, paved
by the pioneering Fatah in January 1965, is [like] a torch that will
continue to burn and to blaze with the blood of the fighters and with the
suffering of the Palestinians, until our legitimate national rights are
restored...

Marwan Barghouti (image: Aljazeera.com)
"In a few more months, our pioneering movement [Fatah] will celebrate the
jubilee year of its glorious founding. It was [Fatah] that kindled the
Palestinian revolution of our time, and it was [Fatah] that had the honor of
firing [the revolution's] first bullet and of leading the revolution, the
PLO, and the two glorious intifadas. In recent decades, it has served as the
Arab region's greatest school for struggle and resistance in all their
forms. And just as it had the honor to fire the first bullet against the
Zionist enemy, so the hands of the Fatah members – along with all the
Palestinians – will fire the final bullet against this occupation, which is
the most prolonged, evil and criminal [occupation] in modern human history.

"Brothers and sisters, you are part of a mighty movement that has sacrificed
rivers of blood, a great number of martyrs and prisoners, and tens of
thousands of wounded. You are part of the authentic Palestinian national
movement, which is an inseparable part of the glorious Arab ummah, as well
as a fundamental part of [all] humanity..."

Fatah Must "Pay The Price Of Leading [The Palestinians] In Blood, Suffering,
Pain, Martyrdom, And Imprisonment"

"Fatah is the movement of the Palestinian people, and its destiny is to lead
the Palestinian people. For this reason, it has many obligations – first and
foremost, to pay the price of leading [the Palestinian people] in blood,
suffering, pain, martyrdom, and imprisonment. The movement must face these
great challenges, and must pioneer and lead as it always has. The first
challenge is that of ending the occupation and the settlements; obtaining
freedom, the [right of] return, and independence; and establishing an
independent and fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its
capital – in addition to realizing the refugees' sacred right to return to
their homes and [obtaining] the release of all our prisoners [from Israeli
prisons]. This is a sacred mission and our movement and fighters must devote
themselves to it. It is necessary to mobilize all resources – financial and
human – to realize this sacred mission, while remaining loyal to our
movement's principles, its plans, our martyrs, and the sacrifices we and our
people have made for the sake of future generations. Loyalty [to all these]
will be obtained by adhering to the option of comprehensive resistance
without rejecting any of its manners or forms. Nevertheless, logic,
experience, and [the Palestinian] interest dictate choosing the appropriate
form [of resistance] for each and every stage in order to attain the
expected objectives...

"We confront a cowardly occupier and foe, who does not desire peace but
rather land, security, settlements and occupation [along with] peace. Such a
peace will transform the Palestinians into slaves of the occupation by means
of a virtual [Palestinian] authority and entity, while it [the occupation]
continues to ignore our people's rights and to completely reject
international decisions. This occupation will never go away and will never
grant us our national rights until [occupation] becomes a losing enterprise
and very costly in financial, economic, diplomatic, security, military,
media and moral terms, and when it becomes an unsustainable burden for the
occupation state. This will happen thanks to our people's steadfast stance
and sacrifices...
"The world acts firmly and effectively only when fires are burning, and the
occupation will go away only when it realizes that it is paying too high a
price and that it has no future. This occupation is invalid, and it benefits
from the absence of any effective resistance against it, particularly in the
past decade. It [also] benefits from the [intra-Palestinian] schism, and
from the weakness and impotence of the entire Palestinian political
apparatus."
The Gaza War "Has Proven That The Option Of Resistance Is Proper And
Appropriate"

"This was the backdrop of the new campaign of honor that our people and its
resistance factions entered into in the Gaza Strip with the aim of exposing
the enemy's fragility and the helplessness of its military equipped with all
types of advanced weapons and technology. This military stood helpless and
failing in the face of the steadfastness and the resistance, which showed
leadership and professionalism that frightened the Zionist army and made it
stumble and fail in its aggression and in its attainment of its goals. This
campaign has proven that the option of resistance is proper and appropriate.
We have always emphasized, and have repeatedly called for, a creative
combination of political diplomatic action and general resistance with all
its capabilities...

"The time has come for Fatah members to roll up their sleeves and take part
in the biggest [ever] comprehensive resistance, with the appropriate methods
and tactics, to realize the goal. Likewise, we must benefit from the
wide-scale battle [now underway] in Gaza by insisting on Gaza's freedom in
sea, air, and land – in order to end the occupation and the siege, and so
that this battle will leverage our ongoing national struggle, the unity of
the homeland, and the achievement of independence...

"The National Accord Government must be strengthened and provided with new
powers, and helped to transfer its activity to Gaza, where it will be based
for the next few months so it can lead the effort to unify the [political]
institutions and rebuild [Gaza]. Likewise, it is necessary to activate the
PLO leadership framework, with the participation of all factions and
officials, to prepare for holding elections to the Legislative [Council],
presidency, and the [Palestinian] National Council, so as to establish a new
Palestinian regime capable of confronting the major challenges now that the
impotence and weakness of the current Palestinian regime has become
obvious...

"I turn to the Shabiba [Fatah Youth] everywhere and say that they are the
conscience and vitality of the movement. They are Fatah's renewing spring
and are at the forefront of the movement in conflict, on the battlefield,
and everywhere. They are capable of spearheading Fatah's [efforts] to
operate an active, calculated, comprehensive popular resistance movement –
the greatest [in history] – and in leading the biggest [ever] campaign of
boycotting Israeli goods and products..."

The Time Has Come To Discard "The Illusion Of Achieving Independence And
Freedom With Futile Negotiations"

"Fatah is a national liberation movement and resistance movement; resistance
is its spirit and raison d'être, and that any attempt to distance the
movement from this fundamental essence will avail nobody...

"Fatah's basic [demand] has never been a Palestinian Authority devoid of
sovereignty. It was, and will continue to be, [based on the concept that]
this is our state and this is our land, and that we have a historic,
national, pan-Arab, human, religious and legal right to it. Our cause is the
most just cause in the universe. The Zionist occupation is destined to
perish, whether this happens sooner or later... Its fate will be no better
than the fate of imperialism, fascism and dictatorship. Our mighty people
will pitch it into the dustbin of history...

"The time has come for Fatah to prepare for a new phase – a phase of growth,
and a phase of an end to the illusion of achieving independence and freedom
with futile negotiations. The failure of these negotiations became evident
when they became a fig leaf for the settlements, for Judaization, and for
consolidating the occupation. It is time to reexamine the tasks of the
[Palestinian] Authority, [with the aim of ensuring] that they serve the
system of steadfastness and resistance – for our people wants the Authority
to be a bridge to independence and a state, not to stronger settlements and
a stronger occupation."

"The time has come for the Fatah movement to renew its ideology, its
frameworks, its institutions and its platform. [The time has come for it] to
make use of brains, of people with willpower and abilities and of a talented
leadership that is ready for sacrifice. Fatah will continue to be, as it
was, the torch-[bearer] of struggle and resistance; the national patron and
keeper of the dream that will lead our people to liberty, return and
independence, [in the framework of] a comprehensive [and] genuine national
unity that is a [necessary condition] for victory."

Endnote:


[1] Alwatanvoice.com, August 20, 2014.