Suha Arafat in 2004. (Photo: Sharon Perry/Flash90)

The widow of arch-terrorist Arafat offered her insight into the current state of Palestinian Arab affairs. Her outlook in general is bleak and negative.

Suha Arafat, widow of Palestine Liberation Organization founder and arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat, believes that the Palestinian Arabs are on the path to self-destruction and that her husband would not have been happy to see them where they are today.

Speaking with the Italian daily La Repubblica on the 10th anniversary of her husband’s death, she stated:

“Armed struggle today will not lead to anything more. We will only end up being crushed. The forces are unequal. We have to continue negotiations proving, if anything, that it is Israel that does not want peace.”

Ten years after Arafat’s death and following decades of Jewish bloodshed, his widow still maintains that her husband was a peaceful man. “They said my husband was an obstacle to peace. We saw following his death what happened to peace,” she said.

Suha condemned Hamas for Islamicizing the Palestinian Authority.  “People used to go to the beach in Gaza. He [Arafat] never imagined that it could become an Islamic state,” she said.

Her forecast for the Palestinians is grim. “A generation is growing up in violence, with no education, with only the hope of emigrating. I hope that Hamas will finally understand this and work toward peace negotiations,” she said.

Hamas banned the observance of the anniversary of Yasser Arafat’s death in Gaza, which his widow found “unacceptable.”

Abbas and Hamas Cannot Help the Palestinians

Suha described Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas’s leadership as weak, but she was forgiving, saying: “He is a man of good will. It is not easy to take the place of Arafat. Anyone would feel inadequate.”

She lives a lavish life in Malta with her and her late husband’s only offspring, daughter Zahwa.  Suha had been accused by the Palestinians of embezzling funds belonging to the PA in order to support her life of luxury and is viewed by many as a traitor. She has also not set foot in PA territory since her husband’s death.

“I cannot imagine going to Palestine, especially to Gaza, as if I were a guest,” she stated.

Author: United with Israel Staff