As Secretary of State John Kerry departed the region, a video has been released which sheds light on the Palestinian Authority’s true motive in demanding a peace agreement based on the 1967 borders: the eradication of the State of Israel in a step-by-step process.
In a Syrian satellite TV interview on December 23, 2013, Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki said that accepting a Palestinian state within those borders is merely the first step in achieving “the inspiring idea.”
As reported by Israel National News, the interview was translated and posted to YouTube by the Israeli Research Institute’s Palestinian Media Watch (PMW).
When the interviewer commented that a US-brokered solution may be “deficient” in terms of Palestinian demands, Zaki casually responded:
“You can relax. We find ourselves united for the first time. Even the most extreme among us, Hamas, or the fighting forces, want a state within the ’67 borders. Afterward, we [will] have something to say, because the inspiring idea cannot be achieved all at once, [rather] in stages.”
This is not the first time Zaki has publicly aired his hardline stance. In April 2013, interviewed on Al-Mayadeen TV, Zaki acknowledged that a two-state solution would ultimately see Israel’s collapse.
“If they get out of Jerusalem, what will become of all the talk about the Promised Land and the Chosen People? What will become of all the sacrifices they made – just to be told to leave?” Zaki said. “If the Jews leave those places, the Zionist idea will begin to collapse. It will regress of its own accord. Then we will move forward.”
While in this interview Zaki didn’t spell out what “moving forward” entailed, he was more forthcoming in an interview on Al-Jazeera back in September 2011.
“The [PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas] understands, we understand, and everyone knows that it is impossible to realize the inspiring idea, or the great goal in one stroke. If Israel withdraws from Jerusalem, if Israel uproots the settlements, 650,000 settlers, if Israel removes the [security] fence – what will be with Israel?”
Zaki closed his comments by saying, “This is not a [stated] policy. You can’t say it to the world. You can say it to yourself.”
Fatah, headed by PA head Abbas, is the party that dominates the Palestinian Authority and is widely considered to be a moderate faction.
Author: Rafi Karp, contributor for United with Israel
Date: Jan. 7, 2014