JAILED Palestinian Leader Marwan al-Barghouthi believes much must be carried out in 2013, starting with national reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, the liberation of prisoners, and that it is the year for comprehensive elections and ending coexistence with the occupation.
Marwan al-Barghouthi’s office released a comprehensive interview on the 48th anniversary of the revolution and of Fatah Movement in which he spoke about the need to end the occupation with all available means.
He rejected the dissolution of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and called for specifying its duties in a manner that serves independence and for a Palestinian spring by having the Palestinian masses take to the streets to impose reconciliation.
Barghuthi paid tribute to ‘the martyrs of our great people, foremost immortal founder leader Yasser Arafat, the amir of martyrs leader Abu-Jihad, Struggler Leader Ahmad Yasin, Leader Abu-Ali Mustafa, and Leader Fathi al-Shaqaqi, Leader Thabit al-Thabit and all the leaders, cadres, and strugglers who were martyred on the road to freedom, the right of return, and independence.’
He added: ‘We renew the pledge to maintain the banner of resistance fluttering high with our eyes set on our people’s constants.
‘We also pay tribute to the first popular Intifadah that took place 25 years ago and the Al-Aqsa Intifadah that took place 12 years ago and greet the wounded and the comrade prisoners, the knights of the Intifadah and the heroes of the resistance, and the struggler prisoners in the occupation jails who abide by their principles and constants.
‘We also address loyal greetings to our great people wherever they may be on the revolution anniversary under the Fatah Movement and renew the pledge and the oath to keep Fatah loyal to its principles and its constants, chiefly the sacred right of return of the Palestinian refugees to their land from which they were expelled as a result of the Zionist terrorism.’
He said that the Fatah Movement ‘must mobilize all the resources, capabilities, and efforts’ to end the occupation.
He called for an end to the ‘division and the fragmentation that has harmed our people and their just struggle by expediting the implementation of the agreements that were signed, starting with the prisoners’ document, the national accord and the Doha documents and all the agreements that were signed in between; forming a single national unity government; unifying all the institutions; preparing for holding legislative, presidential, and Palestine National Council (PNC) elections, especially since elections should have been held many years ago for the leadership institutions have become weak and fragile.’
He warned: ‘Evading the duty of ending the division is no longer acceptable or justified and history, the people, the martyrs, or the prisoners will not forgive any party, leader, or official that hampers the national reconciliation.’
Barghouthi continued: ‘The third challenge is to face the failure of the negotiations option with courage and wisdom and activate the resistance option.
‘We have been cautioning over the past years against relying on the crutch of the futile negotiations and on the mirage of the negotiations or the diplomatic contacts with this or that party.
‘We have asserted the need to pair wisely, courageously, and intelligently between resistance and political and diplomatic action.
‘Events and developments have proved that negotiations will not be useful but will severely harm the Palestinian national interests and that Israel will use these negotiations as a cover for the settlement activities, the siege, the aggression, and the arrests.
‘The time has come to insist on an explicit and final stand stating that the negotiations will not be held before Israel officially and explicitly announces that it accepts to withdraw to the 1967 borders, suspend settlement activities completely, recognise the fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, recognise international resolution No.194 on the Palestinian refugees, release all the prisoners before holding any negotiations, and accepts to hold these negotiations under the UN sponsorship.’
The Fatah leader stressed: ‘It is shameful, regrettable, and even disgraceful for national unity and reconciliation to turn into an issue that suffers different interpretations.
‘If 45 years of occupation, 65 years after the Al-Nakbah, the war of judaisation against Jerusalem, and the aggression, arrests, roadblocks, settlements, and the siege do not call for national unity or reconciliation then what does?
‘I call on our Palestinian people and on the Palestinian youths from all walks of life and from the younger generation to take the initiative and impose unity by taking to the streets in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Diaspora and stage sit-ins before the premises of the factions and leaders until the division is ended.’
He warned: ‘History will not show any mercy to the leaders who tamper with the fate of the Palestinian people’s cause.
‘If the reconciliation is not attained in the foreseeable future, the prisoners who are currently holding an extensive dialogue will take decisive steps, foremost staging an open end hunger strike to attain national reconciliation and unity.’
Barghouthi stressed: ‘We must not wait for Egypt or anyone else and we must not wait for an invitation from here or there.
‘We must conclude reconciliation immediately and without any procrastination. I am confident that Egypt will exert genuine efforts in the immediate future and I call on President Mursi to sponsor the reconciliation and help attain and implement it.
‘I believe this is in the interest of the brothers in Egypt. I also call on all the Arab brothers, specifically the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to exert the necessary efforts to complete the reconciliation.’
Commentng on the recent war on Gaza, he said: ‘First of all, I would like to pay tribute to our great, patient, and steadfast people in Gaza and to express appreciation for the martyrs and wounded of our people.
‘I would like to say that our hearts and thoughts were with our people in Gaza who offered a splendid model of steadfastness and heroic resistance.
‘This war of aggression utterly failed and did not produce any results. It is a terrorist war motivated by electoral considerations.
‘But the great steadfastness of our people and the resistance failed this war and the magic wand turned against the magician. Needless to say, Gaza has scored a very important victory for the entire Palestinian people and Israel once again proved its failure in spite of two thousands raids on the small and besieged Gaza Strip.
‘Israel will not win any war and has not won any war since 1973. The era of the Israeli lightning wars is over and what we need is to have the Arab and Muslim brothers enhance the power and strength of the Palestinian people to make them capable of defending themselves and confronting the occupation and the aggression. The political and spiritual unity of the Palestinians worldwide was one of the achievements of this victory in the war.’
He went on to say: ‘The vote at the United Nations was a collective condemnation of the Zionist occupation. It enhanced the isolation of the occupation government and state.
‘Winning the status of an observer state or that of a non member state is a step forward but its impact depends on being part of a new Palestinian strategy that we have been calling for over the years.
‘We now need to wage the battle on the ground to end the occupation and substantiate the state on the ground for the state actually gets established on the ground with the arms of the Palestinians, their resolve, struggle, resistance, and sacrifices and not in New York only though the voting that took place is important and we must immediately seek membership in all the UN agencies and institutions and call for imposing sanctions and boycott measures on Israel. We must impose a comprehensive boycott on the Israeli goods and encourage Palestinian national products.’
He went on to say: ‘Arrests take place every night, the occupation moves freely in all parts of the Palestinian territories, and the settlement expansion has reached an outrageous stage, not to mention the judaization of Jerusalem.
‘Therefore, the leadership must make courageous and firm decisions to act in a decisive manner next year and turn it into a year for the actual establishment of the state on the ground by ending the occupation. National efforts should focus on this sacred mission of our people.’
Warning against relying on negotiations he said: ‘It is very unfortunate that Israel does not sense there is need for peace for its security is protected for free and it does not have to pay any political price.
‘Why should Israel seek peace so long as it continues to judaisze Jerusalem and carries out settlement activities? Israel will think of peace only if it does not have security.
‘Wagering on the elections and the resumption of peace is a losing, misleading, and tragic wager for the negotiations completely failed and reaped only illusions and mirage and more settlements and judaisation. The forthcoming government will be worse and more extremist than the present one.’
On the Gaza ceasefire, Barghouthi further warned: ‘Israel failed in its aggression and it is ready to launch a new one at the time it believes is suitable. Therefore, Gaza must prepare itself, remain on a maximum state of alert and preparedness, and enhance its resources and capabilities.
‘Since Gaza is part of the Palestinian territories, I do not believe it will hold a calm agreement of its own in isolation of what is taking place in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
‘Gaza is an integral part of the battle to liberate the West Bank and Jerusalem. From this premise, the confrontation is expected to take place at any time if the occupation of all the Palestinian territories is not terminated. Gaza’s steadfastness and resistance supports the resistance of our people in the West Bank and Jerusalem.’
Barghouthi concluded: ‘I am confident that next year will be the year for national unity and reconciliation, a year for liberating the prisoners, a year for the comprehensive elections and for ending the false coexistence with the occupation.
‘I would like to tell our people on this occasion that we renew the pledge and the oath to abide by our people’s national constants and to remain loyal to martyrs Yasser Arafat, Ahmad Yasin, Abu-Ali Mustafa, Al-Shaqaqi, Thabit Thabit and to all the martyrs.
‘I would like to tell our people and our youths that the time has come to start working and release our capabilities, particularly the students to confront the occupation – for the state, freedom, the right of return, sovereignty and independence are born from the midst of the broad resistance and not from the futile negotiations.’
