[(Continued from p.5)]
rorism. By then we will bring a comprehensive peace to the Middle East. By then we will establish a just society, with a national income greater than that of England, and greater than that of France. You know that everything that we say we will do, we will do." In 1993 in the Knesset he said: "We are approaching the stage at which it will become clear that terror has no future and is fated to die." Of course, in those days the Twin Towers were still standing.And again, with hardened impudence, he said this year, in September: "Yesterday the countdown for the end of terrorism began." After this, the pamphlet presents Peres floundering in the twilight world of clownishness and dementia. A reader enters a stage of astonishment, frustration, and inability to absorb what he reads. For example, when asked on Israel Radio how he reacts to the joyous demonstrations of the Palestinians after the Twin Towers disaster, what does he answer? He echoes the words of Jesus on the cross: "They don't understand what they're doing." Did Peres also intend to convey the meaning of that statement: "Forgive them God, for they know not what they do"? He is informed that Arafat lies and you cannot rest the future of the nation on his promises. Peres responds: "Arafat is no doubt not a Swiss clock, for which you get a three year guarantee upon purchase." Oh well, in the asylum's locked ward you expect such answers.
In Los Angeles, Peres said: "We cannot judge the PLO and its leader just by what he is saying." So how else? By what they do? By terror? By what they intend to do? When Peres was asked about Arafat's call for jihad and his praise for the exploding shahids [suicide bombers], he answered: "What counts is not the intentions of the Palestinians." At that stage, the journalist could not believe what he was hearing and pressed - him: "Are you saying that it makes no difference whether Arafat genuinely wants peace or just wants to get as much as he can?" To which Peres replied (in 1995): "Yes, I do believe it is irrelevant." Had Chamberlain said this--the intentions of Hitler are not relevant--how many days would the British have kept him in the Prime Minister's office?
[TV talk show host] Arieh Golan confronted Peres with what Arafat said about implementing UN Resolutions 181 and 194, in other words the partition plan of 1947 (according to which Israel would consist of three small islands), and the return of the refugees. Peres replied: "So Arafat exaggerates." This boggles the mind. Imagine if someone said, "Hitler wants to destroy all the Jews," and you received the answer "So what? Hitler exaggerates." Peres was told that Deputy Chief of Staff Moshe Ayalon had related how Arafat lied to his face and Peres replied: "I don't know one person in the Middle East who speaks nothing but the truth. So what do you suggest that we do? Take a vacation, immigrate to Uganda, and wait until they learn to speak the truth?" Tell me, does an answer like that suggest we are dealing with a normal person?
To conclude on a lighter note: In 1997, Peres said: "In Argentina, the home of the tango, you know that in order to dance well you have to close your eyes and let the romance begin. Peace is a romantic process." Maybe Peres intends to point up the tie between romance and death. God help us: Sharon has put our fate in the hands of this man.
Elyakim Haetzni, an attorney and prominent spokesman for the Jewish residents of Judea-Samaria, was formerly a Member of Knesset for the Tehiya Party.
The Palestinian Authority continues to mock the United States and Israel, sending well publicized promises to President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon that it is outlawing terrorist organizations, while sending strong messages of solidarity with the terrorists to the Palestinians. In public displays of adherence to American pressure, the Palestinian Authority declared Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine illegal organizations. Television crews were even invited to film the closing of the organizations' offices.
However, on December 22, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine held a ceremony in honor of its 34th anniversary. Not only did the PA permit the celebration of the "outlawed" organization, but Yasser Arafat sent his Cabinet Secretary to deliver a speech in his name, praising the terrorist organization and lauding the unity of "all [Palestinian] factions." A representative of Hamas also attended.
Furthermore, to guarantee that the message of unity reach a wider audience, the Palestinian Authority daily published a lengthy front-page article covering the ceremony in great detail. The article included a photo of PA Cabinet Secretary Ahmed Abed Al-Rahman speaking at the event, during which Arafat's delegate expressed disdain for the U.S. and Israel, and claimed that the "[international arena... is being handled] with wisdom and caution, in order to foil the conspiracy of Sharon and his American allies."
The text of the article follows:
Headline: "The PFLP anniversary rally was a display of national unity. [Cabinet Secretary] Abed Al-Rahman delivered the President's address, and emphasized the fortitude and indivisibility of our nation, and its strength in facing the occupation."
Text: "A ceremony marking the 34th anniversary of the establishment of the Popular Front for the Libera-
[(Continued on p.7)]
Outpost - 6 - January 2002