Remember this great photo-op?
12/14/1998 -- The Palestinian National Council today reaffirmed the cancellation of articles in the Palestinian National Charter that refer to the destruction of Israel by a show of hands that took place in Gaza in the presence of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and US President Bill Clinton.
Remember all those pesky pessimists and negative nay-sayers who claimed it was a huge hunk of hooey?
Kaddoumi: PLO charter was never changed
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Farouk Kaddoumi, the PLO's hard-line "foreign minister," said Thursday that when Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat talks about the need to pursue the struggle against Israel, he is referring to the armed struggle. Kaddoumi said the armed struggle was the only way to force Israel to accept the demands of the Palestinians.
Kaddoumi's remarks were made in an interview with the Jordanian newspaper Al-Arab. He admitted that the PLO charter, which denies Israel's right to exist, was never changed.
Please excuse me while I recover from my shock and surprise.
Kaddoumi revealed that the PLO leadership has entrusted him with being responsible for the "portfolio" of supporting the Iraqi resistance against the US-led coalition forces in Iraq. "There is no doubt that the Palestinian revolution supports the Iraqi resistance and we have seen demonstrations in the occupied Palestinian territories in backing the intifada and resistance in Iraq," he said. "I'm in charge of this issue and I condemn the American position."
Kaddoumi welcomed the establishment of an armed group in Iraq named after slain Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin, saying this would increase pressure on the US. He described the new anti-American group as an "excellent phenomenon."
Nice touch, that. I thought I'd throw it in for, you know, context. But back to the charter.
Kaddoumi said that, contrary to what many people believe, the PLO charter was never changed so as to recognize Israel's right to exist. "The Palestinian national charter has not been amended until now," he explained. "It was said that some articles are no longer effective, but they were not changed. I'm one of those who didn't agree to any changes."
Asked about US and Israeli demands to halt terror attacks as a condition for resuming the peace process, Kaddoumi replied: "They can go to hell!"
It's very interesting, this palestinian response to President Bush's "new" position. You'd almost begin to think that the only reason they were talking the peace and compromise talk for the past eleven years was because it was getting them goodies even while their actions directly belied their words. But at the first sign of a glitch in the scam, it appears the disguise is being abandoned.
Poor Bill Clinton. What a dupe!
