Myths & Facts Quotes:

Arab Rhetoric

By Mitchell G. Bard

• Arab League
• Hamas
• Hezbollah
• Iranian Government
• Palestinian Authority

Arab League ^top

"Israel has not accepted the two-state solution. Until now there is not one official statement that Israel accepts the two-state solution and accepts to have a viable Palestinian state.... The Israelis do not want a Palestinian state"

— Amr Moussa, Arab League Secretary General

"Yes, Hamas accepts the notion of two states.... So, if the Israelis are serious then all Palestinian factions will accept a two-state solution."

— Amr Moussa, Arab League Secretary General

"Israel feels that they enjoy immunity against international law so why should they bother, why should they concede, why should they allow a Palestinian state to be created."

— Amr Moussa, Arab League Secretary General

"The stability of the region, security of the region, the future of the region cannot cope with a situation just like this one... in regards to the negative Israeli policy."

— Amr Moussa, Arab League Secretary General

Hamas ^top

Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas Prime Minister (click here for his biography):

> “Resistance and jihad is the only strategic option for the Islamic ummah ... As the representative of the Palestinian nation, we have (already) announced to the children of the Arab ummah, the Islamic ummah, and all free-thinkers in the world and (again) insist... that we will never recognize the Zionist regime and announce that the Palestinian nation will continue their resistance until the holy Palestinian land is liberated.” (Tehran Times, February 11, 2012)

> " ... the armed resistance and the armed struggle are the path and the strategic choice for liberating the Palestinian land, from the [Mediterranean] sea to the [Jordan] river, and for the expulsion of the invaders and usurpers [Israel] from the blessed land of Palestine. The Hamas movement will lead Intifada after Intifada until we liberate Palestine - all of Palestine, Allah willing. Allah Akbar and praise Allah." (Al-Aqsa TV [Hamas] December 14, 2011)

> "Palestine - all of Palestine - is from the sea to the river. We won't relinquish one inch of the land of Palestine. The involvement of Hamas at any stage with the interim objective of liberation of [only] Gaza, the West Bank, or Jerusalem, does not replace its strategic view concerning Palestine and the land of Palestine." (Al-Aqsa TV [Hamas] December 14, 2011)

> "Their [the 'Israeli entity's'] presence on our land is illegal and cannot be recognized...We move forward on what serves the interest of the Palestinian people, and the Israeli positions are of no interest to us." (YNet, April 29, 2011)

> "This movement, with the help of the militant factions liberated the Gaza Strip, and we say, brothers and sisters, we will not be satisfied with Gaza ... Hamas looks toward the whole of Palestine, the liberation of the strip is just a step to liberating all of Palestine." (Jerusalem Post, December 14, 2009)

> “[Hamas will never recognize] the Zionist entity … [and] will remain steadfast, protecting the blood of the martyrs … the resistance will prevail until liberating the land, until liberating Jerusalem.” (International Middle East Media Center, August 14, 2009)

> "We call on all the factions to undertake efforts to contain the enemy and halt its aggression by planning martyrdom operations." (AFP, September 26. 2008)

> “Palestinians will fight Israel for generation upon generation until victory, and will yet get to dance at the Al-Aksa mosque in Jerusalem ... If Israel is not defeated in this generation, it will be in the next generation.” (Canadian Jewish News, August 17, 2007)

> "As far as we're concerned, the issue of recognition of Israel has been settled once and for all. It has been settled in our political literature, in our Islamic thought and in our Jihadist culture, on which we base our moves. Recognition of Israel is out of the question.” (Al Jazeera interview, April 2, 2007)

> “We will never recognize the usurper Zionist government and will continue our jihad-like movement until the liberation of Jerusalem.” (USA Today, December 6, 2006)

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Khaled Meshal, Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau:

> When asked about the terror attack near Kiryat Arba on August 31, 2010 in which four Israelis were killed by Hamas gunmen, [Hamas leader] Mashaal said that Hamas will continue to "kill illegal settlers on our land." He stated that Israeli settlers were the source of the problem and he failed to understand why the international community gets upset when ‘we defend our people by confronting Israeli killings. (Jerusalem Post, September 2, 2010)

> In a Damascus speech, Meshal played down talk of a potential compromise and said that Arab states should renew their demands for the "liberation [of Palestinian land] from the sea to the river," standard phraseology for the elimination of Israel. (Washington Post, October 12, 2009)

> "Hamas envisions a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 border with Israel, with Jerusalem as the capital, all Jewish settlements dismantled and full sovereignty over land, air and water." (United Press International, May 9, 2009)

> "There is only one enemy in the region, and that is Israel." (New York Times, May 4, 2009)

> "We will never recognize Israel or cease to fight for our land. Our battle against Israel is one of resistance to occupation." (Tehran Times, May 27, 2008)

---

"The decision [to include Rachel's Tomb and Cave of the Patriarchs in a 'Jewish Heritage Trail'] requires a real response in the West Bank and for the people to rise up in the face of the Israeli occupation and to break every shackle in confronting it. The project aims to erase our identity, alter our Islamic monuments and steal our history."

— Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas ruler in Gaza

“Palestine means Palestine in its entirety - from the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Jordan] River, from Ras Al-Naqura to Rafah. We cannot give up a single inch of it. Therefore, we will not recognize the Israeli enemy's [right] to a single inch.”

— Mahmoud Zahar, Hamas Co-Founder

"This assembly holds special significance, since it takes place after Gaza was liberated against the will of the Zionist aggressors. Who knows when we will celebrate the liberation of Gaza, Jerusalem, Haifa, Jaffa, and all the rest of Palestine. Hamas, together with the Palestinian people, will implement its policy using a new language, without feeling any urge to meet with the enemy or negotiate with it. Was Gaza liberated through negotiations?! Hamas will continue to wield its weapons and to [claim] its right to resist. Resistance will [continue to] be a strategic option until the last piece of Palestinian land is liberated, and until the last refugee returns."

-- Khaled Meshaal, Hamas Leader in Gaza

“We ask all the people in surrounding Arab countries, the Muslim world and everyone who wants to support us to send weapons, money and men.”

-- Khaled Meshaal, Hamas Leader in Gaza

“We will never recognize Israel or cease to fight for our land.”

-- Khaled Meshaal, Hamas Leader in Gaza

“The confrontation with the [Israeli] occupation will continue despite the talk about a tahdiyah [calm]...As far as Hamas is concerned, all options remain open.”

-- Osama Hamdan, Hamas Representative in Lebanon

“I expect our Christian neighbors to understand the new Hamas rule means real changes. They must be ready for Islamic rule if they want to live in peace in Gaza.”

-- Sheik Abu Saqer, Jihadia Salafiya Leader

“The Hamas covenant itself is a standing incitement to genocide”

-- Honorable Irwin Cotler, Canadian Member of Parliament

"When enemies (the Jews) usurp some Islamic lands, Jihad becomes a duty binding on all Muslims. In order to face the usurpation of Palestine by the Jews, we have no escape from raising the banner of Jihad.”

-- Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas

Hezbollah ^top

"That is why if Lebanon concludes a peace agreement with Israel and brings that accord to the Parliament our deputies will reject it; Hezbollah refuses any conciliation with Israel in principle."

-- Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah Secretary General

"If they (Jews) all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide."

-- Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah Secretary General

"If we searched the entire world for a person more cowardly, despicable, weak and feeble in psyche, mind, ideology and religion, we would not find anyone like the Jew. Notice, I do not say the Israeli."

-- Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah Secretary General

"The Palestinian National Charter will live on as long as there is a knife in a Palestinian woman's hand with which she stabs an Israeli soldier or settler ... as long as there are suicide bombers in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv ... and as long as there is a child who throws a stone in the face of an Israeli soldier."

-- Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah Secretary General

Iranian Government ^top

"[Israel] ridicules and violates all laws and humanitarian values... Following World War II they resorted to military aggression to make an entire nation homeless on the pretext of Jewish suffering... [The Jews] sent migrants from Europe, the US and other parts of the world in order to establish a totally racist government in occupied Palestine...So long as Zionist domination continues, many countries, governments and nations will never be able to enjoy freedom, independence and security."

-- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian President

"This origin of corruption [Israel] will soon be wiped off the Earth's face!"

-- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian President

“If a day comes when the world of Islam is duly equipped with the arms Israel has in possession, the strategy of colonialism would face a stalemate because application of an atomic bomb would not leave any thing in Israel but the same thing would only produce damages in the Muslim world."

-- Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, Iranian President

"Israel is a cancerous tumor. So what do you do with a cancerous tumor? What can be done to treat a tumor other than removing it?"

-- Ayatollah Ali Khamene'i, Iranian Supreme Leader

Palestinian Authority ^top

"After the experience of the last 44 years of military occupation and all the conflict and friction, I think it would be in the best interest of the two people to be separated ... We are trying to preserve the concept of a two-state solution, and to make the Israelis understand there will be consequences for their actions."

— Maen Areikat, PLO Ambassador to the United States

"Yasser Arafat cleaved to the permanent national rights that cannot be diminished...We state today, we will not deviate one iota from the principles of Yasser Arafat and his objectives."

— Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority President

"All these reports about [the Palestinian Authority] recognizing Israel are false. It's all media nonsense. We don't ask other factions to recognize Israel because we in Fatah have never recognized Israel ... [Fatah] will never relinquish the armed struggle no matter how long the occupation continues."

-- Rafik Natsheh, Palestinian Authority Minister/Chairman Fatah Disciplinary Court

“The 'Jewish state.' What is a 'Jewish state?' We call it, the 'State of Israel'. You can call yourselves whatever you want. But I will not accept it. And I say this on a live broadcast... It's not my job to define it, to provide a definition for the state and what it contains. You can call yourselves the Zionist Republic, the Hebrew, the National, the Socialist [Republic] call it whatever you like. I don't care.”

— Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority President

“We have the right to practice all forms of national struggle. We are in the phase of national liberation and we have the right to use all means in the fight to end the occupation until we establish the state.”

-- Azzam Al-Ahmad, Senior Fatah Leader

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