The Arafat precedent

[Mosby]

One of the interviewers was Haaretz’s editor in chief, the other the paper’s senior diplomatic reporter. Both were first-class professionals with vast experience, and both were lily-white doves. Nevertheless, the two peace-seeking interviewers dared to ask the high-level interviewee a question that’s currently considered beyond the pale in these parts: Should Israel continue to be a Jewish state?

Surprisingly, the evasive interviewee gave a decisive answer: “Definitely.” The two experienced interviewers doubled-checked: Definitely? “Definitely,” confirmed the interviewee, giving an expansive interpretation of the historic decision made by the Palestine National Council 16 years earlier.

Thus it’s no surprise that Haaretz’s lead headline on June 18, 2004 trumpeted his statement: “Arafat: Israel is Jewish.” On the basis of what the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization told David Landau and Akiva Eldar in Ramallah 10 years ago, the paper declared unambiguously that “Yasser Arafat ‘definitely’ understands that Israel must preserve its character as a Jewish state.”

http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.575175#

[Fozzledick]

1. Could that be why they got rid of him?

Who killed Arafat? Abbas suggests it was rival Dahlan

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has accused one of his main rivals, Mohammed Dahlan, of involvement in six murders, hinting that he might also be behind the death of former leader Yasser Arafat.

Dahlan, who lives in exile in the Gulf, denied the allegations of his arch foe Abbas, their bitter row now playing out publicly across the Palestinian media and on social media.

Once a prominent official in Abbas's Western-backed Fatah movement, Dahlan was ousted from the group in 2011 following accusations of corruption. He denied the charges and remains a powerful figure on the sidelines, forging ties with numerous Arab leaders and maintaining links with the splintered Fatah.

Abbas lashed out at Dahlan, who is regularly cited as a possible future president, during a Fatah meeting earlier this week, with his comments later released to the press.

http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Abbas-suggests-rival-Dahlan-behind-murder-of-Yasser-Arafat-345289

Of course some say that Lee Harvey Oswald did it alone, and there are still some wacko conspiracy-deniers who claim he died of natural causes and the poisoning stories are just dirty-politics-as-usual.

[azurnoir]

2. The year of the video was 1988 not 2004 as we're led to believe from the snip provided here

and the Ha'aretz article is hidden behind a paywall however Tablet magazine ran the same video, the problem for Israel s that in 1993 a full 5 years after this video was recorded Arafat's recognition of Israel's "right to exist" was accepted by Israel-leaving us once again with this demand being a caveat invented by Netanyahu

But newly-rediscovered footage of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat may upend his successor’s argument that Israel’s demand is an unprecedented one that no Palestinian leader could accept. In the video, apparently of a 1988 press conference in Sweden, Arafat clearly states–in English–that “the PNC [Palestinian National Council] had accepted two states, a Palestine state and Jewish state–between brackets ‘Israel.’” Watch it below:

http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/165975/video-arafat-recognizes-israel-as-a-jewish-state

[Jefferson23]

3. +1

[shira]

4. So in 1988, Arafat accepted a Jewish state. And he repeated this to Haaretz in '04.

So what's with Abbas and the BDS crew now rejecting the recognition of a Jewish state when Arafat was for it?

[azurnoir]

5. hi again shira

[shira]

6. right - I thought so. n/t

[azurnoir]

7. Thought what?

let me guess ...........

oh I can't refute what Arafat said so he said that the Palestinians would officially recognize Israel as a Jewish State in 2004?

now this presents a problem for you as you claim that Arafat demanded complete and total RoR but if he did what your attempting to sell us here then that is apparently false or Israel chose occupation over peace because if he said that in 2004 then Israel had no otherexcuses but that does not explain Israel's current demands absence in 2008, does it?

[shira]

8. So much for the lie that the need to recognize a Jewish state started w/ Netanyahu...

Yet another lie down the drain.

Not that it won't be repeated by the same lying liars again and again and again...

[azurnoir]

9. show us exactly where Arafat says that the PLO/PA would recognize Israel as a Jewish State?

and if what you claim is true why then did Israel accept Arafats recognition of "Right to exist"