At the same time that Abu Mazen, in his speech before the president of the United States in English, was declaring his peaceful intentions, his senior officials continued to expose, in Arabic, the goal of political agreements – the “liberation” of all Palestine from the Jordan River to the sea.
During United States President Donald Trump’s visit to in Beit Lehem, Abu Mazen, the PA chairman, made sure to repeat again and again, his adherence to the idea of two states and his aspiration for a Palestinian state that would live in peace and security alongside Israel. However, as it has been in the past, it is obvious this time as well, that there is an extremely large gap between what the PA leadership says in English and what is said by the same leadership in Arabic.
The heads of Palestinian Media Watch, Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik, present a series of statements by senior officials of the PA that expose the true intentions of the PA leadership, which are evidenced when these leaders address the Arab population and the leadership of Arab states, in Arabic.
In a publication by Palestinian Media Watch, Marcus and Zilberdik report that once again, Abu Mazen declared, in the meeting with Trump, that “Once more, we confirm our position, which is to accept the two state solution with the 1967 borders; a state of Palestine with its capital in East Jerusalem, living side by side with Israel in peace and security”. In contrast to “many things that have been said by leaders of the PA, to their own people and even to Palestinian children. Religious leaders in the PA have also taught that the recognition of Israel is forbidden by Islam”.
About a week before Trump’s visit to Beit Lehem, Khaled Mismar, a member of the Palestinian National Council, the legislative body of the PLO, said “we all know that…the true Palestinian goal is to take all of Israel in the end”.
Khaled Mismar said these words in an interview for the official PA television channel. He noted that “the revolution broke out in 1965 (meaning, the first terror attack carried out by Fatah) to liberate all Palestinian land, but the circumstances did not allow it…we fought, and we stood up to everything, every conspiracy, but, we are nearing our goal. True, we agreed to accept only 20 or 22 percent of Palestine (meaning Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip), but we do not lose our right as long as we continue to demand it. Every one of us knows what our goal is (meaning, ‘the liberation of all Palestinian land’)".
Another statement from a senior member of the Palestinian leadership was made by the General Coordinator of PA's National Committee for Commemorating Nakba Day, Muhammad Alyan, who clarified that “"We want to say regarding what happened in 1948: No matter how great the losses and sacrifices may be, we will not relinquish one grain of sand from Jaffa, Haifa, Lod, or Ramle (i.e., all Israeli cities). Let this occupation do what it wants, we are staying here, rooted like the olive tree, fighting, and defending [the homeland]." This statement was made on the official PA television channel, in a special broadcast for Nakba Day.
It should be noted that Palestinian Media Watch has published similar declarations by other Palestinian leaders, such as Fatah Central Committee member Azzam al-Ahmad, who said that he “is convinced” that a Palestinian state in the West Bank would lead to the elimination of Israel by “Palestine, just as North Vietnam subjugated South Vietnam.
The researchers of Palestinian Media Watch note that such expressions match the Palestinian principle of the PA leadership, which is that the term ‘Palestine’ relates to the entire area between the sea and the Jordan River, a fact that proves how false is the claim by the Palestinian leadership, according to which, it looks forward to a life of secure neighborliness alongside the State of Israel. “The PA continually presents its concept of “Palestine” by using maps of “Palestine” that include the State of Israel, like, for example, the shields, with the symbols, on Facebook posts that refer to the places in Israel as places in “Palestine”, or with declarations that define “Palestine” as extending “from the (Mediterranean) sea to the (Jordan) river”, say the researchers.
The two heads also note that PA religious leaders teach the Palestinians that Islamic law forbids them to “give up even one grain of Palestinian land” and a PA television show for children, The Best Home, also repeats the message that “all of Palestine will return to us”, and that the size of Palestine is equal to the territories of Israel and the PA together.