IRIS presents:

Yasser Arafat in his own words

PLO Quote Sheet #34

On jihad (holy war) against Israel:

"The commitment still stands and the oath is still valid: that we will continue this long jihad, this difficult jihad... via deaths, via sacrifices."

--- P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat, in a speech given at Al-Azhar University in Gaza on 19 June 1995 (The Jerusalem Post, 3 August 1995)

"All of us are willing to be martyrs along the way, until our flag flies over Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine. Let no one think they can scare us with weapons, for we have mightier weapons - the weapon of faith, the weapon of martyrdom, the weapon of jihad."

--- P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat, in a speech given to Palestinian laborers in Gaza in January 1995 (Parade Magazine, New York Newsday, 25 June 1995)

"Our nation is a nation of sacrifice, struggle and jihad."

--- P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat, in a speech relayed by telephone to a rally in Hebron (Voice of Palestine, 14 February 1995)

On Jerusalem:

"The Israelis are mistaken if they think we do not have an alternative to negotiations. By Allah I swear they are wrong. The Palestinian people are prepared to sacrifice the last boy and the last girl so that the Palestinian flag will be flown over the walls, the churches and the mosques of Jerusalem."

--- P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat, in a speech given on 6 August 1995 at a party to celebrate the birth of his daughter (Haaretz, 6 September 1995; The Jerusalem Post, 7 September 1995)

This is the thirty-fourth in a series of quote sheets prepared by

IRIS (Information Regarding Israel's Security)

Internet address: iris@shamash.org

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Last updated: 9 September 1995