Fatah official: "Every phase has a particular form of resistance" and armed resistance is still an option

PA TV host: "Have the Palestinians, or the PLO, removed from their lexicon the term 'revolution,' in the sense of armed revolution?"
Member of the Fatah Central Committee, Mahmoud Al-Aloul: "No. No one has eliminated armed struggle or resistance as an option. Recently, at the last Fatah conference, there was an important declaration in the Introduction to the Political Program that we considered an integral part of the Political Program and whose important points stated that Fatah, for example, is a national liberation movement, and that Fatah believes that resistance, in all its forms, is the legitimate right of occupied nations when confronting their occupiers. I do not think that there's a single Palestinian who has eliminated resistance, or any form of resistance whatsoever, from consideration, or from his plans. That's in principle and in theory. We have to understand this well: Every form of resistance has certain conditions that are necessary for its use. So every phase has a particular form of resistance best suited to it, and everyone has agreed that at this stage, that form is popular resistance (i.e., non-violent). At the same time, armed resistance has absolutely not been eliminated from anyone's options. It needs a suitable climate not only among us... We hope that what is being spoken of as the "Arab Spring" and changes in the Arab world will create the climate so that the Palestinians can employ it (i.e., armed resistance)."
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