Fatah official against Trump deciison on Jerusalem: Jerusalem must be called Al-Quds, there will be a "volcanic eruption"
Official PA TV, special broadcast, hosting Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub
Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub: “Since the first day we have said that the role of the US has ended (i.e., following US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital; see note below.) [PA President] brother Mahmoud Abbas spoke and said [this], right? Regarding the subject of the US and the subject of the American role, the US is the one that distanced itself… We need to agree on a plan. The state is a strategic goal and the struggle - We say here to everyone, and I say to them on behalf of the great Fatah – and nobody will compete with us – we are ready to talk about the maximal plan, so that nobody will compete with us. Nobody should say [one] thing ‘under the table,’ and [another] thing on the table.”
Official PA TV host: “Are the options open in light of-”
Rajoub: “Of course, listen to me. We are fighters… We need struggle and resistance that will maintain the flame which contains hope, and it needs to burn this occupation, end it, and sweep it away… However, we will not agree that the US will be the sole mediator on behalf of the world after what it did… I hope that after today none of us will say Jerusalem [in English] or Jerusalem [in Hebrew]. Its name is Al-Quds, and we must assert the word Al-Quds, so that they will say Al-Quds in all the languages and not say Jerusalem… What happened with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu in France and Brussels, this is also proof and an indication that today Israel is exposed in this swamp in which there is terror, fascism, and seeds of new Nazis. It tried to take apart and destroy a society of 13 million, half of whom are still here and subject to mass destruction. What can be more dangerous than this? … Not us, not us – him, that idiot [US President Donald] Trump. Listen to me. On the contrary, he served us. If he knew that it [would be] so, it is impossible that he would have done this. He served us. Let’s see how we’ll behave. He is incapable of understanding the significance of the change or the disdain for the historical, legal, religious, and political place of Jerusalem. He threw the rock and thought that he is sitting on the phones. He thought that brother Mahmoud Abbas is like the prime minister of Australia or Canada, like he spoke to them when he became president. This one [Trump] doesn’t know the Palestinian power and Palestinian greatness. He did not know that in every one of the Palestinians there is a small [Yasser] Arafat, as indeed our example of originality, resolve, and positivity is Yasser Arafat. They cannot understand that in every one of us there is a small Arafat. He threw a rock towards water he thought was still, but discovered that there is a volcanic eruption there and a situation in which the sparks blew up in his face.”
Jibril Rajoub also holds the following roles: Head of the PLO Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Palestinian Football Association, Chairman of the Palestine Olympic Committee, and Chairman of the Palestinian Scout Association (PSA).
US recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel - On Dec. 6, 2017, US President Donald Trump gave a speech formally recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and stating that he had instructed the State Department to begin preparations to transfer the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump concluded by stating that the US is still fully committed to the peace process in the Middle East. Following his speech, Trump signed the waiver to delay the transfer of the embassy, and apparently will continue to do so until preparations for the transfer have been completed.
Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub: “Since the first day we have said that the role of the US has ended (i.e., following US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital; see note below.) [PA President] brother Mahmoud Abbas spoke and said [this], right? Regarding the subject of the US and the subject of the American role, the US is the one that distanced itself… We need to agree on a plan. The state is a strategic goal and the struggle - We say here to everyone, and I say to them on behalf of the great Fatah – and nobody will compete with us – we are ready to talk about the maximal plan, so that nobody will compete with us. Nobody should say [one] thing ‘under the table,’ and [another] thing on the table.”
Official PA TV host: “Are the options open in light of-”
Rajoub: “Of course, listen to me. We are fighters… We need struggle and resistance that will maintain the flame which contains hope, and it needs to burn this occupation, end it, and sweep it away… However, we will not agree that the US will be the sole mediator on behalf of the world after what it did… I hope that after today none of us will say Jerusalem [in English] or Jerusalem [in Hebrew]. Its name is Al-Quds, and we must assert the word Al-Quds, so that they will say Al-Quds in all the languages and not say Jerusalem… What happened with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu in France and Brussels, this is also proof and an indication that today Israel is exposed in this swamp in which there is terror, fascism, and seeds of new Nazis. It tried to take apart and destroy a society of 13 million, half of whom are still here and subject to mass destruction. What can be more dangerous than this? … Not us, not us – him, that idiot [US President Donald] Trump. Listen to me. On the contrary, he served us. If he knew that it [would be] so, it is impossible that he would have done this. He served us. Let’s see how we’ll behave. He is incapable of understanding the significance of the change or the disdain for the historical, legal, religious, and political place of Jerusalem. He threw the rock and thought that he is sitting on the phones. He thought that brother Mahmoud Abbas is like the prime minister of Australia or Canada, like he spoke to them when he became president. This one [Trump] doesn’t know the Palestinian power and Palestinian greatness. He did not know that in every one of the Palestinians there is a small [Yasser] Arafat, as indeed our example of originality, resolve, and positivity is Yasser Arafat. They cannot understand that in every one of us there is a small Arafat. He threw a rock towards water he thought was still, but discovered that there is a volcanic eruption there and a situation in which the sparks blew up in his face.”
Jibril Rajoub also holds the following roles: Head of the PLO Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Palestinian Football Association, Chairman of the Palestine Olympic Committee, and Chairman of the Palestinian Scout Association (PSA).
US recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel - On Dec. 6, 2017, US President Donald Trump gave a speech formally recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and stating that he had instructed the State Department to begin preparations to transfer the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump concluded by stating that the US is still fully committed to the peace process in the Middle East. Following his speech, Trump signed the waiver to delay the transfer of the embassy, and apparently will continue to do so until preparations for the transfer have been completed.