Arafat Calls On Palestinians To "Terrorize Your Enemies"

News Agencies Downplay Koranic Call To Arms

International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, May 17, 2004

Invoking a phrase from the Koran, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat on Saturday called on Palestinians to "terrorize" their enemy as thousands marched throughout the territories demanding their right to return to live in Israel’s narrow pre-1967 borders, effectively destroying the nation as a Jewish State.

In a televised speech on the 56th anniversary of the establishment of Israel – known in Arabic as the nakba (disaster), Arafat quoted a phrase from the Koran that tells Muslims to "find what strength you have to terrorize your enemy and the enemy of God," according to The Jerusalem Post.

Nevertheless senior Palestinian officials successfully convinced many foreign news outlets that Arafat’s open call to arms, interspersed with formulaic pleas for peace, simply represented a figurative non-violent crusade, and the Koranic reference was merely an attempt to boost morale.

In the words of the Associated Press, Arafat "did not appear to be calling for new attacks on Israel. The passage in the Quran refers to the early Muslims' wars against pagans and is frequently invoked by Islamic leaders today to encourage strength in times of conflict."

In Washington, Arafat’s comments were read more literally, drawing a sharp rebuke from US Secretary of State Colin Powell. "Mr. Arafat continues to take actions and make statements to make it exceptionally difficult to move forward" on peacemaking, Powell said, before calling on the Palestinian people to "wrest control" of the PA’s security apparatus from the veteran PLO leader.