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The mainstream media has tried
to portray Fatah as somehow being more "moderate" than Hamas.
Contributor Gadi Dotz disagrees. Below is his letter, published by
The Wall Street Journal:
Fatah's Constitution Calls
for Zionist 'Eradication'
The analysis of the conflict between rival Palestinian Arab factions and
Fatah in the June 16 commentary "Hot Topic: Hamas in Gaza: What Does It
Mean?" was informative, but contained one error. Nick Timiraos writes that
Fatah "has acknowledged Israel's right to exist." To this very day, the
group's official constitution, available in English on their Web site,
calls for the "Complete liberation of Palestine, and eradication of
Zionist economic, political, military and cultural existence" (Article 12)
through "armed struggle" (Article 19).
In your editorial "Hot Topic: Arafat's Children" in the same issue, you
correctly identify Fatah's erstwhile leader Yasser Arafat as an unreformed
terrorist who deceived the West by calling for peace while continuing his
support of suicide bombings. For this deception he was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize, which was, ironically, stolen from his Gaza City home by
Hamas terrorists.
Unfortunately, the U.S. is committing the same mistake today by empowering
Mahmoud Abbas, who has repeatedly pledged to follow in Arafat's path.
Abbas, who wrote his Ph.D. thesis denying the Holocaust, has mastered his
mentor's art of doublespeak, telling the West he recognizes Israel while
at the same time telling his people the complete opposite in Arabic. On
Oct. 3, 2006, Mr. Abbas stated on Al-Arabiya and PA TV that "It is not
required of Hamas, or of Fatah, or of the Popular Front to recognize
Israel."
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