"Moderate" Senior Fatah Official: We Won't Recognize Israel

- maintain option to carry out terror attacks ("resistance") against Israel

Fatah official: Movement to display commitment to armed struggle in upcoming convention

Ali Waked
YNET/Israel News
07.22.09, 23:06
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3750930,00.html

(Is there anything here that requires clarification?)

As the Fatah movement prepares for its upcoming leadership convention, a
senior group member says the event will be used to display Fatah's
commitment to the armed struggle against Israel.

Preparations for the convention, scheduled for August 4, are in full force
at this time. During a series of preliminary meetings ahead of the event,
senior Fatah official Rafik al-Natsheh said that the group will not be
recognizing Israel.

'We will maintain the resistance option in all its forms and we will not recognize Israel," he said. "Not only don't we demand that anyone recognize Israel; we don't recognize Israel ourselves. However, the Palestinian Authority government is required to do it, or else it will not be able to serve the Palestinian people."

"I am certain that we will hinder all the traitors who wish to remove the
resistance option from the movement's charter," Natsheh added.

Last week, a senior Egyptian official claimed that tensions within Fatah ahead of the movement's convention had a negative impact on reconciliation talks with Hamas. In a conversation with Ynet, the Egyptian source said that Fatah officials were maintaining tough positions because they fear the prospect of appearing at the convention with a disputed reconciliation agreement.
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