"...excerpts from a speech by Libyan leader Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi at the Arab League summit in Damascus. The speech aired on Al-Jazeera TV on March 29, 2008"
"The Israelis Did Not Occupy [The West Bank and Gaza Strip] in 1948 - They Left It To You For 20 Years, So Why Didn't You Establish a Palestinian State?"
Mu'ammar Qadhafi: "People here talked about the pre-1967 borders. To tell you the truth, this is astonishing. Whatever happened to the [Palestinian] cause we had before 1967? Were we lying to ourselves or to the world? Thousands of martyrs fell before 1967. What for? How can you say that Palestine was occupied only in 1967, and that [Israel] must return to the pre-1967 borders?
"Does Palestine consist of only the West Bank and the Gaza Strip? If so, it means that the Israelis did not occupy it in 1948. They left it to you for 20 years, so why didn't you establish a Palestinian state? Wasn't the Gaza Strip part of Egypt and the West Bank part of Jordan? The Jews left them to you for 20 years - from 1948 to 1967. If that is Palestine, why didn't you establish a state there? What is the justification for all the wars, the sacrifices, and the economic embargo on Israel before 1967? The Israelis can sue the Arabs now, and demand billions or even trillions in compensation for the damage caused them in 1948-1967.
Qadhafi is speaking frankly about the hypocrisy that exists in discussions about the Palestinian state. Too often, Palestinians become pawns in a larger game being played in the Middle East!
"You Arabs admitted that the [Palestinian] cause began after 1967. So the Israelis can ask: 'Why did you fight us before that?' They will demand Arab compensation for the so-called embargo on Israel and for the economic damage caused to the Israelis. If the Israelis sue you, they will win. They will say: We suffered an injustice. We are like an innocent lamb surrounded by wolves. We've been saying this since 1948.Had the plight of the Palestinians been the primary concern of the Arab world, the Palestinians would have had a homeland long ago.
"Now the Arabs themselves have admitted that Palestine was occupied in 1967. Now they demand that Israel return to the pre-1967 borders, saying this will resolve the problem, and they will recognize Israel. Why didn't you recognize Israel before 1967?
"All the damage suffered in 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973, to this day - what was it all for, if the entire Palestinian cause began after 1967? Why didn't you recognize the so-called Israel before 1967, if Palestine was not occupied before then?
"This is strange. It is illogical. It doesn't make sense. What is this? There is no God but Allah. By Allah, this is unacceptable. It doesn't make sense. You say that you will recognize Israel within the pre-1967 borders?! Maybe Israel will occupy more Arab land in, say, 2008, and a few years later, you will demand that it return to the pre-2008 borders, in exchange for recognizing Israel. This is exactly what's going on now.
Cross Posted at Say Anything
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