JPost Archive: Saeb Erekat's legacy in 'his own words'
In his demands about how peace should be reached and his acceptance of terrorism as legitimate, Erekat's legacy may be one of preventing a Palestinian Israeli peace rather than fostering it.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFUpdated: NOVEMBER 10, 2020 14:01PLO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE secretary-general Saeb Erekat speaks in Khan al-Ahmar on Thursday. (photo credit: TOVAH LAZAROFF)The following article was written on October 28. Saeb Erekat passed away on November 10, 2020.Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat's battle with coronavirus has turned attention to what his legacy will be should he die. Erekat is hospitalized at Hadassah-University Medical Center, and his condition is reportedly worsening. Though he is touted as a peacemaker, his legacy is one of support for and whitewashing of terror, according to Palestinian Media Watch.Erkat's support for groups widely recognized as terrorist organizations stems from his belief that these organizations are fighting for freedom, and so their actions, including murder and attacks on civilians, must not be considered terror, according to PMW.“The Palestinian people's struggle is meant to achieve freedom independence, and the end of the occupation, settlement, collective punishments and war crimes, and it is forbidden for anyone and any party that relies on international law and the international bodies to describe this struggle as terror,” Erekat told the official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida in January.Erekat has maintained this stance on organizations that are widely accepted as terrorist organizations, including Hamas. "Hamas is a Palestinian movement, which never was and never will be a terrorist movement,” he told the newspaperin 2014.In 2017, Erekat told the daily that “The Palestinian people is implementing its legal right to defend itself against the war crimes that the occupation authority Israel is committing against it through an occupation that has continued for five decades... [Hamas] is an inseparable part of the Palestinian people and its struggle against the occupation."During the October 2015 wave of stabbing attacks of Israeli civilians by Palestinians known as the Knife Intifada, Erekat accused Israeli security forces of executions and collective punishments, saying: "The Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people still continues, through summary executions and collective punishments."Erekat claimed that Palestinians were simply protecting themselves, according to PMW, explaining that, "we are protecting ourselves with the bodies of our sons and daughters, because Israel does not protect itself, but rather its crimes, occupation and settlement."The Palestinian negotiator has supported ideas that are stumbling blocks for peace with Israel, according to Palestinian Media Watch. His support of a right of return for Palestinians and his demand that Israel "retreat to the '1967' borders" are among ideas that PMW says prevent peace agreements from moving forward.He also spoke out against normalization between Israel and Arab countries saying that "normalization with the Israeli occupation constitutes a knife in the back, permitting [the spilling of] Palestinian blood... Today we recalled that there are three decisions that were made at the Arab Summit conferences in the past – in Jordan, Baghdad, and Cairo – that determined that the Arab states will cut their ties with any state that recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and transfers its embassy to it. This must be implemented."Erekat called normalization agreements an attempt by Israel to control resources, saying: "One wonders, what is the UAE’s interest in taking a step such as this? Especially in light of the fact that Israel’s leaders are not hiding their aspirations to take control of the Arab resources through so-called ‘normalization.’"Their position regarding the question of selling advanced American weapons to the UAE indicates that what they truly want is to take control of the region, control its resources and expand their influence beyond the borders of Palestine to the wider Arab region.”In his demands about how peace should be reached and his acceptance of terrorism as legitimate, PMW finds that Erekat's legacy may be one of preventing a Palestinian Israeli peace rather than fostering it.Palestinian Media Watch is a non-profit research institute that completes "in-depth research of Palestinian society" and "reports on the Palestinian Authority's promotion and glorification of terror," according to the organization's website.
