Today, in a televised speech to the Palestinian Legislative Council, in Ramallah, a vintage Yasser Arafat, true to form, has again invoked the Treaty of al-Hudaybiyah, signed by the Moslem prophet Muhammad. That is, a treaty that lasts as long as political expediency dictates.

During an interview on Egyptian television on April 18, 1998, Arafat, when asked about the Oslo Accord, stated that he respected that agreement in the very same manner as the Prophet Muhammed who entered into a peace treaty called the Treaty of al-Hudaybiyah with the Arabian Quraish tribe after he failed to defeat them in battle. The Treaty of al-Hudaybiyah was to last for 10 years, yet within 2 years the Prophet completely destroyed the Quraish. Arafat justified the slaughter by saying that, according to Omar bin Katib and others, Muhammed´s peace treaty was only a “Lesser Value Agreement” because he had agreed to sign the treaty without the words, “Messenger of Allah” after his name.

Clearly a favorite paradigm of his, Arafat again today conjured up his now standard disclaimer and solemnly pronounced that: “In this regard, we announced some time ago and we announce today our rejection of the terrorist operations targeting Israeli civilians as well as Palestinian civilians, as was the case in Jenin, or rather in ‘Jeningrad.’” Rather than affirm that his call for a halt in terrorism is based on human rights norms accepted by the world, Arafat admits that his call for a halt is for self-serving reasons only and intoned: “The Palestinian public opinion and the Arab public opinion have reached the conclusion that these operations do not serve our goals, and only incite numerous large sectors of the international community… These operations are causing a controversy. I call on your respected Council to talk over this issue, which is controversial in our Palestinian and Arab arenas.”

Then, for some curious reason that we infidels are incapable of understanding, Arafat’s very next statement was: “Let us remember the Truce of al-Hudaybiyah [between the Prophet Muhammad and Mecca infidels in the year 628 AD]. Our Lord Ali [Bin-Abi Talib] refused to erase the word Prophet when the infidels insisted that the prophet be identified by name only. The Prophet Muhammad asked Ali to erase it and identify him only as Muhammad Bin-Abdallah. Ali refused. The prophet then asked where this word was in the document and he erased it himself. So I am only reminding you of these stories.”

Of course, Arafat would not allow his favorite bon mots to fall by the wayside and laughingly added that: “What we want is true freedom and full independence in the independent state of Palestine, with holy Jerusalem as its capital, whether they like it or not. Those who do not like it, they can go and drink from the Dead Sea.” A voice from the group corrected Arafat, saying, “From the Gaza Sea.” Arafat laughingly retorted, “No, it is more bitter in the Dead Sea.”

Did Arafat’s reference to “these stories” mean support for any negotiated settlement over Jerusalem that allowed Jews a degree of sovereign rights? Of course not. Arafat said: “Of course brothers, by this we mean all the 1967-occupied Palestinian and Arab territories. ” Does his ambitions halt at the 1967 borders? Of course not. Arafat said: “This holy land is a trust in our care.”

This entry was posted on Friday, May 17th, 2002 and is filed under arabpress.