Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > Abbas In 2005: 'Release All Prisoners Including Murderers Because It Was The PA Who Sent Them To Kill'
Abbas In 2005: 'Release All Prisoners Including Murderers Because It Was The PA Who Sent Them To Kill'
October 29, 2013
Abbas in 2005: Release all prisoners
including murderers
because it was the PA who sent them to kill
Abbas: "I demand [release of] prisoners
because they are human beings,
who did what we, we, ordered them to do.
We - the [Palestinian] Authority."
by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
As Israel releases terrorist murderers from prison today, it is important to understand how the Palestinian Authority sees terrorists in prison.
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas gave an interview to PA TV in 2005, just as the PA's terror campaign (the Intifada) was ending. In that interview, Abbas explained that the PA sees all Palestinian prisoners, including those who targeted and murdered civilians, as legitimate fighters who should be released because when they committed their attacks, they were only following orders.
Abbas: "I demand [the release of] prisoners because they are human beings, who did what we, we, ordered them to do. We - the [Palestinian] Authority."
Even when they killed - which Abbas refers to as "the duty of resistance" - they were fulfilling the PA leadership's orders:
Abbas: "This is war. One (i.e., Israel) ordered a soldier to kill, I ordered my son, brother, or others, to carry out the duty of resistance (i.e., euphemism for terror). This person killed and the other person killed. So why say this person's hands are stained with blood, and [he] must be kept in prison? He is a fighter just like any other fighter."
Click to view
The following is from the interview with Abbas on PA TV:
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas: The PA gave the orders to kill
Abbas: "I demand [the release of] prisoners because they are human beings, who did what we, we, ordered them to do. We - the [Palestinian] Authority. They should not be punished while we sit at one table negotiating. Besides, they spent many years in prison. How much longer? Do they have to spend all their life in prison and even die there?"
[For the next minute Abbas talks about the Palestinian state and Israel's security]
Host: "How can we deal with their [Israeli] criteria 'bloodstained hands' (for Palestinians who murdered)?"
Abbas: "Such talk is illogical talk and I do not accept it. What does a bloodstained hand mean? We were fighting each other. They kill and kill. They hunt down people with planes and tanks and killed. The soldier who kills 50 or 20 persons here and there - are his hands stained with talc powder? They are stained with blood. This is war. One (i.e., Israel) ordered a soldier to kill, I ordered my son, brother, or others, to carry out the duty of resistance (i.e., euphemism for terror). This person killed and the other person killed. So why say this person's hands are stained with blood, and [he] must be kept in prison? He is a fighter just like any other fighter. We were in a state of fighting. When a truce is reached in any country in the world, the past is forgotten."
[For the next half a minute Abbas repeats the need to release prisoners]
Abbas: "What meaning is there to peace with the Israelis if the wanted continues to be wanted, the prisoner continues to be imprisoned, and the deportee continues to be deported? What am I worth in the eyes of the ordinary [Palestinian] citizen? The ordinary citizen will ask me: 'What did you get me? You ordered me - you are responsible for me.'"
[Official PA TV, Feb. 14, 2005]
Note: In August 2013, Israel agreed to release 104 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to the Palestinian Authority in preparation for renewed negotiations. Today's release is the second of four groups to be released.
Click to view Palestinian Media Watch's documentation of PA terror glorification.
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