“Today Gaza, Tomorrow Jerusalem”

September 20, 2005

He insisted that the Palestinian Arabs would never agree to end their hostility toward the Jews until the holy city was relinquished to their control. “Without Jerusalem, there will be no peace,” said Qurei earlier, amid reports that Israel was planning to build a new Jewish housing structure in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City.

Echoing Yasser Arafat’s famous battle cry, Qurei said, “We will proceed from one victory to another until we achieve the big victory—when one of our roses or juveniles will hoist the Palestinian flag on the walls of the Old City [of Jerusalem] and its minarets and churches.”

Qurei said the departure of Israel from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank (Samaria) will bring the Palestinians closer to Jerusalem. “There is no other way,” he stressed. “We are at the threshold of a great challenge as we move on a clear path toward the liberation of the West Bank and Jerusalem.”

Addressing Israel, he said, “Leave our land and homes, leave us alone and we will know how to build our country—just leave without return.” Referring to the launching of the first armed attack on Israel by Fatah, Qurei added, “The process that started in 1965 is now making its way, through the strong determination and will of our people, toward Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the rest of the homeland.”

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