The following are excerpts from a speech from Damascus, Syria, by Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command Secretary-General Ahmad Jibril, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on May 9, 2008.

To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/1775 .

"Arabs And Muslims Lived For 700 Years in Andalusia – Why Shouldn't We Claim [It's] Our Homeland?"

Ahmad Jibril: "Why did they bring the [Jews] here? Can you believe they talk about historical myths, from 3,000 years ago or more, in which God promised to give Abraham the land from the Nile to the Euphrates? Just imagine, the Master of the Universe, who is absolute justice, brings these people and says to them: 'You own this land and everything on it.' Then they say that in the days of Jacob, they were given Palestine, the Promised Land.

"One should know, however, that history and archeology have yet to prove that a Jewish state was ever established on the land of Palestine, or that such a state survived and gave rise to civilizations, and so on... It is said that gangs controlled Jerusalem, Hebron, and Nablus, and that later, they were uprooted, just like any other gang. They did not give rise to a civilization. The Arabs and Muslims lived for 700 years in Andalusia. Why shouldn't we claim that Andalusia is our homeland?"[...]

"This [Palestinian] People, Which Has Made All These Sacrifices... Isn't It A Shame That It Has Such A Leadership?"

"I ask you: This [Palestinian] people, which has made all these sacrifices... The [Palestinian] mother is unparalleled throughout history. She grabs her son and says to him: Off you go, on a martyrdom operation. When the second son comes, she says: Off you go, too, and then the third son, and the fourth. A [Palestinian] girl, in the prime of life, thinking of getting married, dons an explosive belt and plunges into the Israelis. This people, from the children to the elderly... I ask you, isn't it a shame that it has such a leadership? These people are crooks, robbers, and thieves.

[...]

"Is it conceivable that the head of the negotiating team is Qure'i [Abu 'Allah], whom, by Allah, I have never seen on any battlefront? How come he is the one negotiating with the Israelis, while he and his sons are building the wall and the settlements in the West Bank? How can we trust these people to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian people?"