Fatah Official Hatem Abd Al-Qadr: "I Don't Believe We Can Achieve Anything in the Negotiations Without Resistance"

Following are excerpts from an interview with Hatem Abd Al-Qadr, who is in charge of the Jerusalem portfolio in the Fatah movement. The interview aired on Al-Jazeera TV on October 15, 2010.

Hatem Abd Al-Qadr: It would be a mistake to treat the negotiations as our only option. In the sixth convention of the Fatah in Bethlehem, we stressed the right of the Palestinian people to conduct resistance, and that negotiations are not the only option, but rather, one of several options. The decision to enter the negotiations was made by the Fatah Central Committee. Despite the opposition, eventually this was the decision agreed upon. There is opposition to the negotiations within the Fatah movement, and this opposition will intensify if the negotiations continue after Israel resumes settlement activity. The Palestinian situation will be catastrophic.

Interviewer: In the event that the Palestinian delegation withdraws from the negotiations – what is your strategy for the day after?

Hatem Abd Al-Qadr: Reviving the dialogue [with Hamas] and ending the rift.

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I don't believe we can achieve anything in the negotiations without resistance. We must have bargaining chips, but the question is what kind of resistance we want.

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