Leader of Fatah Parliamentary Bloc and Former PA Minister Azzam Al-Ahmad: "If Israel Closes the Door on the Peace Process, We Will Return to the Gun"

Following are excerpts from an interview with MP Azzam Al-Ahmad, head of the Fatah bloc in the parliament and former PA minister, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on August 4, 2009.

Azzam Al-Ahmad: First of all, the principles, goals, and methods of struggle, which were laid down by Fatah before 1965, and which it still follows, will continue without any change or omission, as presented by the [Fatah] Constitution.

Interviewer: In other words, there will not be any armed resistance?

Azzam Al-Ahmad: It includes the armed struggle and the long-term war of the people, in order to restore all the Palestinian national rights. Anyone who is familiar with Fatah and its constitution knows this. This is what determines our strategy.

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If there is a peace process, we will give it a chance, but if Israel closes the door on the peace process, it is our right to return to the gun.