Palestinian vision of peace with Jews: /1

An October 11, 1947 report on the pan-Arab summit in the Lebanese town of Aley, by Akhbar al-Yom's editor Mustafa Amin, contained an interview he held with Arab League secretary-general Azzam. Titled, "A War of Extermination," /1
/2
https://t.co/2eSB7lqUiJ
"Abdul Rahman Azzam Pasha spoke to me about the horrific war that was in the offing… saying:
"... this will be a war of extermination and momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Tartar massacre or the Crusader wars. /3
...volunteers will be arriving to us from [as far as] India, Afghanistan, and China to win the honor of martyrdom for the sake of Palestine … You might be surprised to learn that hundreds of Englishmen expressed their wish to volunteer in the Arab armies to fight the Jews. /4
"This war will be distinguished by three serious matters. First—faith: as each fighter deems his death on behalf of Palestine as the shortest road to paradise; second, [the war] will be an opportunity for vast plunder. /5
Third, it will be impossible to contain the zealous volunteers arriving from all corners of the world to avenge the martyrdom of the Palestine Arabs, and viewing the war as dignifying every Arab and every Muslim throughout the world … /6
"The Arab is superior to the Jew ... Should the Jews defeat us in the first battle, we will defeat them in the second or the third battle …one defeat will shatter the Jew's morale! Most desert Arabians take pleasure in fighting. /7
[When I was] tasked with mediating a truce in a desert war ... I was approached by some of my comrades in arms who told me: 'Shame on you! You are a man of the people, so how could you wish to end the war … How can we live without war?' /8
This is because war gives the Bedouin a sense of happiness, bliss, and security that peace does not provide! …/9
I warned the Jewish leaders ..to desist from their policy, telling them that the Arab was the mightiest of soldiers and the day he draws his weapon, he will not lay it down until firing the last bullet in the battle, and we will fire the last shot …" /10
[Azzam] ended his conversation.. saying: "I foresee the consequences of this bloody war. I see before me its horrible battles. I can picture its dead, injured, and victims … But my conscience is clear … …" /11
Source:

https://t.co/TBcYEHXQVQ
@threadreaderapp unroll compile

More from Society

You May Also Like