Nov. 20, Atwan: Arafat signed Oslo Accords hoping Jews would flee
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
A respected Palestinian editor revealed over the weekend that Yasser Arafat told him in 1994 that he agreed to sign the Oslo Accords because he was hoping the agreements would force thousands of Jews to flee Israel.
Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based daily al-Quds al-Arabi, said Arafat made his remarks when they met in Tunis, a few days before the PLO returned to the Gaza Strip.
"I met with him in his office at around 3.00 a.m.," Atwan recalled.
"The man told me, 'Listen, Abdel Bari, I know that you are opposed to the Oslo Accords, but you must always remember what I'm going to tell you. The day will come when you will see thousands of Jews fleeing Palestine. I will not live to see this, but you will definitely see it in your lifetime. The Oslo Accords will help bring this about.'"
Before the signing of the Oslo Accords, Atwan maintained a close relationship with Arafat and the two used to meet on a regular basis. Since then, he has become an outspoken critic of the Oslo Accords and corruption in the Palestinian Authority. Over the past few years, Atwan repeatedly called on Arafat to resign, accusing him of failing the Palestinians and harboring corrupt aides.
"Our close relationship ended with the signing of the notorious Oslo Accords," he noted. "But I was keen on visiting him every now and then in European capitals at the peak of the 'peace of the braves.'"
Atwan also disclosed that Arafat decided to form the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, in response to US and Israeli attempts to sideline him after the failed Camp David summit in 2000.
"President Arafat was the one who established the Aksa Martyrs Brigades in response to the attempt to marginalize him after the failure of the Camp David summit," he added.
"At the summit, he faced immense pressure from Israel, the US and some Arab parties to compromise on Jerusalem. Ironically, some Arab leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz, called Arafat demanding that he display flexibility on the issue of Jerusalem."
Atwan said Arafat rejected the offers Israel made at the summit "because he wasn't prepared to sign a final agreement with the Jewish state. He was well aware that such an agreement would make him go down in history as a traitor because he would have to give up the right of return for the refugees and most of the sovereignty over east Jerusalem."
Atwan said that when he met with Arafat in Tunis in 1994, the PA chairman was lonely and depressed. "Most of the people around him had deserted him, some because they did not want to be held responsible for the consequences of the Oslo Accords, and the majority for financial reasons," the editor said.
"The Gulf countries had halted their financial aid to the PLO (after the first Gulf War, when Arafat supported the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait)."
Commenting on Arafat's hope that the Oslo Accords would force thousands of Jews to flee Israel, Atwan said: "The Jews did not escape from Palestine by the thousands as President Arafat predicted. But they have started packing their bags to run away from the Gaza Strip and some settlements in the West Bank. There are also signs of emigration to Europe, the US and Canada following the suicide bombings and the sense of insecurity among Israelis."
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