Sayyed Fadlullah: The Assassination attempt of Rantisi is the first Repercussion of the Sharm el-Sheikh and Aqaba Summits

Asked in his weekly seminar about the meaning and impact of the attempting to assassinate Dr. Abdulaziz al-Rantisi on the Israeli and Palestinians fronts

The Religious Authority Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah said:

This is not the first time the enemy tries to assassinate members of the Palestinian political leadership to find a way out of the impasse it has been drawn to by the Intifada having failed in forcing the Palestinian people to yield by means of killing civilians and destroying the infrastructure.

We believe that this attempt is an execution of certain political and security demands that were agreed upon in the Sharm el-Sheikh and Aqaba summits.

To execute the Road Map which encompasses about 80 per cent of the Israeli strategy, the plan that was set out is based on destroying the Intifada and disarming its militant fighters, thus ending any Palestinian resistance and depriving the Palestinian people from any source of strength.

Some analysts have said that this is a message to the American president being the sponsor of the Palestinian state ,but we believe that the Zionists are telling Bush that they have started to implements his plan of fighting what he calls terrorism. But the political consequences of this operation indicate that the Road Map project has failed to give the image that would convince the Arabs and the Palestinians that America is serious in its pursue for peace, since its Zionist allies, who do not act in a way that contradicts the American plan, are joining their efforts with the Americans to keep the Palestinian issue in the tunnel.

Bush's statements in both summits talked about the so-called Palestinian terror, but he did not say a word about the Zionist atrocities. He even asked the Palestinian Authority to crack down on the Intifada without asking the Zionist government to stop its assassinations and destruction of houses even with the dwellers living in them, because all this in his view is self-defense.

The American president is a master in the art of lying when he wants to pass a project, as evident from his talk about weapons of mass destruction. Thus we wonder if the Road Map for peace is another lie for political consumption and to reduce the frustration of the Arab people that has been continuously mounting as a result of the American stances.

The Arab leaders are helpless and even frightful when it comes to American threats. To save face they issue meaningless resolutions, and execute the American plans. They have turned into an element of pressure against the Palestinians instead of being an element of support.

This Zionist criminal attack has rallied the Palestinian people behind their Intifada, and enhanced the strength of its faithful leaders. It is true that the stage is quite critical, but they have to overcome its difficulties by claiming to their national unity and ensure at the same time the continuity of the Intifada in accordance with a new plan that relies on objective study and not emotions alone.

Palestine is still the main rallying cry for all Islamic and Arab peoples in their struggle for freedom and dignity whether in the preset or in the future.