Sayyed Fadlullah: We believe that Bush is being hypocritical when he talks about a Palestinian state. Bush's America and Blair’s Britain used to describe Arafat as an obstacle who “let his people down" because he refused to cancel the right of return, and because he did not yield to the Israeli demands that in fact cancel the Palestinian people… They will continue to accuse any leadership that refuses to make compromise on the very basic Palestinian rights of the same accusation….

Asked in his weekly seminar the following question: What is the American conception of the Palestinian state?

The Religious Authority, Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah, said:

I claim that there is no clear American conception regarding this issue.

In other words, the American conception is not different of the Israeli one that offers the Palestinians everything and nothing at the same time. It offers them vague promises and words that mean nothing, and then accuses them of losing a historic opportunity that they could have benefited from had they accepted the Israeli terms that tell them that they are not a nation and do not deserve a state.

The Jewish entity, with its nature of aggression and goals of expansion as well as its racial structure, rejects the establishment of a Palestinian state. Such a development would mean the beginning of the end of the Zionist dream to conquer the entire region.

The Zionist rejection of such a state is supported by the American Administration that believes, although implicitly, that Israel is always right, which means that any Palestinian pursuit of freedom is a kind of terrorism, while all Israeli aggressions are acts of self-defense, a natural right for the only "democracy" in the region.

The American rejection of the Palestinian state constitutes the basis of any American solution to the Palestinian cause. That is why Bush's administration has tried throughout the first tenure to accuse the Palestinians at every juncture that they are the problem and the obstacle… Thus, they kept talking about the corruption of the Palestinian authority and the need for reform, and a leadership that seeks a "democratic transformation"…

All this was an attempt to enlarge or inflate the internal Palestinian problem and forget the major issue of occupation. The coming four years will witness a repetition of the same accusations in an effort to pass time and achieve nothing.

The American conception of the Palestinian state is evident in the letter of guaranties Bush sent to Sharon, which was later endorsed by the Congress.

This letter cancels the right of return, tries to resettle the Palestinians in the Diaspora and violates the legitimate rights, by saying first that such issues are to be solved by negotiations. But it would then side with Israel once these negotiations start, giving the Palestinians a choice between noting and a vague and leading formula that would be given the name of state, but it in fact does not have a taste, color or smell.

Bush who has always talked about the evident facts on the ground, reminding the Palestinians that the occupation is the only fact while their dreams of a Palestinian state are a mirage, and who has turned a blind eye towards the threats the settlements pose upon the establishment of a Palestinian state, does not want to see any Palestinian state. He, as well as his extreme right administration, who resemble the Zionist extremists around Sharon, do not want to see a Palestinian state.

They only want the Palestinians to submit to the Israeli demands to be described by the Western media as abandoning "terrorism". But in return, they will be losing both the Palestinian state and the peace.

We believe that Bush is being hypocritical when he talks about a Palestinian state. Even the Road Map should be tailored to fit Sharon's plans, including the racial wall that was condemned by the international community but endorsed by Bush as part of the facts on the ground. Bush's America and Blair’s Britain used to describe Arafat as an obstacle who "let his people down" because he refused to cancel the right of return, and because he did not yield to the Israeli demands that in fact cancel the Palestinian people… They will continue to accuse any leadership that refuses to make compromise on the very basic Palestinian rights of the same accusation… they want the Palestinians to surrender, and gain in return a so-called Palestinian state that has no land, sovereignty or independence.

Therefore, we say to the Palestinian people who have proved that they deserve a state being the owners of the land, and that they are ready to make any sacrifice, no matter how big it could be, to earn it... We say to them that the latest developments, as tragic as they were, have shown the falseness of the American arguments… There is no other way but to continue the struggle, for the state is made by those who resist and not those who have shown that they are ready to surrender.

The Intifada has proved to the world that no force however big and oppressive it might be, could break the people's will. The Palestinians have made certain concrete steps in their struggle, and they still have further steps to make on their long road. But they should be supported by the nation and anybody who does not would be committing grand treason.