In a fiery speech in Ramallah today, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat called for more martyrdom, reportedly saying: “I am willing to sacrifice 70 to die to kill one Israeli.”
Israel Radio West Bank correspondent Avi Yissakharov reported Arafat declared “all Palestinians are Muhammad al-Dura,” that all Palestinians are martyrs. Al-Dura was a 12-year-old boy killed in the Gaza Strip last year while his father tried to protect him from crossfire between Palestinian snipers and Israeli Defense Forces.
Arafat called for all to join in the struggle to stop what he termed the Israeli program to Judaize Jerusalem.
The crowd roared back to Arafat, “Millions of martyrs are already marching to Jerusalem.”
Israel Television Channel Two reported this evening that Arafat also told the crowd, “I am willing to sacrifice 70 martyrs to kill one Israeli” and called for a continuation of the struggle against Israel.
Arafat’s fiery rhetoric in Arabic stands in stark contrast to his more conciliatory statements in English in which he has agreed to stop attacks on Israelis.
The translation of the speech was offered by the Independent Media Review & Analysis.
