Will ‘Never Let the Gun Fall,’ Arafat Declares

PLO chief Yasser Arafat, responding to criticism that he favors peace with Israel, said in an interview broadcast Sunday that the Palestinian people will “never let the gun fall from their hands.”

Arafat’s statement on Abu Dhabi television followed a declaration he made last Thursday in Cairo in which he denounced violence against unarmed civilians anywhere and pledged to punish violators of a PLO commitment against terrorism outside Israeli-occupied territory. The interview televised Sunday was conducted Friday in Cairo.

The Palestine Liberation Organization leader said his earlier Cairo declaration was “a diplomatic riposte to the fierce U.S. and Zionist campaign against the PLO” and represented “truthful respect for international legitimacy, which distinguishes between resistance against an enemy and terrorist operations against innocent civilians outside the occupied land.”

The declaration was criticized by some Arabs who contended that he had dropped the Palestinian armed struggle in favor of peaceful accommodation with Israel. In the interview, however, Arafat said Palestinian resistance remains committed to “escalating armed struggle inside the occupied territories.” The Palestinians will “never let the gun fall from their hands,” he said.

In a related development, Jordan’s King Hussein told a military graduating class in Amman on Sunday that “the Arab flag” will soon fly over Jerusalem. The king, who has recently been in the forefront of Middle East peace moves, said in a speech at the Royal Military Academy that Arab will soon rule Jerusalem, a city with a population of 400,000.

“It will not be long before the day that the Arab flag will fly over Jerusalem and the voices (from the mosques) will cry ‘God is great’ and the bells will ring from the churches there,” he told the graduates.