Adnan Gaith in his office
Photo: Ofer Meir
Head of Fatah's militant wing: Abbas can't control escalating situation
'Netanyahu is the only one in the world who is responsible for this situation,' accuses Tanzim head Adnan Gaith. 'Abbas believes in peace, but he doesn't and will not believe in being a soldier protecting Israel's borders.'
The head of Fatah's militant wing Tanzim said on Thursday that the Palestinian leadership cannot control and does not have the ability to stop the escalating violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
"Not Abbas and not anyone else can control this situation as long as Benjamin Netanyahu continues giving his soldiers permission to kill people and operate at al-Aqsa mosque," Adnan Gaith told Ynet.
Gaith is the head of Fatah's organizational branch in East Jerusalem, and has control over different flashpoints in the Palestinian neighborhoods, where residents heed his orders.
Ynet reporter interviews Gaith (Photo: Ofer Meir)
He is a rising star in the Palestinian leadership, and it was no coincidence that it was him - and not any of the other senior Palestinian officials - that stood next to Abbas during his speech upon his return to Ramallah from the UN General Assembly meeting.
In an interview with Ynet at his office in the village of Al-Ram in East Jerusalem, Gaith warned that Israel and the Palestinians were on a slippery slope, and that no one could foresee how it would end.
"No one can control what's happening, and it's only going to get worse."
What do you mean by 'worse'?
"You don't know what is going to happen."
Gaith blames the Israeli government for the escalating situation. "Netanyahu is the only one in the world who is responsible for this situation. No one else is responsible for what's going on, not even the Palestinian Authority that cannot control the situation so long as Netanyahu and his government continue in their ways."
He claimed that as long as Israel is trigger happy when it comes to the Palestinians; there is ongoing violation of the status quo at the al-Aqsa mosque; and young Palestinians witness women on the Temple Mount being dragged away by security forces - the unrest will continue.
"You tell me, when the children see this situation, how do you expect them to act?" he asks. "Give a soldier a flower and say 'thank you for killing my father'? So what do they do? They resist. They each resist in their own way."
His comments imply that the Palestinian street would not be satisfied with a new agreement on the status of the Temple Mount, even if the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships reach such an agreement under international pressure.
The Palestinians, he said, would only calm down if the two sides make a significant diplomatic move that would lead to the formation of a Palestinian state.
"What did all the (Israeli) governments want from the Palestinian Authority over the past few years? That it keeps controlling the territories it's already in, for the situation to remain as it is and for Abbas to keep protecting Israel's borders (via security cooperation between PA and Israel - EL). That will never happen. Abbas is a man who believes in peace, but he doesn't and will not believe in being a soldier protecting Israel's borders. Those who think that are majorly mistaken."
