The Ceiling of My Demands and Israel's General

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

A military governor of the Tulkarm district summoned me in 1987, while I was under house arrest in Deir al-Ghusun, to meet with one of the officers of the Israeli General Staff. My appointment with him was set for two o’clock in the afternoon, but he was about a quarter of an hour late, so I decided to leave the Tulkarm Saraya. No sooner had I stepped through the main gate than soldiers aimed their rifles at me and ordered me back inside. An officer told me the general was running a little late and was insisting on seeing me, and he took my ID card to force me to stay. The general arrived at half past two.

The general asked me about the solution in the region, and I told him it could be summed up in two words: the right of return. He said this meant destroying the State of Israel, so I told him he faced two choices: either accept the right of return and spare himself and his people killing and destruction, or refuse and expose his people to something that had never even crossed his mind. He asked what that thing was, and I said: annihilation and displacement. He said the balance of power showed that it was we who would be annihilated, and I said I was not speaking of the current balance of power, but of the balance to come. He said my words were grandiose, so I said my words were grandiose for 1987, but would sound modest thirty years on. He then asked whether I would be patient for that whole span, and I said I would bequeath the patience to my son.

The general said Israel’s government was prepared to agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state on the West Bank and the Strip, so I told him that a state which does not arise from the right to self-determination can only ever be a security proxy for Israel. When I achieve the right of self-determination, I will decide what I want — I might establish a state, or an empire, or decide on union with an Arab state. That is a matter for the Palestinian people to decide. He said Arafat was looking for a state, and was prepared to negotiate with Israel. I said, good health to him — let him negotiate, let him try. This Palestinian-state project you bless will be overtaken by events, and overtaken by the balance of power, and your burdens in the future will grow so heavy that you will find no benefit at all in negotiating with those who are, even now, prepared to negotiate with you. The general called me an extremist, and threatened me with deportation, so I told him: “I’ll be glad to be rid of the sight of you.”

…[Ar]ab [forces] controlling Jewish population clusters in northern Palestine.

What did I base this on, and what do I base it on now? I based it on developments that were quietly taking shape in the region, and that continued quietly for a long time, until 2006, when Hezbollah revealed some of its combat secrets. I could see the accelerating decline of the PLO as a central player in the region, and the rise of new forces on the Palestinian scene, more serious and more committed to the Palestinian cause. I could see a technical rise in Iran that heralded a technical rise in Syria as well, and all of this represented a powerful incentive for many groups across the Arab and Islamic scene to shake off humiliation and disgrace and decide to fight. The Americans and the Israelis had subjected Arabs and Muslims to the worst torment, and there was no choice left but to rise up — and such behavior cannot help but produce its own negation, its opposite. This is exactly what is now accelerating, from Pakistan all the way to Sudan.

As for Israel, it is clear that corruption is eating away at it from head to toe, and that moral collapse has reached the very top of the state and its ministers. Its historic leadership figures have vanished, its army has changed, and its morale has fallen. Israel remains strong militarily and in security terms, but the rot has already worked its way into every one of its limbs.

What I demanded of you, General, back in 1987, no longer holds. The ceiling of my demands has risen, and it will keep rising as the days pass. I now want the Sykes-Picot Agreement annulled, and I want a ruling issued declaring the illegitimacy of the 1922 Mandate instrument, and everything that followed from it declared illegitimate as well.

I hope you will not rely on your muscle, for muscle unguided by reason ends its vigor in catastrophe. We are able to absorb the destruction wrought by your nuclear bombs, while you are far too feeble to absorb the destruction wrought by conventional missiles. And do not rely on the Americans either — what they could have offered you ten years ago, they will not be able to offer even a quarter of, ten years from now. I advise you to work for your tomorrow, for you may yet come to me seeking refuge. I will keep you waiting to see what judgment God passes upon you: shall I grant you refuge and lead you to safety, or shall I flay your skin?

Do not misread this article of mine, as you misread my words back in 1987.

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “سقف مطالبي وجنرال إسرائيل” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.