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November 12, 2015 Special Dispatch No. 6215

Fatah Secretary In Jerusalem 'Adnan Ghaith: Arafat's Slogan 'Millions Of Martyrs Are Marching On Jerusalem' Still Guides Us Today

November 12, 2015
Palestinians | Special Dispatch No. 6215

Fatah's secretary in Jerusalem,'Adnan Ghaith, dedicated his November 11, 2015 column in the Palestinian Authority (PA) daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida to marking the 11th anniversary of Yasser Arafat's death. He wrote that Arafat left the Palestinians a legacy regarding the struggle methods, and that he lighted the way for the future generations and serves as a source of inspiration for them. In his slogan "Millions of Martyrs Are Marching On Jerusalem," Arafat conveyed to the Palestinians the watchword of their national struggle, said Ghaith. He added that Arafat steered the Palestinian struggle towards Jerusalem and signaled to the Palestinians that they must unite for its sake and be willing to sacrifice themselves for it - a message which the Palestinians internalized and realized in their willingness to sacrifice.

The following are excerpts from his column:

 
Image: 3asfa.com

"Eleven years have passed since the death of the martyred founder, the Palestinian and world leader Yasser Arafat. In the course of these years, the Palestinian national cause and its Arab and global environment underwent many changes and struggles, but interestingly, the presence of that inspiring figure, the martyr Yasser Arafat, remained stable and deeply rooted [in our consciousness]. Though he is absent in body, his spirit, his method of struggle and his national doctrine, which guided the generations that came after him, remained. His image, his keffiya and his words remain an inspiration for the entire Palestinian people and [serve as] its ambassadors around the world.

One of the prominent sayings of our martyr [Arafat] was 'Millions Of Martyrs Are Marching On Jerusalem.' I, like all other members of the Palestinian people, repeated it wherever I encountered our living martyr [Arafat]. But back then we were not aware that, [through this slogan], Arafat was giving us the watchword of our Palestinian national struggle.

Yasser Arafat excelled at capturing the essence of the phase of struggle, at steering it, and at implementing it in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of our Palestinian people. Back then, Arafat signaled to us that the campaign for Jerusalem and its liberation required all the Palestinians and Arabs to be united in action and in their national struggle for [Jerusalem], and that the road to Jerusalem is clear and can be trodden only by those who put their lives on the line and give generously of their blood, sacrificing it on the altar of freedom and independence. The lamps of Jerusalem and of the blessed Al-Aqsa are filled with the pure blood that has been spilled and is still being spilled for the sake of liberating them.

Jerusalem, whose icons are the blessed Al-Aqsa and the Church of the Sepulcher, surely hates tears and loves dedication and sacrifice. Those words of the living martyr [Arafat] delineated the phase [of struggle], clarified it and drew its map. [Today,] many years after the death of the living martyr Yasser Arafat, it transpires that generations of Palestinians understood and internalized these signals and expressed them through all this sacrifice [aimed at] defending the blessed Al-Aqsa and the city of Jerusalem, and through the voices of the dignitaries and loyalists who increasingly [call] for the unity of the Palestinian people...

"[As] we mark the eleventh anniversary of the death of the late founder, leader and icon Yasser Arafat, we renew our promise to him that none of us will relinquish even an inch of Jerusalem's soil and that our national struggle will continue on the path blazed by our eternal martyr Yasser Arafat, [the path] for which he was martyred."[1]

 

Endnotes:

 

[1] Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (PA), November 11, 2015.

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