Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas: Most Qassam Missiles Fall in Palestinian Territory

Following are excerpts from a speech by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The Speech was aired on Al-Jazeera TV on January 9, 2006

Mahmoud Abbas: We should not consider the truce a favor that we are doing to others. We are not doing Israel any favor. We are giving a gift to our own people. The truce is for the sake of our people. What is the use of entering into conflict with the factions now? What is the use of missiles? I would like someone to give me even one benefit. Just one. Yesterday, when I was coming from the Erez crossing, I was greeted by two missiles. One of them hit Abu Iskandar's office. What's the use of that? 90 percent of the missiles hit our own people. They are fired, then come back and land on our homes -killing and wounding, killing and wounding... Unfortunately, you in the media do not highlight this fact. You don't highlight this. This must be made clear. Go and see where these missiles land. This is one aspect. As long as this is useless, why are we doing it? Only to say we are resisting? This is not resistance. With these missiles - which kill us - we are giving the Israelis a pretext to send planes to attack us, or to make supersonic booms, making our children deaf and paralyzed, and so on. You must tell the truth. You, the entire media... These missiles - what use are they? But all you say is: a missile was launched here and struck there... You should... You are not objective bystanders. You are citizens.

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The resistance... When we carry out a suicide operation in any city, which kill civilians and non-civilians, and so on, the result is a disaster for us. I don't deny that Israel provokes us. It perpetrates acts of killing, it assassinates, carries out raids - all this is true. But if it does so once, twice, three times, without any response on our part, it will find itself in an awkward position internationally, as well as in the eyes of its own people. We must not bring ourselves to the same level as Israel. The (Palestinian) operations... The truce... The truce is in our interests. Everyone comes and says to me he will bring the truce to an end – as if they were doing me a favor with this truce. Once I reached the point where I said to them: Go ahead and attack whatever you like. Do whatever you like. If you are giving the truce to me as a favor, I don't want it. It is for your people.