Senior PLO Official Ahmad Majdalani: We Will Not Allow Hamas to Keep Its Weapons; We May Sue Britain for Damage Caused by Balfour Declaration

PLO Executive Committee Member Dr. Ahmad Majdalani said that the British government should apologize for the Balfour Declaration and compensate the Palestinians for the material and psychological damage they suffered. "There is the option of suing the British government, in Britain and in accordance with British law," he said. "We can also sue Britain in international courts." Majdalani also said that it was unacceptable for Hamas to keep its weapons. "There cannot be two regimes, two policies, and two different states within a single state," he said, adding: "Does Iran allow any faction to arm itself on its soil?" Majdalani's remarks aired on Palestinian Authority TV channel on October 25.

Ahmad Majdalani: "We will not allow the example of Lebanese Hizbullah to be repeated in Palestine. Lebanon has its own special circumstances.

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"If there is an intention to start this war and to mobilize Palestinian public opinion just so a certain faction [Hamas] can keep its weapons, and enjoy an advantage over other factions in the Palestinian political system – this is unacceptable. In such a case, every faction would have the right to establish a militia, saying that 'these are the weapons of the resistance and no one should touch them.' This would mean that there is no [Palestinian] state. We are talking about one state, one regime, one law, and one military.

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"Some [in Hamas] say to us, '[Weapons] above ground will be yours, and what's underground will be ours.' Well with all due respect..."

Interviewer: "Is that unacceptable?"

Ahmad Majdalani: "Of course it is. There will be a single authority and a single law – above ground and underground. There cannot be two regimes, two policies, and two different states within a single state, no matter what you call it. Does Iran allow any faction to arm itself on its soil? Does it? Not just Iran, any country – but Iran first and foremost... They do not allow any faction, under any circumstances, to arm itself, even if the goal of that faction is to fight America.

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"The British government has to do three things: First, it should apologize to the Palestinian people, instead of celebrating [the centennial of the Balfour Declaration]. Second, they should compensate the Palestinian people for all the material and psychological damage it suffered. Third they should recognize the state of Palestine.

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"We are going to take every means available. There is the option of suing the British government, in Britain and in accordance with British law. We can also sue Britain in international courts. This is the legal track. There are other popular tracks, in which the entire Palestinian people can take part, with all its active forces, and all its friends in the forces of liberation, progress, and peace in the world."