Mohammed Hussein Fadallah, leader of an extremist Shiite Moslem group in Lebanon insists that Israel has no right to exist, according to an interview published in Der Spiegel today.
Fadallah heads “Hisballah” (Party of God) which is believed responsible for suicide attacks on American and French troops in Lebanon as well as on the Israel Defense Force. He said his group will continue to attack the IDF to force it to leave every inch of Lebanese soil. But he would not say specifically that the attacks would continue across the border after Israeli forces have left Lebanon.
Questioned in that connection, Fadallah said Israel’s very existence is illegitimate because the Israelis took the land of the Palestinians. “Even if the Jews suddenly would become Moslems, we will demand that they leave the land of Palestine that they have usurped,” he said.
Asked if Lebanese Shiites would be ready to come to terms with Israel if the Palestine Liberation Organization did, Fadallah claimed the PLO had no right to sign a treaty that would renounce the right of the Palestinians to return to their land.
He said his community could not accept a peace treaty between a Moslem state and Israel because it does not accept Israel as a legitimate political entity. Fadallah’s influence in Lebanese politics has been steadily increasing in recent months, Der Spiegel noted.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
