In an address this week in Jerusalem to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, former Prime Minister and current Likud Chairman and Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu called upon Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to demand of Palestinian Authority (PA) president and Fatah co-founder Mahmoud Abbas that Fatah rescind the Fatah Constitution, which calls for the “demolition” of Israel; the use of terrorism as an indispensable part in the strategy to obtain that goal; condemns Zionism as racist; calls on countries to prevent Jews from moving to Israel; and opposes any political solution whatsoever. Fatah is the ruling party of president Mahmoud Abbas and prime minister Salaam Fayyad. In his speech, Mr. Netanyahu condemned Fatah’s “official documents” and in response to a question from ZOA National President Morton A. Klein, unequivocally stated that the Olmert government must immediately demand that Abbas abrogate the clauses in the Fatah Constitution calling for Israel’s destruction and the use of terror against Israel.

Some specific heinous clauses in the Fatah Constitution:

• Article (4) The Palestinian struggle is part and parcel of the world-wide struggle against Zionism, colonialism and international imperialism.
  
  
• Article (7) The Zionist Movement is racial, colonial and aggressive in ideology, goals, organization and method.
  
  
• Article (8) The Israeli existence in Palestine is a Zionist invasion with a colonial expansive base, and it is a natural ally to colonialism and international imperialism.
  
  
• Article (12) Complete liberation of Palestine, and eradication of Zionist economic, political, military and cultural existence.
  
  
• Article (17) Armed public revolution is the inevitable method to liberating Palestine.
  
  
• Article (19) Armed struggle is a strategy and not a tactic, and the Palestinian Arab People’s armed revolution is a decisive factor in the liberation fight and in uprooting the Zionist existence, and this struggle will not cease unless the Zionist state is demolished and Palestine is completely liberated.
  
  
• Article (22) Opposing any political solution offered as an alternative to demolishing the Zionist occupation in Palestine, as well as any project intended to liquidate the Palestinian case or impose any international mandate on its people.
  
  
• Article (23) Maintaining relations with Arab countries with the objective of developing the positive aspects in their attitudes with the proviso that the armed struggle is not negatively affected.
  
  
• Article (24) Maintaining relations with all liberal forces supporting our just struggle in order to resist together Zionism and imperialism.
  
  
• Article (25) Convincing concerned countries in the world to prevent Jewish immigration to Palestine as a method of solving the problem.

Both the U.S. House and Senate have resolutions demanding that Fatah’s Constitution be changed. The House resolution is led by Minority Whip, Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV), and in the Senate it is led by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA). These resolutions explicitly demand that Mahmoud Abbas rescind the anti-peace, anti-Israel, pro-terror clauses in the Fatah Constitution.

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “We strongly support Mr. Netanyahu’s call for the Olmert government to immediately demand prompt action from Mahmoud Abbas on this front. The ZOA has been calling for this action for some time and in fact took out full-page advertisements in both the New York Times and Haaretz to make the argument in detail as to the necessity for this course of action. We urge everyone to contact their senators and congressmen, urging them to sign on to these resolutions.