Yasser Arafat Quotes

"The victory march will continue until the Palestinian flag flies in Jerusalem and in all of Palestine."

"I come bearing an olive branch in one hand, and the freedom fighter's gun in the other. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand."

"We plan to eliminate the state of Israel and establish a purely Palestinian state. We will make life unbearable for Jews by psychological warfare and population explosion. We Palestinians will take over everything, including all of Jerusalem."

"Peace for us means the destruction of Israel. We are preparing for an all-out war, a war which will last for generations."

"Palestine is the cement that holds the Arab world together, or it is the explosive that blows it apart."

"In order to obtain the goal of returning to Palestine, all of us sometimes have to grit our teeth."

"Peace, for us, is an asset and in our interest. It is an absolute human asset that allows an individual to freely develop his individuality unbound by any regional, religious, or ethnic fetters."

"I call on all the countries of the world, especially the donor countries, to speed up their contributions so that the Palestinian people may overcome their economic and social problems and proceed with reconstruction and the rebuilding of infrastructures."

"As long as we have decided to coexist in peace, we must do so on a firm basis that will withstand time and for generations."

"We totally and absolutely renounce all forms of terrorism."

"How can I shave in the midst of guerrilla warfare? On battlefields, we have no facilities for shaving, and that was why I first grew my beard."

"The Arabs are looking forward to developing their region, which the long years of war had prevented from finding its true place in today's world, in an atmosphere of democracy, pluralism, and prosperity."

"It's always convenient for certain people to heap accusations on Israel."

"I assure you, Ladies and Gentlemen, that we shall discover ourselves in peace more than we have with war and confrontation, as I am sure that the Israelis, in turn shall find themselves in peace more than they have found it in war."

"Confidence alone does not make peace, but acknowledging rights and confidence do. Failure to recognize these rights creates a sense of injustice; it keeps the embers burning under the ashes."

"Whoever stands by a just cause cannot possibly be called a terrorist."

"This is my homeland no one can kick me out."

"Whoever thinks of stopping the uprising before it achieves its goals, I will give him ten bullets in the chest."

"I would like to congratulate my partners in peace - Mr. Yitzhak Rabin, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Mr. Shimon Peres, the Israeli Foreign Minister - on being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize."

"The Palestinians, whose national cause guards the gates of Arab-Israeli peace, look forward like their Arab brethren to that comprehensive, just, and lasting peace based on 'land for peace' and compliance with international legitimacy and resolutions."

"The Palestinian Rifle is ready and we will aim it if they try to prevent us from praying in Jerusalem."

"I call on Russia and the United States of America, the cosponsors of the peace conference, to help the peace process take bigger steps by contributing to the process and helping to overcome all obstacles."

"Though I am not a chief of state, I must work twice as hard as one because I have to both administer a bureaucracy and run a revolution."

"Our law is a Jordanian law that we inherited, which applies to both the West Bank and Gaza, and sets the death penalty for those who sell land to Israelis."

"We started the peace process on the basis of land for peace and on the basis of U.N. resolution 242 and 338,1 as well as other international decisions on achieving the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people."