Speaking From Both Corners of His Mouth

Palestinian education minister denies reports that he criticised suicide bombings in interview with US paper

"Jenin - Ma'an exclusive - Palestinian Education Minister Nasser Addin Ash-Sha'er has denied the declarations which the US daily newspaper Washington Post ascribed to him.

In an interview with Washington Post columnist Robert Novak published on Monday, Ash-Sha'er was quoted as saying that bombing attacks by Palestinians on Israeli targets had ruined past peace attempts.

Ash-Sha'er reportedly said that "previous attempts at peace were ruined by suicide bombers. Now, we look forward to a sustained peace."

On Wednesday, in conversation with Ma'an, he depicted the newspaper's allegations as imprecise.

The minister highlighted, "electronic websites took portions of a long interview, and what they took was absolutely out of the real context." It was misinterpreted, he explained......

....he was further quoted as saying. "Without pressure from the president of the United States, nothing is going to happen." "

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You can read the article by Robert Novak for yourself; just scroll down 13 posts.

This is not surprising. Hamas is now doing exactly what Arafat did before and what Fatah as well as many Arab "leaders" still do. They give totally different messages when they speak in Arabic to their own people and when they give an interview in English to an American reporter. These people underestimate (and insult) our intelligence and our ability to find the truth, which is laughable in this information age. I still remember Arafat talking about the right of return at the very same time when the N.Y. Times published an article bearing his name, in which he openly said that he would not insist on the right of return, since its implementation was "not practical" as he put it.

I have not used the FAMAS label in a while, but I think I should refer to it more often. The differences between the two groups are becoming increasingly blurred.