Following is the statement issued by the National and Islamic Forces on April 21, 2001; signatories are: Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fateh); Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP); Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas); Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP); Palestinian People’s Party (PPP); Palestinian Democratic Union (FIDA); Palestinian Popular Struggle Front; Palestinian Liberation Front; Islamic Jihad Movement; Arab Liberation Front; Palestinian Arab Front; Popular Front—General Command; Islamic National Salvation Party; and Popular Liberation War Pioneers (Sa’iqa):

The Zionist aggression has been broken at the rock of the steadfastness of our courageous people in Bet Hanoun and in Rafah and in all the West Bank and Gaza districts. Our great people affirm to the slaughterer Sharon and the aggression unity government that all their barbaric attempts will not break the will and determination of our people to resist and remain steadfast until achieving the defeat of the aggression and break the aggressors until they leave the last inch of our occupied territories.

The attempts of the Israeli aggression army to re-occupy the liberated lands that are under the jurisdiction of the PNA and the steadfastness and heroism of the Palestinian people and their popular and official institutions raised angry reactions at the local, Arab, Islamic, and international levels. It has been proven that the readiness to protect and defend the land and the sacrifice for the freedom of the lands is the first principle that will make the international powers exert pressure on Israel to withdraw, fearing the threats to their interests if the scope of confrontation expand regionally. The adventure of the slaughterer Sharon to occupy PNA regions following his aggression on the Syrian radar station in the Lebanese Biqa' Valley created the option of the eruption of a regional war. We at the National and Islamic Forces condemn the Israeli aggression on Syria and Lebanon and against our people, and we affirm the unity of the Palestinian-Arab position more than ever, especially that the blessed Intifada of al-Aqsa, al-Quds, Independence and Return has reinforced our Palestinian national unity with all national and Islamic forces united with the PNA official institutions so that everybody are in the same trench with one heart like a cohesive and solid building.

The National and Islamic Forces consider any initiative or attempt to give Sharon a chance to maneuver under the slogan of peace as failing schemes that only serve the interest of the continuation of the aggression government, especially when Sharon committed the crime against Syria and Lebanon and attacked the northern part of Gaza and attempted to reoccupy the PNA territories.

The National and Islamic Forces believe that the continuation of the Intifada and resistance and escalating and developing these forms require the continuation of isolating the government of Sharon-Peres and maintain the position of not receiving its envoys or sending any envoys to it from any Arab country. The security project of Sharon has started to break up while the Israeli society has started to compare between Sharon and his predecessors who tried to minimize the level of expectations among the Palestinian people through aggression and terrorism. In the same way that Netanyahu and Barak went down, the Sharon-Peres must also go down through frustrating its security project that contradicts with the constants and inalienable rights of our people, including the right of return, self determination and the establishment of the full sovereign Palestinian independent state with al-Quds as its capital.

The National and Islamic Forces that are united with the popular and official forces of our people realize that we are engaged in the battle of will breaking with the government of the racist and his fascist scheme. The National and Islamic Forces realize that the steadfastness of our people and their determination will defeat this government and achieve victory to those who have rights and to the Mujahideen for the sake of liberating our blessed land. Escalating the heroic resistance and the blessed Intifada is the major factor in frustrating Sharon's security and political scheme towards isolating his government and reaching its downfall as a step towards achieving the great victory.

The National and Islamic Forces looks with danger at the Zionist racist scheme towards Jerusalem and the Islamic and Christian holy sites and how Moslems and Christians are banned from exercising their religious rituals in Jerusalem, in addition to the settlement activities in Jerusalem and the scheme of the President of the Zionist entity that called for dividing the Aqsa Mosque in the same way that they are continuing with the conspiracy against the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. The National and Islamic Forces condemn the attempts to forge history through the special museum that talks about the alleged temple near the Aqsa Mosque.

The National and Islamic Forces extend salutes to the leaders, cadres, and members of the Palestinian Liberation Front on its anniversary on April 27, wishing the Front all success and progress on the path towards freedom and national independence.

The National and Islamic Forces call on our masses to participate in the following activities:

1- Wednesday, April 25, 2001: A day of voluntary work to support the local authorities union in the municipal and village councils in which the national and Islamic forces participate in addition to the participation of popular and official forces according to the needs of each council.
2- Friday, April 27, 2001: A day to protect the Aqsa and affirm the Arab and Islamic nature of Jerusalem. To affirm determination to break the aggression through massing up marches in the districts and head to prayers to Jerusalem and escalate popular escalations and activities at the checkpoints.

The National and Islamic Forces realize the importance of having popular activities and call upon the districts to initiate preparations for holding their conferences and towards reactivating the role of popular sectors on a weekly basis in order to achieve the comprehensive aspect of activities. It was decided to start as of today to prepare for the first of May, the International Day of Laborers, to be a day of labor activities and popular marches in which the national forces join to support the steadfastness of our laborers and work on solving the problems of unemployment.

Long live the blessed Intifada
Glory and eternity for our martyrs
Fast recovery to the injured and freedom for our heroic prisoners
It is an Intifada until victory
 

The National and Islamic Forces