Quotes from Yasser Arafat

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

We totally and absolutely renounce all forms of terrorism.

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.

Let us return back to the peace process for our children and for their children. The peace of the brave which I have signed is my debt, part in our love for [Isaac] Rabin.

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

This is my homeland no one can kick me out.

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.

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.

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

All religious wars are about people arguing over who has the biggest invisible friend.

I can't let it pass when you say: "You are the weak party." No, I am not the weak party. I am the man who is making the war. I am the man who is making the peace.

The war of attrition against the Zionist enemy will never cease.

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.

The Palestinian people have no national identity. I, Yasser Arafat, man of destiny, will give them that identity through conflict with Israel.

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.

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.

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

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.