The truth is that certain powerful and wealthy people as well as certain politicians decided to wipe a people off the face of the earth. They decided to wipe a country off the map of the world. And they think that they have managed to achieve this goal. They killed some people, forced out some other people and suppressed the rest. They started to think that everything was over. But as has been proven by experience, it is not possible for superpowers, for England, for America, for the Zionists, for company owners or for powerful international organizations to wipe a people, not a people like the Palestinian people, a people who enjoy a brilliant historical background, a people who enjoy a rich and deep Islamic culture, a people who enjoy brilliant capacities. The Palestinian people are an outstanding people and there are many talented and great personalities among them.
They made a mistake: they thought that Palestine and the Palestinian people had been eliminated. Palestine survived. The Palestinian nation survived. The Palestinian nation still exists, but they have occupied its territories. They gathered a number of people from around the world, established a fake and bogus nation, chose a name for it and provided it with means of power.
The first step is awareness. This is a fact that the current generation of the Palestinian people have fully understood. They have taken this step and they have realized that the bogus Zionist entity is not invincible despite all the global support that it enjoys. Therefore, they have stepped into the arena.
Today all Muslim governments and peoples have a responsibility to help the Palestinian people as much as they can. I do not claim that the issue of Palestine will be resolved in the short term, but I claim that Palestine will undoubtedly be restored to the Palestinians. The price that is paid might be heavy, but this liberation will happen sooner or later.
One of the factors that plays a role in this regard is the actions of Muslim peoples and government officials of Islamic countries. If we take good actions, Palestine will be liberated faster and the costs will be reduced and if we fail to do so, it will take longer to achieve liberation and the costs will become heavier. It is not just the Palestinian people who will have to bear the burden of these costs: the entire world of Islam will have to shoulder the burden. The people who show negligence and help the oppressor will also have to pay a price. They too will be harmed. Therefore, all Muslims have a responsibility in this regard.
What is this responsibility? The responsibility involves offering support. How should we go about offering support? Support can take different forms: political support, financial support, international support. The Palestinians can be offered different kinds of support. This is a decision that should be made in high-level meetings in the world of Islam. This is a decision that should be made by government officials of the world of Islam, by powerful individuals. If they fail to make this decision, Muslim peoples will feel that they are the ones who should shoulder this responsibility.
PalestinianLeader's Speech in a Meeting with Officials and Ambassadors of Islamic Countries on October 25, 2000
