The wife of besieged Palestinian President Yasser Arafat wants to be by his side, and has described suicide bombing attacks as a legitimate resistance against Israeli occupation, in an interview with a Saudi magazine published Friday.
"Resistance is a legitimate right for every occupied people, and ... (suicide) operations are an indivisible part of that right," the London-based weekly Al Majalla quoted Suha Al Taweel Arafat as saying in answer to questions sent via the Palestinian embassy in Riyadh.
Suha Arafat stated there would have been "no greater honor" than sacrificing her son to the Palestinian struggle for independence if she had one, she told Al Majalla.
"Would you expect me and my children to be less patriotic and more eager to live than my countrymen and their father and leader, who is seeking martyrdom?" she said. Asked whether suicide bombings served the Palestinian cause, she said: "Let me ask: 'What is one's position (supposed to be toward) an enemy who kills father, brother, sister, mother and grandfather in cold blood?'
"I address this question to all those who ask, interpret and denounce these operations ... Should we remain with arms folded?"
Arafat's wife, who has been out of the West Bank "for security reasons," said she undoubtedly wishes to be with him during the siege. "I am prepared to return (to the Palestinian territories) the minute I am asked to," she said.
Suha Arafat said she spoke with her husband by mobile phone "whenever there is a chance" and that he was in good health despite being trapped in his office since Israel launched its offensive on the West Bank on March 29. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
