Secretary General of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Nayef Hawatmeh called on President Yasser Arafat to "calm his fighters" because Israel would overwhelm them.
"We are against the use of weapons of war ... we are for the continuation of the Intifada by peaceful demonstrations or with stones," said Hawatmeh in an interview with the French daily Le Figaro.
"We have asked Arafat to calm his fighters. Israel's superiority is total: 130 dead on our side and five on theirs," said the DFLP chief.
On Tuesday, the actual death toll reached 160 killed or proclaimed clinically dead -- most of them Arabs -- since violence erupted in the Palestinian territories more than a month ago.
The DFLP is one of two main organizations, which, along with Arafat's Fateh faction, form the PLO.
In the past, the DFLP had denounced the Sharm el-Sheikh accords, called on the Arab summit to end all ties with Israel and "use the oil" card, came out against any meeting between US President Bill Clinton and Arafat, and pledged to continue the uprising in the Palestinian territories.
Hawatmeh admitted to "disagreements with the Fateh (faction) over many principles."
"Those who have weapons belong to Arafat's Fateh. The Palestinian Authority only give weapons to Arafat's men," he said
"However, the roots of Fateh, they are Muslim brothers. When he was a student, Arafat belonged to that brotherhood," Hawatmeh added.
"The Fateh is a national organization in which certain members are ultra-nationalist and others Islamist," he told Le Figaro.
"We could aim for a compromise in which Arafat would retain his militia and isolated armed individuals," he said.
Hawatmeh denounced a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to form a government of unity with hawkish right-wing leader Ariel Sharon, saying it would be "a government of aggression, expansion and war in the region."
"The Intifada will continue as long as the United States and Israel do not accept the resumption of peace talks based on UN resolutions," the faction leader said, adding that Russia and the European Union should be invited to the negotiating table – PARIS (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
