Following are two recent references by senior Palestinian officials to the US missile strikes against Sudan and Afghanistan:

24th August, 1998 interview on Israel Army radio with Sufian Abu Zaida, head of the PA’s Israel desk

“Question: Tell me, does the Palestinian Authority support the American action against targets in Sudan and Afghanistan?

Sufian Abu Zaida: Of course not. Of course not…. We do not agree and we shall not agree. I do not think it would be right for us to agree with the American attack on Afghanistan and Sudan. It would be a disgrace if a Palestinian or an Arab were to agree to this, since there was no proof. The United States can not be both the guardian of law in the world and the one who enforces it.

Question:… So you come and say that we can not totally rely on American intelligence?

Sufian Abu Zaida: That is the answer. That is the answer – to kill Sudanese and Afghan civilians – that is the answer? Let us say that Bin Laden is a terrorist, let’s assume that he is a terrorist and that he did it. So Clinton is also a terrorist who kills Afghan and Sudanese innocents. That is the answer?!”

Interview on 21st August, 1998 with Secretary-General of the PA Cabinet Ahmad Abd al-Rahman on the official PA radio station the Voice of Palestine

“These air operations against a sovereign country like Sudan and also against a sovereign country like Afghanistan are a serious precedent in international relations. It is an aggression against the sovereignty of these countries…. I say that this precedent might open the door to the return of the law of the jungle governing relations among countries… We view these efforts as harmful to peace efforts, to stability in the Middle East. They also show that some quarters in the US administration might be more inclined to adopt the policy of force instead of the policy of settling issues peacefully.”

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