MEMRI - Middle East Research Institute
Qadhafi to leaders at the Arab Summit 2008: "Why didn't you make a Palestinian state from 1948-1967?"
Following are excerpts from a speech delivered by Libyan leader Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi, at the Arab League summit in Syria. The speech aired on Al-Jazeera TV on March 29, 2008.
NEWSRAEL: The late Qadhafi asked Arab leaders in 2008 a simple question: "If we held Gaza (Egypt) and the West Bank (Jordan) - why didn't we make a state then?"
Mu'ammar Qadhafi:
"People here talked about the pre-1967 borders. To tell you the truth, this is astonishing. Whatever happened to the [Palestinian] cause we had before 1967? Were we lying to ourselves or to the world?
Thousands of martyrs fell before 1967. What for? How can you say that Palestine was occupied only in 1967, and that [Israel] must return to the pre-1967 borders? Does Palestine consist of only the West Bank and the Gaza Strip?
If so, it means that the Israelis did not occupy it in 1948. They left it to you for twenty years, so why didn't you establish a Palestinian state? Wasn't the Gaza Strip part of Egypt and the West Bank part of Jordan? The Jews left them to you for twenty years – from 1948 to 1967.
If that is Palestine, why didn't you establish a state there? What is the justification for all the wars, the sacrifices, and the economic embargo on Israel before 1967?
The Israelis can sue the Arabs now, and demand billions or even trillions in compensation for the damage caused them in 1948-1967. You Arabs admitted that the [Palestinian] cause began after 1967. So the Israelis can ask: "Why did you fight us before that?" They will demand Arab compensation for the so-called embargo on Israel and for the economic damage caused to the Israelis.
If the Israelis sue you, they will win. They will say: We suffered an injustice. We are like an innocent lamb surrounded by wolves. We've been saying this since 1948.
Now the Arabs themselves have admitted that Palestine was occupied in 1967. Now they demand that Israel return to the pre-1967 borders, saying this will resolve the problem, and they will recognize Israel.
Why didn't you recognize Israel before 1967? All the damage suffered in 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973, to this day - what was it all for, if the entire Palestinian cause began after 1967?
Why didn't you recognize the so-called Israel before 1967, if Palestine was not occupied before then? This is strange. It is illogical. It doesn't make sense. What is this?
There is no God but Allah. By Allah, this is unacceptable. It doesn't make sense."
End of quote.