Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - April 1, 2002

Although the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Islamic countries has started in Malaysia since yesterday, the actions are limited to speeches, declarations of positions, and requests from the United Nations and the United States to contain Israel, and they do not have the courage to take serious decisions against the United States and Israel, such as severing relations, boycotting them, or closing the oil taps, which could cause problems for them.

Full text of the diary:

In the case of Palestine, the situation is the same as yesterday. After the explosion in Haifa with two more martyrdom operations, another blow was inflicted on Israel. The Israeli army has entered the cities of Qalqilya and Bethlehem. The Palestinians also executed 11 Palestinian mercenaries who had spied for Israel. In southern Lebanon, there was also a limited clash between Hezbollah and the Israelis.

Mr. [Masoud] Arbab, one of the former directors of the Kish Free Zone Organization, came. He criticized the current management of Kish and said that they do not have a policy and a program and that the work is on a daily basis. He has established a company to attract capital to Kish. Mr. Nasser Nouri came. He complained to the management of Kish that they did not take the presence of Leicester University in Kish seriously, even though they had signed a contract with him in the past as Leicester's representative in Iran. Mr. [Khodayar] Alambeigi, [CEO of Hansa Chemical Company], a representative of a German company, came and explained the plan to invest in a welfare and commercial complex and said that one and a half billion euros would be spent.  He asked me for help in solving my problems. He suggested the problem of ownership for foreigners as well as the presence of Westerners in a less restricted area.

At this moment – at five o'clock in the afternoon – when I am writing my memoirs in my room and Abu Dhabi TV is on, there are live pictures of Ramallah on the page. Suddenly there was the sound of several explosions, and a pile of dust rose into the sky from around the headquarters of [Yasser] Arafat. He asked the reporter, "What is the incident?" He replied that the tanks were firing artillery shells at Arafat's headquarters and it was not clear where he hit. Several Israeli warplanes and helicopters can also be seen in the air. It was reported that several Israeli soldiers were also shot and taken away from the scene.

It has been reported that George W. Bush had made a pledge from Sharon a few days ago not to harm Arafat, although Sharon later said that he regretted making such a promise to Bush, but everyone knows that the main side of the United States and Israel is the martyrdom-seeking people who have frustrated them, not the likes of Yasser Arafat who accept the decision of the Arab leaders. Therefore, these propagandas do not have the desired effect, because the hero whom Bush does not want to be harmed and who also gives away 80 percent of the land of Palestine along with the compromisers, does not fit very well among the mujahideen and selfless forces, but in any case, it is good for showing the face of the enemy.

Sharon declared last night that Israel is at war and that there is no limit to war. On the other hand, the revolutionary forces have also declared that they know no limits in striking the enemy. Although the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Islamic countries has started in Malaysia since yesterday, the actions are limited to speeches, declarations of positions, and requests from the United Nations and the United States to contain Israel, and they do not have the courage to take serious decisions against the United States and Israel, such as severing relations, boycotting them, or closing the oil taps, which could cause problems for them. Since yesterday, Israel has declared Ramallah a closed zone and asked journalists to leave the area, but at the same time, the reports continue!