"The 'Palestinian' people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, 'Palestinians', Syrians, and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a 'Palestinian' people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct 'Palestinian people' to oppose Zionism. For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa. While as a 'Palestinian', I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva, and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of 'Palestine', we will not wait even a minute to unite 'Palestine' and Jordan." — PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein, March 31, 1977, interview with the Dutch newspaper TROUW.)