Tass Saada is visiting the Netherlands this week to promote his book Once an Arafat man. It’s a story that could easily be turned into a film scenario. As a Palestinian, Mr Saada learned to hate at a young age. And it was his hatred of Jews that turned him into the ‘butcher of Fatah’. Tass Saada was born in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip and grew up in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. His parents fled Jaffa in Israel back in 1948.

Palestinian refugees were humiliated and treated as second-rate citizens. It was said they had sold their country to the Jews. “In the Middle East a man without land is a man without honour,” remarks Mr Saada. When the Arab forces failed to force Israel back out of their territories in the Six Day War in 1967, he decided to join the Palestinian Fatah movement. He was mesmerised by the charisma of PLO leader Yasser Arafat, who visited his family home frequently.

• Listen to an 18-minute interview with Tass Saada

Tass Saada talking to RNW's Klaas den Tek - Once an Arafat man (17'59")

Tass Saada fought for Afarat, he was his driver and, as a 17-year-old sniper, he killed various Fatah opponents. He lost count of how many people he killed. Mr Saada: 

“It is one of the most difficult things for me to live with. God has forgiven me, but I find it difficult to forgive myself. At the time, I was convinced that violence was necessary. That we could help our families get land we could call our own. I would have rather died than have had no homeland.”

Black September
Tass Saada is convinced he wouldn’t have survived if his father had not made him return to Qatar in 1970. One day after he left, Jordanian troops drove Palestinian organisations out of their country. Thousands of people were killed in what became known as Black September. Tass Saada never returned to fight for Fatah, but he continued to support the organisation for a long time.

Eventually he left for the United States, where he married an American woman and became a successful businessman. In 1993, he converted to Christianity. Not everybody appreciated it, especially when he started preaching and praying in mosques. Once he was beaten up by Muslims, when they found out he was a convert.

“My family were also horrified. They thought my conversion was a worse sin than if my sister had committed adultery. My brother hired hitmen who tried for 11 years to kill me. They wanted me to convert back to Islam. But I did not fear death and I could not deny my Christian faith. Eventually my family accepted it.”

Geert Wilders
Tass Saada is convinced that Islam is dangerous and is aimed at world domination. Although he stresses there is a difference between Islam and Muslims. Not all Muslims are terrorists. The comment clearly makes him sound like Freedom Party (PVV) leader Geert Wilders, whom he would dearly like to meet during his visit to the Netherlands. He sees Mr Wilders as a political ally.

“I think he’s great. He stands for the truth, and he’s not frightened to speak out about it. Just see how the influence of Islam has expanded into the West, including America. Unfortunately Wilders’ views are not being taken seriously.”

Israeli state
His views on Israel have also radically changed. He now preaches for peace between Jews and Arabs. He has set up a school and a cultural centre in the Gaza Strip. The presence of Hamas meant that he had to move to Jericho and Jerusalem in the end. He says it’s possible for Jews and Arabs to live in peace in Israel. He is not in favour of separate Israeli and Palestinian states.

“I can’t find that in the Bible. God promised the land to the Jews, but He also said the Jews should live in peace with their neighbours. Palestinians have the same rights as Jews, but in just one state. The state of Israel.”

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