A Fatah Central Committee member recently told viewers on PA TV that the problems in the Middle East stem from its occupation by the United States (which also created ISIS and al Qaeda).

In a November 29 appearance on Palestinian Authority TV, Central Committee member Nabil Shaath, a former minister of the PA and as well as a former negotiator for the PA, claimed the occupation of the Middle East by the United States caused the region's problems, He added that the U.S created Al-Qaeda in order to fight the Soviet Union and it created ISIS to fight the Iraqi government.

Below are excerpts translated by MEMRI:

Shaath: The weakness and feebleness from which the Arabs suffer, because of their domestic problems, because of the American occupation of Iraq, and its ramifications for Iraq and Syria, and because of the American occupation of Afghanistan, which gave rise to Al-Qaeda, Taliban, and so on…

Interviewer: Every war in the world has a direct effect on us…

Shaath: The wars waged by the Americans in Afghanistan and Iraq have given rise to the main problems facing us today, not only in Iraq, but in Syria as well, and they pose a threat to Lebanon, Jordan, and everywhere else. The Americans created Al-Qaeda so that it would fight the Soviet occupation in Afghanistan, and created ISIS so that it would fight the government in Baghdad. Then they say that the genie has come out of the bottle, and has become the main enemy that we must confront. Indeed, the Arabs are facing a problem, but this problem stems from the American occupation of our region. All we have got from this is the defects and problems with which we have to deal today.