Democratic Palestine : 13 (ص 14)
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- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 13 (ص 14)
- المحتوى
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PFLP's Political Relations on the
Palestinian, Arab
and International Levels
On ‘the occasion of the PFLP s 18th anniversary,
we asked Comrade Abu Ali Mustafa, Deputy Gen-
eral Secretary, to evaluate the Front s political rela-
tions historically.
inter-Palestinian Relations
Would you describe the PFLP’s political relations
on the Palestinian level at the start?
At the initial stage, relations among the principal Palesti-
nian organizations were characterized by two fluctuating cur-
rents. The first was enthusiasm for national unity with a clear
democratic program and democratic, front relations. The PFLP
was the main organization calling for this, as it was composed
of three fighting forces: the Palestinian branch of the Arab
National Movement, the Palestinian Liberation Front (today
PFLP-General Command) and the Heroes of Return, in addi-
tion to a number of national figures.
The PFLP made serious overtures to Fatah, for unity and
democratic, national front relations, and was willing to over-
come difficulties due to the importance of the matter. However,
despite seeming enthusiasm, earnest ideas and plans, Fatah's
leadership was pretentious and evasive. Its deceptive
approach climaxed in its disengagement from the 1967 agree-
ment (concerning unity efforts). Instead, it unilaterally called
the Cairo meeting and proclaimed the existence of eight non-
existent organizations. As an example, one of these was the
General Society of Support for the Palestinian People, headed
by Issam Sartawi; this was originally a medical society which
Arafat transformed into a political organization. Arafat, in a
theatrical gesture, issued a communique to hinder efforts for
Palestinian unity, claiming the support of these fictitious
organizations and ignoring those organizations which carried
most weight in the Palestinian arena.
The second current was the latent and open conflict with
the leadership of the PLO at that time. This conflict focused
upon the legitimate representation of the Palestinian people -
whether this was the right of the PLO leadership or of the
armed organizations. This was especially so since the latter
were enhanced by the popular will to carry the gun and fight
after the tragic June 1967 defeat. The masses persisted in their
determination despite the defeatist propaganda mouthed by
submissive Palestinian figures like Sheikh Jabari and Aziz
Shahade. The enthusiasm of the masses raised the prestige of
the resistance organizations. This helped to defeat these sub-
missive figures and their propaganda. It also overshadowed
the reputation of the PLO, because the resistance organiza-
14
tions took the initiative and engaged in prominent battles with
the Zionist enemy (Karameh, Bait Farek, in the hills of Ramal-
lah and Al Khalil (Hebron), and in Gaza).
Then there was conflict between two lines of thought. The
first advocated accepting the PLO as a framework for a front,
provided retorms were introduced. The second rejected the
PLO as a framework for a front, because it was an official rep-
resentative of the Palestinians in the Arab League, and the
Palestinian revolution should not get lost in the labyrinth of
political tactics.
In 1968, the PFLP adopted the first line, making accep-
tance of the PLO's leadership conditional on reforming it on an
appropriate basis (the PNC, PLA, Executive Committee, prog-
ram and charter). The PFLP submitted practical suggestions to
this end. It is noteworthy that during this debate, an infantile ieft
group which later split from the PFLP, considered national
unity with the bourgeoisie as treason and harmful to the
revolutionary cause.
Fatah’s leadership explicitly rejected the principal of
cooperating to consolidate all efforts for national struggle and
instate tront relations within the PLO. Instead, they persistently
connived to dominate the PLO with the help of some Arab
regimes (at that time, Nasser).
The resistance enters the PLO
The next stage started during the PNC’s 5th session in - هو جزء من
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