Democratic Palestine : 17 (ص 13)
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- Democratic Palestine : 17 (ص 13)
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Thatcher Visits ‘Israel’
As the president of Britain’s Conser-
vative Friends of Israel, Margaret
Thatcher has been in the Zionist state
before. However, her latest trip
assumed more than the usual signifi-
cance, for she is the first British Prime
Minister to make an official visit. Mar-
garet Thatcher is also infamous for
launching the most drastic attack on the
rights and living conditions of the Bri-
tish working class since World War II.
She has moreover doubly earned her
nickname -the Iron Lady- by staunchly
withstanding all attempts to have Bri-
tain impose sanctions against the apar-
theid regime in South Africa. Nonethe-
less, her visit to ‘Israel’ was billed as one
based on concern for the Middle East
‘peace process’ and the ‘quality of life’
for Palestinians in the occupied West
Bank.
As Reagan’s closest ally among wes-
tern European heads of state, Thatcher
did indeed have a specific mission in
occupied Palestine, but it was far
removed from the platitudes mentioned
above. According to a senior British
official, ‘‘It’s a question of edging the
parties towards direct discussions rather
than a British plan’’. David Kimche,
Director-General of the Israeli Foreign
Ministry, was even more specific in
spelling out what the Israelis want from
Thatcher. In a May 24th interview with
BBC, the day Thatcher arrived in the
Zionist state, he said that ‘Israel’ hoped
she would persuade Hussein to enter
direct negotiations with ‘Israel’
-without the PLO.
Making such negotiations appear as a
‘solution’ to the Palestinian problem
was in fact the essence of Reagan’s plan
Britain’s Iron Lady
Clasps
Zionism’s Iron Fist
announced in the autumn of 1982. It is
this ‘peace process’ which Thatcher
went to ‘Israel’ to push forward.
Indeed, Britain has previously served as
a conduit for the secret dialogue bet-
ween Israeli Prime Minister Peres and
King Hussein of Jordan. Most recently
was in January, when both Peres and
Hussein ‘‘happened’’ to be in London.
As a logical extension of this, the two
are making ‘private’ visits to the US in
June, and Hussein at least will stop in
London on the way.
British colonialism bears a heavy
responsibility for the 1948 occupation
of Palestine. Britain not only facilitated
the Zionist movement’s colonization in
Palestine, but also installed the Hash-
emite monarchy next door in Jordan, to
act as a buffer for the Zionist presence
and absorb the Palestinian iden-
tity. It is this historical link with Zio-
nism and Arab reaction on which That-
cher relies in doing her part for imposing
imperialist hegemony in the Middle East
today, Reagan-style.
WHEN TERRORISTS MEET
Margaret Thatcher allowed the US air
strike on Libya to be launched from
Britain. She then went to Tokyo to
engineer the ‘‘anti-terrorist’’ resolution
which was so important for Reagan in
imposing US policy. Next, the Iron
Lady sat down to talk business with
Peres and Rabin, the terrorists respon-
rua ja nswunn om
BEN GURION AIRPORT _
sible for the iron fist against Palesti-
nians under occupation. Margaret poli-
tely ‘pleaded’ for improving the quality
of life in the West Bank, allowing the
Palestinians to manage some of their
own affairs, permitting municipal elec-
tions and/or appointing a UN official to
supervise the West Bank. Her various
proposals were intended to create a
facade whereby Hussein could agree to
‘power-sharing’ with the Israelis on the
West Bank, without losing face.
Peres and Rabin, not quite so politely,
refused her proposals with the usual
Zionist ‘security’ pretexts, but this
didn’t bother Thatcher in the least. She
evaluated that the talks went well,
because the Israelis were willing to
listen. The real reason for this charade
was so that Thatcher would have some-
thing to present when she met with a
handful of carefully selected Palestinian
‘moderates’ whom she wanted to
encourage to rubber stamp the Jorda-
nian option. (However, though these
Palestinians are indeed supporters of
the Amman agreement between Yasir
Arafat and King Hussein, they
informed the Iron Lady that they would
do nothing without the PLO’s consent.)
Undaunted, Thatcher declared in
Jerusalem at the end of her three day
visit, that Britain no longer considers
the PLO to be the sole, legitimate repre-
sentative of the Palestinians, but that
other alternatives must be found. The
Zionists -and Reagan- can indeed rejoice
over the results of the visit. Britain is to
assume the presidency of the EEC in
July, and can now be counted on to
work for western European consensus
on the imperialist settlement without a
Palestinian role whatsoever. - هو جزء من
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