Democratic Palestine : 28 (ص 12)
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- Democratic Palestine : 28 (ص 12)
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Palestinian hospitals and _ harassing,
beating and arresting patients.) There
are merchant committees that organize
the strikes and provide for limited
openings so the population can get
food; they also enforce price control,
and see that, whenever possible,
Palestinian goods are sold rather than
Israeli ones.
After the PLO United National
Leadership’s call for the formation of
popular committees, these were formed
locally with the initial task of coor-
dinating the work of the already ex-
isting committees. With the uprising
moving in the direction of mass civil
disobedience, these popular committees
can provide the infrastructure for the
population’s sustenance, while serving
as a popular, alternative authority to
the occupation authority.
FORMS OF STRUGGLE
While a broad spectrum of forms are
being used in the current uprising, they
all have a common denominator which
is mass participation. Direct confron-
tation of the enemy occurs via
stone-throwing whether by hand or us-
ing different kinds of slingshots.
Another widely used weapon is the
molotov cocktail,thrown to burn Israeli
vehicles. The strike forces barricade the
entrances of the towns, villages and
camps with burning tires, boulders and
barrels, to delay the approach of the
enemy soldiers, giving time to strike at
them. Until now, the main trend has
clearly been to fight with weapons, such
as stones, which are accessible to the
masses at large. The collective decision
to concentrate the battle against
military targets is equally clear. While
the decision on targets is likely to
prevail, future needs to protect the
masses and to escalate the confronta-
tion radically and quickly, may lead to
the use of more advanced weaponry,
relying on cadres experienced in
military operations.
Demonstrations and sit-ins have been
frequently staged, but the most effec-
tive struggle form used so far is the
strike. Gaza workers stopped reporting
for jobs in the initial week of the upris-
ing, as students also went on strike. On
December 21st, a general strike was
called. Sectors of the Israeli economy
were paralyzed as workers living in the
12
1967 and 1948 occupied territories
stayed away. A total strike reigned for
several days. Then, economic necessity
brought some back to work, but some
are striking until this day. One-day
total strikes are held for special occa-
sions. The January 31st edition of Al
Fajr reported that nearly 70% of
Palestinians working in ‘Israel’ had
been on strike almost continuously
since the uprising’s start. A rotation
system of sorts prevails, whereby
workers take turns striking according to
area, or those with a family to support
return to work, while single workers
continue the strike. At the same time,
the local committees provide a support
network for strikers and their families.
It is estimated that the strike cost the
Israeli economy $2 billion in the initial
period. Israeli high school students
were mobilized to harvest the citrus
crop, while more south Lebanese
villagers were commandeered to
work in Israeli factories. While
demonstrating the vulnerability of the
Israeli economy to united Palestinian
action, the general strike also provided
a practical solution to a long-standing
organizational problem for the
Palestinian liberation movement. The
Palestinian trade union federations in
the West Bank and Gaza Strip have
been prohibited by the occupation from
organizing those who work in ‘Israel’.
It has moreover been difficult to
organize these workers, since their long
working hours and commuting time
means that they literally are only at
home for sleeping hours. Under the
impact of the uprising, these workers
were automatically organized in the
framework of the United National
Leadership. This has important im-
plications for the future.
POLITICAL DIRECTION
Clearly, the overall thrust of the
uprising is to end the occupation. All
the demands that have been raised
point in this direction:
- respecting international law, especial-
ly the conventions pertaining to the
protection of civilians and their pro-
perty under occupation;
-immediate implementation of UN
Security Council resolutions nos. 605
and 607, requiring that ‘Israel’ abide by
the Geneva Convention, and calling for
a just and permanent solution of the
Arab-Israeli conflict;
- release of all those detained during the
uprising, and annulment of the
sentences of those convicted;
- a stop to the deportation policy and
allowing all deportees to return to their
families and homes; releasing all ad-
ministrative detainees; annulling house
arrest orders; approving all the ap-
plications for the reunion of families
Israeli soldier shot in Bethlehem March 20th - the first Israeli casualty in the current uprising.
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