Democratic Palestine : 28 (ص 33)
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- Democratic Palestine : 28 (ص 33)
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The Uprising Makes Waves
Internationally
The Palestinians under occupation have turned the tables on US im-
perialism’s plans to monopolize the search for a political settlement
of the Middle East crisis. Under the impact of their prolonged, united
uprising and the resulting exposure of Israeli brutality, it is not easy
for the US to rally support for Schultz’s plan.
US Secretary of State Schultz’s plan
is the first programmatic initiative on
the Arab-Israeli conflict to emerge since
September 1982, when President
Reagan forwarded his plan _ for
harvesting the political fruits of the
Israeli invasion of Lebanon. After the
Reagan plan failed in its aim of expan-
ding Camp David, the US administra-
tion refrained from sticking its neck
out, finding ample excuse with the
diversions of the Gulf war, the decline
in official Arab politics and the PLO’s
division. US envoys often stressed that
they were merely seeking means for
solutions in coordination with the local
parties to the conflict - excluding the
PLO, of course.
Now, the Palestinian uprising has
forced the US out of the bushes. At the
onset, the US administration counted
on the Israeli authorities to suppress the
Palestinian masses quickly and effi-
ciently. However, with Israeli brutality
glaring on television screens around the
world, the US did not dare to use its
veto to protect ‘Israel’ as usual. The US
abstained on December 22nd, when the
Security Council strongly deplored
Israeli actions against demonstrators,
especially the shooting of civilians. The
Reagan Administration found it
necessary to rebuke ‘Israel’ for using
live ammunition against the unarmed
Palestinian population. On January
15th, the Security Council passed a new
resolution condemning the deporta-
tions ordered by the Israeli authorities.
The US voted for this resolution - its
first vote against ‘Israel’ since the 1981
annexation of the Syrian Golan
Heights, and one of few votes against
‘Israel’ ever. In this situation, the US
found it most convenient to remain on
the sidelines diplomatically. Rather
than taking the initiative, it backed
Egyptian President Mubarak’s plan for
a «ceasefire» in occupied Palestine,
letting this serve as a trial balloon.
The Palestinian uprising did not,
however, bend to the Zionists’ neo-
fascist methods. Escalating their upris-
ing, the Palestinians hardly listened to
Mubarak’s insidious irrelevancies.
With ‘Israel’ coming under increasing
international pressure, and Arab reac-
tion sunk in deep embarrassment, the
US was forced to make its own move
and the Schultz plan emerged.
INTERNATIONAL
SOLIDARITY AND THE
EUROPEAN POSITION
The courage and stamina exhibited
by the Palestinians in their uprising has
elicited broad international solidarity.
In addition to socialist countries, na-
tional liberation movements and pro-
gressive forces in capitalist countries,
that have long supported the PLO, new
sectors joined this solidarity as well.
Perhaps most interesting is the number
of long-standing friends of ‘Israel’ who
were shocked to the point of issuing
strong public condemnations of Israeli
violations of Palestinian human rights.
This phenomenon occurred in both
America and Europe, but had more
prominent effects in Europe.
The Socialist International, an old
friend of the Zionist state and which
includes the Israeli Labor Party in its
membership, sent a delegation to oc-
cupied Palestine in late February,
simultaneously announcing that it plans
to recognize the PLO. Members of the
delegation returned to their home
countries, expressing outright horror at
what they had seen of Israeli brutality.
Neil Kinnock of the British Labor Party
personally brought up with Prime
Minister Shamir the Israeli use of
dum-dum bullets which expand on
contact and are internationally forbid-
den by the Geneva Convention,
presenting Shamir with specimens ac-
quired in the occupied territories.
On March 8th, the European
Parliament, meeting in Strasbourg, re-
jected an EEC financial aid package for
‘Israel’ to protest Israeli treatment of
the Palestinians under occupation, the
first time the parliament has turned >
February demonstration at the Israeli embassy in Tokyo, protesting the destruction of the Ship of Return and
werpater
ES pe
i Sea
the assassination of three Palestinian leaders in Cyprus. - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 28
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