Democratic Palestine : 28 (ص 34)
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- Democratic Palestine : 28 (ص 34)
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down such an agreement since it was
empowered to ratify foreign treaties.
Many deputies have criticized ‘Israel’
for breaching a pledge to allow
Palestinians to export their farm pro-
duce directly to Europe.
These tendencies hark back to the
time of the Venice Declaration when
western Europe recognized that the
Palestinians had to be party to a solu-
tion to the Middle East conflict. This
does not mean that the European
bourgeoisie is prepared to recognize,
must less fulfill, the full range of
Palestinian national rights. The view of
most western European states concern-
ing an international conference still to a
large extent mirrors that of the US - a
less than fully empowered conference
without the PLO being represented on
an equal footing with other parties.
Still, there are those in official Euro-
pean politics, who see that the course
pursued by the US administration and
‘Israel’ will not bring peace to the’
Middle East. Even if the new tendency
is ultimately nothing more than an
alternative imperialist tactic to protect
the Zionist state, it does mean that the
US cannot count on Europe to merely
tail behind on the diplomatic scene.
This reality, coupled with the problems
which the uprising has caused Arab
reaction, was a factor motivating the
Schultz plan.
STILLBORN US PLAN
Schultz introduced his plan with
Sugar-coated phrases such as:
«Palestinian participation is essential to
success in the peace process. Palesti-
nians must achieve control over
political and economic decisions that
affect their own lives» (International
Herald Tribune, March 3rd).
Regardless of his attempted ‘pro-
Palestinian’ veneer, the US plan is only
a new device for resurrecting Camp
David and ‘autonomy’ which the
Palestinians rejected long ago. Accor-
ding to US sources, the process pro-
posed by Schultz is as follows:
- «Six months of negotiations, to begin
May 1, for the election of an ad-
ministrative council to represent
Palestinians on the Israeli-occupied
West Bank and Gaza Strip during an
interim phase of self-administration.
- «An international conference to be
convened in April with the participa-
tion of Israel, Syria, Egypt, a
Jordanian-Palestinian delegation and
the five permanent members of the UN
Security Council.
34
- «Talks to begin in December for one
year between Israel and a Jordanian-
Palestinian delegation on the final
status of the territories. Interim self-
administration to go into effect once
those talks begin.
- «Whatever solution is produced by
these talks to take effect three years
after the interim period has begun»
(International Herald Tribune, March
15).
These points, supplemented by
Schultz’s own arguments for his plan,
make it obvious that the international
conference proposed by the US not only
intends to exclude the PLO, but is
simply window dressing for direct
negotiations whereby Arab regimes
would be drawn into the game of con-
taining the Palestinian quest for ge-
nuine independence and statehood. Far
from meaning real «control over the
political and economic decisions that
affect their own lives,» this model
would mean Palestinian administration
of daily municipal affairs under the
watchful eyes - and cannons - of the
Israeli and Jordanian regimes.
Putting «The Case for America’s
Mideast Peace Plan» in The
Washington Post, Schultz had the
following to say about the international
conference: «The United States is a
firm and consistent supporter of direct,
bilateral negotiations between Israel
and all of its neighbors as the means to
achieve a comprehensive peace. At the
same time, the United States has always
been willing to consider any approach
that could lead to direct negotiations,
including an international conference...
All those attending the conference will
be required to accept Security Council
Resolutions 242 and 338, and to re-
nounce violence and terrorism. The
conference will be specifically enjoined
from intruding in the negotiations,
imposing solutions or vetoing what had
been agreed bilaterally» (International
Herald Tribune, March 19-20).
In essence, the US plan is but a way
of saving ‘Israel’ from its crisis by cir-
cumventing the PLO, the expression of
the Palestinian people’s national iden-
tity and efforts to take control of their
lives. It is but another imperialist plan
to cement the dispersion of the
Palestinians, dealing - and superficially
at that - only with those in the West
Bank and Gaza Strip. This means
negating not only the many Palestinians
driven from their homeland, but also
those remaining in ‘Israel’ proper, in
order to liquidate the Palestinian cause
and national liberation movement.
The greatest proof that the US plan
essentially aims to save ‘Israel’ is seen
in the interaction between the US and
the Israeli leadership. Besides Schultz’s
holding separate meetings with Prime
Minister Shamir and Foreign Minister
Peres, due to the internal Israeli
disagreements, the US _ further
pampered ‘Israel’ even though
January demonstration in support of the uprising, in Hamburg, West Germany.
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