Democratic Palestine : 29 (ص 7)
غرض
- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 29 (ص 7)
- المحتوى
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loathed double oppression; national and class oppression. The
Palestinian worker is exposed to daily humiliation, before he
even gets to his place of work, during the morning search on
the borders to ‘Israel’. The Palestinian worker gets only one-
third of a Jewish worker’s wages. He ‘enjoys no rights what-
soever, no medical or social insurance, although at least one-
third of his wages are automatically deducted by the Histadrut
and the Ministry of Labor. Moreover, he is forced to work
long hours and liable to be fired at any time. The surplus value
of the Palestinian workers’ production does not benefit the
Palestinian national economy. On the contrary, it accumulates
to the direct benefit of the Israeli economy. Even the surplus
value produced by workers in small workshops in the occupied
territories indirectly accumulates as Israeli capital, because
most of these workshops function as subcontractors to Israeli
industry. .
All of these conditions contribute to making the Palestinian
working class the class most exploited by the occupation and its
repressive policies. It is thus most compeled to assume its
historical role in the struggle for freedom and liberation.
WORKERS IN THE FOREFRONT OF THE
UPRISING
Despite all the fetters noted above, Palestinian workers in
the occupied territories showed their will and ability to resist
the occupation collectively by going on strike. Due to Israeli
dependence on their labor power, especially in the construction
and service sectors, and other manual labor, these workers
played a major role in the uprising by boycotting work in
‘Israel’.
A study by the Israeli Industrialists’ Federation showed that
the uprising has had damaging effects on almost 50% of Israeli
factories. Some economic reports said that ‘Israel’ is losing
almost $70 million a month as a result of the Palestinian
workers’ strikes.
The workers’ participation in the uprising was not limited to
strikes. They were active in the reopening of many local
Palestinian factories, while the United National Leadership has
called on factory owners not to fire workers, reduce their
wages or deduct for absence. Workers also formed blacksmith
committees to repair the iron shutters of shops forced open by
the Israeli soldiers’ attempts to break the commercial strike.
These committees are part of the strike force confronting the
occupation troops. Workers are also involved in the food sup-
ply committees, medical relief committees and other popular
committees. Hundreds of workers and dozens of trade
unionists have been arrested, in addition to those martyred and
injured. The United National Leadership’s calls address the
workers, urging them to consolidate their role as vanguards in
the struggle.
THE ROLE OF THE PEASANTRY
It is true that the uprising was sparked in the refugee camps,
most particularly in Jabalia, in the Gaza Strip. The first bloody
confrontations occurred mainly in the camps and towns, due to
the population concentration in these places. Moreover, the
camps and towns have alway been the centers of the Palesti-
nian national movement. Since the 1967 occupation, many new
mass organizations, trade unions, popular committees, clubs
and societies have been formed. These contributed to a higher
degree of organization.
However, it is equally true that the countryside joined in the
uprising on a large scale from the first days. This greatly con-
tributed to its continuation and expansion, and confused the
Zionist forces. Daily demonstrations in hundreds of villages
confused the Zionist authorities, and forced them to deploy
their forces over wide areas, instead of concentrating on the
camps that have always been considered the centers of unrest.
The large-scale participation of villagers in the uprising
disturbed the Zionists’ carefully calculated plans.
ATTEMPTED ISOLATION OF THE
COUNTRYSIDE
Before the original Zionist occupation, the British Mandate
worked to keep the Palestinian countryside backward and
isolated. A sharp gap was created between the rural and urban
areas, economically, socially and culturally. The British ex-
ploited this gap into a political contradiction. They allowed the
urban bourgeoisie and the feudalists to assume leadership,such
as the Husseini, Nashashibi and Abdul Hadi families, and used
them to repress the revolts of the peasants. After 1948, the
Jordanian regime continued this policy. After 1967, the Israelis
also planned to keep the countryside isolated and unaccessible
to the Palestinian nationalist organizations. Later on, the oc-
cupation authorities established the Village Leagues, staffed
with collaborators who were given weapons and administrative
authority, in order to force the villagers to deal with them.
These leagues were able to function in certain of the most
backward areas of the West Bank, such as around Hebron.
At that time, the activities of the Palestinian national
movement were concentrated in the towns and camps. The
Palestinian resistance did not devote enough attention to
mobilizing the peasants. Its action was limited to armed cells.
The resistance did not realize the great potentials of the
peasants and did not direct its work towards the rural areas
until the mid-seventies. .
SEMIPROLETARIZATION
Since the 1967 occupation, the Israeli authorities have
employed old laws and enacted new ones for the purpose of
usurping Palestinian land and water resources. As a result of
extensive land confiscation and heavy restrictions on the
cultivation and marketing of agricultural products, the
Palestinian peasantry has been partially destroyed. As of
December 1987, 53% of the West Bank and 38% of the Gaza
Strip had been confiscated. While in 1966, 36% of West Bank
land was cultivated, only 27% was farmed in 1985. In the Gaza
Strip, the area of cultivated land decreased from 55% in 1966,
to 28% in 1985. The number of farmers in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip decreased from 70,000 in 1967 to 38,000 in 1987.
Many peasants were either totally deprived of their land or
forced to neglect it. They were subsequently forced to emigrate
or to seek work in the towns or in ‘Israel’. Of those who com-
mute for work, most retain residence in their villages and - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 29
- تاريخ
- يونيو ١٩٨٨
- المنشئ
- الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين
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