Democratic Palestine : 29 (ص 30)

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عنوان

Democratic Palestine : 29 (ص 30)

المحتوى

the Palestinian uprising on world opi-
nion. The Soviet comrades assess thai
the US and Israeli plans are in crisis,
and that this crisis has been aggravated
by the uprising.
PALESTINIAN—SYRIAN
RECONCILIATION
It is expected that the Soviet foreign
minister will soon tour a number otf
Arab countries to discuss the political
developments in the Middle East con-
flict.
The PLO delegation sensed the
Soviet concern about creating the pro.
per atmosphere for improving
Palestinian-Syrian relations. The Soviet
leadership highly appraised the official
Syrian position after Schultz’s last visit
to Damascus. Concerning the Jorda-
nian position, the Soviet leadership
confirmed the necessity of the PLO be-
ing independently represented, not
through Jordan. The Palestinian
delegation agreed with the Soviet
leadership that in the event of a unified
Arab delegation to the international
conference, the PLO should be in-
dependently invited. The PLO delega-
tion emphasized that more important
than a unified Arab delegation is a
unified Arab position on the Palesti-
nian question. a
«Israeb»
40-Year State of Siege
As the Zionist state celebrates its 40th anniversary, the Palestinian
uprising is challenging the viability of the fundamental premises on
which this racist, settler colony is based. Not only has Israeli brutali-
ty failed to quell the popular revolt; it has laid bare before the world
the moral and political bankruptcy inherent in the Zionist project.
On May 1Sth, the state of ‘Israel’ was
declared. Although the Zionists speak
of their «Declaration oft
Independence,» the adopted text read
as follows: «...we hereby proclaim the
establishment of the Jewish state in
Palestine...»
There was no mention of an in-
dependent state. In fact, a Communist
party amendment to declare «the in-
dependent Jewish state» was rejected
while, as the first Israeli prime minister,
David Ben-Gurion, wrote: «We decided
to evade (and I choose this word inten-
tionally) the matter (of borders).»
Four days later, a state of emergency
was declared under the Defense
Regulations originally imposed by the
British Mandate authorities in 1945.
This ‘legalized’ the destruction of 385
Palestinian Arab villages and the ex-
pulsion of the majority of the Palesti-
3()
nian people from their nomes, while
enabling the imposition of a military
government on those who remained in
the Zionist state. This military
government was not to be abolished
until 1966, whereafter it was reinstated
in the West Bank and Gaza Strip after
the 1967 occupation. The current
Palestinian uprising only serves to ac-
centuate the fact that a state of
emergency has been a constant fact of
life in the 40 years of the Zionist state’s
existence.
The Israeli crisis, which some trace
back to the new occupation of 1967,
really dates back to the state’s bloody
origin, as was highlighted by the par-
ticipation of Palestinian Arabs of the
1948 occupied territories in the current
uprising. ‘Israel’ is in a permanent self
-declared state of siege - at war not only
with neighboring Arab countries, but
first and foremost with the Palestinian
people, both those who are internally
colonized and those in exile. The state
of siege is deemed necessary not only to
ward off the political and military
challenge posed by Palestinian
resistance; it is a prerequisite for the
state’s physical and economic existence.
«The vast properties of the Palestinian
Arab people inside the state of Israel
remain vested in the Custodian of
Absentee Property so long as the state
of emergency declared by the Provi-
sional Council of State in 1948 has not
been declared to have ceased to exist»
(Uri Davis, Israel: An Apartheid State,
Zed Books, 1987, p. 64). Lift the state
of siege and Palestine would quite
literally revert to the Palestinians.
HEADING BACK TO 1948
The state of siege was apparent as the
Israelis celebrated their 40th anniver-
sary in mid-April (in accordance with
the ancient Jewish calendar). Despite
Prime Minister Shamir’s repeated
assurances that the occupied territories
were «nearly quiet,» four days of
highly volatile demonstrations preceded
the Israeli festivities, as Palestinians
protested the assassination of PLO

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Democratic Palestine : 29

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