Democratic Palestine : 31 (ص 27)
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- Democratic Palestine : 31 (ص 27)
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One Year of the Palestinian Uprising
The following article is an attempt to assess the first year of the
Palestinian uprising as seen through the periscope of the calls issued
by the United National Leadership.
Paper took on a new vitality in oc-
cupied Palestine. Leaflets and the
Palestinian press have historically ex-
pressed popular opposition to the oc-
cupation, but in 1988, for the first time,
the printed word became a daily strug-
gle guide for all the people on a regular
basis. Call no. 1 was issued on January
8, 1988, in the name of the Palestinian
nationalist forces, one month after the
outbreak of the uprising. It was quickly
followed by call no. 2, issued by the
United National Leadership (UNL) of
the Uprising, signalling the stable
functioning of a collective leadership
representing the major- Palestinian
political trends. Since then, calls have
been issued at weekly or biweekly in-
tervals, eagerly awaited by the masses
and painting an ongoing picture of the
uprising’s development. Through the
calls one can trace how the uprising has
built the political, economic, social and
militant bases for its own continuation
towards the establishment of an in-
dependent Palestinian state; one can
also discern the democratic, popular
outlines of the state that was recently
declared by the PNC.
Comparing the calls with the actual
unfolding events, one is immediately
struck by the absurdity of the
misconceptions that the uprising was
either spontaneous in the sense of being
without firm basis or reason, or alter-
nately that it was «directed from out-
side.» What is most striking is the calls’
close connection with mass action. The
calls seldom dictate forms of resistance
that have not already been initiated on
the local level, i.e., tried in the bat-
tlefield in one or more places in
Palestine.
It is most common that a new type of
mass action or civil disobedience is first
introduced generally, while the follow-
ing call makes the directive more
specific, and the next again prescribes
organizational structures for making
this act maximally effective. This shows
the tangible daily give-and-take bet-
ween the UNL, the popular committees
and the masses. One can infer that
various forms of struggle are tried out
to gain experience about their results,
before being required of the people at
large. The calls’ main function then is
not to «give orders» but to initiate,
organize and coordinate action on a
national basis, in this case, throughout
the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and on
occasion reaching out to the Palesti-
nians in the 1948 occupied land and the
people of the Golan Heights.
Most calls begin with a brief assess-
ment - in glowing terms - of the ex-
perience and achievements of the
uprising in the foregoing period, while
calling attention to upcoming political
events - Shultz’s shuttles, the Arab
summit, the European Parliament
meeting, a UN session, etc. This pro-
vides both an overall perspective and
encouragement to the people of the
uprising, while setting the stage for the
concrete tasks of the week. Besides
coordinating major demonstrations,
strikes and boycotts, to make them
more effective and force the occupation
authorities to spread their troops on all
fronts, the main function of the calls is
organizing a new routine and quality of
life, enabling the people to continue the
uprising and advance towards total na-
tional civil disobedience.
THE SOURCE OF THE
CALLS — A LEADERSHIP
OF QUALITY
The fact that the UNL’s only public
appearance is through the calls is one
indication of how it distinguishes itself
not only from the traditional (usually
reactionary and _ pro-Jordanian)
notables, but also from the nationalist
leadership that rose to prominence in
the territories in the seventies. While
the former carved out their place within
the confines of occupation and func-
tioned as agents for Arab reaction, the
nationalist mayors and other public
figures represented the people’s aspira-
tions, but were soon attacked and
deprived of all freedom of movement
by the occupation authorities.
The UNL, having learned from the
foregoing experience and based on the
priorities of organizing an_ all-out
popular revolt, is totally clandestine.
Stemming chiefly from the Palestinian
organizations that have resisted the oc-
cupation since 1967, the UNL is closely
linked with the generation of militants
who have served time in Israeli prisons,
contributing a heavy dose of political
and organizational training and
perseverance. The UNL’s composition
is also linked to the proliferation of new
mass organizations in the decade prior
to the uprising, in which the Palestinian
political organizations, and especially
the left, took the initiative. These links
are one explanation of the high degree
to which the UNL’s calls are im-
plemented, as has been noted by a
number of first-hand observers. For
example, Joe Stork observed from his
June 1988 visit to occupied Palestine:
«The most organized villages seem to
be those where at least two, and often
all four, of the major. organizations
have a presence, in just about every
case going back several years... the
cadres of the major organizations are
responsible for interpreting and im-
plementing the bayanat (manifestos) of
the Unified Leadership. The composi-
tion of this local leadership thus reflects
the balance of political forces in the
area» (Middle East Report-formerly
MERIP, September-October 1988).
The UNL is the PLO in its dual sense
of representing all the people, and
representing the major Palestinian
political and resistance organizations.
It moreover functions in a way which
provides a model for the PLO. Not
depending on individuals or the
dominance of any single group, its
membership is rotating and in line with
the various forces’ actual activities.
This insures not only secrecy but also
internal democracy and unity. The
consistency of the political line and
program of action found in the con-
secutive calls shows that this is con-
ducive to a realistic and correct political
line that reflects the Palestinian na- >
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