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1992 Middle East Peace Notes.Pdf NATIONWIDE WOMEN'S PROGRAM JUL 1 ~ 1992 PEACE NOTES - Middle East Peace Education Program American Friends Service Committee Issue No. 11 July 1992 Occupation Primer by Billie Marcllik* Itmayappearthattheoccupationserves lands and livelihood, and brutalized by the purpose of ensuring Israeli security the military occu~tion, many Pales­ Since June 1967, Israel has occupied through the control of Palestinian land. tinians are finding it in their economic the West Bank (including East Jerusa-. But the real intention is far more in­ and human interestto leave their historic lem), the Gaza Strip, and the Golan sidious- to facilitate permanentlsraeli homeland. Heights. 1 Whether or not Israel origi­ de-facto annexation of the occupied nally intended to relinquish control of areas through Jewish settlement. In the Administrative Structures the occupied lands, in the past 25 years process the "silent transfer" of Pales­ The military government exercises ab­ it has taken numerous steps to perma­ tinians is occurring. Deprived of their solute legal and administrative control nently change their legal status and over the 1. 9 million Palestinians Iiving demographic character. _........... ,', in the occupied West Bank and Gaza ~-. Strip. 2 Separate military commanders/ Israel has developed a system of arbi­ ) governors oversee control of the two trary military orders designed to change areas. Vested with total legislative and Beir..r,,,,,, .. _.:' the "facts on the ground". Palestinian . executive powers, the area military civil rights have been denied and nu­ ,:, • D0t1Q.S'Ct($ commander has the authority to issue, ..,' merous repressive practices,have been , _,, \ " I suspend or annul military laws, to ap­ instituted to silence dissent and exact _.. ,: i \5 YR. LA point or dismiss military judges and : )GOLAN compliance with the occupation. 5e11-1 • various officials, and to administer all y,1t.ff (I~ ... Measures have been used to confiscate aspects of the occupation. Such powers ,,, .. -.... \... -. ., Palestinian land and transfer possession/ ' ,,. .I ' --- .. , are arbitrary and absolute, without re­ ownership exclusively to Israeli Jews. : We.st: view or recourse ( except in a very few Settlements have been constructed, a .\ B.tnk •A"'man restricted areas where the Israeli Su­ network of roads created, and water ]~~ preme Court has jurisdiction). Over resources monopolized to expedite the ( Sa (- ,........... ' 1350 military orders have been issued colonization of the Occupied Territories JORDAN in the West Bank, and more than 1000 3 by Jewish settlers. In addition, military . in the Gaza Strip , covering in minute '. ' I' orders have been used to hobble Pal­ •I I detail virtually every aspect of life. A I . estinian economic growth in order to .. .' ) number of these military orders have prevent competition with producers in •, ( . I not been translated into Arabic or even I Israel and the settlements. 4 ' ,' published. EGYPT \ : ,,- -- I I I I I * Billie Marchik coedits MEPN and Sinai !J-:a~: _____ /,/ (continued on page 8) works in the Des Moines AFSC office. - Editors' Note June 1992 marks 25 years since the 1967 War when Israel captured the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights. Edited by Deena Hurwitz; Preface by Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer New Society Publishers, 1992 For the 1.6 million Palestinians who This collection of essays by 19 Israeli activists who oppose live under occupation, Israeli rule means the occupation, offers a glimpse of an Israeli social the denial of their human and political movement from its own perspective, provides startling rights, and the loss of their land and insights into the problems of life and dissent in an increasingly militarized society. and gives clues for how economic livelihood. For Israeli soci­ concerned US allies can help to foster a durable, just ety' the occupation fosters acontinuing resolution of the Israe li -Palestinian conflict. state of war, dehumanizes those who are called upon to enforce it, and drains Ordering Information - $16.95 including shipping and handling. Orders in CA away economic resources needed for add 8% sales tax. Send to: Resource Center for Nonviolence, development within Israel. 515 Broadway, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, (408) 423-1626. The Resource Center for Nonviolence offers a wide-ranging educational program in the history, In this issue we provide a primer on the theory. methodology, and current practice of nonviolence as a force fo r personal and social change. occupation, describing the administra­ tive structure and the repressive mea­ Middle East Peace Notes is a quarterly newsletter jointly prepared by the AFSC Middle East/International Affairs programs in the Great Lakes and North sures that form the backdrop of dally Central regions. The newsletter is printed and mailed from Denver, but repre­ Palestinian life. sents the collective work of the following staff: Two other articles are included which Richard Cleaver Charlie Silver describe the resistance to the occpation: 1414 Hill Street 1535 High Street, 3rd Fl. Ann Arbor, Ml 48104 Denver, CO 80218 one focuses on Palestinian efforts to (313) 761-8283 (303) 322-6353 end Israeli rule and establish indepen­ dence; the other addresses the different Jenntter Bing-Canar Billie Marchik strategies employed by Israeli peace 59 E. Van Buren, Suite 1400 4211 Grand Avenue activists to end the occupation and work Chicago, IL 60605 Des Moines, IA 50312 (312) 427-2533 (515) 274-4851 towards peaceful coexistence. We recognize that for some ofour read­ ers this issue will not provide new in­ The American Frien,ds Servi~e C:o~ittee is . ii Quaker organization supported by, formation. However, we hope that individ~~ls who care about. peace/i&ial .i!•ticcra.nd humanitarian service. Its t-vo~k ii these articles will be used for educa­ based .on the_Quaker belief in the'. dign~ty: a~d wotth of every person, and a faitli 4t the tional purposes in schools, religious, power of love and nonviolence to bring about change. and civic settings where people are Since 1948 the AFSC has worked with Israelis, Palestinians and other Arabs in the addressing the Israeli-Palestinian con­ flict for the first time. Middle Eas!- .It has initiated artd 11upported humanitarian projects in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and the •UIIounding' Arap ;tates - project, of community organization, development, !!arlr;~ildhood edtl~ation, relief, reconstruction and reconciliation. Again, we thank you for your continu­ ing activism on Middle East issues and AFSC: ~upportll Israel's right to exist within 11ecure j111d recognized borders. At the same your ongoing support of MEPN. time it affirms the right of Palestinians to national self·determination including their right to a state. AFSC: believes that an international peace conference between representatives The Editors -- of all parties to the conflict'- Israel, the PLO, neighboring Arab states, and members ~f the. UN Security Council .. can letd l9 a comprehensive settlement assuring mutual Jennifer Bing-Canar, Chicago recognition, mutual security, and self~etermination for both Israelis and Palestinians. Billie Marchik, Des Moines Middle East Peace Notes 2 July 1992 Palestinian Resistance to Occupation by Jennifer Bing-Canar* Jews would have full equality. This organization dependent on the Syrian was to be achieved through all means regime which harbored it to an open, The image of a Palestinian male, dressed necessary, including armed struggle. self-propelled national liberation orga­ ina black and whitekeffiyehandhurling Using the ChineseNietnamese model nization in Jordan. "2 a stone at an armed Israeli soldier, has of a "people's war", Palestinians en­ been popularized as the symbol of the gaged in guerilla warfare, infiltrating The Palestinian movement's presence Palestinian resistance. However, Pal­ the West Bank and attacking primarily in Jordan was soon to change. The rise estinian resistance to Israeli occupation military and economic targets in Israel. of Palestinian power and autonomy, in the West Bank and Gaza is more Although militarily inferior to Israel, especially among the guerrilla forces, complex than the picture of a young resistance fighters gained a sense of precipitated a crackdown by the Jorda­ stone thrower. Palestinian strategy and pride in facing the Israeli army directly nian government. Clashes with the resistance have evolved and developed in combat. Jordanian army in 1970 and 1971 over time, passing through important eventually forced the Palestinians to changes in the past two decades. This relocate to Syria and Lebanon. After article will attempt to review major the relocation, radical factions within aspects ofthis development and provide the PLO began staging spectacular an analysis of where the Palestinian guerrilla actions, such as hijacking and resistance stands today. terrorism, in order to draw world at­ tention to their cause. This remained Phase of Liberation controversial within the Palestinian Prior to 1967, Palestinians looked to movement. the Arab states to recover their land by means qf conventional war with Israel. Phase of Independence In 1964 the Arab states, led by Egypt, Salim Tamari has written: "Since the created the Palestine Liberation Orga­ mid-1970s, and to large extent as a nization (PLO), keeping it under close consequence of the October 1973 War supervision. Palestinians (except those in which for the first time there was a living in the Gaza Strip) were prevented stalemate between the military
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