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No.21 March-April,1986

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No.21 March-April,1986 The Other Israel Newsletter of the Israeli Council for Israeli - Palestinian Peace March-April, 1986 No.21 Editor: Herzl Schubert Editorial Board: Uri Avnery, Matti Peled, Yaakov P.O.B. 956 Tei-Aviv, lsrael 61008 Phone: (03) 659474 Arnon,Haim Bar’am, Yael Lotan, Yossi Amitai Peres, Peace Now Movement and the PLO Prime Minister Peres’ declaration at partner. The movement’s spokesman also called for the Labor Party convention in April democratic elections to be held in the Palestinian that “WE RECOGNIZE THE municipalities in the Occupied Territories. Labor party leaders reject both demands. PALESTINIANS AS A PEOPLE” is a The Peace Now spokesman made these distinct improvement from what unprecedented statements during a joint former Labor Prime Minister Golda Israeli-Palestinian demonstration against Meir had to say on the subject in the right-wing “Renaissance” party convention held in Occupied Hebron on April 14. For the first time early seventies: “THERE ARE NO since its foundation, Peace Now organized a joint PALESTINIANS! “ demonstration with the Palestinians of the Occupied Territories, in which Palestinian leaders When compared to the political attitudes of identified with the PLO (Al-Fajr editor Hanna the Israeli Right (Likud to Kahane) vis-á-vis the Siniora; deposed mayor of Hebron, Mustafa Abdel Palestinian question (see below), Peres’ statement Nabi Natshe) took part. Labor party doves and (and others, such as his call for “Arab self rule in the left-of-center groups and parties including the PLP Occupied Territories” and “Marshall Plan for the (Mohammed Mi’ari, Matti Peled, Uri Avnery) were Middle East”) leave the impression that we are invited to attend. Labor party doves led by MK Orna dealing with an Israeli leader, working for peace in a Namir, had pressured Peace Now heads not to invite troubled region. With such political right-wing the PLP, but the Palestinian leaders in the rivals as Likud heads Shamir and Sharon, Peres and territories made their participation conditional on the Labor party, indeed, have no serious difficulties the PLP leaders being there. in nurturing such an image, especially abroad. Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin (Labor) However in concrete political terms, Peres and his permitted the Peace NOW demonstration, following party have so far (late April) not given the slightest his agreement to allow the right-wing opening for negotiations. Statements to the affect “Renaissance” party to hold its party convention in that the “Palestinians are a people” or that they the settlers movement stronghold of Kiryat Arba, have “legitimate rights” or “self rule in the near Hebron (largest settlement in the Occupied Occupied Territories” sound good, but they are Territories). Leaders of this right-wing party, meaningless unless accompanied by a clear, competing with Kahane for public support, have unequivocal recognition by Israel of both the called for the deportation of 500,000 Palestinians Palestinians’ right to self-determination and the from the Occupied Territories. (Party leader PLO. These two elements, without which peace Professor Yuval Neeman is a crony of the noted negotiations will never get off the ground (see this American reactionary, Edward Teller, father of the issue), were glaringly missing from the political Hydrogen bomb and chief advisor of President platform adopted by the Labor Party convention. Reagan’s Star Wars Project). On the day of the demonstration, settler * * * vigilantes set up roadblocks, forcing incoming Peace Now demonstrators to get off the buses and private Peace Now movement spokesman, vehicles. Citizens Rights MKs Shula mit Aloni and Tzali Reshef, called on Prime Minister Yossi Sarid were harassed by the settler crowd. Peres ( April 14 ) to declare his However, the brunt of the settlers’ vituperations and violence was vented against PLP Executive readiness to negotiate with “any co-chairman Uri Avnery, who together with, Matti Palestinian representative willing to Peled and Yaakov Arnon are the chief Israeli talk with Israel, including the PLO”. spokesman for negotiations with the PLO. Avnery was beaten, pushed from a ledge and spat on by the raging settler crowd. Although trouble was This was the first time that Peace Now has expected, there were almost no security forces in mentioned the PLO as a possible negotiating the region, and the few that were there, handled the settlers with kid gloves. Just for the sake of demonstration was held as scheduled. All of the comparison: army units had only several hours Palestinian speakers (Siniora and Natshe) spoke of earlier fired tear gas and forcibly entered one of the Israel’s right to exist and demanded recognition of technical high schools in Hebron, following a stone the PLO and an independent Palestinian State. throwing incident. 70 of the students were arrested. Hanna Siniora, like Avnery, was also trapped at one of the settler roadblocks. The settlers were in the ANTI-PEACE LAW mood of a lynching party, and it was only the Because of the religious establishment’s sudden appearance of the military commander of continuing opposition to the anti-racist bill, the the region which prevented the situation from Knesset had made no moves on the Anti-Peace law getting completely out of hand. Given that the in April. Both legislations have been linked like security forces knew quite well that the settlers Siamese twins by the terms of the Labor-Likud planned to disrupt the Peace Now demonstration, agreement of February (see Other Israel, No. 20). one can only wonder whether Defense Minister The religious parties’ opposition to the anti-racist Rabin (Labor) had not allowed the settlers a free bill - which is a farce - is thus serving the interests hand in order to intimidate the Israeli peace camp. of the Peace movement! Although opening late, the Peace Now The Editor Prospects for peace? URI AVNERY IN JORDAN self-determination. This point is the major bone Following his visit to Jordan (Feb. 28 of contention between the PLO and Hussein. - March 5) and his speaking tour with Hanna Siniora in the US, ICIPP * Considering Palestinian-Jordanian relations in member Uri Avnery has been speaking the past (the 50s and 60s), when under Hussein’s extensively in Israel and has published rule their national aspirations were stifled, the PLO rebuff Hussein’s reasoning that the a series of articles in his Hebrew question of self-determination is an internal weekly news magazine “Ha-Olam Jordanian-Palestinian issue which can be Hazeh” about the state of Jordan-P LO resolved between them following an Israeli relations. Avnery’s conclusions, listed withdrawal as stipulated by UN resolution 242. below, are based on talks held with * Unwilling to leave anything to chance, the PLO Jordanian and PLO officials and justifiably state that the Palestinian right to self-determination is not negotiable and as such Palestinian intellectuals affiliated it must be accepted by all the parties concerned, with the PLO in the US. They are as even before peace negotiations begin. follows: * The Palestinian inhabitants or Jordan, who comprise approximately 65 percent of the * Hussein will not enter in any negotiations with population, and of whom many are a wealthy Israel without the massive support of the and integral part of the Jordanian establishment, Palestinians. consider themselves members of the Palestinian * The few Palestinians and Jordanians who may people. Although loyal to the King, they would support a political move by the King without the not support any moves by him against the PLO. PLO demand an Israeli guarantee that it be willing to withdraw from all of the Occupied * The PLO and the Jordanians see differences Territories including East Jerusalem. (Israeli existing between the Israeli Labor party and the Labor Party leaders have made no such offers). Likud, the major difference, being that Labor, unlike Likud, is not ideologically committed to * Thafer el-Massri’s funeral (March 4) was a a “Greater Israel”. Having to choose between turning point. The King and his advisors’s idea of Peres or Shamir, the Jordanians and Palestinians a creating an alternative Palestinian leadership would prefer doing business with Peres. based in the West Bank and Gaza Strip was buried at the funeral (see Chronicle). * Notwithstanding the current differences * The principle of self-determination expresses a between Hussein and Arafat, both parties are wide national consensus of the Palestinian linked to each other like Siamese twins. Only a people. The PLO cannot one-sidely accept UN dramatic change in the region, such as an Israeli resolution 242 without a reciprocal American occupation of Jordan or a deep crisis in the Arab and/or Israeli recognition of the principle of world, can change this fact. between the rejectionists (such as Abu-Nidal) and the PLO led by Arafat. In the event that Israel wants to lay the ground for peace, said Peled, it must implement two Chronicles essential steps: (1) allow for free and democratic elections in the Occupied Territories, and (2) cease OF THE PEACE STRUGGLE all settlements. However, even after such elections, 16/2 - Thousands of residents from Israeli concluded Peled, no local leadership in the development towns demonstrated in front of the Occupied Territories will want or be able to replace Prime Minister’s Government office, protesting the political leadership of the Palestinian people, bankrupt conditions in the town councils’ namely the PLO. treasuries. 8/3 - In commemoration of International About 36 of the
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