Mass opposition mounts to
Begin's war of repression
(Statement of the Revolutionary Communist League, section of the Fourth International in the State of Israel, June 24, 1982.)
After three weeks of destruction and slaughter, the PLO still lives and will continue to live.
Despite the overwhelming military superiority of Israel, despite the massacres, the indiscriminate bombing, despite the hundreds of thousands of refugees forced to flee their homes, the Israeli army has not yet been able to achieve its objectives, and no one can deny the basic fact that the PLO is very much still alive and still fighting. aimed at liquidating the Palestinian national movement at whatever price. Already a week has gone by since the chief of state boasted that this objective had been achieved. But yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs was obliged to admit that it was impossible to destroy the Palestinian national movement complete-
Thus, while we might say that Israel won the first round on points and not by a knock out, the second is just
Left alone facing the Israeli divisions and bomber squadrons, without any help from the Arab armies, the Palestinian fighters have managed to keep the bulk of their military forces intact for more than three weeks. Fifteen years ago exactly, the Israeli army required only six days to smash the Arab armies and conquer large parts of Jordan, Egypt, and
The second round is the fight for a political solution and the battle for Beirut....The stopped at the gates of Beirut and now. Gerry FOLEY
The latest Zionist imperialist war in the Mideast is already fundamentally different than the preceding ones. and mass action have now become the immediate decisive factors.
The crucial battles are those for world public opinion, the minds of the Israeli population, and the unity of the Arab people in Lebanon and Beirut in particular against the imperialists and their agents and collaborators.
This is the aim of the Palestinian fighters, the Lebanese national movement, and the Syrian forces that are in the Lebanese capital. It is the urgent objective of all those who refuse to accept the mad logic of a permanent war of destruction.
Thousands of Israelis have already mobilized against this war in the full heat of the fighting. In the army, euphoria is giving way to skepticism, to questioning, and many cases of refusal to obey orders have been registered. This is only the tip of the iceberg of a movement that will grow as long as the war and its horrors
Revolutionary League is throwing all its strength into building a broad antiwar movement that will open up a second front against the government's plans for a Massada (final solution) against the Arab people.
Resolute opposition to the war is not just a question of solidarity with the Palestinian Arab people. It is above all a question of self-defense for all Jews who want to live in this country. By building a broad movement against the war, are constructing a united front of Jews and Arabs. A common fight by Jews and Arabs is the only chance we have for living together in peace and security.
-Down With the War in Lebanon, Withdrawal of All Israeli Forces from Lebanon!
-Total and Unconditional Solidarity With the Heroic Struggle of the Palestin-
-For the Right of Self-Determination of the Palestinian Arab People!
-Long Live the Common Struggle of the Jews and Palestinians Against War, Occupation, and National Oppression!
In these battles, the oppressed Palestinian and Arab of the Levant are better than holding their own, and time is on their side. That represents a major weakening of the imperialists and their agents in the re-
But it does not mean that the danger to the Arab people is any the
"Israel is in a hurry, there are no precise deadlines but Sharon is ready to
(Declaration of the Revolutionary Communist Group, Lebanese section of the Fourth International, June 29, 1982.)
Comrades and fellow fighters, rut is a fortress that would be difficult to occupy for the most powerful army in
Beirut is a bastion that the Zionist enemy cannot seriously think of
The enemy can destroy buildings, but they cannot come into our city and
That is a job that the Zionist army cannot accomplish, because it would require paying an enormous price, one that it is not prepared to
The price would have to be paid in soldiers' lives and in the consequences that would inevitably flow from any prolonged battle against patriotic Beirut.
That is the real situation, and in all realism the only way to thwart the aims of the enemy campaign is to advance the following program:
-rejection of all conditions; -rejection of any solution other than the total and unconditional withdrawal of the enemy from Lebanese terri-
-refusal to negotiate with the enemy and in particular rejection of any negotiations behind our back;
-refusal to let the official Lebanese army enter Beirut, this traitor army that has fraternized with the Zionist army and Beshir Gemayel's Falangist gangs;
-the formation of a Government of National Resistance that must be a different one from the traitor government of Sarkis, a government made up of representatives of the parties prepared to continue the fight against the Zionist enemy in actions and not in words;
-organizing the resistance in our city and unifying our military forces in the framework of a National Guard of show West Beirut, if necessary, that what it has experienced so far is nothing compared to what awaits it." That is what U.S. negotiator Phillip Habib told associates, according to Le Monde corres pondent Dominique Pouchin.
Obviously, the Israeli tactic is to put as much pressure on West Beirut as possible, which includes threats, as well as shelling and bombing. But Habib's statement corresponds to the reali-
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Furthermore, the massive bombing of civilian populations with atrocious weapons such as phosphorous and fragmentation bombs of the new type is blowing away the democratic cover of the Zionist regime.
The impact of this on world public opinion is indicated by a growing tendency of Jewish notables in France and the
U.S. to take some distance from the Begin government's policies and seek formulas that seem to grant some recognition to the rights of the Palestinians.
The second contradiction of the
Zionist fortress is its narrow demographic and economic base, relative to the role it is called on to play in the region. The morale, educational level, identification with the state, and inculcated feeling of lack of alternatives made the Jewish pop- Another liberal ulation of Israel a nearly ideal imperialist garrison. But the reverse side of this is that such a small community is not prepared to take heavy human losses or face declining living standards for a long
Pd. A third contradiction of the Zionist state is that although it cannot exist except as an agent of imperialism, the direct pressures on it and the needs of building up a chauvinist mentality among the Jewish population tend to make it an awkward tool for the United States in
The Zionists' political needs tend to come into conflict with those of the im-
Its leaders become more and more rabid and ready to strike out without concern for the political cost or wider ramifications of their actions. Habib's remark about the Israeli impatience to smash West Beirut may reflect U.S. worry
Thus, the U.S. itself becomes more and more embarrassed by the extension of the repressive war against the Arab people. In the face of the mass protests by the Arab population of the occupied territories, the Israelis felt obliged to remove even the mayor of Gaza, Shawa, one of the most capitulationist of all the Arab officials in the territory ruled by Israel.
In response, the State Department issued a statement saying: moderate man quite legitimately expres sed the concerns of the Palestinians under his administration....Leaders of this quality will be necessary when the Palestinian problem is settled in the context of the Camp David Accords." (Le Monde, July
In fact, in this war the basic realities of the situation have emerged very starkly, leaving less and less room for illusions about compromise settlements.
In an interview in the Wall Street Journal, Begin declared that he would never negotiate with the PLO, no matter whether or not it recognized the state of Israel. In an interview broadcast over Austrian TV July 9, Israeli defense minister Ariel Sharon said that "there will never be a Palestinian state, either in Gaza or on
The Western press gave big play to a supposed readiness by Arafat to recognize Israel in return for political recognition for the PLO. However, in his interview with the liberal Zionist Uri Avnery, the PLO leader gave a different picture than these reports have indicated. "I am ready to safeguard the 600,000 Lebanese who live in West Beirut, as well as 200,000 importance. Palestinians, to find a political solution. We are negotiating with the Lebanese authorities to find a solution.... portant role.
Avnery asked: "If it is possible to get out of this crisis, what would be the
A new blow against the Palestinian resistance
Claude DEVILLIERS
With the invasion of Lebanon by the Israeli army on Sunday, June 6, 1982, the Palestinian national movement found itself once more confronted with a military offensive. The avowed objective was nothing less than to remove them completely from the political map of the Middle East. now, succeeded in physically liquidating the Palestinian militants, penetrating into their general neighbourhood of West Beirut, does not indicate a lack of determination on the part of the Zionist leaders, or of imperialism in supporting them, but is a consequence of the relentless military resistance of the Palestinians.
the formula for disarming the