MIDDLE EAST
T HE LIST of Palestinian activists to be deported was finally announced on the occupied January 3 by a spokesperson for the Israeli defence minister, Itzhak Rabin. Apparently as a result of secret talks between Tel Aviv and Washington, the list, which was supposed to include a hundred people, affected "only nine activists" that the Zionclear for some weeks is that the new Palestinian generation, what is called the "occupation generation,' considers itself capable of taking its own struggles in hand. It is no longer content just to take orders from outside. Its tactical sense led it to avoid a confrontation when the relationship of forces was very unfavorable and the ground had been cho-
THE MILITARY CRACKDOWN on the West Bank ist government had decided and the Gaza Strip, as well as the expulsion of to drive from their homes, cut off from their families and so-called Palestinian ringleaders, will not achieve friends and exile from their anything. The situation in the occupied territories homeland. It cannot be reremains explosive. (See editorial on page 3.)
peated often enough that such deportations are not only a crime forbidden by the Gen-
The following article by a leader of the Israeli state eva Convention; they are a section of the Fourth International reports on barbarous act practiced by no conditions following the anniversary of the regime in the world, no matter how dictatorial, except
Israel.
More than two years ago, when Rabin decided to resort once again to this measure after it had been abandoned de facto by Menachem Begin, we said that behind this obsession about deporting so-called ringleaders there was something still more horrible - the hope that some dare to express out loud of expelling hundreds of thousands of Palestinians en masse from their homeland.
Today, we are not the only ones saying this. It has been said, for example, by the daily Hadashot, which has talked about
"mini-resettlements." In this way, it was referring to the various schemes of the right-wing parties for massive expulsions of the Palestinian population.
Over and above its symbolic value, the decision to deport nine Palestinian leaders, or persons alleged to be so, is a response to a political need. The objective is to foster the illusion — in particular to persuade the
Israeli population — that concrete measures have been taken to avoid a new explosion.
Anniversary of El Fateh's founding
Supposedly all you need to do to convince yourself that calm is going to retur is to neutralize some so-called agitators. In the eyes of the Zionist leaders, the recent popular uprising cannot be spontaneous, since their assumption remains that the great majority of the population, willingly or unwillingly, supports the status quo.
This also explains the great relief of political and military leaders on the evening of January 1. The authorities had made this day, traditionally the anniversary of the founding of El Fateh, a test of whether or-
28 Gaza. Thousands of extra soldiers end der had returned to the West Bank and
International Viewpoint • January 25, 1988 founding of El Fateh.
MICHEL WARSCHAWSKI mobilized. The General Staff announced that there were three times as many soldiers in the Gaza strip than had been necessary to conquer it in June 1967. By arresting more than a thousand activists and terrorizing the entire population, the occupation forces left nothing to chance. They announced loudly that they were just waiting to see what would happen.
Authorities announce "end of the rebellion"
As could be expected, nothing happened. Of course, a curfew was decreed in several refugee camps. In some localities, demonstrators were dispersed with tear-gas grenades. But January 1 was a non-event. That, however, did not keep the authorities from saying that they were satisfied and from announcing the end of the rebellion.
The editorial writer in the daily Haaretz seemed more in touch with reality: "It cannot be ruled out that the people of the West Bank and Gaza, after catching the Israeli leaders by surprise with what has seemed on several occasions to be a mass uprising against the occupation, wanted next to send a message to their 'legitimate representatives, saying in essence: "It is not the PLO but we on the spot who will decide when and where the confrontation with Israel takes place. It seems, both from what happened and what did not happen, that the events of the latter half of December were a local development and not something remote-controlled by Yassar Arafat."
Of course, the PLO continues to be regarded as the national leadership by the majority of the population. But what has been sen by the enemy.
For those who persist in ignoring what is happening in the mass movement, this seems to be a setback for the
PLO and a confirmation of a return to calm. On the other hand, those who refuse to accept the claims that the hundreds of thousands of
Palestinians who have mobilized over past weeks are being "manipulated by outside forces," or by a few dozen local ringleaders, can easily see what is happening.
Dragging hundreds of young demonstrators before courts and deporting a few dozen local personalities will, in the long run, only exacerbate the anger of the masses and their determination to fight the Israeli occupation. *
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