Imperialists Prepare

Scan page 6

We reprint on these pages the text of a statement Mobilise against the war provocation of the Begin government' adopted by the Palestine Workers League on 15 May 1981.

The Workers League is a section of the Fourth Internationalist While we have some political differences with the FIT we are in broad agreement with the politics of this statement.

After the grand show of the American-IsraeliEgyptian "peace" , the region is in the severest war danger since 1978. The bankrupt Begin regime is preparing this war in a hope to camouflage the economic and political bankruptcy of the Zionist bourgeoisie.

These announcements should only warn us about the catastrophe they are preparing: in order to change the situation in the region, to strike a death blow to the neighbouring countriesthe bourgeois regime is ready to undertake any adventure.

But the regional relations of forces are very different from those of 1967, and a war today could turn out to be not simply a campaign of occupations and murder against the Arab masses, but also cost a heavy price for the Jewish masses.

1. The Cause of the War+ Israeli Expansionist Policy.

If a war breaks out now, it will be the outcome of the Israeli policy of occupation and expansion: more generally, it will be the continuation of the policy of occupation and expropriation against the Palestinian people, and immediately, it will be the result of the policy of "Natural Borders" and the attempts to annexe parts of Lebanon.

Israeli intervention in Lebanon began before the civil war in this country in 1975-76. Actually, the Israeli heavy bombardments and raids on Lebanon were some of the factors leading to this war.

After the civil war, the then "Ma'arach" (1) government in Israel took advantage of the situation to implement its annexation policy : in the traditional Israeli manner.

In order to "defend the boundary areas", • another area. was actually annexedunder the camouflage of Major Haddads' mercenaries and limitless bombardments and destruction, and continuous driving-away of most of the Palestinians and Shi-ite inhabitants of this area.

The next step after this annexation was, of course, the need to defend the new boundary, and herein the need for another war. This policy has already brought the ..Litani Operation', known everywhere for the atrocities and looting carried out. But this: operation solved nothing, and today the same policy threatens to produce an overall war.

Fascist Most recently, government has m the connections between Israel Phalangists. the aeli ade blic fi ned and the Sacrire stabilise "autonomy" of their own' in Northern Lebanon.

In this campaign, most of the Phalangists' battles were aimed precisely at the Christian: inhabitants in Lebanon-to liquidațe their opponents among the supporters of Shamun and Faranjie-and finally their attempt to crush the Syrian Popular Party (of which most members are Christian).

In that period the Phalangists occupied the area of Snin mountain and the city of Zahle. The Syrian army, which took these areas out of the hands of the Left in 1976, actually pretended not to notice the Phalangists' expansion till recently, seeing in them partners for its efforts to reconstruct the bourgeois regime in Lebanon.

But lately the Syrian army has launched an attack against the Phalangists-a limited attack which brought toward the end of April contacts in Damascus and Beirut concerning a new agreement on the reconstruction of Lebanon.

The Israeli attack on 28 April of this year during which two Syrian helicopters were shot down on Snin mountain came after reports of this agreement; it was an attempt to prevent the Phalangists from changing their policy and renewing their links with Syria.

This Israeli intervention was denounced by all parties in Lebanon-including the Phalangist leaders.

The Israeli intervention in Lebanon is not aimed at "defending the Christians"

On the contrary, it is aimed at preventing any ending of the massacre in Lebanon, because only unceasing sectarian conflicts in Lebanon enable Israel to continue its intervention, bombardments, raids and annexations.

The head of the Israeli Northern Command, General Ben-Gal, known for his statement that the "Arabs are a cancer in the body of the State of Israel"; stated recently that Israel will continue to control Southern Lebanon also without Major Haddad.

Begin publicly announces that the cause of the war is to guarantee Israeli air supre-. macy ::: over the skies of. all Lebanon! Our slogan which will discharge the present tension and prevent war is simple:

*Israel out of Lebanon!

2. US Imperialism encourages Israel.

Begin's hardened line is a direct result of, American support. The new Reagan administration pursued à policy international aggressiveness in order to get out of the political and economic crisis of US imperialism.

But until now, Reagan has not gained any success: the bloodbath conducted by the Salvadorian dictatorship did not bring it popular support; in roland.

novement of the masses is advancing despite • Reagan's threats of a new world war; and in France, in the heart of Europe, a socialist President is elected with the support of the Communist In the Middle East, Reagan is expecting a quick gain. Here the Syrian regime and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation: were isolated as the only ones still connected with Moscow, while all the Oil bourgeoisies and Sadat are openly turning to the West.

Here is the Israeli bourgeoisie, to.' sacrifice Willing its soldiers in a new military adventure-and seeks only a green light.

Reagan wants a quick and easy victory based the blood of the Arab and Jewish masses.

American "mediator" special envoy Philip Habib, came in order to give the American ultimatums to Syria, and to try and get the fruits of its surrender.

The Arab Jewish masses should come out against the war, weapons and blood spilt to please the imperialist speculators.

*Down with imperialist intervention in the Middle East!

3. Opposition •to war amongst the Jewish masses.

For the first time in the history of wars in the country: the opposition to war among the Jewish - sic masses takes on a political and mass expression.

This is an important phenomenon, an outcome of the crisis of the Israeli state which began in the 1973 wat, and proves that this crisis can have a positive outcome.

The Peres-style bourgeois opposition is unwilling to crack the national front, and it is dragging after Begin's statements (as is Peres' announcement that the "presence of the missiles in Lebanon is an intollerable situation" , and that he supports Begin on this issue).

But while Begin sees the war as the sole chance to save nis government, in elections, "Ma'arach" fears the outcome of an Israeli war declared in opposition to the wishes of the majority of the Jewish masses.

War was always the most powerful weapon in the hands of the bourgeoisie, not only against the Arabs but also in order to intimidate the Jewish workers and inhabitants of poor neighbourhoods, and to prevent any struggle or attempt for independent working , class organisation.

Profits

Behind the "security" slogan, the industrialists, contractors, weapons speculators and the colony-settlers have always made their fattest' profits. But the misery, unemployment and inflation-fruits of the "security" and easy profits policy -have a lack of confidence among the workers in all the bourgeois parties.

The present war plans are an important test: will the workers forget again that the bourgeoisie is the real enemy and go to pour their blood in wars of occupation?

The bourgeois opposition promises that if the thunder of war is heard it will withdraw all its objections. If we want to prevent this war, if we want to prevent many mare vears of slaverv and wars, we should say to Begin and his friends: if you dare and declare this criminal war-all the workers, Jewish and Arab, will come out against you.

Only the independent working class oreanisation, only the unity of Arab and Jewish workers, can prevent Tendency. ali the present war way to peace!

4. The Palestinian peoplethe first victim. Palestinian national liberation-condition for peace.

Since the formation of the state of Israel each government has pursued the same policy towards the Palestinian masses: expropriation, oppression, racial discrimination, mass expulsion and occupation.

The Camp David agreements attempted to establish pro-imperialist alliance between Israel and Egyptthrough preventing a solution of the : Palestinian probiem by tne pians 10] "autonomy"

But the occupation and oppression are breeding resis tance. Since 1967, the Pales tinians have taken their fate into their own hands, and come out in struggle both from outside and under Israeli rule. This resistance took on a polítical mass character:

In the West Bank, despite thé occupation, thère have been general strikes and mass demonstrations-and • since the 1976 Land Day (2), the Palestinian masses inside the "green line" (3) have also joined these struggles.

The Begin government's Iron Fist policy for the oppression of the Palestinian masses was operated both in Lebanon and in the territories occupied in 1967 and inside the "green line"

This policy under the israeli regime includes the destruction of houses, house arrest of political activists, the granting of legitimacy and support to the Israeli colony-settiers and their provocations; and recently the ban on the Nazareth convention of the "Arab Population Congress" and the outlawing of the "National Coordination Committee"

Against the Iron Fist policy-there should be counterposed plans for realising the full Palestinian national liberation, as a way solve the Jewish-Arab conflict and establish peace:

*Down with the occupation!

*For the withdrawal of the Iraeli army from all the Arab areas and towns!

*For the right of return for Palestinian refugees!

*For a constituent assembly of all the inhabitants of the country, including the Palestinian refugees, which will establish the co-existence in a unified democratic Palestine!

5. Syria and the Arab East.

Behind the noises on the threat of war between Syria and Israel we should not forget that in fact a war is already taking place betweer Israel and the Palestinians ir Lebanon.

The Syrian bombardments in Lebanon, branded by. Begin as "nazi" • are nothing compared to th Israeli bombings from th air, land and sea on ti Palestinians and villagers 1 Southern Lebanon.

The Palestinians are i Lebanon against their wil as refugees, since their retur to their land is prevented ฿ the Israeli occupation.

Mass expulsion

It was this mass expi sion, beginning in 1948, th turned tne Palestinians inta factor of a struggle an ferment and it is this ma expulsion which is the orig of the Israeli-Arab conflict.

Since then, the Palesti ian masses have won support of the majority a the Arab masses, and activ ly formed an alliance wi the masses in Lebanon.

The Israeli invasion Lebanon, in trying to esta lish there a government o the fascist Phalangists, * only increase the mobilis tion of the Palestinian as Lebanese masses agaiz Israel and against Phalangists.

The more favoural Israeli military strength a win in the first round, butt the resistance to the occug tion in the West Bank ad in the Gaza Strip and as ti standing of the masses i Lebanon after the massar in the civil war have prow for more than ten years-t struggle of a whole peog cannot be defeated.

Thus, İsraeli polic wholly based on milita strength and mounta

Scan page 7

Thursday 2 July