21.03.1996

The real terrorists

Middle East summit

Last week’s ‘peace makers’ summit at Sharm-el-sheikh in Egypt was hastily convened in response to Hamas suicide bombings that have killed 58 people in Israel and threaten the whole ‘peace process’ between the Israeli state and Arafat’s Palestinian Liberation Organisation.

This conference gave Shimon Peres, Israel’s Labour prime minister, a platform to boost his chances of winning the general election on May 29. Since the bombs his popularity among Israelis has dived, as public opinion has moved to the right, questioning any accommodation with the Palestinians.

Clinton and Peres both attack the ‘terrorism’ of states and organisations, such as Libya, Syria and Hamas. What a nerve! These Arab states are amateurs in comparison to the terrorism of US imperialism and its client state, Israel. The CIA and the Israeli secret service, Mossad, have years of experience of summary execution, kidnap, bombing and covert destabilisation of non-compliant states in the four corners of the globe. For starters, Vietnam, Cuba, Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, Nicaragua and Libya have all experienced the iron heel of US military forces.

While the US and its hangers-on pontificate at the anti-terrorist conference, a general strike was in progress in Lebanon, in opposition to the 18 years of occupation by Israeli troops. Schools, shops, businesses and government offices were closed to mark the anniversary of Israel’s first invasion of Lebanon in 1978, since when Israeli troops have never left. The Israeli army and their stooges in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank terrorise the Lebanese and Palestinian populations daily, shoot their people, launch bombing raids against their villages, bulldoze their homes and prevent them from working. The silence of the ‘western democracies’ and the United Nations is deafening, compared with the attacks on Castro’s Cuba, for instance. It shows where their real loyalties and interests lie.

It should not be forgotten that in the early days of its existence Hamas was actively encouraged by the Israeli state as a way of dividing the Palestinian population, weakening the influence of the PLO. They are now finding that putting that particular genie back in the bottle is impossible.

While understanding the desperate and violent actions of the oppressed, we must be aware that Hamas, Islamic Jihad or Hezbollah are not the solutions. What the Palestinian masses and Israeli workers need is a secular, class-based communist organisation. An organisation that can fight in their collective interests, that can confront Israeli imperialism, Arafat’s collaboration and at the same time win workers away from the destructive ideologies of Islam and Zionism. No small task, but essential to break the cycle of the last 50 years.

Nick Clarke