Volume 10, No.2 - March 2001

We're part of the union

Palestine- SACP visit

Israel: a violent apartheid state

SACP statement The South African Communist Party (SACP) sent a five-person delegation to Palestine from 10-17 February. This was made possible by the SACP's long-standing relationship with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the Palestinian People's Party (PPP - the Palestinian Communist Party).

The objectives of the visit were to:

• Strengthen our bilateral relations with the PLO and the PPP;
• Express our solidarity with the Palestine people and their struggle for an independent and sovereign state;
• Assess the situation in Palestine based on our own visit.

The delegation met a wide range of organisations and figures in both Palestine and Israel, including Abdul-Raheem (a member of the Palestinian Cabinet), members of the Palestine Legislative Council, the PPP, the PLO, Fatah, the General Union of Women of Palestine and the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions.

The difficult situation in Palestine represents 52 years of apartheid, occupation, Israeli state terrorism, violent subjugation and an unfair economic blockade by Israel. This has continued unabated and worsened in the last four months, with the complicity of the United States of America (USA).

Even more tragic has been the insufficient international outcry at this situation - a silence which basically amounts to a pat on the back for the apartheid Israeli state.

To elaborate this situation we refer to the following chilling facts, we came across:

• The slaughtering of more than 400 Palestinian martyrs since 29 September 2000 - a reminder that the all-powerful Israeli Defence Force is committing massacres against powerless Palestinians.
• The continuing demolition, bombing and shelling of Palestinian homes and their forced replacement by Israeli settlements inside the occupied territories, which is genocidal and akin to forced removals in apartheid South Africa.
• Since 29 September 2000, when the Palestinian Intifada started, Israel has destroyed more than 20 000 fruit-bearing trees, and more than 7000 hectares of agricultural land and green houses in the Palestinian Territories.
• There are between 500 and 700 Palestinian children under the age of 18 detained in Israeli jails. ·
• Israel has imposed severe restrictions on the movement of persons and goods to and from the outside world and within the occupied Palestinian Territories, . including restrictions on the movement of medical personnel in emergency situations. As a result of these restrictions, for the last four months the Palestinian Legislative Council has not met and more than 125 000 Palestinian workers who previously worked in Israel have not been able to go to work in Israel and been without income.

The main object of this Israeli siege is to break the determination of the Palestinian people and force them to accept a political solution that does not meet their aspirations to liberation and independence.

This systematic Israeli oppression and violence have, instead, made Palestinians more defiant and resolute in their fight for freedom. Therefore the SACP understands the Palestinian Intifada as the inevitable and legitimate expression of their aspirations.

At the same time, Israeli aggression does not mean peace and security for Israel. The liberation of Palestine is inevitable and, sooner rather than later, the Israelis will have to climb down and meet the Palestinian people's demands.

Most of the international media coverage is biased in favour of Israel and the USA. Unfortunately, this unfairness has also permeated most South African media coverage of Palestine.

The SACP felt the wrath of Israel when the SACP delegation, including MPs, was subjected to humiliating and unfair treatment by Israeli security at Tel Aviv Airport. We call on the South African government to investigate this incident and take appropriate action against Israel.

Our main conclusion from our visit is that Israeli aggression, and not the Intifada, is the main obstacle to the resolution of the Palestinian question. The Palestinian people's goal is the implementation of UN resolutions on ending the Israeli occupation, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and securing Palestinian refugees' right to return to their homes in Israel.

They are also calling for an international investigation into Israeli aggression, the deployment of an international protection force and ending the role of the US as the sole mediator of the Israeli-Palestine negotiations, instead of the UN and other international bodies.

The SACP supports these legitimate goals and the resumption of meaningful Israeli-Palestine negotiations to achieve them.

Further, the SACP will undertake the following:

• Briefing the Minister Foreign Affairs, our alliance partners, the democratic movement and the broader public on the situation in Palestine
• Calling for an open dialogue with the Jewish community in South Africa to discuss what role they can play in the peaceful resolution of the Palestinian question
• Building concrete solidarity between South Africa and Palestine through public meetings, exchange programmes and building solidarity organisations
• Joining in international campaigns to expose Israeli aggression

The SACP calls on South African media, in particular the SABC as the public broadcaster, to expose Israeli aggression and openly discuss the legitimate demands for a free Palestine.

Finally, the SACP strongly condemns the recent US and British attacks on Iraq. We strongly suspect these attacks have less to do with Iraq but more to do with beefing up the Israeli army, which has started joint programmes with the US army, and taking attention away from Israeli aggression against the Palestinians.