Begin Still Seeks War in the Middle East
Although a number of Israeli minis- last fifteen years they have been distinby Michel WARSCHAWSKI ters tried right up to the end to make withdrawal from the Sinai conditional on a series of new concessions by Egypt, Premier Menahem Begin laid down the
And from Monday, April 25, the Egyptian flag was to fly again over the entire Sinai peninsula.
Geographically, Israel is once again the little country it was before the June
Doubtless this will have its effect both on the military situation and on the psychology
The accomplishment of the withdrawal from the Sinai represents the conclusion of much more than a stage in the application of the Camp David Accords.
The problem facing the leaders of the Zionist state today is how to turn around, or at least stem, the deterioration in the overall relationship of forces
This is the standpoint that the recent Israeli movements in the occupied territories of the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights have to be seen, as well as the Begin government's unconcealed desire to launch a new military adventure against Syria and Lebanon.
Both the annexation of the Golan Heights and the setting up of a "civilian" adminstration on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip were intended to push the situation beyond the point of no return in the territories that Israel considers now to be an integral part of the Jewish state.
It was not by accident that referguished by an apparent passivity. However, the almost unanimous refusal of the Golan population last fall to accept Israeli identity cards should have been a warning to the Zionist authorities.
Nonetheless, under the pressure of the Jewish colonies in the Golan area, in December 1981 the Begin government tried to make the Arab inhabitants de facto citizens of the state of Israel.
Confronted with the unanimous refusal of the population and after finding that administrative detention of 11 so-called ringleaders did not solve anything, the government decided to put the four villages concerned under a state of siege, to cut off the telephones, food supply, and medical services, in an attempt to starve out the general strike of the Golan Arabs and break it by military repression.
Although dozens of the villagers were wounded by gunfire, several dozens more were arrested, and the local people's livestock herds were decimated, the Zionist government could not break the Arab population. Their unprecedented heroism today has forced the government to
The spokesman of the Golan Jewish colonies and head of the "Don't Lose the movement, Yehuda Har'el, said: "I can't claim to be an expert on the Druzes any more (the Golan Arabs belong to the Druze community). I was completely wrong....When the Golan law was passed, I was certain that there would not be any Druze problem. I was wrong...I thought that the arrest of four pro-Syrian leaders would be enough. I was wrong again. They started a general strike. We told the government--No problem, let them strike for two years. But that also was bad advice." (Haaretz, April 13, 1982.)
Today, the Jewish colonies in the Golan are sending delegations and flowers to the Arab inhabitants, whose strike is continuing with greater determination than ever. But this did not keep Yehuda Har'el from going on to say:
"These Druzes are putting themselves at risk, in my opinion. If a war breaks out, and who can believe that there is not going to be a war, they are very close to the border. Any battalion commander could decide to drive them out."
On the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, the people's almost total opposition to the civilian administration of Colonel Menahem Milson brought on still more violent repression. The removal of the mayors of El Bireh, Naplus and Ramallah; the closing of the University of Bir Zeit and, in fact, the University of Bethlehem; the repeated shutting down of Arab newspapers; censorship; and the jailing and house arrest of several dozen Palestinian leaders represented only the first phase of the new wave of repression.
was made to 1948 when these Israeli soldiers attack Palestinian refugee camp (DR) actions were taken. That was the year that the Jewish state was created in the wake of a military victory over the Arab armies and several hundred thousands of Palestinians were driven out.
The openly avowed dream of some Israeli leaders is to "do a repeat of 1948." That means creating a situation in which it would be possible to break the Palestinian national movement politically and militarily and substantially reduce the number of Palestinians in Israeli-ruled territo-
It is this perspective, and not an attack of madness, that has motivated Begin and his defense minister, Ariel Sharon; which makes it possible to explain the extreme gravity of the measures that the Israeli authorities have taken in recent weeks in the occupied territories.
The annexation of the Golan Heights was to be a purely formal action. The Syrian inhabitants of the area number no more than 13,000, and over the
17
Thousands protest in Tel Aviv (DR)
These actions were followed by the towns and refugee camps under a state of siege; the arrest of hundreds of persons charged with involvement in demonstrations, some of whom have been sentenced to heavy fines or jail terms; and the murder of several of people, either in demonstrations, or in circumstances that as yet have
For the first time, the army got orders to fire on crowds, and it did not hold back. Those wounded by gunfire number in the hundreds. It is as if General Ariel Sharon wanted to push the Palestinian population into an uprising that could open up the way for a qualitative escalation of reprisals, creating a dynamic leading to the expulsion or exodus of hun-. dreds of thousands of Palestinians.
### STUBBORN RESISTANCE
BY THE INHABITANTS OF THE
OCCUPIED LANDS The bloody repression on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is the result of a political scheme matched only by its utter lack of realism. It is also a consequence of the determination of the population and the scope of its mobilizations against the Begin government's new measures.
Day after day, new sections of the Palestinian population are joining in the
The massive repression makes no distinction between "extremists" and
For Ariel Sharon and Menahem Milson there are no "moderates"only a few dozen collaborators in the so-called Leagues of Villagers are reliable. The other Arabs are all agents of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) or intimidated by it.
explains why all the Arabs everywhere follow the strike calls. None of the municipal governments, not even the ones in Bethlehem and Gaza, have agreed to collaborate with Menahem Mil-
And those few who still remained passive joined in the fight after the criminal attack on the Mosque of Omar in Je-
What is striking is the absence of Most of the demonstrators young, often born after the Israeli occupation of these territories in June 1967. For them, the occupation is not an episode but the only reality they have ever known. When they pass the army blockades, they do not conceal their hatred. and in the face of the soldiers they stand
Despite the censorship, press has reported dozens of cases where soldiers have been forced to flee by a few dozen school children. More and more military patrols are being attacked with Molotov cocktails. In some neighborhoods and many refugee camps, the army cannot enter unless it mobilizes major
The Palestinians have given a clear answer to Menahem Milson's statement
"We are the PLO." Everywhere, on the schools and on the mosques, in the windows of the houses and on the walls, Palestinian flags have
As soon as they are taken down by the occupation forces, they pop up again in other spots.
Still more admirable is the heroic resistance of the 13,000 inhabitants of the Golan Heights: "Better death than
This phrase can be heard every day from morning till night in the Golan area and it is no theatrical slogan.
The calm determination of the people of Golan, after more than two months of a general strike, has forced the entire population of Israel to take them seriously when they say: "Even if this has to go on for several years, we will continue our struggle until the government accepts our demands" Despite the arrest of many leaders, a total state of siege, many wounded, hunger, the population completely solid.
"If necessary, we will make a big kibbutz so that we can help each other hold out," one of the now jailed leaders told us a few months ago. In fact, a few days ago the strikers decided to let the again. They will give a quarter of their harvest to the workers.
"I envy them," Rasiq Halabi, a well-known Druze journalist working for Israeli TV and a reserve officer in the Isravi ande, said, recenty, they at least
Honor, identity-that is also a question of land. Immediately after the pasof the annexation bill, the Israeli The new Ministry of the Interior "According to the Israeli law in force toof the land on the Golan plabelongs now to the Israeli state." The story is told that a few days the strike, the prefect of the northern region, the infamous Israel Kenig, went to meet with the leading people on the Golan Heights. They asked him to reconsider applying the new law. His answer was that he had not come to negotiate with them, but to tell them what was expected of them: "I am Israel Kenig," he added, "and if you haven't heard of me, ask the Arabs in Galilee.:"
The local leaders replied: the Druzes of Golan, and if you don't know about us, ask the Turks, the French, the English and the Syrians."
Now, there is no one in Israel who does not know the Druzes of the Golan Heights and what they are capable of. This has helped to change the attitude of the entire Israeli population toward their
GROWING OPPOSITION TO THE
POLICY OF REPRESSION The Golan provocation touched off a wave of protest that has continued to mount against the Begin-Sharon government's repressive policy. Driving a population that had been distinguished by its apparent resignation to Israeli occupation, driving the Druzes of Israel-the last politicized in the Palestinian populationto solidarize with their brothers and sisters on the Golan Heights, sparking an example of organization, of determination, and of tactical adeptness for the population of the West Bank and Gaza-that was too much, even for the Labor Party.
Every day, more personalities have been joining the chorus of protest against the barbarous methods of repression used in the attempt to break the people of the Golan Heights. This includes even the inhabitants of northern Israel, who are suffering from the lack of Arab labor.
A recent example of this growing opposition to Menahem Begin's policy on the Golan is the position taken by the most famous judge of the Supreme Court, who is now retired, Judge Haim Cohen. In a press conference that made the front page of the Israeli papers, he confirmed one of the accusations made by the Civil Rights Association and the Committee
take a position on the question of the that is, the attempt to provoke a new war occupied territories, finally decided to in the Near East.
This confirms the fact that above and behind the considerations of the representatives of the Peace Now movement and the official slogans of the demonstration, the tens of thousands who mobilized in Tel Aviv were demonstrafor Solidarity with the Arab Population of the Golan.
Haim Cohen said that it was not Israeli law that was being applied on the Golan but a law of the jungle and practices that trampled on the most elementary human rights.
The long answer to this statement made by the army spokesman and the crude denunciations hurled at the former judge by Menahem Begin have not at all lessened the impact of Haim Cohen's ac-
In the midst of the Golan crisis, the government decided to launch a represpopulation that involved an armed confrontation with more than a million people. In a month's time this policy led to hundreds of casualties, including about twenty dead. It showed that the only thing that the new Sharon-Milson strategy can lead to is bloody repression against the entire Palestinian population in the occupied territories.
This policy is not only criminal, it has shown itself to be completely ineffective and counterproductive. Never before has the Palestinian population been so united in its resistance, never have the collaborators been more isolated, never has the mobilization been so determined.
As the former head of the Israeli security services, Avraham A'haituv, wrote: "The ministers of defense succeeded (in the past) in applying a policy that could be called one of 'calming the situation.' It is obvious that such a policy is in contradiction to the determination to impose a different sort of rule in the territories. By definition, imposing something means provoking unrest."
After showing that the policy of the big stick only reinforces resistance, Avraham A'haituv concluded:
"It is possible to calm the waters.
mobilize against the repression there.
The Peace Now movement had always deliberately limited itself to supporting the Camp David Accords. It mobilized tens of thousands of persons only to press the government not to let slip the opportunity offered by President Anwar Sadat's initiative.
With positions close to those of the Labor Party and largely led by members of Labor Party Kibbutzim, Peace Now refused to take any stand, even a limited one, against the occupation.
the March 27 demonstration in Tel Aviv called by Peace Now marked a
Three days later, it was the turn of the Israeli Palestinian population to express its solidarity with its brothers and sisters in the occupied territories.
After the massive mobilization in solidarity with the Golan population, including even the Druze village leaders in Israel who have traditionally been close to the government, from 70% to 80% of the Arab population in Israel responded to the call for a general strike issued by the National Committee for the Defense of Arab Lands and the Israeli Arab Mayors Committee.
Although it was less spectacular than the Day of the Land on March 30, 1976, the mobilization on March 30, 1982, was the most massive and most united one the Palestinian population of Israel has known since 1948.
However, the resistance to the Begin-Sharon policy has not been limited to the Palestinian population or the moderate Zionists close to Peace Now. The Likud government has also run into very widespread opposition among the Jewish
VERY BROAD OPPOSITION TO BEGIN'S AGGRESSIVE MANEUVERS Menahem Begin wanted a war before the completion of withdrawal from the Sinai. His own ministers leaked this press in an attempt to newspapers to embarrass the government and prevent it from throwing itself into a bloody adventure.
But for Begin and Sharon the war more and more statements indicating this over these last two months. Arems, Israel's ambassador in Washing. ton, has talked about "pre-emptive war." The minister of foreign affairs, Shamir, has promised to "crush the terrorist organizations and their leaders in their home
Every couple of days, Ariel Sharon "We may launch an action." chief of staff, General Eitan, has said, "Israel will take Israel's point of view there is no cease-
Menahem Begin has pledged that if a single Jew is killed, there will be war. Every incident, such as the attack on the Israeli embassy or the infiltration of comacross the lines on the Jordan front is played up and used to reinforce the military buildup on the frontiers and to whip up a war atmosphere in Israel.
The government has not even hesitated to fabricate stories about ando infiltration in order to justify the chief of staff's statement that the cease-
For the moment, what ties the masses to the general thrust of its policy, hands of the Israeli government is first
This is difficult, maneuver and patience. I am afraid that the tough method is getting us further
30,000 Protest in Tel Aviv this objective." (Haaretz,
April 16, 1982.)
A'haituv's thoughts reflect feelings
In the midst of a head-on confrontation between the government and the army and the Palestinian and Syrian masses in the occupied territories, that are largely shared by the Israeli population and many establishment cir-
30,000 persons mobilized on March 27 in Tel Aviv to demand that the Begin gov-
What is more, the impact that this ernment end its repression in the occupied lands.
criminal policy in the occupied territories
The presence of about twenty Labor Party deputies explains the very modwill have on Israeli society, the future erate tone of the official slogans-"Sensible Zionism!" "More Moderation!" It also that it is preparing, are clear to those who explains the failure to explicitly attack the civilian administration set up in the ocstill dream of a Zionism "with a sound cupied territories and the refusal to defend the ousted Arab mayors.
mind and clean hands."
But the participation of these Jewish members of parliament also showed the
In the last two months, the newsrelative isolation of the government and its supporters in the Labor Party. At least paper Haaretz has become the voice of as important as the official theme of the demonstration were the slogans adopted this general criticism of the government's by the Peace Now movement demonstrators themselves.
policy toward the occupied territories.
which for twelve years has been raised exclusively by anti-
Revelations about the crimes per-
Zionists, was taken up this time by tens of thousands of persons. This showed the petrated daily by the occupation forces real feelings of the demonstrators and the context in which they saw the mobilizaare compelling more and more people to come out clearly in opposition to the gov-
Moreover, the Committee for Solidarity With the University of Bir Zeit suc-
This explains why the Labor ceeded in gathering several thousand persons behind its banners, despite the opposi-
Party has rejected the proposal for a tion of the march organizers. Its leaflets and badges were also popular among the government of national unity.
accepted, it would have faced a split.
It is why the Peace Now movement, which had disappeared from the political scene for several months after refusing to the occupation!"
tion and their participation in it.
demonstrators.
ting against the occupation.
The slogan "Down with
appeal to broader sections of the popu- prensa news agency.
of all the American veto of any military adventure, at least before the end of the withdrawal from the Sinai. But it is also the lack of a national consensus among the Israeli population for such a war.
If a war were to break out, for the first time in the history of the state, the Israeli people would not be united behind the government.
One of the most prominent Israeli Yoel Marcus, said "The main reason why Israel has been so publicly on the brink of war twice is that there is no military threat and no military justification, direct or even indirect, for starting a war.
"If there were any reason to start a war now, there would talk about it. The preparations would be secretly and it would be launched by surprise. In the four wars we have gone through, two were provoked
Arabs and two launched by Marcus continued: "Now the situamoderate doves but even the military specialists see no need for any large-scale military action. The heating up of the atmosphere if therefore artificial, and designed to prepare the ground for an essential political operation....This is the reason for the skepticism and fears of a new war that are permeating the country, including the ministers." (Haaretz, April 13, 1982.)
In the same article, Yoel Marcus talks about a group of top officers and ministers around General Ariel Sharon who are pushing for a new test of strength: "This group regrets having had to sign a ceasefire (with the PLO) that ties Israel's hands and lends respectability to the terrorists. It is no accident that this is already the second time since Sharon became defense minister, not yet a year ago, that Israel is on the brink of making a military move that has no apparently military justification. This is simply because Sharon sees the destruction of the PLO, the erasure of the PLO from the map, as a miracle remedy for the political dangers threatening Israel."
It is precisely on this question that the Israeli government finds itself in a minority. There are fewer and fewer people who believe that there is any miracle remedy. Fewer and fewer people believe that a war could solve anything The proof of this is the petition circulated by the inhabitants along the northern border, which says that the Palestinians have punctiliously respected the ceasefire and that there is no reason for Israel to end the calm that prevails in the largely shared by the working people, although passively.
This is one of the reasons why Menahem Begin so much needed a government of national unity. It is also the reason that the Labor Party leader Shimon Perez refused to go along. Begin wants to create an atmosphere of national union at the top in order to try to extend it to the masses.
Perez knows what the feelings of the masses are. wants to take his distance from Begin's adventurist policy, even if in fact the differences between the Labor Party and Likud are not over fundamentals but only a matter of style. He says that he is prepared to join the government only once war has been declared, indicating that when the fatherland is in danger there is no longer any room for public expression of differences.
TOWARD A BROAD MOVEMENT
AGAINST WAR AND THE OCCUPATION The bloody repression in the ocupied territories and the preparations for a military adventure against the PLO and Syria are two faces of the same policy. The utopian aim of this policy is to turn the course of history back and bring the political situation back to what it was in the 1950s and 1960s. It seeks to smash the Palestinian nation and break the political and military power of the Arab states, as well as to restore the faith of the Israeli Jewish population in the future and omnipotence of Zionism.
The Zionist establishment and the Israeli bourgeoisie are not mistaken in their estimation of the gravity of the crisis and the need for finding radical so-
But the Jewish masses of Israel are more farsighted in their assessment of the real relationship of forces in the region. This is the reason for their refusal to mobilize behind the warmongering campaign of Menahem Begin and for the fear that the idea of a new war inspires in most Israelis.
This fear of a new war and this refusal to pay the price once again for a military adventure that could not improve the situation of the Israeli masses, either from the standpoint of security or living conditions, is the objective basis for the emergence of a vast antiwar movement.
A recent resolution of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Communist League, Israeli section of the Fourth International says:
"The number one objective for the progressive forces today is to do everylation and offer them an alternative for the policy that in the last anathe interests of the working people. the left forces, both Zionist and anti-Zionist, must do everything possible to orient the antiwar movement in this di-
For the first time, Israel is not united in the face of its enemies. first time it is heading toward war with the bulk of its troops dragging their feet. This is a decisive turning point in the history of Zionism.