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   Vol.65/No.2            January 15, 2001 
 
 
Israel out of occupied territories
(editorial)
 
As the U.S. and Israeli governments try to pressure Palestinian representatives into renouncing some of their fundamental rights through signing a so-called peace agreement, it is important for working people in this country to speak out against these reactionary moves and in defense of the Palestinian people's right to a homeland and in the interests of all workers and farmers in the region.

As Palestinian spokespeople have explained, Washington and Tel Aviv are demanding the Palestinian people accept a deal that would give them a patchwork of neighborhoods in Jerusalem under their control, but with most of the city in the hands of the Israeli regime--and with the Palestinian Authority banned from holding heavy weapons for its self-defense. The deal would perpetuate the overall Israeli military dominance over the West Bank. Palestinian officials would also have to agree to renounce the right of return of the 3.7 million refugees--a fundamental condition for resolving the conflict.

But despite the heavy diplomatic pressure, accompanied by continuing Israeli brutality, including the assassination of Palestinian leaders, Washington and Tel Aviv have not succeeded in getting the Palestinian people to forfeit their rights and give up their future.

Behind the imperialists' inability to force through such an agreement lies the irreconcilable antagonism between the Israeli state and the interests of the Palestinian people. That state was erected on the dispossession and displacement of the Palestinians, and in permanent conflict with other countries in the region. Its reactionary character is symbolized by the reported decision to wall off Israel from the West Bank with a 45-mile fence.

The interests of the great majority of Jews in Israel--most of whom are working people--do not lie in defending the Israeli state, which has proven to be a death trap for them. Workers and farmers who are Jewish share a common fate with Palestinian working people, and a common interest in establishing the only possible solution in their mutual interests--a democratic, secular Palestine.

As a necessary step toward that aim, class-conscious workers should join with the millions of others around the world in demanding the immediate, total, and unconditional withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied territories.
 
 
Related article:
Palestinians balk at U.S. concession demands  
 
 
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