SACP Statement on Visit to Palestine The Israeli State is a Violent Apartheid State SA Media must play its Role to Expose Israeli Aggression

19 February 2001

The South African Communist Party (SACP) sent a five-person delegation to the Palestine from 10 February to 17 February 2001. The visit was made possible by the SACP'ss long-standing relationship with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the Palestinian People's Party (PPP - the Palestinian Communist Party).

The Purpose of the Visit

The aims and objectives of the visit were to:

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

As a result, the SACP delegation met with a wide range of organisations and figures in both Palestine and Israel including Comrade 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.

What is the Situation?

The difficult situation in Palestine represents 52 years of apartheid, occupation, Israeli state terrorism, violent subjugation and an unfair economic blockade of Palestine by Israel. This situation has continued unabated and has worsened in the last four months, with the complicity of the United States of America. Even more tragic has been the insufficient international outcry at this situation and a silence which basically amounts to a pat on the back for the apartheid Israeli state.

As an elaboration of this situation we refer to the following cold and chilling facts, which we came across in our visit:

• The slaughtering of more than 400 Palestinian martyrs since 29 September 2000 is 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 is genocidal and akin to apartheid 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, who are detained in Israeli jails.
• Israel has imposed severe restrictions on the movement of persons and goods with the outside world and within the occupied Palestinian Territories. This has also included restrictions on the movement of medical personnel in emergency situations. As a ult of these restrictions, the Palestinian Legislative Council has not met for the last 4 months and more than 125 000 Palestinian workers who previously worked in Israel are not able to go to work in Israel and have been without income for the last 4 months.

The main object of this Israeli siege against Palestine 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 the aspirations of the Palestinian people.

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

In addition to the lack of international outrage at this situation, most of the international media coverage is biased in favour of Israel and the United States of America. Unfortunately, this unfair coverage has also permeated the majority of South African media coverage of Palestine.

The SACP felt the wrath of Israel when the SACP delegation, including Members of Parliament, was subjected to humiliating and unfair treatment by Israeli security at Ben Guiron International Airport in Tel Aviv. 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 it is Israeli aggression, and not the Intifada, that is the main obstacle to the resolution of the Palestinian question.

The Way Forward

The goal of the Palestinian people is the implementation of the UN resolutions on ending the Israeli occupation, the establishment of the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and securing the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in Israel. The Palestinian people 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 process, instead of the UN other international bodies. The SACP supports these legitimate goals and the resumption of meaningful Israeli-Palestine negotiations in order to achieve these goals.

Further, the SACP will undertake the following:

• Briefing of the Minister Foreign Affairs, Comrade Nkosazana Zuma, our alliance partners (the ANC and COSATU), the broader democratic movement and the broader public on the situation in Palestine
• Calling for an open dialogue with the Jewish community in South Africa so as to discuss what role this community can play in the peaceful resolution of the Palestinian question
• Building concrete solidarity between South Africa and Palestine through public meetings, exchange programmes and the building of 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 interests and demands for a free Palestine.

Finally, the SACP strongly condemns the recent US and British attacks on Baghdad (Iraq). We strongly suspect that 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.

CONTACT
Mazibuko K. Jara (surname Jara)
Department of Media, Information and Publicity South African Communist Party
Tel: 27 11 339-3621/2
Fax: 27 11 339-4244
Cell: 072 153 3276 Email: sacp1@wn.apc.org