Interview with West Bank student leaders Imperialism wants alliance with Israel and Arab rulers

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correspondent in THE WEST Bank and Gaza have been under Israeli occupation for 16 years now.

The military government there depends on a strange mixture of Jordanian laws, military regulations, and fascist terror under the army's auspices.

Especially since it reshaped itself under the name of 'civil administration' ' it forbids any political activity or free expression. It tries to use this oppression to build a new leadership, under the title of 'village leagues' to serve its purpose.

The people in the occupied territories have already exposed all sorts of camouflages for Israeli annexation, from Begin's 'autonomy for the inhabitants but not the territories' to the November 1981 'civil administration' What do they want? How do they see their situation today after Israel's invasion of I put these questions to two leaders of the Progressive Student Action Front' the main grouping of leftwing students. It works legally on the student union level, and has gained growing support in union elections in recent years.

How do you see the situation fol. lowing the Lebanese war?

First you should understand that even before the war there was a dangerous period before us - the Camp David period.

Imperialism is trying to build an alliance between Israel, as its military base, and the Arab bourgeoisie, an alliance that will constitute the strategic framework to defend its rule against the Arab liberation movement, of which Israeli rule in the West Bank the Palestinian liberation movement is a part.

This is to be more than a military alliance. It is also an economic alliance, as can be seen from Israeli economic activity in Egypt and its intervention in the Lebanese economy.

Besides this, imperialism is trying to bring the alliance to. the level of social and cultural fusion of the Zionist and Arab ruling classes.

Do you see this real bility?

Yes. The Zionist bourgeoisie is stronger than the Arab bourgeoisjes, and it has stronger links with imperialism. So it is clear who will be the strong side in that alliance: the Zionist bourgeoisie will enforce its conditions.

It can be seen from examples like the bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor that the Zionist bourgeoisie can act on its own and still Published by Socialist Forum for Southern Africa Solidarity.

Available (at 90p plus 20p post) c/o SO, 28 Middle Lane, London N8. 90p Bob Fine Lawrence Welch enjoy imperialism's friendship, but imperialism cannot impose its will on Israel. The Arab bourgeoisie, on the contrary, does not make moves on its own. For example, Saudi will not give information from the AWACS surveilance planes about what is going on in Lebanon to the Palestinians.

And in Fez the Arab states actually endorsed the US-imposed plan.

The framework for this alliance was set at Camp David, and now the US wants to develop it.

They want to impose it on Syria by military and political pressure, and buy Jordan, so that it will enter Camp David.

But the Israeli moves, like the annexation of the Syrian Golan Heights, or the settlements in the West Bank and their claim to a security strip along the Jordan river, all testify that Jordan and especially Syria will gain nothing it they enter the settlement framework. That is why they do not enter.

The stand of the Palestinian revolution, and the Lebanese National Movement, • against the imperialist plan, strengthened the position of Syria and Jordan. That is why imperialism wanted to destroy these strong parts of the Arab national movement. That was how the war came about?

Yes. Israel speaks about 'Peace in Galilee' . but it is clear that its aim is to destroy the Palestinian revolution. Also, Israel wanted to change by force the political situation in Lebanon.

They hoped that a blow to the Syrian presence in Lebanon and liquidation of the PLO and Lebanese National Movement will speed up the entry of the Arab bourgeoisies into Camp David -first. Lebanon, then Jordan, and then Syria.

Why exactly now?

first, it was it critical timo lor imperialism, as Camp David came to a dead end.

Secondly, imperialism tried both political and military methdes. The political moves inçluded the Faled plan and the first Hez arme conference in 1981.

This conference completely failed when the Palestinian revolution, syria and Libya rejected the Fahd plan. Then imperialism turned to the military option.

So in the invasion of Lebanon there was both Israel's military role, which we have already described, and the political role of Arab reaction, after the invasion, expressing itself in the second Fez conference.

How do you the the invasion?

The two main components of the Arab liberation movement were much weakened - at least from the military aspect.

The fact that the Palestinian forces had to leave Beirut, and the entry of the Marines and the French forces, strengthened Lebanese and Lionist fascism.

Israel won a victory, maybe partial, on the Lebanese link in the Camp David chain. It has already imposed negotiations on Lebanon, de facto normalised relations, and imposed Gemayel as Lebanon's president.

What next?

They now want the Jordanian link, and the Reagan plan is based on integrating Jordan and some Palestinians into the imperialist alliance.

This plans emphasises the prime place of Israel - it supports Israel's negation of any possibility of a Palestinian state, and wants to assure this by including the Palestinians in Jordan.

This brings us back to the Palestinian National Council and its 16th Congress. Pressure was mounted by Jordan's supporters on the council to support the Reagan plan and entrust Jordan with representing the Palestinian people.

The Council rejected the Reagan plan and did not leavé a place to Jordan and its agents in the occupied territories to exploit them - and hence the military blow was not translated into a political defeat.

Reagan the present period? personally think it cannot.

In my view the situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip resembles what happened in the Galilee triangle and Negev after the 1948 occupation.

Israeli fascism is trying to annex these areas and has already expropriated 60% of all the land for its settlements.

Reagan didn't manage to integrate Jordan into his plan because he did not offer it anything real.

The aim of Israel is to destroy the Palestinian People with all its institutions and to solve the Palestinian problem across the Jordan river, as was stated by its then Defence Minister, General Sharon.

Jordan has interests in the West Bank and it wants to rule it - but the balance of forces is to Israel's advantage, and any settlement will express this imbalance.

Even Jordan finds it hard to accept the Israeli conditions -and those suggested by the Israeli Labour Party are just as bad as Begin's.

So what did the Palestinian National Council have to discuss?

There were five main topics at the 16th Congress:

1) National unity - and how to protect the international legitimacy won by the PLO as the sole representative of the Palestinian people, so that neither Jordan nor other personalities would be able to take over.

2. Defining a Palestinian stand toward the Reagan plan.

3. Relations with Jordan and Egypt.

4. The new Fez plan.

5. Confirmation of the armed struggle as a basic means for liberation and establishing the independent Palestinian state.

How do you assess the conference's discussions?

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AQUESTION OF SOLIDARHY Independent Trade Unions In South Africa