TEXTS in ENGLISH from Prensa Obrera 807 - 3/07/03

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Palestine
The Sons of the Land

The Palestinian movement Abnaa el Balad (Sons of the Land) played an important part in the Fourth Conference of the Balkan Socialist Center Christian Rakovsky, where it was represented by two comrades, including its general secretary Muhammad Knaane. Prensa Obrera had a long interview with comrade Muhammad, where he explained the origins and objectives of his organization, denounced the situation of the Palestinians living in Israel and descried his position towards the current situation in the Middle East.

In the first place, we would like you to present your organization, Abnaa el Balad, before the Argentinean comrades.
Abnaa el Balad, which means Sons of the Land, is a Palestinian movement which works with the "Palestinians of 1948," i.e. those who live under direct Israeli government, within the borders of the Zionist state as fixed in 1948. Our movement began in 1969 but became a widespread movement ever since the "Land Day" events of 1976.

¿What was the "Land Day"?
The "Land Day" that took place in March 30^th 1976 was an Intifada carried out by the Palestinians within Israel. Land Day became a memorial day for all Palestinians everywhere in the world, and each March 30^th there are Palestinian demonstrations wherever there are communities of Palestinian refugees, as well as in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel itself.

The cause of that Intifada was that the Israeli government had expropriated numerous Palestinian properties in order to use them as training fields for the Zionist army. The leadership of the Palestinian masses within the 1948 borders decided for the first time that on that day there should be a general strike of repudiation in the Palestinian cities and villages, and the Zionist army entered those places to repress it. That gave rise to a great Intifada, a great struggle between the army and the Palestinians, in which 6 Palestinians were killed.

That was a very important turning point in our struggle against the Zionist state. For the first time the Palestinians clashed head on with the Zionist army and state in the streets. The Land Day made clear to us and our brothers in Gaza and the West Bank the meaning of our struggle and the importance of the Palestinian struggle in the streets; it also reminded the Arab world about the existence of Palestinians within Israel.

Every year, there are demonstrations in the Land Day in each place of the world where there is a Palestinian community.
¿What is the significance of the question of the refugees in the Palestinian struggle?
The question of the refugees is the most important one; it is the central question in the Arab-Israeli conflict. The refugees represent 70% of the Palestinian people. The supposed "two state solution," one Israeli and the other Palestinian, offers no solution to this central problem. No Palestinian leader or organization can reach an agreement with the Zionist state or with imperialism which provides no solution to that fundamental question. But it is clear that Israel is not ready to allow the return of the refugees to their lands and properties. They say that Israel is a "Jewish state" which must be "cleansed" from its Palestinian population.

That was the policy followed by the Zionist state since its creation. According to Ben Gurion's "Plan D" ("Dalet"), the Palestinian cities and villages were encircled leaving only one way out… to the [Eastern] border.

¿What is the present situation of the Palestinians within Israel?
We are citizens of the state of Israel, but third-rate citizens, below the Jewish citizens and even the immigrants coming from Russia, Africa or Asia. Though we are citizens, Israel treats us like enemies. The Israeli police assassinated 13 of us during the demonstrations that we organized to repudiate Sharon's presence in East Jerusalem at the beginning of the present Intifada [September 28, 2000]. Hundreds of Palestinians have been massacred by the Zionist army in their own villages ever since 1948, without interruption.

The Israeli parliament has passed dozens of laws in order to take away our lands and properties, to steal more and more land, to destroy more and more Palestinian houses. The destruction of Palestinian houses is a method that the Zionists apply within Israel as well, not only in Gaza or the West Bank. For instance, they have laws which allow the expropriation of "absentee owners." The aim of the massacres and the destruction of houses is to force the Palestinians to flee; after that they "legally" expropriate their lands.

53% of the Palestinians within Israel are refugees, which were expelled from their cities and villages, taken by the Zionists, and forced to live in other on places. 22% of the Israeli citizens are Palestinians, but only 2.5% is owned by Palestinians.

Please explain to the Argentinean comrades how the Zionist Apartheid regime functions. For instance, how do the educative and health systems in Israel work?

The Palestinian and Jewish kids go to separate schools. According to studies carried out in the Misgav district (in the Galilee) for example, the schools for Jewish children receive, on average, 18 times more funding than the schools for Palestinian children. In other regions, the situation is even worse. The last report submitted by those responsible for the education of Palestinian children estimates that at least 4,000 additional classrooms are required to supply the educative needs of the Palestinian population. The Palestinian schools do not have elementary things that are always present in the Jewish schools; they are provided for by the parents themselves or the Palestinian neighborhood and village.

The Palestinian children are forced to study the same programs as the Jewish children. They must learn Hebrew language and literature, Hebrew history, geography with Hebrew names. For years it has been taught to our children that Yoni (Jonathan) Netanyahu, brother of the ex-Prime Minister from the Likud, was a "hero" and a "martyr" for his participation in Entebbe Operation, and that the Palestinian fighters are "terrorists". Palestinian literature and history are excluded from the schools for Palestinian children. The entire educational system is an attempt to rob our children of their conscience and identity. The teachers of the Palestinian children are appointed, not by the Education Ministry, but by the security services of the Zionist state (Shabak).

There are no Arab hospitals. In Nazareth, for instance, there are 3 hospitals managed by the Catholic Church. During the present Intifada, the Palestinians inside Israel had to pass through Zionist checkpoints in order to get medical treatment, which regularly delayed and sometimes even prevented their passage, leading to the death of some of the demonstrators. In the South, in the Negev, where 70.000 Palestinians live, there are no minimal health services for them.

The beginning of the present Intifada was characterized by a brave participation of those living within Israel. What is the significance of this unity of the Palestinians within Israel with those living in Gaza and the West Bank?

There is an important point which is now clear: we, the Palestinians living within Israel, share the same struggle with our brothers in Gaza and the West Bank. Israel has failed to make us forget our national identity, especially among the youth. More than 60% of the Palestinians within Israel are below 18 years of age.

What is your position towards the "road map"?
We see the "road map" as a continuation of the "Oslo process," but we consider it even more dangerous. The first aim of the "road map" is to put an end to the Intifada, as well as to the refugee question. The Palestinian struggle faces its most difficult challenge, its hardest stage, because it faces an alliance of the imperialist of the US and the European Union, Zionism and the "comprador" Palestinian bourgeoisie itself, which has joined them to protect its own class interests, its own "business." We stand in great need of real and effective help from the revolutionary movements all over the world.

What is, in your opinion, the solution to this bloody massacre in the Middle East?
We consider that the main reason for the massacre of the peoples of the region is the need of imperialism to lay its hands on the Middle East and control it. This continuous war will never end without the expulsion of imperialism and the establishment of a single democratic state for everybody, Palestinians and Jews, which guarantees the right of the refugees to return to their lands and properties. We hope that this Palestine shall be part of a Socialist Federation of Arab States.

Note:
For more material in Arabic and English on the Sons of the Land, go to the Abnaa ElBalad website: http://www.abnaa-elbalad.org/