Statement of the Israeli Communist Forum (13.1.2004)

The Israeli Communist Forum places upon the Sharon Government the responsibility for ongoing deterioration of the situation in the region and for the continuing bloodshed. In his last two speeches Sharon repeated old promises for "painful concessions", the removal of "illegal" settlement outposts (as if there are any legal outposts or settlements in the Occupied Territories) and for "easing" the life of the Palestinians. In practice the Sharon Government continues the extension of existing  settlements as well as the creation of completely new ones, and also the intensifies its acts of oppression in the Palestinian Occupied Territories in numerous ways.

The government of Israel poses completely unreasonable preconditions for resuming negotiations with the Palestinians. Among other things it demands "the dismantling of the terrorist infrastructure" - ignoring the fact that it is the Israeli occupation regime and its acts which constitute the real infrastructure for terrorism in our region, the real source of the bloodshed and suffering. Even when for a long time there were no attacks on civilians in Israel, the government did not cease its acts of oppression nor did it even stop the assassinations which it calls "targeted killings" and which entail the killing and wounding of numerous innocent civilians. It is against this background that attacks on Israeli civilians inside Israel take place, though on a smaller scale then before - acts which we condemn and which only harm the Palestinian people's just cause.

We strongly condemn the latest threats by Prime Minster Sharon to undertake unilateral steps in the Occupied Palestinian Territories under the guise of a so-called "Disengagement Plan", and in particular the plan to formally annex part of the Occupied Territories as an element of that "disengagement".

The Israeli Communist Forum reiterates its condemnation of the US support for the Sharon Government and its more than ever biased and one-sided policy in the conflict. This policy is one of the main factors preventing the achievement of a just peace and leading to a continuation of the bloodshed.

We condemn the aggressive policy of the US in the Middle East and other parts of the world, and demand an end to the American occupation of Iraq and to the campaign of pressures and threats upon other countries in order to force upon them policies which are contrary to their national interests. Such dictats are designed solely to further the narrow interests of US imperialism and its allies, which represent various multi-national monopolies. We welcome the manifestations of resistance to the United States and its allies. In particular, we would like to mention the heroic acts of the Iraqi Resistance which inflicts upon the American occupiers casualties and damage far beyond what they expected when they started the war - and continues to do so also after the highly-publicized capture of Saddam Hussein.

The US policy is also a major obstacle on the way of reaching a peace agreement between Israel and Syria. In this context we strongly condemn the irresponsible reaction of the Sharon Government to the new peace initiative of Syrian President  Bashar Assad, who reiterated his willingness to negotiate a just peace with Israel. Instead of positively responding, there came the declaration by ministers in the Israeli cabinet of plans to double the colonialist settlements in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

Against this background we express our appreciation of the initiatives for peace and dialogue, which underline the fact that it is quite possible and feasible to reach a just peace in the region, and primarily with the Palestinian people. It should be especially noted that the Geneva Initiative has greatly helped to confound the right-wing's claim that "there is nobody to talk to", and show that Israel does have a partner for negotiations and a peace agreement.

The Geneva Initiative includes correct principles for ending the conflict, such as recognizing the right of the Arab Palestinian people for a state of their own side by side with Israel, a border based on the lines of June 1967, exchange of territory on the basis of 1:1 and the mention of UN resolution 194 referring the the rights of the Palestinian refugees.

The Geneva Initiative has brought about a resurgence of the Israeli peace camp and increased the public criticism on the policy of the present government. At the same time the Geneva Initiative contains quite a few flaws. For example, according to the attached maps, the exchange of territory is not of territories equal in size and value, and they will bring about the annexation of 300,000 settlers who would stay in their homes. With regard to the Palestinian refugees there are contradictory wordings, which to a large extent imply a veto power for the Israeli government. Demilitarization is applied solely to the Palestinian state, while the Israeli Air Force is given complete freedom to operate in its air space. Also, Israeli "early warning stations" are to be created within the Palestinian state. A just and lasting peace agreement must include corrections on these and other issues.

To make the achievement of a just peace in our region a real possibility, the activity of the peace forces in Israel must be increased, as should the international solidarity with both the Palestinian people and the Israeli peace forces.

We would like to commend the important protest actions taking part in Israel and the Occupied Territories, particularly those around the "Separation Fence" in the  course of which the army shot and wounded also Jewish and Arab Israeli protesters, as well as international protesters from countries around the world. We condemn the Israeli army's use of live ammunition against the demonstrators protesting this fence of occupation and oppression, which continues to cause untold misery to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian inhabitants in the Occupied Territories.

We warmly congratulate all the conscientious refusers who refuse to take part in the policy of occupation and oppression, and condemn the long terms of imprisonment which the military authorities recently imposed upon five young refusers. Another important contribution to the struggle against occupation and oppression is the refusal letter by members of the “Sayeret Matkal” commando unit, considered as one of the Israeli Army's most elite units, which came upon the refusal of senior Air Force force pilots and many other soldiers and officers refusing to go on committing crimes in the Occupied Territories.

The Israeli Communist Forum condemns the new threats against the Arab population in Israel, manifested with particular severity in this population being described as "a demographic danger"by Finance Minister and former PM Binyamin Netanyahu. Describing the Arab population in this way - which regrettably seems to be shared, to a considerable degree, by many political forces of the centre and even of what is considered to be left - is highly racist. Inculcating such concepts is aimed at preparing public opinion for far-reaching schemes against the Arab citizens of Israel, who continue suffering from deep discrimination in all spheres of life.

The Israeli Communist Forum sharply condemns the socio-economic policy led by the finance minister and expressed in the recently approved government budget.  It is a policy aimed at the accelerated elimination of social rights, destruction of the welfare state, making the gap between rich and poor deeper than it ever was, and diverting precious resources to the needs of the army and occupation, at the expense of the masses and the poor. According to official statistics, a third of all children in Israel live under the poverty line (54% of all Arab children!), the number of unemployed is higher than ever, the number of those needing the help of charities and soup kitchens increases by the month. Instead of responding to demands to ease the plight of the working masses and the poor, the government policy only intensifies that plight. Moreover, in order to bloc the strikes and struggles against that policy, the government promotes bills and pieces of legislation which would considerably reduce the right to strike and to conduct labour union and social struggles.

In summation: we call for continuation and extension of the struggle against the policies of the present government in all spheres, against the continuation of occupation and oppression, and for a policy of a just peace, equality and the working people's welfare.

The Sharon Government is Responsible for the Continuing Deterioration