THE ISRAELI invasion of the Lebanon has wreaked the most appalling destruction. The Palestinians and the Lebanese left have their backs to the wall. Should the Palestinians agree to withdraw? And what are the United States, the Israelis, the Soviet Union and the European powers up to. ROS KAPLAN argues that any Palestinian withdrawal, any agreement worked out which disarms and scatters the Palestinian resistance would be a capitualtion to Israel and The seige of West Beirut is now into its eleventh week. Over the last two months we have heard non-stop contradictory reports on the progress of accoulations. while the Israelis have continued their non-stop extermination campaign, cynically violating all the cease-fires with further bombing raids. What's really going on? What are the objectives of Israel and imperialism?
Israel invaded Lebanon to crush the Palestinian national liberation movement and to drive them out of Lebanon. Israel demands the evacuation of the guerrilla forces from West Beirut, where the majority are, and the Bekaa valley in eastern Lebanon along with the Syrian forces stationed there since the civil war in What kind of withdrawal has still to be worked out • whether an unconditional surrender and total defeat IsTael werence Sharon would like to see) or a phased withdrawal where the Palestinians and their allies would be replaced by a multi-national 'peace-keeping' (mainly of French, Italian and US troops) which America and the west is in all this it is everyones concern that the Palestinians should get out — instead of Israel! All the powers want to see the defeat of the Palestinian revolution.
Reagan, Thatcher and even social democrats like Mitterand in France support the Israeli invasion.
oppression of the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, the bombing campaigns it has waged against Lebanon and the Israeli invasion in 1978, the illegal annexation Syrian Golan Heights in 1981 Their supposed 'anger' at the continuing attacks on Beirut and Israeli breaches of the ceasefires doesn't mean they've stopped supporting Israel (for example the US vetoed the Soviet-sponsored motion in the UN for sanctions against Israel) but that the US and becoming increasingly worried about the of army.
US plans for consolidating alliances with the conservative Arab regimes, notably Suadi Arabia (potentially a new replacement to the Shah's Iran as imperialism's main police force in the Gulf area and Egypt.
Certainly this more closely with reactionary Arab has created between favour stronger support to Israel and the European allies on the one hand and those who favour prioritising imperialist relays like Saudi Arabia and The split in which strategy to adopt in future foreign policy blew Malvinas war Lebanon and led to the resignation of HaCompared with their reaction to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan or the Malvinas, imperialism's response to Israeli's muted. understand that if Lebanon the situation would be very favourable to their aims in the region.
The proposed 'stable regime' in Lebanon means in fact a semi-fascist government of the Maronite Phalangist militia; which will become an ally of Israe and Turkey to the north, and which will oppress all progressive forces in Minister reactionary Arab regimes deeply worried about giving political force asylum to the PLO guerrillas. shouldn't come as a shock. Although they have used (and financed) the Palestinian liberation movement to set themselves up as pions' of this cause and used the rallying call of anti-zionism and 'we're all western Palestinians' to distract the workers and peasants from the fight against oppression in their they have consistently They Palestinians when it came to the crunch.
For organised the Palestinians in Jordan in 1970 (Black September) aided America, and the Palestinians Lebanese left in 1976 in the civil war.
Regimes like Syria and Jordan are well aware that the presence in future of Palestinian guerrilla forces and the thousands of refugees who forced to leave Lebanon with them, will create the potential for great instability inside their countries - they Western powers are occupying They are worried this will threaten policy of allying split those who Over up over the and the invasion of InvasIon of the been very All the imperialists powers the PLO left setting up of a : Christians backed by their government uprisings are oppressed.
The silence is defeaning from the They are This great 'chamOwn countries, sold out the the regime.
King Hussein trontation massacres of the telegrams to by Israel and escalation Syria intervened and the ability to will be sion could provide the catalyst for mass In countries the regime's power rests on a minority and where such Kurds, Palestinians, Shi'ite muslims The reactionary Arab rulers will undoubtedly try to prevent any effective regroupment of the guerrillas in their fight against the Zionist state We should not deceive ourselves that asylum in Syria, Jordan, Egypt or any other Arab country will permit the Palestinians the freedom to organise and recover from this war. It will undoubtedly mean for the majority of them either imprisonment or other forms of repression, coupled with an attempt to turn them into puppets of And what is the Soviet Union doing? The Kremlin will not risk a conthe West ove Lebanon. Their near-pleading in the Washington over the of fighting shows their embarrasment at their inFact This may well have lasting effects in the Middle East the Arab workers and peasants will draw the conclusion that communism and socialism has failed - - yet again • in the face of imperialist aggresWith this in mind the oppressed masses in the Middle East could turn