Liberation AGM 2006 July 9

Prof Manuel Hassassian:
Palestine and the Middle East – Prospects for the Future

As the Chinese saying goes we are living in interesting times.
We are living in a global village, in which the discrepancy between the rich and poor is increasing.
We have stopped talking about Marxism and class struggle. Today we use different terminology.
The means of production are controlled by multinational corporations, and they control governments through their exercise of financial and media power.
Western liberal democracy equates occupation with the occupier. I could never read in history where sanctions are imposed on the occupied. Conflict is no longer about territoriality, now it is assuming other dimensions.
1) Religion;
2) Ethnic identity;
3) Resources

The international media only portrays one version of events. For example, last week I had hundreds of interviews about the Israeli soldier who was captured. The week after when Israel attacked Gaza I did not have one single interview about Israel’s actions.
I am not trying to give this audience, which I know is not hostile and is highly aware of the situation, a rhetorical speech. I want to talk about what is actually happening.
Occupation is not benign and nor will it ever be benign. Let’s start with the premise that Israel is never going to be a partner for peace, using the recognition [of Israel by Hamas] issue as an excuse for changing the facts on the ground, of carrying out its messianic vision of a Greater Israel.
Unilateralism is just a gimmick. The Road Map is clear – bilateral not unilateral.
The Apartheid wall – 15km into the West Bank, creating Bantustans. They are trying to divide Gaza into security zones as a form of reoccupation.
In fact they never pulled out; they still have control of the air, sea and border crossings. The statistics for Gaza are horrendous: 80% below poverty line; 65% unemployed; one third of the working population who worked in Israel – 150,000 people – are now totally curbed.
165,000 public sector workers denied wages. The end result of this? Starvation, desperation and
then they blame us for the suicide bombers.
Negotiations were never between Israel and the Palestinian administration. Hamas coming to power was the outcome of the Oslo process. Whether Hamas recognise Israel or not is totally off base. Abbas, the president of the PLO is the man to conduct negotiations as the representative of Palestinians.
The US created the premiership to create an alternative to the Arafat leadership. Now they want to abort the premiership because it no longer suits their interests now it is Ismael Hania (the Hamas prime minister).

Regardless of whether you like Hamas, it came in on a platform of transparency and change. From day one of their administration, Israel and the US tried to isolate and oust Hamas. If not, then PA should be dissolved. Hamas was the only party for 18 months to renounce violence, in a unilateral ceasefire. They empowered PLO president to negotiate with Isreal. Nothing is being said about this.
This soldier [who was captured by Hamas] was not sitting in a café in Hilal sipping coffee, he was in a tank shelling innocent people. Let’s stop being baffled by the talk of him being a sweet 19 year old kid, he was captured as a POW.
Israel has hit power plants, cutting electricity to 750,000. No food or water getting in. Eight Palestinian cabinet ministers were abducted from their beds, 21 elected MPs, dozens of councillors. It is so ironic that we see everything and nothing is done, the entire world is mobilised around support for Israel’s action.
Today what we are witnessing is shameful, I have not seen such conflict and hypocrisy in the last 100 years. Olmert wants to flex more muscle than Sharon. By sheer force wants to overthrow government.
This operation was orchestrated one day before all the parties and factions in Palestine were going to declare a unity government. I thought from day one that Fatah should join government in order not to give the excuse for the international community not to recognise that Government.
This reflects the fact Israel does not want a negotiating partner, it wants to expand its borders, create Bantustans, give security to Jordan and Egypt.
There has never been unity among the 22 Arab governments in support of Palestine. There are 22 patron-client relationships between those governments and their western backers. It is like a Catholic marriage, there is no divorce even after the love is gone.
I don’t think Israeli people are ready for peace or want peace. Today there is no peace camp in Israel. Individuals yes. After the second Intifada we lost the peace camp. Israelis rallied against the invasion of Lebanon 1982. Israel wants an exclusively Jewish state. To have one prompts it to act as an apartheid regime, for example building settlements, building walls, economic strangulation, control of labour force, 600 checkpoints. Israel is not a bastion of democracy, it is a racist state. Israel cannot have peace, security and land.
Israel does not control US foreign policy, this is a myth. There is an effective Jewish lobby, just as there are effective Armenian and gun lobbies. There are 70m Evangelical Christians lobbying for Israel. The other effective lobbies who control Washington are the American Rifle Association and Armenian lobby.
As Noam Chomskly, who is Jewish, has said, nobody is talking about Israeli state terrorism. Arafat was poisoned – we have the evidence and when the time comes we will show the world.
The role of the British government – Foreign Office role is very disappointing. Europe helped build Palestinian infrastructure. Israel says contemptuously, you can build it again. British built the energy plant that Israel has destroyed. Europeans have always been totally subservient to the US.