Back to PLO Bulletin 1 November 1978

TENSE SECURITY SITUATION IN ISRAEL

On 13 October 1978, Israel Radio announced the alleged break-up of a ring of Palestinian Fateh guerrillas, about to transport a suitcase containing 50 kg of explosives into Jerusalem. The Zionist media admitted that among the alleged members of the "cell" was not only the son and other relatives of the former Hebron Mayor Mohammed Ali Jaabari, but also a Jewish Israeli citizen, Youssef Nedam.

On 18 October 1978, the Israeli daily "Ma'ariv" reported that the Israeli authorities had been applying strict security precautions at Lydda Airport over the previous four days for fear of imminent Palestinian guerrilla attacks. On 20 October 1978, Israel Radio admitted that an explosion in Khan Younis, Gaza, had destroyed an empty bus used to transport Arab labourers to work in Israeli factories.

No day passes without the Israeli media, always trying to minimize the number of guerrilla attacks and damage caused by them, having to disclose new explosions and operations. "Since the announcement of the Camp David summit the number of daily attacks has increased again. It lies now at an average of 1.5 per day. Daily, the police warns the public through press releases and advertisements," reports the West German "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" on 6 October 1978, from Israeli sources.

A PERMANENT STATE OF WAR

Ever since its violent birth, the Zionist state has not seen a day security and peace. Instead, the whole country lives in a state of increasing alert and both real and imaginary insecurity. A society of 3 million people created and living on the basis of the suppression of another, the Palestinian people, which according to propaganda has become "used" to a state of permanent tension and war, in fact shows growing signs of a security hysteria, with the authorities continually imposing new and vastly expensive "security measures". Although the state has armed itself to the teeth, the smallest incident is enough to spread the most incredible stories and military precautions. To ride a bus, to visit a market place or a cinema, is considered to include a latent risk; always one should be aware of unidentified objects. Moreover, the entire society holds itself perpetually prepared for new military adventures and acts of aggressions.

THE PREVENTIVE WAR

The "preventive war" of what is called "counter-terrorism" permanently waged by the Zionist society seems rather to foster nervousness and overreactions than eliminate the fears. In any case, it cannot prevent the constant formation of new resistance groups and the increase of operations. Military posts and checkpoints dominate the streets; hotels are guarded by security troops, along the whole coast and on all beaches; jeeps and armored cars are patrolling and soldiers with automatic weapons are watching the seaside and the people. In addition, boats are permanently searching the sea for possible Palestinian commandos. All these measures are described as part of a sophisticated "new" security system developed by the occupation authorities in order to face the security problem.

Due to the admitted fact that recently numerous explosive experts have been either killed or wounded while trying to dismantle guerrilla charges, Zionist security forces started deploying an electronic 'Robot' set equipped with movable 'hands', and connected by cable with an armored vehicle. The same set has already been used by British troops in their suppression tactics in Northern Ireland.

As a result, the first destruction of such a set was also announced recently.

Civil guards organizations are put into action, and the Israeli "Defense Forces" are time and again put on partial alert. The whole country is under the eyes of police and intelligence services. Above all, the prisons are crammed with thousands of Palestinian detainees charged with being involved in resistance activities against the occupation of their country and the suppression of all their rights, resistance activities which are legal and a national duty according to national and international law.

USELESS MEASURES

Vicious Circle of Repression and Deteriorating Security Situation

The more hysterical the security propaganda, the more sophisticated and expensive the 'security' precautions, the more obvious becomes their failure in the face of continued and increasing resistance operations, and the more the security hysteria increases. But Zionism continues to close its eyes to the political roots of the state of insecurity of Israeli society, and goes on to step up the vicious circle of militarisation, in fact resulting in less and less true safety. A striking example are the results of the aggression against South Lebanon: after Israel pretended to open a "Good Fence" to the newly occupied territories, a fresh stream of explosives and arms penetrated into the Zionist state which so hermetically tries to protect its borders.

Moreover, Zionism apparently tries to uphold this permanent state of tension, siege and aggression among its population. Were this state of siege to cease, the perversity of Zionist ideology, racism and discrimination against the Palestinian and Arab people would be seen all the more clearly.

INTERNAL DESTABILIZATION

The "security war" Zionism is waging not only fails in a military sense. Not only goes the ever growing militarization, brutalization, and the terrorization of neighbouring people, on which the Zionist state bases its "security" parallel to a soaring rate of common violence, corruption and crime both inside the Israeli military and security forces and within the whole spectrum of the Zionist society.

Besides, part of the Israeli population increasingly become aware, and weary, of the manipulation, exploitation and final fruitlessness of Zionist "security policy". Social unrest is growing on all levels. A wave of strikes shakes the country in protest against the increasing economic and financial burden Zionist "security" imposes on the common Israeli people.

The social, economic and political security situation, the basis of any true security, is continuously deteriorating in the Zionist state.

NO SECURITY WITHOUT FULFILLMENT OF PALESTINIAN RIGHTS

Its obvious that there will be a further decrease in the overall security situation of Israel, as long as the real political roots of the Zionist security problem are not eliminated: the suppression and neglect of the Palestinian people and their individual and national rights, the occupation of Arab land and the policy of subversion and expansion against the neighboring countries.

As the anti-Zionist Israeli lawyer Felicia Langer recently expressed it: "They are still measuring their safety by chains and corpses." She added, however, that recently something began to change and that thousands of Israelis came to the conclusion that only a just solution fulfilling Palestinian rights, and a complete withdrawal from the occupied territories was able "to break once and for ever the vicious circle of blood, sweat and tears."