Back to PLO Bulletin 1-15 July 1979

THE "AUTONOMY" PLOT CONTINUES

The on-going plot, against the Palestinian people by the tripartite allies, U.S., Egypt and Israel, under the banner of "Palestinian autonomy talks," is reported to have been stalled. After holding several talks, delegates were unanimous in declaring that progress has not been attained.

In the words of U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, progress could not be attained because "there were difficult questions, never handled before."

QUESTIONS NEVER HANDLED BEFORE?

Are these questions "never handled before" the realization, by the trio, of the Palestinian peoples' rejection of the self-rule conspiracy? Not at all. The U.S., Israel and Egypt have been well aware from the outset that the Palestinian people will resist all conspiracies against their legitimate rights by all means at their disposal.

What U.S. Secretary of State Vance is realizing is that the submissive and weak regime of Sadat is unable to take a firm stand during the negotiations after it has divested itself of all its power. Moreover, the Arab masses know that the Sadat regime no longer holds the power of decision making, which it has completely surrendered to the U.S.

Sadat for his part, realizing his weak position, is insisting that the U.S. become a full partner to the "self-rule talks".

THE U.S. FULL PARTNERSHIP

The Palestinian people are well aware that the U.S. is a partner to all plots directed against them; so Sadat is revealing no secret. His public insistence on U.S. full partnership only stresses the Palestinian understanding of his growing isolation and weakness.

Sadat has pointed out that for the stability of his regime he has to insist on the Arab and Islamic nature of Arab Jerusalem. But Israel after squeezing from Sadat all the concessions it could earlier at the Camp David talks, knows that Sadat has no concessions left to offer and that Sadat is in no position whatsoever to decide on the future of the Palestinian people. Thus, the Israeli government, while sending delegations to Egypt to participate in the talks, has escalated the establishment of settlements in the territories whose future is supposedly being discussed.

Moreover, Begin's statements and those of his negotiators with the Egyptian regime affirm time after time the Israeli conviction that the West Bank belongs to the Zionist state, and the Israeli determination to establish "Israeli sovereignty" over the West Bank and Gaza. Responding to critics of the recently established Elon Moreh settlement near Nablus, Begin affirmed fervently the Israeli right to settle anywhere in "Eretz Israel." The Gush Emunim, the rightwing group that spearheads the settlement drive, confirmed in interviews following the establishment of Elon Moreh that this includes the right to settle in "Nablus, Hebron and Gaza." If this is the viewpoint of Israel, why does it persist in pretending it is negotiating?

The negotiations on "self-rule" are in fact a cheap comedy whose aim is to divert the world's attention from the heart of the Middle East conflict and to liquidate the historical rights of the Palestinian people to their homeland.

Zionist leaders believe that this comedy, coupled with the continued land, sea and air attacks on Lebanon, is sufficient to impose on the Palestinian and Arab people total submission to Israel and to U.S. imperialist domination. The Israeli government, maintains that the "autonomy" talks will continue in early July, after Israeli Prime Minister Begin meets with Sadat in Alexandria.

The Palestinian people, aware of this shoddy conspiracy, are taking measures to strengthen their alliance with the Arab progressive movement and socialist and other allies to challenge U.S. domination, its handmaiden in the region, Zionism, and its new hireling, Sadat.