In the aftermath of the events un folding in the Palestinian territories after 28th september we launched a Palestinian Socialist Students Solidarity Campaign. We now know that four of these Palestinian students are among those that have been killed. Below you will find a letter we have received from Palestine about these four victims. On the basis of this we have to step up the solidarity campaign.
The figures of the Palestinian dead and wounded in the West Bank and Gaza since 28th September speak for themselves: 285 killed, more than 9000 injured, and 800 arrested! We now have three concrete names. We need to use this to build up the campaign. We should take this information to the party branches, trade union branches, youth committees, etc., and all other areas of work we are involved in. We should present resolutions to these organisations to be forwarded to local Israeli embassies, to MPs, trade union leaders etc.
In the resolutions we should demand that Israeli troops be withdrawn from Palestinian territory and that those responsible for these acts of atrocity be punished.
All messages should also be sent to editor [AT] marxist.com so that we can forward them to Palestine. PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE THIS REQUEST, and please report back to us with any proposals you have.
Please rush all messages of support to the Palestinian socialist students now!
By e-mail:
By fax:
+44 20 7251 1095 (or 020 7251 1095 if you are in the UK)
By post:
Palestine Socialist Students Solidarity Campaign,
c/o PO Box 2626,
London N1 7SQ,
UK
TEXT FROM PALESTINIAN STUDENTS(16th November, 2000):
[Note: we published another letter on this subject last week, but since then we have received a more detailed report together with a political statement form the palestinian Socialist Students - 21st November, 2000]
Dear comrades:
We are sorry, but we sent to you the mentioned document but here it is again :
1st comrade: ESSA ABED ABU SERI'A, Ramallah city.
Essa was killed before this Intifada , in another struggle, on 20/5/2000, he was shot in the head by a hunter bullet, the soldier who killed him said "Essa had to die, because he was a danger to the Israeli state" and when he was asked if he thought that he may have made a mistake, he replied "on the contrary, I'm proud of that work" and then he laughed in a rude way.
Essa was a member of our union and a member of the regional chief secretariat of the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine). He was arrested in 1986 on the charge of belonging to the Revolutionary Communist Party and stayed in prison for 18 months, after that he was involved in the PFLP (a Marxist-Leninist movement) and again in 1988 he was arrested on the charge of taking part in Intifada work. This time he stayed in prison for 7 years . Throughout that period Essa was like a dynamo for our union in Ramallah city. He was released in 1995, then shot dead on 20/5/2000. (The source of the soldier's words are an Israeli newspaper, and another foreign one).
2nd comrade: ESMAT AL-SABER, Nablus city.
ESMAT was a father of 4 children, but he was really a great support
for every single comrade of ours. In everything we did he supported
us, helped us, doing his best in raising the Marxist word. ESMAT was
shot in the chest, he died really bravely. I witnessed it myself:
"ESMAT was with other comrades in the clashes between us and Israeli
troops on a main street in the city. The first time ESMAT was shot by
a tear gas bomb he became unconscious and was taken away to the
mobile hospital to receive the necessary medical help. When he came
round he returned to the scene of the clashes. This time an Israeli
soldier noticed him again and shot him dead!
3rd comrade: DEIA'A, Jerusalem city
4th comrade: AHMED, Salem village.
Unfortunately we don't have much information about them, because of
the difficult means of communications and the closure of all the
roads. Many of our active comrades now are chased by Israeli troops
on the highways between cities, so it's an adventure for one of us to
go out from his own city! We have tried to transfer messages by fax
and telephone, but even these aren't good in security matters!!
The latest analysis of our political committee states the
following:
"- The farce of the Arab summit has proved to be a total failure.
Nothing has changed in the most important Arab states that have good
relations with Israel. Jordan and Egypt don't care about all the
slaughter in Palestine, and the Nazi ambassador of Israel is still
there.
- Again Arafat the puppet, has sent another invitation to his partner Barak for his silly peace. Arafat sent a videotape to Rabin's family on the occasion of Lea' Rabin's death, forgetting what Mr Rabin did during the days of the first Intifada: he ordered his soldiers to break the bones of the Palestinian youth. DO YOU KNOW HOW?? With stones! Every soldier was breaking a Palestinian's arm and then he would start to hit him in every single part of the body with the same stone. Thousands suffered long-term injuries from this brutality!!
- The Islamic summit, (which is also a farce) reveals also how religion is a cowardly system , and isn't suitable for the liberation struggle!!
- We repeat again: any talk here about Israel is meant about Israeli government, army and settlers. But for the foreigners (maybe we should say Israelis) who live in Palestinian lands, and respect the rights of the Palestinians, we can show them nothing but the same respect. And even when we talk of the USA these words are meant for the capitalist government of the USA. We haven't any bad feelings towards the American people or for any people. We aren't monsters as they would like to portray us. We are a people that has a dream of getting back all its stolen land."
Lastly, here are the latest figures on the Intifada:
285 have been shot dead, 90 are on their death-beds, of which 150 are
under 18 (30% of them are under 12), 800 have been arrested, more
than 9000 have been injured.
11,000 have been locked out of their schools (In Hebron , Ramallah ,
Hiwwara, Beitjala all schools are completely closed, while in Nablus,
Tolkarm, Jenin, Jericho schools are partially functioning! The
situation in the universities is a catastrophic one! But we are still
here and we will be always!)
That's all for now, and we hope you could put this message on your web. We will try and send you photos, eye-witness accounts, analyses...
Keep in touch, it would be a tragedy for us if we lost touch. You are our last voice.. so keeeeep shouting!!
Comradely,
SY,
Palestinian Socialist Students - INTIFADA PALESTINE!!
16th November, 2000