Interview with Jamil Majdalawi, PFLP

Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit

source - So Oder So Online, February 2001


Interview With Jamil Majdalawi, Politburo Member,
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)

Gaza, January 2001

Question: What is your opinion of the peace process?

It's not possible to say that there is a peace process in the Middle
East at the moment. Rather there is an American-Israeli project aimed
at liquidating the Palestinian Question. Israel continues to refuse
to recognize any Palestinian rights, most importantly our right to
self-determination, a Palestinian state, and the right-to-return for
refugees. Israel also continues to reject any Palestinian autonomy or
rights in Jerusalem. Instead, Israel continues to build new
settlements. As long as the rights of the Palestinian people are
ignored, we cannot speak of peace.

Question: How strong is the Palestinian left these days?

Historically, the Palestinian left has always been a considerable
force. But there have been various tendencies. Alongside the
traditional left of the Communist Party there was also the fighting
left, characterized by the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine) and the DFLP (Democratic Front for the Liberation of
Palestine). The latter have always been a considerable presence,
sometimes stronger and sometimes weaker. At present, the fighting
left is the third strongest force behind Fatah and the Islamists. The
Palestinian left was seriously affected by the collapse of the Soviet
Union. We in the PFLP took a close look at our history after that to
learn from our mistakes. But we do not want to abandon our leftist
principles. We are on a path to make the left more effective.
Especially now, at a time when the Palestinian bourgeoisie has
failed, it is necessary to develop and carry out a social and
political program to create a democratic alternative for the
Palestinian people.

Question: What mistakes were made in the past?

One mistake was the fact that we did not struggle at all levels
against imperialism and Zionism in the region. We thought that just
one form of struggle could solve the conflict. We did not clearly see
the historical differences between the Zionist project in the region
and the Palestinian liberation project. Now we see the conflict in a
more comprehensive way. Not just at the level of struggle, but also
in an economic, social, cultural, and historical sense. We no longer
see armed struggle as the only path to liberation. Rather there are
other forms of struggle as well: political, social, cultural, and
economic. Another mistake was our failure to recognize the
differences between the various communities, meaning the different
national conditions faced by Palestinians in the countries where they
live. We did not place enough emphasis on social and democratic
struggle. For us today, national liberation also means social
liberation. With respect to internationalism, we still view the line
of internationalism as an important strategic line. The mistakes we
made with respect to internationalism were related to our failure to
criticize the practices of the Soviet Union. Today we believe that
strategic alliances with allies and friends must be accompanied by
criticisms. Because criticism is necessary to stay on the correct
path.

This is a very complex issue. The failure of the PLO in the late
1980s gave a great boost to the Islamists. Then came the collapse of
the Soviet Union, the crisis of the leftist ideology, and the failure
of the Palestinian left (including the PFLP) to create an
alternative. The Islamist organizations have a long history as well,
one which can roughly be broken down into two phases: the phase
before the first Intifada, and the phase after this Intifada. Before,
they viewed the left as their main opposition and there were frequent
bloody clashes. The Islamists had this approach: first eliminate the
left, then take on the Israeli occupation forces. So they were
tolerated by Israel at that time and were able to create a vast
infrastructure in Palestinian society. At that same time, the leftist
forces were being bitterly attacked by Israel. By the time the
Intifada began, the left was already bleeding and the Islamists were
gaining in strength. But they had to make a choice: continue with
their old ways, or struggle together in the Intifada. They chose the
latter. Any other choice would have alienated them within Palestinian
society, so this created a dynamic whereby the Islamists became a
problem for Israel. This situation also altered the reality for the
left. It's important to stress that the main contradiction in the
view of the left has always been the occupation. That's because this
occupation is aimed at liquidating the Palestinian people. So the
left cooperates with the Islamists in the struggle against the
occupation. This is literally a question of survival. Of course there
are contradictions involved in this. There are ideological
differences, differences in terms of social viewpoints, and
differences with respect to the questions of women, the family,
education, democracy, personal freedoms, and so on.

Question: Did the Palestinian left emerge from the first Intifada in
a weakened position? If yes, why?

The entire Palestinian liberation movement and all Palestinian
organizations emerged from the first Intifada in a weakened
condition. The Intifada itself was by no means weak, but its
political culmination, the Oslo Accords, was a wasted effort which
left all groups worse off than they were before the uprising.

Question: How did the cooperation between the leftist people's
committees and the religious forces work?

The Islamist forces were not part of the united national leadership
at that time. The national leadership consisted of Fatah, the PFLP,
the DFLP, and the People's Party. Nor were the Islamists politically
or organizationally active in the people's committees. Only at the
level of individual participation in the committees in some
neighborhoods were they involved.

Question: What lessons were learned from that experience?

The Islamists, at that time, did not want to participate in the
national leadership. It would have been better for all forces if they
had participated. This would have prevented many of the mistakes
which weakened the resistance to the occupation. The Islamists
carried out their activities parallel to, not together with, the
actions of other forces. So there were many protest actions which
were isolated from each other. There were also problems during joint
demonstrations, because the Islamist marchers took their orders from
other leaders than the rest of the participants. But it's essential
during demonstrations and other activities to have unity during the
action, otherwise it's easy for the Israelis to defeat them. That is
one very important lesson from the first Intifada.

Question: What was the PFLP's position during the Gulf War?

The Gulf War had two phases. The first phase was the arrival of the
U.S. troops in the Gulf. During this very short phase, the PFLP was
opposed to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. We felt that Arab unity
should not be achieved through force and that the Iraqi troops should
withdraw from Kuwait. Then there should be an Arab solution to the
problem. With this in mind, George Habash [PFLP leader] visited
various Arab states and sought an Arab initiative to solve this
crisis. Two principles were to be central to this initiative: The
withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait, and the right to
self-determination for the Kuwaiti people. The second phase of the
Gulf War was the advance of U.S. and other Western troops into the
Gulf region. During this phase, the PFLP placed a priority on the
struggle against the imperialist troops. We felt there could not be a
solution which sought to strengthen the imperialist domination over
the region.

Question: Is it true that the PFLP allied itself with Baghdad for
opportunistic reasons?

The relationship between the PFLP and any Arab state is based on the
idea that Palestinians and Arabs have common interests. During the
Iran-Iraq War, the PFLP's position was against Iraq. This led the
Iraqi government to close all PFLP offices in the country and to
expel PFLP members. From 1980 to 1989, there were no contacts at all
between the PFLP and Iraq. The presence of the PFLP in Iraq was
clandestine. In the 1990s, the PFLP did not receive any benefits from
a relationship with Iraq. Iraq is in no position to support other
forces. Rather Iraq itself needs support against the imperialist
powers.

Question: What effect did the Oslo dynamic have on the Palestinian left?

The left did all it could at all levels to resist. At the level of
armed struggle, the left has always been active in Palestine and
South Lebanon. At the popular level, the left did what it could to
expose the failings of the Oslo Accords. We tried to convince the
people not to be led astray by the Palestinian bourgeoisie, the
Israelis, and the Americans. At the pan-Arab level, the PFLP was very
active, particularly among the Arab masses in other countries, to
convince the various independent Arab parties, trade unions, and
popular initiatives of the the dangers of the Oslo Accords. We wanted
to see the creation of a Arabic popular front against the
normalization with Zionism, with Israel, and with imperialism. At the
inner-Palestinian level, the left fought for democracy and against
corruption within the Palestinian Authority. The PFLP also organized
protests and supported the struggles by political prisoners in
Israeli and Palestinian jails. In the schools and universities, the
PFLP organized resistance to the Oslo Accords and its after-effects.
Israel and the CIA, by means of the Whye River Accord in 1999, tried
to exert influence over Palestinian schoolchildren. They wanted the
Palestinian Authority to rewrite all textbooks and insert more
neutral positions to create an atmosphere friendly towards the USA
and Israel. It was only by means of intensive efforts that these
plans were foiled. The left did a lot of base work and explaining
among the population, and this led to a broad front in resistance to
the new pro-imperialist educational curriculum. These are some
examples of the daily tasks which the left undertook since 1993 to
resist the Oslo Accords.

The left also started to reach out in new directions. The left has
been able in recent years to send its political cadre to neighboring
countries and the occupied Palestinian territories in order to
directly support the struggle of the people against the occupation.
Our comrades are at the front lines of the protests in the new
Intifada. The greatest achievement of left in its struggle against
the Oslo dynamic is the fact that its political work has been
well-received by the Palestinian public, to the point that a
Palestinian red line has now been drawn which the official
Palestinian leadership may not step over. This red line stands for
the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people which no
representative may violate, namely: self-determination, a Palestinian
state with East Jerusalem as the capital, the right-to-return for
millions of Palestinian refugees, an end to the occupation, and the
dismantling of Israeli settlements.

Question: What relevance does the left have in the new Intifada?

The left, by means of its work of political explanation over the past
few years, has strengthened the political atmosphere for the
Intifada. At present, the left is involved in all activities of the
new Intifada. The left is present on the streets, in the upper
coordinating committees, as well as in the people's committees, and
is involved in tasks such as caring for poor families, creating
political committees, supporting political prisoners, and so on. The
left is also involved in the armed struggle as well.

Question: How does the Palestinian left now view the perspective for
liberation?

The left views the liberation process as a double-faced process:
social liberation without ending the occupation is just as impossible
as ending the occupation without achieving social liberation. In the
advance of the social liberation, it is possible to mobilize the
people against the occupation. At the same time, defeating the
occupation also creates conditions for social liberation. The main
task of the Palestinian left is to protect the lives of the
Palestinian people and to defend them until conditions have changed
fundamentally. To make this defence possible, the left accepts the
"two states solution" as a temporary solution. This, of course, is
only accepted on the condition that the Palestinian people receive
their basic rights and the lives of the Palestinian people are
protected. From the historical point of view, however, the problem of
Zionism remains. So the struggle against Zionism has a strategic
dimension. The Zionist-imperialist alliance is an enemy to all people
in the region. So the only strategic solution can be a democratic
state for all the people who live there, free from Zionism and
imperialism. For this struggle to be successful, we need to have the
support of the left from all over the world. Therefore international
solidarity is a central part of the work of the Palestinian left.

Question: What is the Palestinian left's opinion of the Israeli left?

The Palestinian left only has contacts with anti-Zionist leftist
Israeli groups, which are unfortunately very small. We hope that
these groups will grow in size and come into a position where they
can challenge Zionist ideology within the Israeli society. That's not
only in the interest of the Palestinian people, it's also in the
interest of the Israeli people. Our contacts with Israeli groups are
based on the condition that they be anti-Zionist, that they be
opposed to the occupation, and that they recognize the basic rights
of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination
and the right-to-return for the millions of refugees in the diaspora.

Question: What's the main difference between the first Intifada in
1987 and the present uprising?

First of all, the Palestinian Authority did not exist yet in 1987.
The Intifada was an uprising by the people against the occupation. At
that time there were only two authorities: the Israeli occupation
powers were confronted with the Palestinian people's movement, the
only popular authority which the Palestinians had. Today, in addition
to the Intifada there is also the Palestinian Authority which has
made agreements with the Israeli occupation powers. So they are in a
relationship with the occupation powers. This gives them little room to
manoeuvre in opposition to the occupation. This means that sometimes
the Palestinian Authority is confronted with the emotions of the
people and must oppose the tactic of the national leadership and the
Intifada. The people expect the Palestinian Authority to fulfill
their aspirations with respect to economic and security questions
within Palestinian society.

Secondly, the use of force and weapons by the Israelis against the
Palestinians during this new Intifada is much more intense and
heavier than it was during the first Intifada. This is evident in the
high number of Palestinian casualties.

Thirdly, the national leadership of the Intifada is much better
organized than it was before. So it has been in a position to
organize the activities of the Intifada while at the same time
maintaining civil activities such as schools, businesses, etc. An
attempt has been made to accommodate both of these aspects.

Fourthly, this new Intifada has a great deal of solidarity in various
Arab countries. The massive solidarity demonstrations on Arab streets
have been supported by several regimes.

Question: What are the most significant political tendencies in the
Palestinian resistance movement according to the PFLP?

In general, we can identify the following tendencies. First, the tendency
of the national bourgeoisie, mainly represented by Fatah. This line is
led politically, socially, and ideologically by the bourgeoisie. The
movement's base, however, is represented by the poor masses of the
Palestinian society, for example the youths in the refugees camps.
Then there is the Islamist tendency, whose leadership comes mainly
from the middle classes. Its base is rather mixed. This tendency
benefits from the fact that Palestinian society is traditionally a
religious society. Then there is the leftist tendency. This tendency
is represented by the PFLP and the DFLP. The activists of this
tendency come from the Palestinian proletariat. This tendency also
includes other organizations, such as the People's Party (formerly
the Communist Party), the FIDA group, the Front of People's Struggle,
and many individual persons. This tendency encompasses all
progressive, secular, and democratic forces. These forces are all
based more or less around Marxism.

Question: How would you describe the present situation of the
Palestinian left and what is your political position towards the
uprising?

In the past few years, the Palestinian left has been able to spread
its roots in Palestinian society. Previously, the Palestinian left
was weakened by two main factors: the collapse of the Soviet Union
and the socialist bloc and the general crisis of the left around the
globe. But it's possible to say that the retreat by the Palestinian
left was less than that suffered by the left in Europe and elsewhere
in the world. The PFLP enjoys a special form of credibility among the
Palestinian people. By its various forms of struggle and its correct
social and political analyses, the PFLP has credibility. The leftist
positions with respect to uprisings are united with the goals of the
Intifada. These goals are: an end to the Israeli occupation, the
creation of Palestinian state with real sovereignty and Jerusalem as
its capital, and a guaranteed right-to-return for Palestinian
refugees. There is unity around all of these points. So we are all
convinced that the Intifada must not end until these goals have been
reached. One point where there is disagreement is to what degree the
left should participate in the Palestinian Authority. The PFLP and
the DFLP are opposed to participation in the Palestinian Authority.
There is also disagreement as to what forms of struggle should be
used against the occupation. Some people say that it would be better
to avoid violence, for example.

Question: What are the immediate and strategic goals of the PFLP with
respect to the Palestinian Question?

The immediate goal of the PFLP is the realization of the project of
national liberation. The goals of this project are:
self-determination, a state with Jerusalem as the capital, and the
right-to-return for refugees. The strategic, long-term goals with
respect to Palestine concern the creation of a just and peaceful
region as a whole. Such a solution can only be realized through the
creation of a democratic, secular state which can be home to all the
peoples of the region, irrespective of their skin color, religion, or
ethnicity. Such a solution would spare the region from the suffering
which has been unleashed by the racist ideology of Zionism. This
solution would also be an alternative to the creation of two
religious states, a Jewish religious state and a religious
Palestinian state.

At present, we are united with all national forces who are fighting
to end the Israeli occupation. We believe that this is the main
contradiction in the present phase of our national liberation. This
unity is necessary because we are confronted with such brutality and
massive force on the part of the occupation forces. But this does not
mean that we ignore the inherent contradictions involved in such a
unity. Nor do we overlook the social contradictions. At present, it
is in the interest of all the forces of the Palestinian people to
struggle against the occupation. The contradictions between the
various elements of Palestinian society will then become clearer once
we have achieved independence.

Translated by Arm the Spirit

 
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