The *FREE ARAB VOICE*
November 5'th, 1999

In this issue of the Free Arab Voice we present:

1) An exclusive Free Arab Voice interview with Abu Khaled Al 3amleh, the
Assistant Secretary of the Palestinian organization Fateh/ The Intifada.

2) The Forces of Omar Al Mukhtar, a Palestinian organization with Arab
Nationalist leanings, claims responsibility for the Tarquomia strike against
the Zionist occupation.

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1) Interview with Palestinian Opposition Leader: an exclusive Free Arab
Voice interview with Abu Khaled Al 3amleh, the Assistant Secretary of the
Palestinian organization Fateh/ The Intifada.

Introduction:

It should be unnecessary to reiterate that neither Arafat nor his PNA are
the sole legitimate representatives of the Palestinian people, and that any
agreements they negotiate on our behalf are non-binding where we are
concerned.

In fact, there are many Palestinian organizations and individuals that do
NOT accept the status quo imposed at Oslo.  Aside from Hamas and the Islamic
Jihad, there remains on the left many Palestinian groups which simply
embrace the Palestinian National Charter, believe in the liberation of
Palestine, and refuse to recognize the legitimacy of  "Israel" under any
circumstances.  It is towards those, and towards forms of resistance as yet
unborn, that our revolutionary attention should turn next.  For as
discouraging as our present state of Arab affairs may be, it remains a
transient phase in, not the tragic end of, our history.   Human dignity is
like this: as long as there is injustice and occupation, there will be
revolution.  The indestructible core of our potential is like this: as long
as our people live, they will find ways to resist and to eventually unleash
the wild giant that is imprisoned within.  Such is the inevitability of our
liberation!

The largest Palestinian opposition group on the left that remains opposed to
Oslo today is Fateh/ The Intifada.   Originally a significant left-wing of
the mainstream Palestinian group Fateh headed by Yasser Arafat,  Fateh/ The
Intifada was born in 1983 from the throes of a little uprising within the
ranks against Arafat, his internal apparatus, and his policies.   From the
onset, Fateh/ The Intifada has deemed itself the true heir of the principles
and legacy of Fateh the original group.  But after much in-fighting, the two
groups parted ways, organizationally, politically, and geographically, with
Fateh/ The Intifada crystallizing into a more radical opposition group, and
Fateh/ Arafat treading slowly but surely towards the abyss of Oslo.

Below is an exclusive Free Arab Voice (FAV) interview with Abu Khaled
Al-3amleh, the Assistant Secretary of Fateh/ The Intifada.  We raised many
objections and questions with Abu Khaled, including the one that frequently
recurs in many people's minds as to the nature of the group's relationship
with the regime in Syria.  We raised as well other issues: the applicability
of armed struggle today and the need for a working Palestinian strategy for
political action in the near-future.  Abu Khaled Al-3amleh graciously
accepted to answer all of our questions without reservation.  His answers
are below.  To agree or disagree with them, is your prerogative.  One thing
is for sure though: Abu Khaled is one Palestinian leader totally dedicated
to eradicating the political syphilis of peace with "Israel".

The Interview:

FAV: Do you still think that the option of practicing armed struggle to
liberate Palestine remains feasible or realistic today given all the
political breakdowns that took place on the international, Arab, and
Palestinian levels in recent years, including some breakdowns that hit
groups previously considered part of the Palestinian opposition?

Abu Khaled: In considering all kinds of options, the ultimate choice is
eventually determined by the nature of the enemy you confront.  We believe
that the best method for confronting this enemy remains armed struggle
because of the racist expellant nature of Zionism, and its functional role
in our region.  Options hinge on how you have to confront your enemy.  This
means you should work on developing the means for practicing the armed
struggle according to your capabilities and possibilities, or the ones which
you forge.

In the context of answering your question, I would also like to add that our
people have faced off these dangers and designs for an epic century now on
the basis of the need to contain this hostile [Zionist] project when it was
not possible to disable its embodiment on the ground, as collapse began to
spread in some Arab locations.  Yes, today just like yesterday there exists
a deep crisis in the Arab liberation movement, including the organizations
of the Palestinian revolution.  It is true that such a crisis is more
complicated and dangerous today, but we have to also realize that in any
context and vision, the Oslo agreement actually was a stage in the process
of implementing the Zionist program in the region, and that we have no
choice but to resist it or to capitulate before it and thus be co-opted by
the status quo, as some in the Palestinian arena have chosen to do.  It is
natural for groups to fall down in the course of the struggle and in the
face of complications, but it is not natural for a people whose land is
occupied by the Zionists not to carry on the struggle for liberation,
especially that the dimensions of the Zionist  project in the region are
clear.

FAV: Don't you think that sounding off calls for armed struggle and complete
liberation turns you into an obstacle in the path of those trying to achieve
what's possible, meaning a mini-state on a small part of Palestine, or maybe
a bi-national state?  Which is better, a little that is possible, or a lot
that is impossible?

Abu Khaled:  In a cause like ours it is not right to turn the matter into a
quantitative question of what is little and what is much, and the
possibility of the this much and the impossibility of that much.  The
construction of your question suggests that it is derived from a mistaken
and prevalent perception that  what we have here is an "Israeli"-Palestinian
conflict.  This is incorrect.  What we have here is the struggle of the Arab
people against the Zionist project, with all of its manifestations and
extensions.  So the 'little that is possible' that you are referring to is
nothing but a part of the general offensive of the Zionist project.  This
implies that the mini-state is a station from which the Zionist project will
spring forth to achieve other objectives in the Arab world.  In that sense,
we become an obstacle indeed in the path of the Zionist project in our Arab
region.

As for the manner in which others perceive the creation of a mini-state from
a part of Palestine, or the bi-national state, we believe that perception
only serves to further defeatism, the justification of additional
concessions, and the demoralization of those forces of the opposition who
still hold that the steadfastedness of a few good bases in our nation could
provide a foundation from which to thwart the ongoing process of defeat.

We support the removal of the occupation from any inch of our soil without
legitimizing the enemy's occupation of our land by giving it the recognition
it desires.  In the same context we should warn of the dangers of all
slogans and suspicious calls which legitimize the Zionist occupation of
Palestine.  Some of those assume deceitful political headlines like stagism
[seyasit al marhaliyah, or the alleged policy of liberating Palestine in
stages], or the possibility of coexisting with the Zionist entity within the
framework of a bi-national state on the land of Palestine.   The latter,
i.e., the bi-national state, legitimizes the Zionist enemy's right in
Palestine, and invalidates the Arab's HISTORICAL RIGHT in his or her own
homeland.

FAV: Some people accuse Fatah/ The Intifada of not being independent in its
political decision-making, and of invariably following the official Syrian
line.  How do you respond to such accusations?  And what is exactly your
relationship with Syria?

Abu Khaled:  Should we go to the camp of surrender and concessions, and
follow the official line of Oslo, to become independent in our political
decision-making?   Our political decision-making arises from our resolve to
continue the struggle against the Zionist project which today occupies our
land and seeks  to subjugate our nation.  It arises from our belief that we
need to mobilize the energies of all the Arab nation in the confrontation
with the Zionist project.  Syria today represents the last bastion of
steadfastedness holding on to its scruples.  This is our belief that won't
stand changing.  Syria is not the party which signed Palestine away.  It is
those who claimed to represent the people of Palestine who signed Palestine
away.  I never heard a Syrian say that s/he is ready in the name of the
Syrian people to give up one grain of Syrian soil.  Rather, through
President Assad, Syrians declare  that whoever concedes a grain of Syrian
soil is a traitor.  We say that whoever concedes a grain of Palestinian or
Arab soil is a traitor.  Given all the above, our relationship with Syria is
the kind of relationship that exists between those who remain steadfast
together in the confrontation with Zionists, those who are determined to
regain the rights of their peoples.

FAV: What will you do then if Syria signed a peace treaty like Wadi Arabah
or Oslo?  How and from where will you carry on the struggle if Syria and
Lebanon were closed off before you?

Abu Khaled:  It is our belief that the Zionists don't want any peace, and
thus we don't expect any real developments from the Syrian- "Israeli" track
of negotiations.  The Zionists want to subjugate the region.  That's what
they want.  And what's going on is a struggle over the future of the region.
  We believe that the strife between our nation and the hostile Zionist
project which threatens its very existence is an open, continuing, and
long-run struggle.  Thus, MILITANTS ARE ALWAYS ABLE TO IMPROVISE WAYS AND
MEANS TO CONTINUE THAT STRUGGLE.

I honestly find the frequency with which the media asks this question
peculiar; all that insistence on polemical hypotheses that don't correspond
to reality!! I assure you that our presence in the midst of our people,
under occupation or in the diaspora, is where we naturally belong.   That
presence doesn't and is not conditional on anybody's approval.  We work in
many places.  That's our right and no one can deprive us of it.
Moreover, what is being rumored in this respect, especially where Syria is
concerned, is not true.  We haven't sensed any Syrian measures against any
Palestinian group, whether those groups who tagged after Arafat, or those
who insist on continuing the resistance.  But we realize that these
innuendoes and the environment laden with SUCH RUMORS PURPORT TO PROVIDE A
COVER TO JUSTIFY THE PFLP'S AND THE DFLP'S MOVE TO JOIN UP WITH ARAFAT, OR
ANY OTHER GROUP WHICH WISHES TO FOLLOW SUIT.

FAV: The Palestinian opposition failed to unify its ranks.  Some went off to
dialogue the PNA.  How do you visualize political action in the coming
period?  Will you consider dialoguing with the PNA as others have done, or
will you search for a new beginning for Palestinian action?

Abu Khaled:  First of all it has to be said that the failure of the
Palestinian opposition to unite resulted from a deep crisis of an
ideological, intellectual, and political nature which manifested itself in
the totality of our Palestinian national struggle.  The opposition since its
inception remained no more than a forum for giving speeches.  It could not
actualize the program around which it mobilized to improve its political and
organizational performance.  This was the result of the failure to address
some crucial issues that continue to remain unresolved.  The most important
of these is the lack of a clear strategic vision as to the nature and
objectives of the imperialist-Zionist project, Oslo's relation to that
project, and its relation to the general course of the Arab-Zionist
conflict.

This doesn't mean however that the organizations which dialogued and tagged
along with Arafat are not responsible for weakening the opposition, because
they practically aligned themselves with an approach that seeks to liquidate
the Palestinian cause.    The makers of Oslo once described it as a
historical solution. But the presence of forces that opposed Oslo, including
the massive opposition of our people to this conspiracy,  meant that what
happened could not be described as a historical solution.  Here Arafat's
tools, formerly some who had called themselves 'opposition' , acted to give
Arafat a cover to legitimize his new concessions, and to peddle the illusion
of a consensus with respect to the liquidation of the Palestinian cause so
that it might come to be described as an historical solution. The
'opposition' then appeared to apologize for past mistakes when it opposed
the so-called peace treaties.  This is our view of what is being labeled as
'patriotic dialogue' with Arafat.

We believe on the other hand that such a dialogue should take place between
true Palestinian patriots, to mobilize and draw up a strategy to tackle the
threats encroaching on the cause.  We believe that mobilizing the patriotic
effort for the confrontation can be achieved through a serious dialogue
between those who truly believe in the objectives of their people.

FAV: What is your point of view on the relationship between Arab and
Palestinian activism? Do you believe that separate Palestinian action
[without Arabs] can ever succeed?

Abu Khaled: As I said before, the arena of confrontation with the Zionist
enemy extends across the whole space of the our Arab homeland.  This is not
a wish.  These are the facts of the struggle, derived from a close reading
of the objectives of the Zionist offensive in the region.

In this sense, Palestine ceases to be a given geographical area.  The
question that poses itself here is this: IF WE LET THE ENEMY TAKE ALL OF
PALESTINE, WILL IT LEAVE THE ARAB NATION ALONE TO GET ITS HOUSE IN ORDER AND
TO SUMMON ITS STRENGTH AS IT WISHES?!  No! The truth of the matter is just
the opposite. THOSE ARABS WHO DON'T REALIZE THAT
THEIR POSITION ON PALESTINE IS A MATTER OF SELF-DEFENSE ARE MISTAKEN,
because the defense of Palestine is really the defense of every Arab
capital.  The fact of the matter is that the Zionist project targets the
whole Arab nation, in terms of its wealth and its capabilities, in the
present and in the future.

Therefore we never said that the Palestinian people, even if they mobilize
all of their strength, will liberate Palestine alone.  Rather, it will be
the Arab nation that achieves this.  Liberation requires the energies of the
whole Arab nation, and every Arab and Islamic effort, of which the
Palestinians will of course have to be a part.  As for separate Palestinian
action, we have seen the outcome of that.  We also understand its motives.
TREASON AND CONCESSION-MAKING DON'T NEED ARAB  MOBILIZATION OR THE ENERGIES
OF THE NATION.

FAV: How do you visualize Palestine after liberation? Will it be a
democratic secular Arab state as the Palestinian National Charter states, or
what?

Abu Khaled: We support everything in the Palestinian National Charter.  It
is our constitution and the axis of our movement.

FAV: What will be the guarantee after all this talk that you won't deviate
and go astray like the previous leadership did?

Abu Khaled: In the past, it was disavowal of  the objectives of the
Palestinian revolution that resulted in deviation.  That turned into treason
against Palestine and the Arab nation.  We rebelled against that.  We
believe in the objectives and the program of Fateh, and the Palestinian
National Charter.  That puts us [morally speaking] in the position of
victor, and the position of defender of the objectives of our people.

At any rate, the struggle will continue irrespective of any individual or
organization which deviates from the path of the revolution.  As far as
we're concerned, we won't have any one among us except those who support the
objectives of Fateh and the Palestinian National Charter, and those who
belong to the revolution, Palestine, and the Arab nation.  That will be our
first and last choice.

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2) The Forces of Omar Al Mukhtar, a Palestinian organization with Arab
Nationalist leanings, claims responsibility for the Tarquomia strike against
the Zionist occupation.

A Palestinian organization with Arab nationalist leanings, calling itself
the Forces of Omar al Mukhtar, claimed responsibility about a week ago for a
shooting spree on an "Israeli" bus near the Tarqoumia roadblock in the
southern West Bank.  The bus was sprayed with bullets around Tarquomia near
Hebron leading to the injury of five "Israeli" colonists (otherwise known as
settlers) back from visiting other colonists in Hebron.   "Israeli" reports
admitted to the operation saying that the injuries of one of the colonists
were serious, while those of the other four were minor.

The Forces of Omar Al- Mukhtar vowed in a leaflet issued a few days ago to
continue its operations against "the Zionist occupation of Arab land until
the liberation of all of Palestine".

The leaflet which was circulated in the West Bank mentioned that the recent
operation was mounted near an "Israeli" military roadblock, close to the
so-called safe passageway, to demonstrate the inability of the forces of
occupation to kill the spirit of resistance within our people.

The leaflet also emphasized that 'whatever agreements are signed, Palestine
will remain Arab, and the struggle will continue for its liberation from the
[Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea".

[The Forces of Omar Al Mukhtar had executed several strikes against the
Zionist occupation in the past few months in the West Bank, especially
around Hebron].

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