Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! No. 22, September 1982
After ten weeks of heroic resistance in Zionist besieged West Beirut, the PLO began its evacuation on 21 August. The evacuation of the PLO is a bitter setback for the national aspirations of the Palestinian people and for the revolutionary masses of Lebanon. The PLO newspaper, Filistin Al Thawra said:
‘We have taken the decision for military withdrawal because the destruction of Beirut over the heads of half a million Moslems is not a mere possibility but has become a reality.’
The PLO was faced with the overwhelming military might of the Zionist state backed by US and British imperialism. It was forced to stand virtually alone as the Arab governments of the region abandoned the Palestinian people and as the working class movements in the imperialist countries remained silent and passive.
The scale and savagery of the Zionist atrocity in the Lebanon is unprecedented. The incessant bombardment of West Beirut reduced it to rubble. 30% of all buildings were destroyed including hospitals, schools, clinics, houses and apartment blocks. In one day alone, 11 August, 44,000 bombs were dropped in an eleven hour bombardment which destroyed 700 houses. Even the Canadian Ambassador was forced to state that it made the bombing of ‘Berlin in 1944 look like a tea-party’.
The human toll is incalculable. Thousands are dead and tens of thousands maimed. The Zionists sealed off West Beirut, starving the people of food, water, electricity and medicine. Then they pounded it day after day with missiles, phosphorus bombs, cluster bombs and the devastating implosion bomb. One implosion bomb literally flattened an eight storey building in a few seconds. The effect of the phosphorus bombs was deadly, an Oxfam volunteer said of one victim,
‘The burns were right through his skin and subcutaneous tissue down to the charred muscles in his arms and chest. His left leg dangled off the operating table. His foot was burned off and the exposed cartilage was still smouldering. When his nose was pinched, puffs of smoke appeared from his lungs. He was burning inside for six hours. He will not survive.’
The real face of Zionism is now revealed for all the world to see — a fascist, genocidal war machine. And this war machine is supplied, equipped and backed by US and British imperialism.
Whilst thousands were being massacred by the Zionists, US President Reagan sent birthday greetings to the butcher Begin. Nor could the Zionists have wreaked such havoc in Beirut but for the fact that in the month prior to the invasion the USA supplied them with $217 million of arms. This was ten times more than in the equivalent period for 1980. That is proof enough that the US imperialists knew of and blessed the invasion of Lebanon. And whilst Israel was bombing, the US imperialists engaged in mock diplomacy. Every time US errand-boy Habib said he was on the verge of a ‘peace settlement’, the Zionists renewed their bombardment whilst US imperialism looked on. British imperialism, founder of the Zionist state, raised no objection to Zionist terror. The atrocity in the Lebanon was carried out by the Zionists but it is the hands of imperialism which drip with blood.
Zionist plans in Lebanon
Having forced the PLO out of Beirut the Zionists’ aim is to transform Lebanon into a puppet state. On 23 August Zionist-backed Phalange leader Gemayel was ‘elected’ President of Lebanon. The fascist Phalange co-operated with the Zionists in their war against the PLO and are now being rewarded for their services. Gemayel will be the instrument used to suppress the revolutionary masses of Lebanon and Palestine.
The Israelis clearly aim to annexe parts of South Lebanese territory. They have bulldozed all refugee camps and thousands of people have been dispersed, many others have been detained in concentration camps. Already Israel has set up direct telephone links with South Lebanon and opened tourist offices and banks. These are the first steps towards annexation.
On the West Bank too Zionist expansionism has moved forward. Nearly all elected Palestinian councillors have been expelled, four new Zionist settlements established and control of all water supplies passed to the Israeli Water Board. Whilst imprisoning the real leaders of the Palestinian people, Israel is grooming a puppet organisation — the Village Leagues — to act as a collaborationist force.
The struggle continues
The Israeli victory in Beirut has strengthened the forces of reaction — the Lebanese fascists, the Zionists and imperialism. Imperialism will now be actively encouraged in its aim of suppressing all progressive movements in the Middle East. However, the struggle of the Palestinian people for self-determination has not been crushed under the rubble of Beirut. The struggle will go on on the West. Bank, Gaza Strip, Lebanon and in Israel itself.
The PLO demonstrated its fighting ability and courage in West Beirut. The PLO fighters now leaving Beirut carry with them a fierce determination to carry on the battle on other fronts.
Roy Spring, Maxine Williams
