1) What is meant by “Palestine Problem”?
To put out simply; imperialism and Zionism stole the 90% land mass of Palestine and forced 4 million Palestinians to live in exile, away from their own country. Rest of the Palestinian people are forced to live only in the 6% of their land under heavy conditions of embargo and siege, stripped away totally from their national sovereignty and freedom in the conditions of slavery. This is what is meant by “Palestinian problem”.
2) What is Zionism?
Zionism is the idea of creating a nation with a common religion to form a state. Zionism is supported by imperialism and formed its’ basis on Judaism. Zion is the name of a hill in Jerusalem, where Prophet David established his throne. Even though it takes the name from there, Zionism is a racist and colonialist ideology.
3) When did the Zionist Occupation of the Palestine Started?
Zionist occupation started by the Zionist movement, under the banner of British Imperialism. It manifested itself as declaring Jewish people as a nation and put in force by Balfour Declaration in 1917. After the declaration, Jewish exodus to Palestine accelerated. This process completed with the adoption of “Palestine Question” resolution by UN in 1948.
4) With whom support did the State of Israel formed?
It is formed with the support of US and British imperialists. As we stated before, UN resolution completed the occupation in legal terms to form a Jewish state in the 56% of the Palestinian territory.
5) What is “Nakba”?
After the 1948 resolution, colonialists tried to strengthen the occupation with violence. As a result of this, a war broke out between several Arab States and Imperialist backed Zionists. Arab-Israeli war ended up with the defeat of Arab states and more of Palestinian territories annexed. Palestinians ended up as refugees in other Arab countries, in most of the cases in heavily bad conditions. Palestinians name this war and its’ results as “an-Nakbah”(Disaster/Catastrophe).
6) What was the reaction of the Palestinian People to the Occupation by the State of Israel?
Palestinians answered occupation with resistance under the banner of “Either Free Palestine or Death”. They showed that, their country will not be bow to imperialism.
Palestinians of all ages and positions created a long lasting tradition of resistance against the colonization and occupation of their country. They waged a war against the Israeli Army – an Army that owns the most advanced weaponry in the world and total support of the imperialism. Resistance continued with slingshots, Molotovs and forming barricades with their bodies.
7) Who was the leader of Palestinian resistance in the beginning?
Palestinian history is the history of struggle against Zionism and imperialism. In this struggle, important leaders merged from the core of the Palestinian society. During the times of British mandate, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam contributed to formation of the consciousness around the topic of national liberation and emerged as an important leader.
He is first to call to arms against imperialists and Zionists. Muhammad Jamjoum, Atta al-Zeer, and Fouad Hijazi are also important figures of Palestinian struggle during the Buraq Revolution of 1929.
Fouad Hijazi stated “If the execution of us destabilizes enemy, then let tens of thousands like us be executed so that our nightmare will pass completely.” Muhammad Jamjoum and Atta al-Zeer accepted the death with glory and pride.
8) How many Palestinians are living in the Palestine? Where and in which conditions are they living?
Total population of Palestinian people is 7 million, including those who live in Palestinian territories. 1,280,000 people live in Gaza and 2,240,00 lives in West Bank.
Right now, two third of the Palestine is under the Israeli occupation. Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank have to live under the oppression and isolation enhanced by the collaboration of reactionary Arab regimes and imperialism.
Palestinians live under the terror of mass arrests, abductions and continuous threatening of Israel. This siege consolidates in the lives of Palestinians -especially in Gaza – with the embargoes and blockades of the basic needs like food, medicine etc.
9) What “Intifada” means? Why and when did the 1st and 2nd Intifada Started and What types of Resistance Developed?
“Intifada” is the name given to insurrection and resistance of the Palestinian people. First intifada started in December 9th of 1987 after the attack of Israel in 7 December, leading 4 Palestinians dead and 7 injured.
Second Intifada started in 28 September 2000 with the provocative visit of the Likud leader fascist Ariel Sharon to Al-Aqsa mosque. Intifadas are the tipping point of the Israels violent provocations towards Palestinian people. Palestinians sacrificed their blood from the very start of the occupation. In this context, Intifadas can interpreted as “autonomous” events.
Intifadas are the final expression of the years of oppression by the Zionist colonizers.
10) Which organizations started the Intifada?
Unified National Leadership of the Uprising(UNLU) started & led Intifadas. UNLU is also known as the Unified Command of the Community Councils. It was the national coalition of Fatah, the Popular Front, the Democratic Front and the Palestine Communist Party formed in 1986.
11) It is Common Knowledge That Intifadas are the Result of Tedious Work of Community Councils. What are These Councils and What is Their Missions?
Community Councils were an answer to situation of Palestinian people under the occupation conditions. Councils organized life of the people without depending on Israel.
This aim provides the basis for the strengthening of the councils. At start, there are two types of Community Councils;
First one is to direct the actions of the forces, who were in confrontation with the Israeli forces. These councils were always ready to confront and act with any means and tools possible.
Second one is to keep the insurrectionary position sustained with the social, economic and human needs. These are the nuclei of the future’s power structure to govern and organize the life in Palestine.
To give an example of these councils, one can count; women councils, agriculture councils, food aid councils, medical care councils, trade councils, information councils, supply councils, observation councils, research councils etc.
Despite the regression of resistance and the overall conditions of the occupation, the continuity of the resistance fulfilled with the help of this organizational structure.
12) What is the Palestinian Resistance Means for the People of Middle East and All the Other Oppressed People of the World?
If the Palestinian struggle didn’t exist, the condition of the Middle East would be even harsher than the contemporary situation. Imperialist could have create conditions to exploit without any kind of resistance. Palestinian struggle dismantle many policies of the imperialist and their collaborator Zionists. Palestinian struggle become a symbol and an example for all the people of the World.
It clearly showed that only with Molotovs and stones together with solely using your bodies, one can create a consistent line for struggling against imperialism and Zionism. Also one should note that all of this struggle continued with the conditions of political, economical and military-wise isolation against an extremely powerful enemy. Of course, this struggle was possible only with a huge price of tens of thousands of martyrs. Certainly a definitive and strong lesson about struggle against imperialism.
13) What is the goal of Israel in Middle East?
Today, the role of Israel is the policing of Middle East. USA push the agenda for Israel to be formed as a military base. USA wanted to have a stronghold to oppose a possible aggression from Soviets and a weapon to show to Arab people, if they resist against the colonial policies of USA, especially with the resource policy.
In this context, Israel means USA. Israel is the biggest base of the USA. Its’ role is much nigger than solely the occupation of Palestine. The basic mission of Israel is to create a Middle East in line with the imperialist policies. To achieve this goal, it formed itself as a weapon and a tool.
14) Can USA-EU Imperialism and UN Can Solve the “Palestine Question”?
USA-EU Imperialism and UN can not and will not solve the “Palestine Question”!
Because, they are the ones who created these problems. Creators of Palestinian question is also the ones who create the massacre policies against the people of the World. We should remember that, the resolution which allowed Israel to be established in the annexed lands of Palestine was occupied in UN in 1948.
Israel’s massacres forced Palestinian people to immigrate and all of these policies can be put into force only with the agreement of imperialist countries. There is no legitimate argument to think the source of the problem can solve it. Imperialism prevents the liberation of Palestinian people and supports directly the Israeli Zionism.
15) Where Does the Exiled Palestinians Live? What Kind of Life They Have? What is the Population of Palestinian Diaspora?
After the creation of Israel, many Palestinians forced to immigrate to other Arab countries. Exiled Palestinians mostly lives in refugee camps in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Palestinians forced to live as refugees, away from their land with many hardships. In total, there are 3.5 million Palestinians living in exile.
16) Can Islamic organizations (Hamas, Islamic Jihad etc.) liberate Palestine?
Islamic organizations have progressive traits as long as they fight against imperialism and Zionism. However, they are open to be manipulated and used by the reactionary regimes like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and especially Turkey -whom all have majority Muslim population- as Islamic organizations keep diplomatic relations with these reactionary states and rely on their financial support. Because of this, they are bound to fail.
Islamists can take positions against Zionism from time to time, but in the core, their political line can easily align with the USA imperialists and its collaborators.
This aligns well with their ideologies, as they do not have an alternative economy-politics to change the lives of the people. They are not against capitalism and private property. Because of this, they collaborate with imperialism and open to be manipulated by them.
17) What is the attitude of the AKP government towards “Palestine Question”? What is the position of Islamists in Turkey? What do they do?
AKP exploits the politics of Palestine. There are many agreements between Israel and Turkey, involving military collaborations. If, government was serious about the Palestinian solidarity, they would already cancel the agreements.
AKP can not do that, as they are also a mere puppet of imperialist policies. They can entertain themselves and trick masses with their “one minute” shows, but the truth lies in the shadows of the military and economy agreements between the two countries. AKP is one of the most trustworthy Islamic partner of imperialism.
Middle Eastern people might not see the collaborative nature of AKP yet, but eventually they will realize it. Israel openly attacks to Gaza population with chemical bombs, to Al-Aqsa Mosque, to Jerusalem and AKP is not doing anything against them and in agreement with these actions.
AKP and Israel are collaborators for the sake of regional interests of imperialism.
18) Where does the “Left” in Turkey stands in “Palestine Question”? What do they do?
If an organization have doubts about even throwing a stone against imperialism, it means that they are not struggling against imperialism.
In conclusion, they do not confront with imperialism. Today “left” totally abandoned the resistance. Also they are totally in line with the imperialist policies of liquidation and defeatist attitudes. They do not and can not contribute to solution of “Palestine Question”.
Left pays attention to Palestine only when it becomes a trending topic in the world affairs. Left do not take into account the class aspect and it is role in the Palestine question and can not analyze the Palestinian resistance rightfully.
When the topic is about Palestine again, they limit themselves to press statements. They call for a peace, without elaborating on what it means and in which terms. International solidarity as a concept do not exist for them. Today, to be in solidarity with Palestinian people, one have to be in front line against imperialism and Zionism.
To be in solidarity with Palestine, we need to strengthen the resistance against the collaborators of the imperialism in everywhere. Solidarity means to be ready to pay the price of what Palestinian kids are already paying. “Left” escapes from this sacrifice and do not want to pay any price, thus they can not propose any solution to “Palestine Question” and can not embrace the Palestinian struggle.
19) What is our Stance as Marxist-Leninists(M-L) on the Issue of Internationalist Solidarity with the Palestinian People?
“Palestinian Question” should be analyze in two sides; as a class issue and as a national issue. Palestine is the ground zero point of the main contradiction between people of the world and imperialism.
When the Palestinian people successfully claim their victory against imperialism and Zionism, this will be a positive development for all the people of the world. If imperialism will win, this situation will unravel reckless attacks to the people of the world.
Therefore, oppressed people of world should not only support Palestinian people for the sake of it but should support it as a part of general struggle against imperialism. Struggle of Palestinian people should be supported with all the means possible. During the years 1969 and 1970, hundreds of revolutionaries from Turkey traveled to Palestine to be in solidarity with Palestinian people and fight against Zionist Israel. But over the time, Left groups soften their rhetoric and aligned with imperialist policies. So the mission to be in solidarity with Palestinian people is in the shoulders of M-L groups.
Party-Front member Ali Saban traveled to Palestine in 1988 to fulfill this duty. M-Ls thinks that struggle against Zionism is a part of struggle against imperialism, and can not be distinguished from it. This line of vision is a steady position and also valid for the contemporary era.
The true solidarity towards Palestinian people in internationalist terms only comes from M-Ls, therefore from Party-Front revolutionaries. Mahir Çayan and his comrades acted in solidarity with Palestinian people and made a militant action against Israel’s then consulate to Turkey. This line continued until today and revolutionaries respond to attacks of Israel with a militant line.
For all our history, we always respond to attacks against Palestine. We persist on international solidarity, even though it requires huge sacrifices. We will be in side with Palestinian people and diaspora and will be in solidarity with them to ‘find the keys’ to their land.
20) How the Liberation of Palestinian People Can Be Achieved?
Only way to liberate Palestinian people and their land is to achieve an independent, democratic and socialist Palestine. This can only be achieved with reclaiming all of their land. This can only be achieved with the armed struggle of Palestinian people, including the diaspora members with a Politicized Strategy of Military Struggle (PASS).
Palestinian people can only achieve this goal with the vanguard of a M-L Party-Front organization that, is created for the reality of their own country. All of the class-based organizations and national liberation organizations should be under the umbrella of this organization.