A Treaty to Strengthen and Modernise the Reactionary Union of the Monopolies

Workers' Daily Internet Edition: Article Index :

A Treaty to Strengthen and Modernise the Reactionary Union of the Monopolies

World Social Forum 2008 – Another World Is Possible!

Protests in Switzerland against the World Economic Forum

End the Siege of Gaza

A Break in the Siege

“Mad Dog” Western Leaders Bent on Perpetuating Balfour’s Betrayal

The parliamentary debate on the European Union (Amendment) Bill, the Bill to ratify the controversial Lisbon Treaty of the EU, the so-called “Reform Treaty” signed by EU leaders of government last December, commenced last week. To come into operation the treaty now has to be ratified by all EU member states, a process which will take at least a year.

            The government has already been accused of limiting the amount of time available for parliamentary scrutiny of the Treaty and of trying to force through ratification. The government is proposing ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, a new EU constitution in everything but name, even though it gave a manifesto pledge to call a referendum over any new EU constitution. The actual nature of the Lisbon Treaty was confirmed by the House of Commons Select Committee on Foreign Affairs. Last week the Committee reported, “We conclude that there is no material difference between the provisions on foreign affairs in the Constitutional Treaty which the Government made subject to approval in a referendum and those in the Lisbon Treaty on which a referendum is being denied.”

            The government’s position as summarised by David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, is that “Britain's membership and full engagement with the EU is good for Britain and good for Europe; and we believe this Treaty is good for Britain and good for Europe”. The Conservative Party and some Labour MPs, on the other hand, are demanding a referendum on the treaty, while the Liberal Democrats are calling for a referendum to decide EU membership. In recent days it has also been announced that there may be private legal challenges to force a referendum, even if Parliament votes against one, either through demands for a judicial review, or on other legal grounds based on the claim that the government has broken its manifesto pledges.

            The EU remains a reactionary alliance of the big European monopolies and their representatives, a means to attempt to coordinate the dictate of the monopolies throughout Europe and internationally.

            The main aim of the Lisbon Treaty is to strengthen and modernise the enlarged EU, in the conditions of the 21st century and to enable it to more effectively intervene in global affairs. The new Treaty also favours Britain and the other big powers, through reforming decision-making and voting procedures but it is particularly concerned with strengthening the ability of the EU to act outside its borders. As David Miliband expressed it, “The Government believes that security and prosperity within the EU demands more purposeful action beyond Europe's borders.” The new Treaty will facilitate such action by the EU. It will do so not least by strengthening the military capacity of the EU to act independently of NATO and by establishing a new minister for foreign affairs, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, backed up by a new foreign ministry, the so-called External Action Service, which will work in conjunction with the diplomats of member states. Amongst other things it is to be noted that the Lisbon Treaty commits member states to “undertake progressively to improve their military capabilities”.

            Although a great fuss is being made about the differing views of the main parties in regard to the treaty, the fact remains that all are zealous supporters of the EU and Britain’s continued membership. It is Britain’s continued membership of the EU and its very existence that must be opposed, not simply on the basis that it is an attack on Britain’s sovereignty, but rather as a further manifestation of the dictate of the big monopolies in the conditions of neo-liberal globalisation. It is this dictate that continues to pose a grave threat not only to the people of Britain but globally too, as the rivalry and contention between all the big powers and their blocs intensifies. At the same time, the current parliamentary debate and scrutiny, and the proposed legal challenges, highlight the fact that such mechanisms offer no opportunities for the broad masses of the people to make their voice heard and hold politicians to account, nor are they a mechanism for the majority to be the decision-makers.

            Britain’s continued EU membership and the parliamentary debate over the new treaty highlights the fact that the people of Britain are continually denied the right to decide, not only in regard to the EU but over ever aspect of life in Britain. What must be demanded and fought for is a political system that recognises that all individuals have fundamental inherent rights by virtue of being human. One of the most important of these rights is to fully participate in the decision-making process, to make decisions regarding the future of the individual, the various collectives of the people and society itself.

            WDIE calls on the working class and people to seriously discuss the issue of the European Union and Britain’s membership from the perspective of how to turn things around, to work for Britain’s withdrawal of this bloc that serves the monopolies and poses a threat to the peace and security of the people, especially as it contends with other big-power blocs for domination and control of markets, resources and domination. Rejecting the model of a “social Europe” is an important stand to take, but the reasons for this also point to rejecting such a model as a guideline for democracy by, of and for the working class and people in Britain also. In this respect, this model as one suitable for the monopolies is a profound issue to grasp. The contradictions within the EU are a problem for the big powers of old Europe, and this presents an important opportunity for the working class and people to consider the issue from the standpoint of seriously organising to become the decision-makers within Britain.

On January 22, press conferences announced details of the 2008 decentralised World Social Forum (WSF) Global Day of Mobilisation and Action. At least 18 press conferences were held in Atlanta, USA; Zurich, Switzerland; Chennai, India; Mumbai, India; Erbil, Iraq; Rome, Italy; Brussels, Belgium; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Rio De Janeiro, Brazil; Natal, Brazil; Belem, Brazil; Mexico City, Mexico; Havana, Cuba; Ramallah, Palestine; Manila, Philippines; Seoul, Korea; Beirut, Lebanon; Barcelona, Spain. The press conferences highlighted actions happening in each country as well as stories from the front lines of people's struggles. The WSF Global Day of Mobilisation and Action will take place on January 26 at which time millions of women and men, organisations, networks, movements, trade unions from all parts of the world will act together all around the globe to show that another world is possible.

            All over the world, people will march, speak, celebrate, and dialogue in villages, rural zones, and urban centres, a WSF 2008 press release says. The mobilisation on January 26 has been set to coincide with the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland to confront the major gathering of neo-liberal elites.

            "In these same days the 'old' world, represented by the World Economic Forum complete with its economists, experts, and ideologies that produce violence, exploitation, exclusion, poverty, hunger and ecological disaster and deprive people of human rights, will meet in Davos as usual. In contrast, the people's movement of movements will raise their collective voices and take action all around the globe for the World Social Forum 2008," the press release says. It continues:

            "The World Social Forum is an open space where social movements, networks, NGOs and other civil society organisations come together to raise issues, debate ideas democratically, formulate proposals, share experiences, and network for effective action. These movements are opposed to neo-liberalism and a world dominated by capital and all forms of imperialism. Since the first worldwide encounter in 2001, the World Social Forum has become a permanent global process seeking and building alternatives to neo-liberal policies.

            "World Social Forums have taken place at the end of January at different sites throughout the world each year for the past seven years, and their spirit will continue to be reflected in the activities planned at those same sites and worldwide in 2008. [...]

            "Millions of people, workers, organisations, networks, and movements around the world are struggling, against neo-liberalism, war, colonialism, racism, and patriarchy with rich and varied proposals of real-life alternatives. They represent all ages, peoples, cultures, and beliefs united by the strong conviction that ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE!"

            The website of the WSF 2008, wsf2008.net, is on line. From now until January 26th, the Global Day of Action, it will be the main communication tool for organising actions as well as the main source of information about the WSF 2008.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) began on January 23 in the Swiss ski village of Davos with an opening speech by the American secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. Several thousand politicians and capitalists from around the world met up in Davos, including the guests of honour Henry Kissinger and Tony Blair. The first protests against the WEF took place on Saturday in the Swiss cities Bern and St. Gallen. We are reproducing reports of protests posted by Wladek Flakin, from the independent youth organisation REVOLUTION.

           

Bern: prohibited demonstration

           
In Bern, between 500 and 1,000 people demonstrated against the WEF. Hundreds of police from the canton Bern and across north-west Switzerland were there to stop the demonstration – the bourgeois press spoke of a "record-breaking police operation". They used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets, and during the course of the day they arrested 242 people.

            The authorisation for the demonstration had been taken back two days earlier (January 17). The official reason: the organisers didn't want to distance themselves from violence. In reality, there were two reasons: firstly, the authorities wanted to avoid a defeat like on October 6, 2007, as a march by the racist, right wing populist Swiss People's Party (SVP) in Bern was stopped by militant resistance. Secondly, they wanted to let the police practise different repression tactics in the run-up to the European Cup, which will be held in Switzerland and Austria in June.

            Police officers were stationed at every corner in the inner city and stopped young people, many of whom were arrested for "attempt to disturb the peace" (!!!). The spokesman of the demonstration committee was taken away by the police in the middle of a press conference. Even journalists were among those arrested. It must be considered a success that so many people followed the call from the "Alliance for Global Resistance" despite the prohibition of the demonstration.

           
St. Gallen: non-prohibited demonstration

           
In St. Gallen in eastern Switzerland, roughly 150 people demonstrated against the WEF as well. The action was organised by the Anti-WEF Alliance of St. Gallen, which consisted of about 15 groups including the Social and Environmental Forum of Eastern Switzerland, the Jusos, the Greens and the youth organisation REVOLUTION.

            Under the motto "Justice instead of profit maximisation", people marched through the inner city with banners and flags. At several squares, there were brief stops with speeches. A representative of the Political Women's Group explained how patriarchal oppression is connected with the neo-liberal economic system. In the speech from the youth organisation REVOLUTION it was "class struggle pure" (as the bourgeois press reported), namely it was said: "We have to fight the real cause, the capitalist system." And: "The wealth of the capitalists is created only by the exploitation of the working class." The chants from the megaphone were also in a fighting spirit, such as "Hoch die internationale solidarität!" or "Swiss banks and Swiss money / are killing all over the world!"

            The demonstration in St. Gallen wasn't attacked by the police and as a result there were no conflicts. The organisers hadn't distanced themselves from violence either, but then again no one had asked them.

           

pictures from Bern:

              http://ch.indymedia.org/de/2008/01/56467.shtml

Protest Saturday 9^th February

4-6pm

Opposite No10 Downing Street

Whitehall, London

 

 

Video on Youtube of London Demo for Gaza on Saturday the 26^th January- about 5000 present, as part of the international day of action against the siege of Gaza:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6Yh0_f4O34o

 

 

- Please make sure to ask you MP to sign the EDMs on Gaza:

EDMs 732 – 698 – 624 - 305

 

- You can order more End the Siege of Gaza cards and leaflets from the PSC office: 02077006192 or psc.admin@palestinecampaign.org

 

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Wednesday 30th January 4.45pm to 6pm - Candlelit vigil outside Sheffield Town Hall.

 

Wednesday the 30^th January in Birmingham

Candlelit Vigil for Gaza, from 5.00pm to 6.30pm in front of Waterstones on the High Street near the Bull Ring Shopping Centre.

 

Friday 1st February 4.30pm to 6pm - Candlelit vigil outside Sheffield railway station.

 

Saturday 2nd February in Manchester 12 noon
End the Siege on Gaza! Northern Demonstration
BBC Building, Oxford Road, Manchester

 

Please bring nightlights in jam jars to the evening vigils, as well as placards, banners and friends.

 

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Narratives Under Siege

In order to highlight the impact of the siege and closure of the Gaza Strip on the civilian population, PCHR is publishing a series of "Narratives Under Siege." These short articles are based on personal testimonies and experiences of life in the Gaza Strip, and we hope they will serve to highlight the restrictions, and the violations, being imposed on the civilians of Gaza.

• Narratives Under Siege (2): Beit Hanoun, Northern Gaza Strip 29 January 2008

 

• Narratives Under Siege (1): Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza city 27 January 2008

 

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Ending the stranglehold on Gaza

 

By Eyad al-Sarraj and Sara Roy

 

http://tinyurl.com/2z8xrs

 

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IMPOSSIBLE TRAVEL
By Amira Hass

All the promises to relax restrictions in the West Bank have obscured the
true picture. A few roadblocks have been removed, but the following
prohibitions have remained in place. (This information was gathered by
Haaretz, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs and Machsom Watch)

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/815559.html

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Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Box BM PSA
London
WC1N 3XX

Tel:   020 7700 6192
Fax:  020 7609 7779

Email: info@palestinecampaign.org

Web: www.palestinecampaign.org

_______________________________

For WDIE article, "Salute the Palestinian Resistance", click here.

By Osamah Khalil* writing from Cairo, update from The Electronic Intifada, January 29, 2008

It is 4:30 Friday morning and al-Arish's souq is alive and packed with people. When asked where they are from, the inevitable reply with a broad grin is, "I am from Palestine!" This sleepy Egyptian resort town nestled in the middle of the northern Sinai coast has been virtually transformed over the past 48 hours by a massive influx of Palestinians from Gaza.

            Since the towering metal and concrete border wall that Israel began to erect in 2003 was demolished by Hamas early Wednesday morning, hundreds of thousands of Gazans have crossed the border with Egypt daily. Travelling by foot, car, truck, and donkey cart it is an unbelievable – almost indescribable – movement of people. The highway is jammed with packed taxis and pick-up trucks whose beds are filled beyond capacity and racing from Egyptian Rafah to al-Arish. Some journalists have called it a huge "jail break" and while the analogy to a prison is apt it does not accurately describe the horrors and humiliation suffered by Gazans during forty years of occupation and over 18 months of sanctions and siege. While this appears to be a temporary "break" in the siege, perhaps the best description of how Gazans feel is a deep exhale of relief and some joy – both rare commodities here.

            Gaza's economy has been devastated by the combination of sanctions since Hamas was elected in January 2006 and the siege after their militia defeated Fatah forces in June 2007. In the first 24 hours after the wall fell, Palestinians rushed to buy needed supplies which had become scare in Gaza, everything from gas to flour. Items barred by the Israelis from entering the territory during the siege were also among the first items purchased, including concrete, the lack of which has brought construction in Gaza to a halt.

            As the border stayed open, many Palestinians returned to buy different consumer goods, including televisions and blenders, or stock up on different supplies. Some enterprising Palestinians were buying up as much as possible, either to sell immediately or once the border closed. A litre of gasoline could be purchased in Egypt for 20 Israeli shekels (£2.73) and then sold in Gaza for 80 (£11). Before the wall fell, individual packs of cigarettes were almost unaffordable at 20 Israeli shekels (£2.73), but by Saturday a carton was available for 70 Israelis shekels (£9.56). Motorcycles, rare and expensive in Gaza only a week before, were selling briskly. Indeed, those heading back toward Gaza all seem to be carrying some recent purchase, either food, fuel, or a household item.

            During last month's Eid al-Adha celebration, the traditional slaughtering of sheep was almost impossible for the vast majority of families in Gaza, as the few which were available were too expensive and underfed. In the past few days, sheep, goats and cows were being sold and brought into Gaza. As were Egyptian camels, which have been rare in Gaza since the occupation began. However, the price of meat is still prohibitively high across the territory, as the status of the border and consistent supplies remains uncertain.

            Although the wall has come down, the siege continues. Rafah, which gets some power supplies from Egypt, still has daily blackouts of eight hours a day. Northern and middle Gaza, including Gaza City, which rely on Israel for the vast majority of their power needs, have less than eight hours of electricity a day. Israel's resumption of fuel supplies has ensured that only the most basic needs will be met, in particular that of the health sector.

            While the media has played up incidents of border violence, what is perhaps most remarkable is how few problems there have been since Wednesday. One is able to cross by foot between an international border with few controls or inspections in a manner that somehow manages to be chaotic and organised at the same time. In al-Arish, young men from across Gaza crowd the souq's coffee houses and sandwich shops. An even greater number simply hang out, walking the city streets, talking, joking and smoking cigarettes, clearly enjoying the different scenery and "smelling new air". The different squares in Rafah and al-Arish have become major gathering points, and there is barely a police presence within the towns except to guide traffic. Like Times Square on New Year's Eve, the streets are littered with the detritus of thousands of plastic wrappers, paper, cans and cigarette butts. Indeed, it feels like a huge holiday, Independence Day and New Year's Eve combined, but neither quite sums up the feelings of a brief respite or the underlying dread of what is to come next.

            In contrast, Gaza's streets are empty and eerily quiet. Stores are closed either for lack of goods, or because the owners have also gone to Egypt to buy needed supplies. Even shops that would normally open during holidays are shuttered. The lack of people and cars on normally busy streets provides a solemn backdrop to the silent gazes from Gaza's ubiquitous martyr posters, constant reminders of the individual toll of the past eight years.

            Gaza City is a ghost town and its al-Rimal district, once the centre of the Oslo boomtown days, is deserted. Jundhi al-Majhool square adjacent to the Palestinian parliament building, once alive with activity in the afternoon, is now empty save a few children selling tea or candy and a Hamas security patrol shooing away curious photographers. Nor I am told, is this just because of the opening of the border. Since the fighting between Hamas and Fatah broke out over a year ago this area is no longer a meeting place for young couples and families.

            It remains a fluid situation, fuelled by constant rumours and speculation of when the border will be closed. Friday night Egyptian security forces, hoping to get Palestinians to return to Gaza, made a half-hearted announcement in al-Arish that the border would be closing. Although a greater number of forces were deployed Saturday morning, cars bearing Palestinian tags were in Egypt and Egyptian cars were seen in Gaza for the first time since the occupation began in 1967. The movement of cars was aided by the full opening of the Salah al-Din Gate by Hamas, using a bulldozer to push open the massive steel doors that were once an entry point for Israeli tanks and D-9 Caterpillar bulldozers. However, by Saturday evening Egyptian security forces were turning Palestinians back from al-Arish. Many made the long trek home by foot on a cold winter evening with scattered rain showers because taxi drivers had dramatically raised their rates, one indication of the subtler means of cutting the flow of Palestinians into the Sinai.

            Walking the length of the now partially demolished Rafah wall one is struck by two contrasting and competing realities. On the one side lies the sliced and twisted remnant of Israel's siege policy backed and underwritten by Washington, a clear demonstration that a people can only be suppressed and oppressed for so long. On the other side is the human cost, the over 3,000 houses demolished by Israel in plain view of the world, as they built the wall in preparation for their "withdrawal" from Gaza.

            The remnants of those houses remain, creating a vast moonscape of blasted concrete and sand, roughly a kilometre wide and several kilometres long. My friend Fida, a teacher and blogger from Rafah, points out where her house once stood, as well as those of her grandfather, grandmother, uncles, aunts, and other relatives. Beyond the sea of demolished houses are those still inhabited but riddled with bullet and shell holes, some dating from the beginning of the second intifada in 2000 and others more recent. Her young cousin Walaa explains, "this is our life," and it sums up both realties.

            Whether the destruction of the Rafah wall will change the reality of life in Gaza remains to be seen. Whatever the outcome, Hamas has managed to shock and embarrass the coalition allied against it for the third time in 24 months. It has demonstrated yet again that those who continue to try and ignore and isolate Hamas do so not only at their own detriment, but only prolong the inevitable and in the process increase the toll of human misery in a region that has already seen enough.

            In part this has been due to the arrogance, incompetence, and maliciousness of its opponents in Israel, the United States, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Egypt. Rather than attempting to negotiate with Hamas, and in the process helping to moderate some of its policies, the coalition pursued a policy of collective punishment of the Palestinian people. However, Hamas must now demonstrate an ability to build upon these actions and demonstrate that it can do more than just upset American and Israeli policies, but more importantly help build a future for the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza.

            It is also unclear how the anti-Hamas coalition will respond. Although Fatah still has strong support in Gaza, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' continued refusal to engage in national unity talks and power sharing appears to make him complicit in the siege of Gaza. In addition, Hamas has demonstrated that they could achieve what Abbas' negotiations have not, a break in the siege, however brief. In spite of the attempts at damage control, for Israel and the United States this is nothing short of disastrous. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert could hardly afford another blunder after the Lebanon War debacle and he now has one.

            Meanwhile, the Bush administration's policy of punishing Gaza while "rewarding" the West Bank with aid and attention, while still supporting Israel's occupation of both with even greater aid, is now in tatters. Moreover, the renewed peace process, which has yet to demonstrate a single improvement in the lives of Palestinians in spite of the claims of some delusional and self-serving proponents, will now be under even greater pressure to show results. It will be up to Washington to deliver them.

            Yet, the past few days have demonstrated that there is more to the destruction of the Rafah wall than the simple Hamas-Fatah dichotomy or the endless inane commentary of its impact on the "peace process". Hamas could destroy the wall, but unless Palestinians were willing to cross the borderline and face the threat of Egyptian security forces it would have been a futile gesture. That Palestinians went over that line again and again illustrates the powerful urge for freedom from oppression and occupation.

More importantly, it demonstrates what Palestinians can do when they act as a collective body, not along factional lines but as a people.

            The destruction of the Rafah wall was quite simply a victory of and for the Palestinian people. As I stare at the rusted hulk and watch children climbing and playing along and on top of it and the steady movement of people between the two Rafahs, I am reminded of my previous trips to Gaza and similar moments of elation that turned to bitter disappointment and tragedy. I can only hope that this time will be different and that this is but the first wall of many to fall in Palestine.

            –

* Osamah Khalil is a Palestinian-American doctoral candidate in US and Middle East History at the University of California, Berkeley. He can be reached at okhalil@berkeley.edu.

By Stuart Littlewood*, January 28, 2008

A few evenings ago the BBC World Service broadcast a discussion featuring three people from Gaza and three from the town of Sderot on the Israeli side of the border.

            If the programme hoped to bring about a meeting of minds, it fell a long way short. To start with, the BBC failed to set the scene or put the discussion into proper context. The Israeli team argued that the Gazans were given the chance to build their economy after Israel had "withdrawn", and if the Qassam rockets would stop, they could all live in peace. What might have been an interesting exchange of views degenerated into a boring confrontation. I was left wondering how a calm, constructive conversation would ever be possible.

            One of the Gaza team remarked afterwards that their Israeli neighbours showed no empathy, didn't want to hear the truth and had claimed "God gave us this land". To an outsider like me, it seemed that the two sides were as far apart at the finish as when the broadcast began, and on different planets entirely.

            Listeners were invited to phone, text or email. I sent two messages:

(1) Why are 3,000 Gaza fishermen not allowed to put to sea and earn their living?
(2) The siege has nothing to do with Qassam rockets. Palestinians in the West Bank don't fire Qassams but the Israelis are still in occupation after 40 years and still stealing the land and water.

            Of course, they were consigned to the wastepaper basket. I say "of course" because these days I am deeply suspicious of the BBC's integrity and willingness to handle uncomfortable issues concerning Israel. The first point, about fishing, needs to be raised more often. The second was mentioned by the Gaza team later in the programme but was quickly lost in the hubbub.

[…]

            The plight of the Gazans is blamed on Hamas. "All they have to do is stop firing the rockets towards Sderot and other places in Israel, and immediately there will be no problem with the border crossing," says an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman.

            Oh really? Let’s test the truth of that. Islamic Jihad, or whoever deploys the Qassams, would be smart to cease rocketing communities like Sderot for at least two months to test the claim that the siege of Gaza is simply in response to the "rain" of rockets. Then let's see if the borders are allowed to operate as any other nation's borders.

            Here in the UK a church newspaper has published a chilling report from Fr Manuel Musallam about the cruel conditions in Gaza under siege: "Gaza priest decries Israeli blockade". Fr Manuel pulls no punches and the editor has received emails, calls and letters from the Jewish lobby objecting to the story and saying how deluded he was to print it. You can send messages of support to the editor by email.

            This country’s leadership is now so spineless that supporters of Israeli human rights abuse are lecturing us about what we should and should not say. The sad thing is that they are feared and obeyed by our politicians.

            One can perhaps understand how Zionism seemed attractive to the likes of Balfour and others in the corridors of power in London a hundred years ago. The big question today is the sanity of Western leaders who perpetuate Lord Balfour’s catastrophic betrayal of the Arabs and who are bent on pushing the biggest political cock-up of all time to its bitter end. These mad dogs are now snarling and yapping at Egypt for showing a spark of humanity and opening their border to the beleaguered Gazans for respite.

            Balfour, would you believe, studied Moral Sciences at Cambridge. Explaining his infamous Declaration of 1917 he said:

In Palestine we do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the wishes of the present inhabitants of the country. The four powers are committed to Zionism and Zionism, be it right or wrong, good or bad, is rooted in age-long tradition, in present needs, in future hopes, of far profounder import than the desires and prejudices of the 700,000 Arabs who now occupy that land.

            The House of Lords was unhappy with his lunatic scheme. Lord Sydenham warned:

The harm done by dumping down an alien population upon an Arab country may never be remedied. What we have done, by concessions not to the Jewish people but to a Zionist extreme section, is to start a running sore in the East, and no-one can tell how far that sore will extend.

            Well, it extends all the way to 2008 and goes to the very heart of world peace. And it's an angry, septic sore with little prospect of healing while mad dogs tear at it.

           
*Stuart Littlewood is a businessman-turned-writer from Norfolk, England. He recently published a book entitled Radio Free Palestine about the plight of the Palestinians under occupation. See details on www.radiofreepalestine.co.uk.