1-31-06, 8:57 am

A statement by the Communist Party of Israel (CPI) on the election victory of Hamas

'The Hamas movement's success in the Palestinian legislative assembly election implies a significant change in the state of affairs in the occupied territories, concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and with regard to the Middle East as a whole', stated the Political Bureau of the CPI on January 27th.

In its statement the Political Bureau emphasized the fact that Hamas has been reinforced by the official policy of Israel and United States. The danger is, that in the near future Israeli government, with the support of Bush administration will use Hamas' victory as an excuse for military actions against the Palestinians and against Iran.

The everlasting official Israeli policy of occupation, fully supported by the U.S administration, the suffering caused as a result of many decades under occupation, the thousands of victims, the ongoing construction of settlements and the separation wall, on the one hand, and on the other hand Israeli government's refusal to renew the negotiations with the Palestinians and its decision to withdraw the army and the settlements from the Gaza strip unilaterally all of these have weakened the Palestinian authority and empowered the Hamas. Add to this the weakness of the Palestinian authority and the public exposure of corruption. These have led many Palestinians to vote for Hamas as means of protest against the Fatah. Long ago we have welcomed the popular character of the first Palestinian uprising and criticized the military form of the second one. We have estimated that armed struggle and terror activities would not lead to end the occupation but rather increase the aggression of the occupying forces.

In September 2005, the CPI published a strategic file, analyzing Sharon's disengagement plan. That file included the assessment that the disengagement would be followed by a collapse both in Israeli and Palestinian political arenas. This forecast has been realized by the Hamas victory and by the numerous changes that have already occurred in the political map of Israeli parties.

Leaders of Kadima, Likud and Labor parties hurried to announce, following Hamas' victory, that Israel has no partner in the Palestinian side. The truth is, however, that the last decade has been marked by the refusal of Israeli governments to any political negotiation, which would lead to the end of the conflict by the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Instead of arriving at a peace agreement based on the 4th of June 1967 lines, the Israeli governments starved the Palestinian people, imprisoned them behind walls, robbed its lands and created throughout the occupied territories political and physical apartheid.

The CPI evaluates that Hamas' success might strengthen the Israeli right wing forces and the refusal policy of the Israeli government. The CPI warns against any attempt by the Israeli establishment to use the Palestinian legislative assembly election results as a justification for increased oppression and further confiscation of territory as well as for a racist campaign of demonization against the Arab citizens of Israel.

The CPI calls upon the peace seekers in Israel, Jews and Arabs, to thrust aside the attempt at de-legitimization of the Palestinian people and the political conspiracies by Israeli leaders and the Bush administration against just peace and Palestine's independence. We shall continue with greater vigor in our public struggle for the evacuation of all the territories occupied in 1967 and for an overall and just Israeli-Palestinian peace.