Sharon and Bush uphold colonialism, reject peace

A statement of the Committees of Correspondence
for Democracy and Socialism
545 Eight Avenue, 14th Floor NE
NY, NY 10018
national@cc-ds.org

The prospect of a just and lasting peace in the Middle
East must not be held hostage to the personal political
fates of the President of the United States or the Prime
Minister of Israel. Nor can it be dictated by the two
officials’ most reactionary supporters. Whatever short-
term political calculations they and their advisors have
made, the stance the two governments have taken has
long-term implications, embracing the ideas of those
motivated only by a desire for total military domination
of the Middle East.

An end to the conflict between the Israelis and the
Palestinians can only be achieved in accordance with the
norms of international law and in the spirit of the
long-held and clear political consensus of the world
community. The decision of the U.S. government to accede
to the objectives of the Sharon regime conforms to
neither of these principles. The attempt to legitimize
settler colonialization of major portions of the
occupied West Bank is a severe setback to the cause of
peace and holds the threat of still more retaliatory
death and destruction visited upon the people throughout
that troubled and explosive region. It will inevitably
increase the already alarming repugnance with which our
country is viewed in that part of the world and make it
still more difficult to settle other regional disputes -
including the urgent necessity of ending the continued
U.S. occupation of Iraq.

The international consensus is clear. Territorial theft
is not sanctioned. A just settlement must include the
right of the Israelis to a recognized and secure
existence within their own state and the right of the
Palestinian people to exercise self-determination on the
territory of Palestine. The inescapable prerequisite for
this is Israeli withdrawal from all the land in the
occupied West Bank and Gaza. The objective of all of the
Sharon government’s moves and maneuvering since coming
into office has been to prevent this coming to pass. ’I
said that we were going to deal them a lethal blow, and
they were dealt a lethal blow,’ Sharon said after his
meeting at the White House.

George Bush’s reference to new ’realities on the ground’
is a shameless endorsement of the objectives that have
always guided the forces of territorial expansion in
Israel. It must not be tolerated or embraced by people
seeking peace and justice.

The rush of leading U.S. politicians of both major
parties to endorse the Bush-Sharon deal is shameful. It
will diminish their standing in the eyes of the people
of the world and in this presidential election period
does nothing to give an indication that the Democratic
Party or its standard bearer are in tune with reality
and offer anything like a clear alternative to the
ruinous policies of the Bush Administration.

The Committees of Correspondence takes this occasion
restate its solidarity with the Palestinian people and
the Israelis who have courageously resisted and
countered Sharon and the expansionists. We call upon
progressive people everywhere to reject the plans of the
Bush-Sharon cabal, to insist that a lasting, just and
comprehensive settlement be reached through negotiations
as quickly as possible in accordance with the principles
laid down in United Nations Resolutions 242 and 338.

End the occupation!

Palestinian self-determination!

For a just and lasting peace in the Middle East!