The Alternative Information Center

Peretz and the Struggle Against the Occupation Yesterday, in Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel?s largest circulation Hebrew language daily newspaper (22 November), it was written that Amir Peretz, the new leader of the Labor Party, approved the building of 350 housing units in the Jewish settlement of Ma?ale Adumim, located to the east of Jerusalem in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, strategically breaking the contiguity between the territories of the West Bank to its north and south.

Peretz, who has no administrative responsibility on this issue, pressured the housing minister, a Labor Party member, to approve the building of these housing units as one of his last acts before resigning from the Sharon government in the coming days. The approval of this building plan is quite dramatic when one realizes that since the beginning of this year, the government approved the building of 315 housing units in the West Bank in total. In other words, these additional units will double the year?s total.

Sources in the Labor Party state that Peretz?who is currently portrayed in the Israeli and International press as a man of peace, fighting to end the Occupation?must present himself as more rightwing to get the votes of Israelis concerned with the process of neoliberalization in Israel, but hold nationalist views when it comes to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. These sources say that by supporting the illegal expansion of Ma?ale Adumim, seen by many in Israel as a ?legitimate? settlement, he is likely to draw more voters from the Likud and Shas parties.

This last update exposes the sad truth about the Zionist left in Israel. No matter how much they present themselves as peace activists or the greatest supporters of dialogue and negotiation, they still cannot disconnect from the settlement project and the occupation of the Palestinian people. Even in Peretz?s speech to the Labor Party a few days ago, he explicitly announced that ?I support a unified Jerusalem for ever and ever, and am against the [Palestinian] Right of Return into the State of Israel.? In Israeli parlance, ?unified Jerusalem? means the continuance of the Occupation over all of what Israel refers as ?East Jerusalem,? which includes 1 percent of the territory of the West Bank.

The acts and announcements of Amir Peretz should not come as a surprise to anyone who is fighting for real peace and justice in the region. No concrete hope for substantial change in the conflict could ever be laid upon the Labor candidates. To the contrary, in as far as they have worked hard at portraying themselves as ?doves,? their acts on the ground have shown them to actually be ?hawks.?

It must be admitted that with Peretz as leader of the Labor Party, it is a big step forward for the fight against neoliberalization and for an eventual end of the conflict. Moreover, his social and political vision is as progressive as a Labor candidate could realistically have. Nevertheless, we must understand that even if he becomes prime minister, our struggle is far from over. Israelis in the near future cannot and will not end the Occupation by themselves, and the need for international pressure and action is increasingly urgent with the passing of each day.

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