Stop the war against the Palestinian people!


End the Israeli occupation!


For peace and justice in the Middle East!





The Illinois District of the Communist Party USA condemns the Bush


administration's support for the Israeli government's brazen war of


aggression against the Palestinian people.





Masquerading as "war on terrorism," recent Israeli government attacks on the


Palestinians, including the bombings and military invasions of Gaza and the


West Bank, are aimed at completely destroying the Palestinian people's quest


for social justice.





This policy will not lead to peace and security. Its escalation poses a


threat not only to the survival of the Palestinians, but also to Israel and


the security of the entire world.





The Israeli government's policy of occupation of Arab lands, annexation of


new territory and building Jewish settlements on Palestinian lands, military


coercion, mass house demolitions, economic boycotts, and border closures have


brought untold suffering and humiliation to the Palestinian people.





Highly provocative acts by the Sharon government gave rise to the mass


uprising of the Palestinian people. In a little over a year, more than 850


Palestinians have been killed and more than 20,000 wounded. More than 220


Israeli Jews have also died.





A particularly inflammatory Israeli policy--that of "liquidating" Palestinian


political leaders through death-squad-like assassinations-has added fuel to


the fire and provoked further retaliatory actions from Palestinians,


including suicide bombings by extremist elements.





Recent suicide bombings by Hamas and other groups-bombings that have killed


innocent Israeli civilians and which cannot be justified under any


circumstances-have given the Sharon government the pretext it needs to try to


crush the Palestinian people's liberation.





Our Party rejects terrorism, whether it emanates from individuals, groups, or


states. At the same time, we support the right of the Palestinian people to


self-determination, national sovereignty, and statehood.





We share the urgent desire of the global community to end the danger of


terrorism here, the Middle East and worldwide. However the Sharon government


and the Bush Administration must not be allowed to use a vaguely defined "war


on terrorism" as a pretext to terrorize the Palestinian people, to block


their national aspirations, or to threaten them with annihilation.





A chief aim of the Bush administration is to dominate the entire Middle East


for exploitation by the big U.S. oil companies. It is encouraging the most


right wing elements in the Israeli government.





These events have a direct impact on the working people of Illinois. This


war against the Palestinian people is being waged with our tax dollars and


military assistance.





Arab Americans have been victimized by acts of racist bigotry and racial


profiling by law enforcement agencies. Threats to civil liberties,


immigrant rights, and human rights grow each passing day under the direction


of John Ashcroft and the Bush administration.





We sharply condemn the continuing illegal occupation of Palestinian lands by


Israel and demand:


- The dismantling of all Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories,


- The return by Israel to its 1967 borders,


- The right of Palestinian people to return to their historic homeland.


- The U.S. government cut all aid to the Israeli government until it complies


with these demands, which have been supported by relevant UN resolutions.


- Global cooperation to stop the bloodshed through a United Nations


peacekeeping force.


- An end to the undemocratic and racially-motivated persecution of Arab


Americans, and the efforts by the federal and state government to drastically


curtail the civil liberties of all citizens and non-citizens in the name of


"fighting terrorism."