‘Surrender or Fight’: Leila Khaled on Palestinian Liberation, Women’s Participation in Armed Struggle

Historic Palestinian activist praised Brazil’s MST and said Cuba will always be an example for liberation movements

Leila Khaled is a historic activist for the liberation of the Palestinian people. At 80 years of age, she continues to be active in promoting international collaboration with political organizations, popular movements and governments to denounce Israeli violence and expand the struggle for the formation of the Palestinian state.

Venezuela is one of the countries that most echoes this struggle. The defense of the Palestinian people has been, since Hugo Chávez, one of the pillars of Venezuelan foreign policy. In the last week of November, Khaled was in Caracas to participate in the International Conference of Solidarity with Palestine. She received Brasil de Fato at the hotel where she was staying in the capital of Venezuela. In a conversation that lasted almost 1 hour, she spoke about the relationship between socialism and the Palestinian liberation process, the role of women in the armed struggle, and the relationship between the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and other countries.

According to Khaled, it is necessary to discuss a specific political formation in each state that adapts to the reality of each country. That is why the Popular Front understands that Marxism-Leninism is an important tool, because it is an instrument of action that can be incorporated by any country.

Khaled was born in Haifa, which was part of the British Mandate of Palestine, but had to leave her home after Israel’s founding in 1948. She then grew up in the Tyre refugee camp in Lebanon. At the age of 15, the young Palestinian began her activism and over time expanded her participation in the struggle for the formation of a Palestinian state.

Joining the PFLP was decisive for the political line Khaled would adopt to this day. As a communist activist, she began to be inspired by leaders such as Fidel Castro, Lenin, Ho Chi Minh and Kim Il Sung. She is responsible for founding one of the Popular Front cells in Kuwait and participated in military operations in the Middle East, including the hijacking of two planes, one from Trans World Airlines and the other from the Israeli airline El Al.

Khaled sees two challenges in women’s participation in the armed struggle for the liberation of Palestine: from society, because society is sexist and patriarchal, and also from the Israeli occupation. According to her, for women in this context there is no middle ground: “surrender or fight”.

Brasil de Fato: Leila, what are the necessary adaptations of socialism in the liberation struggles of Palestine?

Leila Khaled: The Palestinian people are in different countries and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is where the Palestinian people are. There are many people in occupied Palestine, Gaza, the West Bank, and others in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and other Arab countries. Our party is in these countries and we have a political program. And this is similar to other organizations. In some countries we do not say that we are from the PFLP because it is an organization banned in some territories. That is why we speak in committees for a democratic Palestine or form a union of delegations.

The political program is what guides the policy of the Popular Front. But labor policy is different as an objective situation in each country. Some countries do not accept a militant organization, so we changed the names. But they are still militants of the Popular Front. Therefore, the mission of each group of activists in each place is for them to design and carry out their own line of work that fits our political program.

And here comes the discussion about socialism. In our cultural and educational program we have theory. From the beginning we adopted Marxist-Leninist thought. But at the fifth congress of the Popular Front, in 1993, we put Marxism-Leninism not only as a political line, but as a working instrument. As we are citizens of the third world, talking about socialism and Marxism-Leninism has to be adapted to each territory and objective condition.

The context of each country is different in relation to another country. That is why Lenin always said that theory is gray, but reality is green. We apply a socialism different from ours in each country. These are experiences that we adopt from other countries. We, as a political organization, build alliances based on the political position of any country. And the position of a given country on the Palestinian cause is what determines our position in relation to that country.

And how can we build a Palestinian society that is socialist in a context of increasing Israeli attacks and an increase in violence in more than 12 months?

It’s a challenge, we need to educate our activists, educate them about socialism at the same time that we’re in a process of national liberation. We set ourselves the historic goal of returning to our land to build a new society. In a process of liberation, all taboos and paradigms are broken, from religious to political. That is why we are interested in confronting the war and genocide that our people are suffering. We raise our slogan: we have the right to return and to be a people whose self-determination is respected.

Can the coordination of international agencies help end the conflict?

It is the first time in Israel’s history since its founding that there has been a decision to hold Israelis accountable, as was the International Criminal Court’s decision that Netanyahu is a war criminal as its defense minister.

But Israel considers itself above the law. They do not surrender internationally because they are protected by the colonial West and U.S. imperialism. For the first time, Israel in the war against Gaza asks the United States for protection, this frightened Israel. But because of this protection, they follow it.

Could China’s growing involvement on the geopolitical chessboard change this?

Of course, today there are the BRICS, which is an economic alliance that must be reflected in a political alliance to confront the imperialists. Not through weapons, but through the economy. I think this will change and the United States will no longer protect Israel, they are giant and powerful countries. In its history there are revolutions and we learn from these revolutions. In the Cold War between the USSR and the United States, the United States won and today the world is changing. And it must change in favor of the people. And this provides a positive environment for the people of the world. Specifically Latin America, because it is close to imperialism. This means that all together we can break this rule. This world will no longer be ruled by the United States.

You have already mentioned several times the imperialist actions of the U.S. in different places, mainly in stifling revolutionary struggles. What has been the role of the United States today in the Palestinian liberation movement and in Latin American revolutionary movements?

We always present our experience and the particular problems we face, but Latin America began to have revolutionary experiences a long time ago and Cuba is the great example. And this is reflected in a reaction of imperialism. Cuba has suffered sanctions since it decided to have its own revolutionary process and this has had a huge effect on Latin American politics. [Salvador] Allende’s revolution in Chile and Venezuela was also influenced by Cuba. Cubans play an important role in Latin American politics.

In many other countries there were revolutions that failed and this is because the U.S. and the Zionist movement penetrate these societies and have the role of destroying them. So that these societies see the United States as the “liberator”.

How was your relationship with Venezuela over time and with Chávez?

Chavez supported the Palestinian cause from the beginning and publicly announced it at the UN in 2003. This created a relationship between Venezuelans and Palestinians that was marked and continues to be an important point of support. I saw him in 2005 in Brazil, when I went to the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre. We also saw each other in other cities. When I first came to Venezuela, he was already undergoing treatment for cancer.

How do political struggles in other countries serve as a reference for the Palestinian liberation struggle?

We study the results of different processes. In any process of national liberation in a country, since the Bolshevik revolution, in China, in Vietnam, in Algeria, in South Africa, it is necessary to educate our activists through ideas. Our struggle is not a few years, it is from one generation to another. Because we are facing a common enemy: the Zionist movement, which has Israel and US imperialism as its governments. This is the enemy’s camp. We understand in advance that we have to sacrifice ourselves and pass the banner of liberation from generation to generation until we liberate the Palestinian territory and return to Palestine, expelling the Zionists.

Personally and in general, we carry a scientific thought and it is not something emotional based on this. I continue to carry this responsibility when I see friends in the world. Many revolutionary and progressive movements fought for our cause. From Europe to Tokyo and Latin America and this gives more hope that we will return to our homeland.

Carlos Ilich Ramírez was a Venezuelan activist who, from an early age, was involved in the struggle of the Palestinian people. Patricio Argüello, Nicaraguan, who became a martyr when he hijacked a plane. We also have militants and comrades in Japan. They went on a military operation in occupied Palestine and were killed there. There are many internationalists who fought with us and this is not the only way to support them. We attended training courses in several countries of the world: China, USSR, socialist countries. And we also received a university education through university scholarships from these countries. So we are surrounded by friends in the world and we see these relations now with what is happening in Gaza, with the whole world expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people, including the United States and Europe.

And at the same time it reveals the real reason for the conflict. It demonstrated the terrorist face of Israel. This is what gives us strength and motivation to continue working.

How important is revolutionary and theoretical training for a militant and militancy for a theoretician?

Knowledge has its effect on men and women. We live in the age of telecommunications, so communication is easier through technology. We communicate more easily and this helps us to see that victory is closer. Therefore, the more knowledge we have, the easier our process of liberation will be.

We used to read books, today everything is on the internet, on Google. This makes it easier for activists to learn more through communication. We used to see each other at international forums and conferences. Nowadays there are many applications that help not only with video conferencing, but also with training. Getting information or accessing training is easier.

The Palestinian people suffered the Nakba in 1948 and left Palestine. The context of the Palestinian people forced Palestinians to confront Zionism through university education. and this facilitated the entry of men and women to universities. We only have 8% illiteracy, because we help everyone to be educated and to be students. Compared to other Arab countries, Palestinians have the highest university education and this increases the number of intellectuals.

For this reason, many of our students and young people will study political science, philosophy and culture to help spread and publicize the culture of resistance.

What are the main challenges for you as a woman in the armed struggle? Is there a different context within this gender?

I grew up in a political family. I’ve never had a problem with this with my family, but the family is always afraid and worried. But this wasn’t an underlying problem for me. Other women had difficulty joining activism because of their families. And there came a time when many fathers forced women to stay at home, not to leave the house.

With the evolution and development of militancy work, this helped women to get involved in militancy, especially from 1987 onwards. This was the first Intifada and this gave women the opportunity to enter into direct confrontation with Zionism. Thus, the face of the first intifada was that women were on the front lines defending their children. Many women have been arrested and are still being arrested. The enemy did not imagine that Palestinian women would participate in the Intifada. When women engage in this work of organizing and revolutionary activism, they are defending their family. Women in this context of Palestinian struggle suffer a double oppression: from society, because society is sexist and patriarchal, and also from the Israeli occupation. There are currently many Palestinian women in Israeli prisons.

For women, there are two paths in this scenario: surrender or fight. A woman will always choose to defend her family and take on this role. She will not raise a white flag. That is why I did not experience oppression or challenges in this issue, but it is something that is above the diaspora, all these problems we suffer in a different way.

How do Palestinian popular movements discuss the particular issues of the life of each group?

We have people’s unions, the Palestinian women’s union, and this group adopts the program of resistance. Workers, peasants, doctors, journalists, each sector has a union. And this gives popular support and when Israel attacks the people join the revolution to defend them. Today we are witnessing a genocide against our people. And the world is studying this genocide.

Israeli attacks have a direct impact on land use. How is the dispute over land in Palestine?

Our problem is that settlers are occupying the land with the support of the Tel Aviv group. There is a decision by the Court of The Hague that says that the colonies are not legal and now they say that there could be genocide, but unfortunately that is not said. We saw this problem in the 1990s, because the Intifada was resisting and the Palestinian leadership signed the Oslo Accords and this affected the Palestinian revolutionary movement.

You have already been to Brazil and had contact with leftist movements in the country. How do you see the political organization of Brazilian popular movements that struggle to transform the relationship between the State, population and land?

Brazil is huge and has had many dictatorships that changed the system of government. Therefore, geography plays an important role. In Brazil, the MST has an important role in liberating land and handing it over to the people. In the previous administration, Lula helped to some extent in this process in one way or another. During Lula’s government, the MST played a very important role and began to have a broader social base because these lands were appropriated to the feudals.

And the MST managed to promote a law that determines that whoever does not make productive use of the land should not have possession of it. But the Brazilian oligarchies killed MST leaders and carried out acts of violence against militants. Many of the leaders of the Movement were assassinated by imperialism through terrorist and fascist groups in Brazil. But the MST continues today. Today the MST is a giant organization because it plays an important role for the people. Because when you give the poor something to live on and give them work, the social base expands.

We studied the experience of the MST, but this cannot be applied to Palestine. The majority of the Palestinian people are outside Palestine. In some countries it’s called land reform, but what you did wasn’t just the struggle for land reform, people now have a better future and homes. And all this was done by workers and peasants, men and women. We saw this with our own eyes.

By Lorenzo Santiago, Brasil de Fato / Resumen Latinoamericano, December 5, 2024.

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