Fighting the terrors of occupation

Forty years ago Palestinian resistance fighter Leila Khaled burst onto news headlines around the world with two plane hijackings which made her a household name.

Her dramatic actions forced the world to take notice of her compatriots' struggle to free themselves, their families, their communities and their nation from the shackles of zionist oppression.

In the first hijacking in 1969, Khaled was part of a team which seized control of Trans World Airlines Flight 840 on its way from Rome to Athens.

The following year, she and a Nicaraguan comrade Patrick Arguello attempted the hijack of El Al Flight 219 from Amsterdam to New York City. Israeli sky marshals on board the plane killed Arguello before eventually overpowering Khaled.

Since then, Khaled has come to be seen as something of an icon. She has been called the "poster girl of Palestinian militancy" and was the subject of a film entitled Leila Khaled, Hijacker.

However, after four decades, Palestine is still awaiting liberation. It still battles against the zionist occupation, though the Palestinian political complexion has changed almost beyond recognition.

The rise of Hamas since the mid-1990s has meant that many people associate the Palestinian struggle with Islamism rather than the revolutionary resistance of Khaled and others such as Lebanese Communist Souha Bechara.

Yet amid the Middle East's rapidly changing political landscape, Khaled firmly believes that it is the women of the West Bank and Gaza who hold the key to unifying the factions, especially Hamas and Fatah, and bringing about a process of reconciliation.

"In this political moment the most important issue is that of unifying our people to face the terrors of the occupation. And the main basis of unity must be fighting the occupation," says Khaled.

"Fighting the occupation demands that Palestinian factions are united. It is important to understand the role of the Palestinian masses in achieving this unity by putting pressure through democratic and civil means on the Palestinian factions focusing on Hamas and Fatah.

"Palestinian women are adversely affected by these divisions as many of their families are divided, which is why I am adamant that Palestinian women must recognise the importance of unity in the Palestinian struggle and their role in achieving this unity," she says.

Khaled's views have been shaped by years of struggle at the sharp end of Palestinian resistance.

She was forced to flee Haifa, her place of birth, as a young girl in 1948 and later became the first female member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in 1967.

She is still active today in the leadership of the Palestinian revolution, as one of the PFLP's central committee members as well as being a representative of the Palestinian National Council.

Khaled has provided an influential example to many young Palestinians, both for her sense of justice and her seemingly limitless strength.

In her autobiography My People Shall Live (1973) Khaled tells her account of the 1970 hijacking in which her fellow freedom fighter, the 27-year-old Arguello, was killed.

"Patrick was a revolutionary communist. His gallant action was a gesture of international solidarity. A flame of life was extinguished - it lit the world for a moment, it blazed a trail on the road back to Palestine. Arguello lives, so do my people, so does the revolution!"

And Khaled was not wrong.

The recent 42nd anniversary rally of the PFLP in Gaza attracted some 70,000 people who took to the streets in support of the Palestinian revolutionary left.

One of those on stage addressing the masses was a fatigue-clad young woman called Shireen Said, who co-chaired the rally.

Like many young women around the world, Said was inspired by Khaled.

"Of course Comrade Leila Khaled as a national and international struggler inspires all women who seek freedom, social justice and an independent prosperous homeland for themselves and for the coming generations," says Said.

Said was born in 1985 in Jabalya refugee camp, from which the "children of the stones" started the first intifada.

"My childhood memories are mostly of the first intifada," she explains.

"My story with comrade Leila started in kindergarten when we learned the national songs about the intifada, martyrs and our heroes like Leila, Ghassan Kanfani and Wadi Haddad. "As I was growing up my interest and love towards Leila grew inside me, I wanted to know everything about her.

"Although I had not had the chance to meet her she inspired me and I felt proud of her. As a woman she argued that no-one could prevent her from participating with men in the hardest parts of the struggle, so comrade Leila is an example for me and for many women."

Later, in her early teens, Said became involved in one of the student movements associated with the PFLP.

"I worked at Progressive Student Labour Front with lots of comrades until I got the position of secretary at the students union," she says.

"I was the first young woman in Gaza to get this position via democratic elections at the university.

"After my graduation I worked in the committees of the Union of Palestinian Women which is part of a progressive feminist struggle for women's liberation and to bring them together and on an equal footing with men in all fields of national and democratic reform."

Khaled feels honoured that a younger generation of activists have been energised by her commitment and sacrifice.

"I am proud if anyone sees me as a symbol of resistance," says Khaled.

"It gives me more strength for the struggle. To see a woman anywhere struggling for a just cause gives me hope and courage for my people. Women give their life for the struggle in Palestine and elsewhere."

But for Said, her participation in the PFLP rally was no easy choice. In today's Palestine, a traditional largely Muslim and Arab society, many of the revolutionary left's principles and morals are seen as unnecessary Western imports.

"Due to our conservative and traditional society I was afraid to face such a big audience," says Said, "but also because it was the first time a young Palestinian woman had worn military fatigues at such a rally. But nevertheless I insisted on going through with the experience."

Said explains how her decision was largely defined by the defiance and steadfastness of the masses in Gaza during the barbaric Israeli onslaught early last year.

"The zionist massacres in Gaza in January 2009 were still memories raw in the hearts and minds of the people, so I wanted to present a message that despite all the killing, destruction and terror of the zionist war we will assert that our men and women will stand side by side in the resistance which is our path to liberation and freedom.

"At the rally itself I was pleased that my personality could convey these messages to millions through television and the internet across the world. My family were also very proud of me."

With millions of people marking International Women's Day around the world yesterday, Said is aware that the path towards female emancipation "is very long and difficult and necessitates well thought-out strategies.

"We shouldn't forget that the capitalist system oppresses and exploits women and takes away their human dignity," she says.

"Therefore we must adhere to our values of humanity and progressive politics as well as remaining united and strong in the revolutionary left as the best means to achieve our ends. This is the only path to attain freedom, equality and social justice for us, our families and our children."