June 30, 1970
SED Central Committee Protocol No. 55/70, ' Support for the Communist Resistance Organization "Al-Ansar"'
This document was made possible with support from The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
[SED Central Committee]
Protocol No. 55/70[1]
Confirmed in circulation by Comrades Honecker, Axen, Grueneberg, Hager, Jarowinsky, Lamberz, Mittag, Verner, Dohlus[2]
On 30 June 1970
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1. Support for the communist resistance organization ‘Al-Ansar’[3]
—————————————————————————————————-
The proposal is confirmed. (Appendix No. 1)
[CC:]
[Hermann] Axen
[Paul] Markowski
[Walter] Borning
[Erich] Wappler
[Karl] Raab
Hoffmann
Haase P 3 + 1, 5x
2. [Not translated; unrelated content]
[...]
[Appendix No. 1]
[SED Central Committee]
Department of International Relations
Berlin, 18 June 1970
Kr/De
18 copies of 3 pages each
12 copies of 3 pages each
With Appendixes
[List of 11 numbers]
Proposal for the Secretariat of the Central Committee
RE: Support for the communist resistance organization ‘Al-Ansar’
Decision Draft:
1. The visit by a delegation of ‘Al-Ansar’ to the GDR is approved. The Department of International Relations is consulting with the comrades of ‘Al-Ansar’ about options for the support of their organization and ways of its implementation.
2. The Ministry for National Defense is reviewing the option for a support of ‘Al-Ansar’ based on the list attached as Appendix 1 (Points 1 and 2).
3. The Ministry for Materials Management is reviewing the options for a support of ‘Al-Ansar’ based on the list attached as Appendix 1 (Point 3).
4. The Zentrag [i.e., the SED party conglomerate for all party printing facilities, party publications, and distribution facilities] is reviewing the options for a support of ‘Al-Ansar’ based on the list attached as Appendix 1 (Point 4).
5. The Ministry for National Defense, the Ministry for Materials Management, and the Zentrag are informing the Department of International Relations of the Central Committee about the results of their reviews.
6. The Department of International Relations of the Central Committee will submit, based on these reviews, a proposal for the support of the resistance organization ‘Al-Ansar’ to the Secretariat of the Central Committee.
[Signed Axen]
Axen
Secretary
[Signed ‘in the name of’ H.[enry] Ott]
Department International Relations
[Signed W. Borning]
Department Security
[Signed Raab]
Department Financial Administration and Party Businesses
[Signed Wappler]
Department Planning and Finances
CC:
Copy 1-13: Secretariat
Copy 14: Office Axen
Copy 15: Office International Relations
Copy 16: Office Security
Copy 17: Office Financial Administration
Copy 18: Office Planning
Reason:
The Palestinian resistance organization ‘Al-Ansar’ was founded about five months ago by an initiative of the Jordan Communist Party, the Syrian Communist Party, the Iraqi Communist Party, and the Lebanese Communist Party. It is led and guided by a committee of the listed communist parties.
The ‘Al-Ansar’ is fighting for the expulsion of the aggressor behind Israel’s armistice lines as they did exist before 5 June 1967. It is in accordance with the position of the CPSU and the majority of the communist parties. (Political program in Appendix 2[4]).
The resistance organization ‘Al-Ansar’ is so far operating exclusively in Jordan. It is planned to bring it until the end of 1970 up to a strength of 1,000 fighters (currently it has about 200 fighters). They dispose of about 2,000 to 3,000 militia members in the cities, refugee camps, and villages.
In Amman, ‘Al-Ansar’ does have 15 militia posts of its own. The fighters of ‘Al-Ansar’ are equipped extremely inadequate. The ‘Al-Ansar’ is in urgent need of support regarding the material assurance of training, the equipment of its militia and for the launch of their military operations against the aggressors.
For that reason, the 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Jordan Communist Party, Comrade Fu’ad Nassar, submitted to the Central Committee of our party the list attached in Appendix 1. In the name of the committee of the four communist parties, Comrade Nassar asked for a review of the list and for aid.
A p p e n d i x 1
Point 1 - Arms and Ammunition
| Number |
Kalashnikov with metal butt and bayonet | 1,000 |
Light machine guns | 200 |
Medium machine guns | 100 |
Armor-piercing gun RPG-7[5] | 50 |
Grenade launcher 82 millimeter | 25 |
Grenade launcher 60 millimeter | 25 |
Pistols 9 millimeter | 250 |
Flare guns | 50 |
Katyusha with launchers | 50 |
Daggers | 1,000 |
Training device RPG-7 | 4 |
Hand grenades for attack | 1,000 |
Hand grenades for defense | 1,000 |
Hand grenades (armor-piercing) | 1,000 |
Anti-tank mines (plastic or wood) | 500 |
Infantry mines | 500 |
Electric explosives | 20 |
Electric detonators | 1,000 |
Various timed detonators | 500 |
Magnetic mines | 200 |
Explosives TNT | a lot |
Ammunition for Kalashnikov | 500,000 |
Ammunition for light machine guns | 100,000 |
Ammunitions for medium machine guns | 100,000 |
Grenades for RPG-7 | 1,000 |
Grenades for 82 millimeter including loads etc. | 2,500 |
Grenades for 60 millimeter including loads | 2,500 |
Ammunition for pistols 9 millimeter | 100,000 |
Ammunition for flare guns | 500 |
Point 2 - Varia
| Number |
Minesweepers | 10 |
Infrared radiators | 5 |
Equipment to detect infrared radiation | 5 |
Radio devices with short range | 20 |
Radio devices with medium range | 5 |
Summer battle dress uniforms | 1,000 |
Winter battle dress uniforms | 1,000 |
Battle spade with cover | 500 |
Point 3
| Number |
Wire cutters (with electric conductors) | 250 |
Fireman’s hatchets with cover |
|
Tents for 4 to 5 people | 100 |
One-Man-Tents | 50 |
Blankets | 3,000 |
Pads (to be placed on the ground under the blankets) | 1,000 |
Sports shoes with gaiters | 1,000 |
Broad cloth waist belts | 1,000 |
Pullovers | 1,000 |
Backpacks | 2,000 |
Wool Coats | 1,000 |
Water-tight jackets | 100 |
Date-tight ponchos | 100 |
Carrying bags (bread bags?) | 1,000 |
Binoculars | 40 |
Compasses | 20 |
Transistor radios | 20 |
Film cameras 8 millimeter | 2 |
Projectors 8 millimeter | 2 |
Camera with telephoto lens | 10 |
Microphone with amplifier (battery) | 10 |
Microphone with sufficient earphones | 10 |
Tape recorders | 5 |
|
|
Typewriters Arabic | 8 |
Typewriters English | 3 |
|
|
Motorcycles | 10 |
Point 4
| Number |
Paper folding device | 3 |
Small printing shop | 1 |
|
|
Transportable hospital | 1 |
Stretchers | 20 |
First Aid Kits | 1,000 |
Various Medicines |
|
- Vitamins |
|
- Vaccines |
|
- against cold - antibiotics |
|
Various food cans (meat, sardines, jelly, et cetera) | 10 tons |
[1] Meeting of the Secretariat of the SED Central Committee.
[2] List of the various Secretaries of the Central Committee. Not relevant in this context except for Axen.
[3] Arabic for ‘The Partisans’. A militia of Palestinian communists in Jordan existing between 1970 and 1975.
[4] Not part of this document.
[5] The RPG-7 is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher designed by the Soviet Union.
This memorandum contains a list of military supplies that were supposed to be delivered to the Al Ansar group, a Palestinian militant group founded by the initiative of the Jordanian Communist Party with the aim to drive the Israeli forces behind the border lines of 5 June 1966. The justification for the delivery is that the Al Ansar group is small and ill-equipped. The final word on whether these supplies were delivered is not contained in the document.
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