By Caroline Vincent, ISA International Committee
As the genocidal war on Gaza reaches its grim one year anniversary, the horrors are relentless. The reported number of deaths has now surpassed 41,000, the actual figure is likely to be much higher. The prospect of the conflict turning into a full-scale regional war is increasing every day.
At the time of writing, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has been killed following heavy airstrikes by the Israeli state in Beirut, Lebanon. This marks a drastic escalation in the situation, toward the dangerous prospect of a wider war in the region.
Over two million Palestinians – almost the entire population – have been displaced into tents while the Israeli state continues to shrink the so-called ‘humanitarian zone’. An estimated 10,700 Palestinians have been detained in the occupied West Bank where there is widespread abuse of inmates.
More than a million Gazans went without food last month as aid, including medical supplies, continues to be blocked from crossing Israeli checkpoints. An airstrike on on 11 September on a school in central Gaza, which was being used as a shelter, killed 18 people including six aid workers. This was the fifth time the school has been hit and more than 220 aid workers have been killed since the war began.
Amongst the recent casualties was 26-year old Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi – an activist and former Socialist Alternative member from Seattle – who was murdered by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank where she had gone to protest against settlements.
Labour arms export suspensions a hollow gesture
Mass protests in solidarity with Palestine have put pressure on governments all over the world, including in the UK. Keir Starmer’s consistent pro-Israel position has enraged many, stating last October that “Israel has the right to cut off water and power to Gaza”. With that in mind it may come as a surprise that a Labour government review led to 30 arms export licences to Israel being suspended, pointing to the risk that international humanitarian law may be being violated in Gaza.
An examination of the details, however, reveals an empty gesture that is, in reality, little more than window dressing. The suspensions will actually affect less than 10% of the 350 existing export licences. Additionally, a loophole exists in that suspensions will not apply to the British made components of F-35 fighter jets – aircraft which the Israeli regime has used to conduct airstrikes that have caused vast destruction and bloodshed in Gaza.
To confirm that Starmer’s Labour has not departed from its loyal support for the Israeli regime, Foreign Secretary David Lammy was at pains to reiterate the importance that Israel should be able to ‘defend itself’, to point out that the suspensions are not a blanket ban, and that the decisions were not a judgement on whether Netanyahu has breached international law.
General strike and protests mark resistance to Netanyahu’s government
In Israel itself, anger at Netanyahu and his government reached boiling point at the beginning of September. There was an eruption of protests and a short but significant general strike after the recovery of the bodies of six hostages, and the repeated failures of Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire deal.
An estimated half a million took to the streets, making it the largest demonstration so far since 7 October, and also one of the largest ever seen in Israel – 300,000 protested in Tel Aviv alone. It was an expression of the outrage towards the government for what has been seen as the torpedoing of a deal for the exchange of hostages and prisoners, and for a ceasefire.
A trigger for the explosion of anger was Netanyahu’s refusal to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor – Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, and the Netzarim Corridor – the Israeli military route which cuts through Gaza. This has widely been seen as Netanyahu derailing negotiations and abandoning the hostages.
The one-day general strike was called on 2 September by the Histadrut, Israel’s largest trade union centre. This was despite reluctance from the Histadrut leaders, and only happened as a result of mass pressure from below, and the aims were limited to the government reaching a deal. The Histadrut leadership has no desire to overthrow the government, and the action was more aimed at workers letting off steam.
Whereas the question of the deal is very much linked to an end to the war, these have not been anti-war protests. Palestinian liberation has not been a feature in the demands raised, with the return of the hostages taking centre stage. However there is huge opposition to Netanyahu and the “cabinet of death”.
Members of ISA in Israel-Palestine – Socialist Struggle Movement – participated in the strike raising demands to expand the strike action into all workplaces, calling for an end to the occupation and the genocidal war, and calling for a mass working-class movement across national lines against the Israeli capitalist state as part of a struggle for socialist change across the region. They also emphasised that, as well as in workplaces, the struggle needs to be built in schools, universities and communities.
Regional war looming
The threat of a full-blown regional war is escalating, with Netanyahu and the far right pushing things in that direction. On 17 September, Netanyahu announced that Israel was broadening its aims in the war to include return of residents on the border of Lebanon. The following day Defence Minister Yoav Gallant declared that a “new phase” of the war was beginning.
This came just after the use of terrorist methods by the Israeli state against top Hezbollah officials within Lebanon, detonating exposive devices in pagers and walkie-talkies. This was followed up with brutal bombing within Lebanon on cities like Beirut.
We cannot wait for political leaders in Britain, the US and elsewhere to decide that ‘enough is enough’ – ultimately they have a political interest in backing the Israeli state and defending their imperialist interests in the Middle East.
To end all arms sales, we need to force their hands by mobilising on the power of the working class, which was partially demonstrated by the Israeli general strike. Moreover, to stop the drive to war, we must build a struggle internationally to end the rule of Netanyahu’s government of blood.
But any struggle against Netanhayu – for the safe return of hostages and the safety and security of working-class Israelis – has to be a fight that demands an end to the genocidal war and occupation in Gaza, a fight against a capitalist government that has blood on its hands, and a fight against the capitalist system as a whole which leads to oppression, war, destruction and bloodshed.
