Starmer’s government has officially recognised a Palestinian state, supposedly in an effort to ‘pressure’ the Israeli government to agree a ceasefire, end military operations in Gaza, and commit to negotiating a ‘two-state’ solution.
By Connor Rosoman
In the words of now-deputy PM David Lammy himself, “it will not change the position on the ground.” It is a largely meaningless gesture, to seem like they’re speaking out in favour of peace, without addressing the reality of the mass displacement and murder of Palestinian people which holds back the fight for real statehood.
This proclamation means less than nothing while the same government continues to support the genocide in Gaza. The Labour government has continued to allow weapons parts to be produced in Britain and sent to Israel, and regularly runs surveillance flights over Gaza on behalf of the Israeli military.
This is despite massive organised opposition to the horrors taking place in Gaza among the working class in Britain.
The approach of the government has also been one of ramped-up repression of voices against the genocide, including the proscription of non-violent protest group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation. This, in contrast, has been no mere symbolic gesture – instead it has been followed up with mass arrests of activists.
This included 900 arrested at a single demonstration at the start of September. Appalling scenes of peaceful protestors, often elderly and/or disabled, being manhandled by police for holding signs stating “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” have circulated online following the police crackdown.
Socialist Alternative has launched a petition calling on the trade unions to use their powers to fight the repression of Palestine activists, including by calling and mobilising a huge national demonstration against the genocide.
‘Freedom flotilla’ sets off with support of dockworkers
A new wave of ships, as part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departed on 24 September from Sicily. Onboard are a range of activists and civilian public figures, bringing medical supplies, food, and hygiene items to the people of Gaza.
Of course this won’t be enough to save the people of Palestine, but the flotilla is aiming to break through the Israeli blockade, relying on mass pressure to allow safe passage.
When Greta Thunberg and other activists set off on the Madleen, as part of the last flotilla operation, they were intercepted by Israeli state forces, and those onboard arrested. Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila was kept for two days in solitary confinement before being deported – an act which has been described by Brazil’s National Council for Human Rights as a ‘kidnapping’ and a ‘war crime’.
This time however, they are not alone. Italian dockworkers have pledged to take action if the flotilla is intercepted. One dockworker, a member of the Unione Sindacale di Base (USB) at the port in Genoa, said, “if we lose contact with our boats, with our comrades – even for just 20 minutes – we will shut down all of Europe.”
The general strike for Palestine in Italy on 22 September took this a step further, shutting the country down in an inspiring example of the kind of action that we need to build upon (more on p.5).
Without the working class, nothing gets produced, moved or sold – and this kind of power can play a decisive role in halting the Israeli state’s bloody plans.
In the context of timid, fake diplomatic ‘pressure’ from pro-imperialist governments, mass arrests of Palestine solidarity activists, and a new wave of ground operations in Gaza, we can look toward the action of the dockworkers for inspiration.
The trade unions in Britain have more than 6.5 million workers in their ranks – including workers who are currently being asked to manufacture and ship weapons parts being used to continue the genocidal onslaught in Gaza.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) agreed last year that it would support an end to arms to Israel. As a next step, trade union leaders should take a stand by pledging to follow in the footsteps of workers in Italy and organising workers to refuse the transport and production of weapons for the genocidal war.
Mass, collective action by the working class has the power to bring an end to the genocidal war, and to challenge the imperialist powers backing it. Most importantly, it has the power to overthrow the whole capitalist system that lies at the root of the crisis and war we see around the world today.
A capitalist ‘two-state’ solution in Israel-Palestine is completely impossible while the world’s biggest imperialist powers continue to enable occupation and slaughter.
Only mass struggle for an independent, socialist Palestinian state, and revolutionary socialist change in Israel and across the region, can guarantee the rights of all ethnic groups, and put an end to poverty, oppression and war for good.
