Voices against genocide in Gaza and the West Bank- an urgent appeal
In 1994, over a period of 100 days a million Rwandans were murdered while imperialism sat by and did nothing. Hundreds of thousands of machetes from China found their way into Rwanda just before the genocide. In the aftermath the new Rwandan regime is out and out a tool of US imperialism. Over many decades Belgian colonial powers deliberately and carefully divided the population on the lines of ethnic divisions, Hutu and Tutsi, with many of the Tutsi elevated to positions of privilege in the state. Imperialism laid the basis for the genocide. The complicity of the UN forces in the genocide against the Bosnians and their role in Sbrenica is a factor not to be forgotten. 6 million were killed by pro-imperialist forces in the DRC as they cleared the land between 1997 and 2003 and grabbed the bulk of the minerals used for the cellphone and tech industry. The tech industry is based on genocide. The role of imperialism in genocide is a central point to consider as is the pivotal role of the working class leadership in their complicity with imperialism.
Over the next few days and certainly over the next 3 months all 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza will either be killed directly through bombs and bullets or indirectly through hunger and starvation and disease by the deliberate cutting off of food and basic services. The bombs, bullets and military hardware are all being supplied, even now, every day, by imperialism (US, French, German, UK and Japanese). By imperialism we mean the giant monopolies, banks and industries that control the planet. This genocide is being enabled and directed by imperialism, despite the rhetoric of their representatives to the contrary. At this very moment a giant death camp is being prepared by Egypt, on the direction from imperialism, in the Sinai desert where Palestinians will be directed to be killed. It is an open air slaughterhouse built with funds from imperialism. In Chile in 1973, Pinochet, who came to power in a coup backed by US imperialism, used stadiums to kill people en-masse. Here an open camp in the desert is being constructed by imperialism for the same purpose. We have seen this movie several times before. Imperialism has perpetrated many mass killings during the entire course of its existence. Genocide is part of its DNA. We need to realise that. The mass killings in the DRC, Myanmar and Sudan and many other places are all evidence of the strategy of imperialism. The imperialist regimes and their puppet leaderships around the globe should all be targeted with mass protests. Imperialism is attempting to use their defence of Israel to launch attacks on the masses of the world, to roll back democratic gains won over centuries of class struggle. The threat of extermination is being used by imperialism as a way to impose their will on the Palestinians. In South Africa imperialism used the apartheid leader De Klerk and liberation leader Mandela, to direct a negotiated settlement that kept imperialist relations intact. The alternative in South Africa would have been a workers’ revolution that could have spread through the region and other parts of the world. Imperialism controls the gold, diamond, platinum and all other mineral production in South Africa.
In the case of Palestine, it is only the real threat of workers’ revolution either in the Middle East or in another country controlled by imperialism that can save the Palestinian masses from being wiped out. The Arab regimes cannot survive without the support of imperialism. The role of the Arab regimes in supporting the genocide against Palestinians is now out in the open. The masses have long been ready to confront the Zionist-fascist regime and imperialism, yet everywhere the protests have been held back by the leadership. The very leadership , the Arab regimes, the Palestinian Authority (PA), the imperialist and pro imperialist regimes and the leaders within the workers movement need to firmly be dealt with, removed from power and their positions if we are to save the Palestinian masses from extermination. Many regimes are queuing up at the ICJ to wipe their faces clean from their complicity in the genocide and their pro-imperialist role. They are trying desperately to revive the 2-state solution, ie in essence they are trying to save Israel from being dismantled. They are trying to protect the main military base of imperialism in the Middle East, namely Israel.
Why is imperialism so keen on exterminating the Palestinians?
Everyone can see that a genocide is unfolding before our eyes but few are asking the central question as to why imperialism feels it necessary to perpetrate it now. This question has to be answered.
It comes down to the class role that Israel has played from the beginning. The discovery of oil in the Middle East has meant that imperialism has to control it. If they lose the control of the major oil and gas reserves in the world then it would allow the independent development of competitors that would ultimately mean the decline of imperialism itself. Thus, although there is intense inter-imperialist rivalry between French, German, UK, US and Japanese imperialism they have agreed to work together to subdue the masses in the Middle East. In return they have divided the oil and gas reserves among themselves. In the 1920s and 1930s there were massive uprisings in Palestine against the control of British imperialism. There were also uprisings across the region. An independent Palestine or any independent state in the region would have posed a threat to imperialist control there. The mere example of Palestinians democratically electing their own regime would have meant that all the dictatorial regimes in the region would come under threat. Imperialism depends on dictatorships and monarchies in the region to exercise control because full democracy would mean the independent development of capital. Any independent development would allow a competitor to imperialism to emerge and mark the start of its decline.
Imperialism also depends on the extraction of raw, unrefined oil and gas from the region as any large-scale refining locally would mean independent development and thus competing forces against imperialism. It is ironic that the largest exporters of crude oil have to import refined oil and oil products. Such is the nature of imperialism in the region. The bulk of the value of oil production thus goes to the imperialist centres and only the small change goes to the region. Mass unemployment in the region is directly caused by the mode of extraction and control by imperialism. Mass unemployment in Africa is caused by the same mechanism of control by imperialism. Africa and the Middle East are rich in resources but kept down in permanent impoverishment, in effect subsidizing the lifestyle of the imperialists and the masses in the imperialist centres. To a lesser extent, the same holds true for the masses in Central and Southern America and Asia. By about 1900 the entire world had reached the point of being controlled by the different imperialist powers. This opened the period of wars for markets, civil wars and revolutions.
To guarantee the super-exploitation of the masses in the Middle East is why Israel was created in 1948, through the mass expulsion of Palestinians from their own land. The Zionist gangs were armed by imperialism. The UN played the key role in creating Israel as a means to dominate the masses in the region. Israel is nothing but a large military base for imperialism. Its role is not only to terrorise Palestinians but all the masses in the region to keep them subdued to the rule of imperialism. Thus it engages in murder, assassinations and killings at will, in the entire region. No task is too dirty for Israel to handle. It can act with impunity as they are under the protection of all the imperialist forces. Although several industries have been created, such as the arms, IT, diamonds, etc. They are all subservient to the role Israel has to play. Since 1948 US imperialism, through its state apparatus only, has given Israel more than $ 260 bn. This is more than 6 times what is needed to end world hunger. Imperialism has given much more to Israel beyond this amount from the US state coffers. Yet imperialist control by force and the deliberate hunger of the masses is the essence of imperialist relations in the Middle East. Since the 2008 world economic crisis even the masses in the imperialist centres have faced severe cuts in their lifestyle. The imperialist has increasingly outsourced assembly production to China and India and other semi-colonies. This has not only increased the rate of unemployment in the imperialist centres but has placed the standard of living of the masses there under pressure. The threat of production moving to China or India has forced the working class in the imperialist centres to accept lower wages and conditions. Assembly of goods has largely been outsourced to China and India while the intellectual property rights are retained in the imperialist centres. Generally only 2% of the value of goods assembled in China and India return there. The rest go to the imperialist centres. Thus profits are increased for the imperialists while at the same time their control over the masses all over the world is increased due to the fragmentation of the production process. While the masses in the US, UK, Germany, France, Japan, have had to make do with lower standards of living, the subsidy by imperialism to its main military base in the Middle East, Israel, has increased. Besides the tech and agro industry the US local economy has been reduced to producing arms. It follows that the growth of the US economy requires war on an ongoing basis. The 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and the 2003 invasion of Iraq show that imperialism is at the stage of manufacturing any excuse for war. Its world profit levels require more wars every year. This is the stage of barbarism that modern imperialism has reached.
The collapse of the Israeli ‘economy’ shows its true role as a military base of imperialism
Since Oct 7th 2023 the Israeli economy has collapsed. Many workplaces are operating at 20% capacity; the fruit is left to rot in the fields; the tourism and many other industries have collapsed. However Israel has never really depended on these industries. They are all a show. The real essence of Israel is being a military base for imperialism and indeed, the funds for the military is still flowing. It has even accelerated. The Israeli masses have to realize that their real ‘work’ is not the industry in Israel but their ‘job’ is to terrorise the Palestinian masses and the broader masses in the Middle East. It has been that since 1948. Once imperialism has exterminated the Palestinians in Gaza, they will then move to exterminate those in the West Bank. If there is any resistance from the 1948 Palestinians who nominally hold Israeli citizenship, they will be driven out too. The imperialist plan to invade and defeat the masses in Lebanon too. Central to all of this is to beat the masses down into submission. Imperialism defeated the masses in Syria when they rose up to gain democratic control over their lives. At that stage imperialism partnered with Russia, the Iranian militias and the Hezbollah to suppress the masses. Once they achieved their objective they have no problems in turning against them too. Carpet bombing of the resistance in Syria is a lesson imperialism has learnt from and is applying in Gaza.
The significance of Oct 7th 2023.
On October 7th 2023 Palestinian resistance fighters overran the 11 to 21 military bases surrounding Gaza, seizing weapons and taking captives. They also went into the surrounding kibbutzim to take as many captives as they could. That was the essence of their operation.
Palestinians from Gaza, Jerusalem and the West Bank live under Israeli military law. This means that Israel is able to take thousands of captives for unlimited periods through ‘administrative detention’. This is detention without trial, an apartheid law where Palestinians are kept for months and years without trial. This apartheid law has been in place since 1948. This is nothing but systemic ‘hostage-taking’ by the Israeli state. It is this ‘detention without trial’ that has created the method of captive-taking by the Palestinian resistance to force the release of their comrades. They have no legal means as the UN, ICC and ICJ have all turned their backs on the Palestinians. The Oct 7th mass captive-taking was a product of the lack of democracy for Palestinians. They had no other choice. If anyone can suggest a legal method to free Palestinians held without trial, please suggest it. We know of no other method.
The Oct 7th mass captive-taking from among Israelis marked a military defeat and dealt a psychological blow against the so-called invincibility of the Israeli army. It was a major blow against the main military base of imperialism in the region. A ragtag, lightly armed militia was able to defeat the 4th biggest army in the world, the bastion of imperialism in the Middle East. It marked the moment where the main instrument of imperialist terror and control in the Middle East was shown to be vulnerable to defeat. It would give courage to the masses all over the region to be able to organise and defeat their own regimes who are puppets of imperialism. It would mean that imperialism would stand to lose control of the entire region.
It is for this reason that imperialism, despite their differences, have banded together to wipe out the resistance in Gaza and its support base. The plan of imperialism, from the beginning was the mass extermination of Palestinians. The plan from the beginning was to drive the Palestinians south, murdering many of the intelligentsia, destroying the underground water and destroying all the infrastructure and institutions in Gaza. Now that most of the Palestinians in Gaza are in the south, in a tiny area called Rafah, the plan is to exterminate them all. This is further supported by the fact that US imperialism has vetoed for the third time a draft UN resolution calling for a ceasefire. (The latest veto was on the 20th Feb 2024). That is why they lied about the essence of Oct 7th and clouded it with the most horrendous allegations, all of which have been shown to be false. They lied about ‘40 beheaded babies, babies baked in ovens, rapes, mutilation’. Every lie you can think of they threw at the Palestinians. Imperialism used the same technique as they used in Syria to demonise the resistance, making use of social media and fake videos to push their agenda. In both cases they had willing partners in the governments of the world, the UN, the mainstream media, the bourgeois academics, the Arab regimes, the ICC prosecutor, all played their role to uncritically repeat the lies. They used fake photos of rape which were from 2022 and from Kurdish regions, not even from Israel, they had actors posing as nurses, they alleged military bases under hospitals to justify destroying them all. They alleged UNRWA was involved in the attacks of Oct 7 and then provided no evidence (because there was none). But they have used this latest lie to justify the cutting of funds and the mass starvation of Palestinians. This latest lie was at the very moment when the ICJ ruled that Israel was committing genocide and had to facilitate aid to the Palestinians. The aim of imperialism is to exterminate the one group, the Palestinians, that has shown that the imperialist military base, Israel, can be defeated. They don’t care for bourgeois courts and rules, only for their undisputed control of the world. It should be remembered that it was US imperialism and imperialism in general that kept the apartheid regime in SA going for many decades, despite the opposition of the masses of the world. It was imperialism that forced a settlement on their terms, such as the protection of private property, ie the protection of assets and control of imperialism. What changed was the form of control in 1994. New managers for imperialism were installed in South Africa, namely the ANC government.
The policy of imperialism of mass extermination of the Palestinians has had the opposite effect. The majority of those Palestinians that might have been critical of the Palestinian resistance are now increasingly likely to support it. Across the world, every day that massacres happen, the support for Palestine is growing. Even before Oct 7th more than 20% of the youth in the USA already felt that Israel was an apartheid state and should be disbanded. This must have dramatically increased since then. Hundreds of millions of the masses around the world are daily being schooled in the true nature of imperialism, the UN, the ICC and the ICJ. Even 3 year olds point to the McDonald sign and at the various imperialist products and recognise it as ‘Israel’ , synonymous with mass murder and extermination. Imperialism looks at the rise of parliamentary right-wing forces to conclude that they are gaining ground in reactionary support. The masses are dividing indeed. Many are moving to the left, to extra-parliamentary support. We are entering the era once again of revolutionary mass action against the capitalist regimes.
The case of Iraq 2003
Despite mass protests around the world at that time, including the imperialist centres, imperialism invaded Iraq in 2003 on the false pretext of it having weapons of mass destruction. Over a million Iraqis were killed in the aftermath and imperialism imposed its regime and gained direct control over the oil and the regime. Since then, there has been a move towards a show of democratic control but imperialism remains in control of the resources and indirect control of the regime. The arms industry gained over $3 trillion due to the invasion. The profits of the arms industry and their deliberate creation of wars and conflicts is a factor in the current era of imperialist domination.
None of the political leadership that led this imperialist invasion of Iraq and caused the death of so many of the masses were ever held to account by the ICC nor the ICJ. If these courts failed to bring justice to the Iraqis and many other victims of imperialist violence, what hope is there for the Palestinians? It would be foolhardy to depend on the ICC and ICJ as these are clearly organs under the control of imperialism. Arrest warrants and orders are issued based on expedience for imperialism.
The solution is political
The irony is that the vast majority of the masses in the world oppose genocide while the political apparatus in most cases, is in the hands of a tiny elite that enforces the dictatorship of imperialism. It follows that to defeat imperialism we need an international resistance as well as localised resistance to disrupt and defeat them. The central task therefore is to take political control into the hands of the masses, to create the broadest direct democracy and to end the dictatorship of the rich, to end the dictatorship of imperialism.
Imperialism enforces its rule through a multitude of mechanisms
Through its vast, stolen resources, imperialism enforces its total domination of the masses of the world. These mechanisms involve not only control of the political apparatus in every country but also control of the opposition forces. They always prepare or try to gain control over opposition forces because they know that there is a cycle of hatred that builds up against the official apparatus due to its role as the violent enforcer of the rule of imperialism. So, when the old forces are discredited and the masses are about to remove them, imperialism remains in control of the opposition and through them maintains its total domination of the world. The cycle of violence starts all over again.
Imperialism thus enforces its rule through the social forces in every country and they supplement this with creation or support of NGOs.
The contradictory role of Non-Government Organisations (NGOs)
Due to high unemployment several of the best social activists are drawn to work for NGOs. The rate of theft by imperialism from the neo-colonies is so high that many social functions that should have been run by the state are run by NGOs. Imperialism funds the NGOs and thus dictate the limits of their work and critique. The NGOs make the very necessary critique of capitalism and imperialism but limit the scope of the work to direct the masses to work within the capitalist system. The NGOs play the role of controlling mass anger and are always subject to the whim of imperialism that may cut funding if its requirements are no longer being served.
Take the case of the UNRWA, the UN refugee agency. Imperialism is responsible for the many wars that cause the problem of millions being refugees. So the UNRWA serves to assist many of the refugees with the bare minimum to prevent their being a revolt against the system. There are 7 million Palestinian refugees scattered in the region and around the world. Most the masses in Gaza are refugees, waiting since 1948 to go home. Now that imperialism has decided that the mass of Palestinians in Gaza need to be starved to death, they have severely limited funding to enforce their agenda. The survival of its military base, Israel, is more important than the life of the millions of war refugees around the globe.
In summary, the NGOs fill an important social function to prevent a total collapse of the capitalist system. Crucially they self-limit the extent of the critique against the system and thereby act as a means to curb revolution. The collapse of the UNRWA ironically pushes the masses in the region, in Africa, in Asia more onto the path of social revolution.
Imperialism tries to control all social opposition forces
Thus imperialism tries to gain control over all other social forces including the trade unions, they use the universities as a means to justify and rationalise their domination. They use the mainstream press to shape the narrative to suit their needs. The churches of all denominations are used to pacify the masses and to blunt their anger against the system. The international institutions such as the UN, WTO, WHO, the ICC and the ICJ are all instruments controlled by imperialism to maintain their rule.
The leadership of the pro-Palestine movement in many cases have placed limits on challenging imperialism over its genocide against Palestinians. They would mark week in and week out calling for solidarity with Palestine but a sustained revolt against the political leadership of imperialism and its lackeys is limited. The masses are ready for open revolt against imperialism but the leadership play a central role in shielding them. The working class leadership have either deliberately kept their support base way from the protests or they have self-limited the protest movement to an economist direction, ie only looking at boycotts of products of companies supporting Israel or closure of Israeli embassies and cutting of economic and political ties. The main emphasis should have been and still should be the targeting of our own regimes that are enabling the genocide. We have to end the dictatorship of imperialism.
Most of the leadership of the masses are reformist and their politics are geared towards maintaining the system of capitalism and imperialist rule.
The task is to develop new leadership through class struggle against our own regimes, uniting them locally, nationally and internationally with like-minded activists in a new combat organisation, a new workers party. It follows that we should also support struggles against imperialism around the globe. It is a multi-faceted struggle that needs international coordination.
The case of US imperialism
The main driver of the extermination of the Palestinians is US imperialism. In the defence of the Palestinians the masses in the USA play a leading role and are our allies. We salute the heroic UAW labour for Palestine group for their courageous opposition to the genocide. We salute all the pro-Palestinian and pro ceasefire groups for their stance against the genocide. While stopping arms and funding for Israel is a central concern there has to be a political challenge to US imperialism. The vast majority of the masses in the US support Palestine and oppose the genocide. However most of the Republicans and Democrats in the Congress and Senate support the genocide. In other words, imperialism has seized control of the state apparatus. They send billions of dollars in military support to Israel. They could have stopped the genocide in 5 minutes but they show every day that they want to exterminate the Palestinians. We need an Occupy White House movement that launches mass protests and occupations of the Senate and Congress. For an immediate ceasefire and immediate end to all military and financial aid to Israel. Already there are splits in the state but as yet this has not translated into centralised mass protests. These should be run on class grounds – uniting the working class irrespective of religion or colour against the state. It is time for the war veterans to take a stand against the genocide. Ultimately what is needed now is a new workers party that unites the masses to build independent workers councils to demand an end to tax dollars being spent on Israel, to demand a transition away from the arms industry , to demand an end to tax breaks for the oligarchs and for more social spending. Scrap the student debt of the masses. Provide decent housing and jobs for all. For a banning of Aipac and immediate abolishment of all contributions from capital to representatives. All representatives to receive the wage of an average skilled worker and to be subject to instant recall. For workers occupation of all workplaces that support the genocide. For immediate expropriation of all imperialist assets without compensation and for these to be placed under workers control. Genocide Joe has got to go. The tramp Trump should be trumped and booted out. For the immediate formation of a Labour Party and for it to contest for political power through leading the Occupy White House movement. For a protest vote in the November elections against both Republicans and Democrats. For committees of action in every workplace, school and university and college, against the genocide. Stop all funding and all arms for Israel right now.
The case of the UK, France, Japan and Germany
As we pointed out every imperialist power is also supporting the genocide. Their regimes should also be targeted with mass protests. The UK is totally servile to US imperialism and does its bidding like a passive lapdog. Germany and Japan are still under US military occupation. They even still have to pay for the US military bases while their own masses are suffering lower standards of living. Not surprising therefore that German and Japanese imperialism, despite their rhetoric, are also under the thumb of US imperialism. US imperialism is by far the most dominant imperialism and regularly bully the other imperialist powers into submission. However these imperialist powers are willing partners in supporting Israel as their pound of flesh of the Middle East oil is also protected by this military base.
Shifts in the Israeli masses- Israel the most immoral army
What a miserable existence it must be for the Israeli citizen. To realise that their entire lives is to be spent terrorising Palestinians and the rest of the masses in the Middle East. They are used as expendable cannon fodder when imperialism decides to launch yet another war against Palestinians. The Israeli economy has collapsed – it was really just a show. None of the Kibbutzim are viable; the industry only exist because imperialism diverts some part from elsewhere in the world. Yes they are given are cushy lifestyle but the price is to be ever ready to commit mass murder and mayhem among the masses in the region should they become rebellious. Rinse and repeat, this has been the same story since 1948. The Israeli military veterans glowingly talk about the rapes and murder of Palestinian civilians, the elderly, women, men and children in 1948. Gaza today shows that this has been one continuous nightmare perpetrated by imperialism for the past 75 years. Palestinians have the right to resist imperialist terror and domination.
Imperialism does not care for Israeli captives- that is why they developed the so-called Hannibal directive- kill your own citizens before they are taken captive. No care for the thousands of youth either killed or maimed or psychologically broken in the process of attacking Palestinians. Imagine what goes through the mind of a pilot, knowing that he is bombing babies, women and the elderly to smithereens. Entire families are being bombed to pieces. Imperialism declares: We paid you well, now do as we tell you to. This role as the battering ram of imperialism has been contested for decades now. The role of sacrificial lambs for the dirty jobs of imperialism is increasingly being questioned by the masses in Israel itself. This is a positive development.
For several years there has been a group of resisters, Ometz LeSarev, the Courage to Refuse. They have refused military service in the Israeli army beyond the 1967 borders. This means that for many years the Israeli army has been split. Many officers also belong to this group. In 2003 a group of pilots refused to fly bombing missions against Palestinians, calling this ‘illegal and immoral’. In early 2023 there were 700 reservists including officers and pilots who threatened to refuse service because they recognised that Netanyahu was trying to change the judicial system so that he could escape corruption charges. There were many mass protests of hundreds of thousands of Israelis against the regime. After Oct 7th none of these reservists refused service, most likely because the lies by the regime were not yet exposed. Netanyahu is extending the war to escape accountability. It suits imperialism well. Gradually, however, a growing number of youth started to refuse to serve. The first resister, Tal Mitnick, was supported by the slogan: ‘You cannot build heaven with blood’. In essence they were saying that two wrongs don’t make things right. Gradually more and more youth started to refuse to serve. Their slogans mark a more radical understanding of the nature of the Israeli regime and show a big leftward shift among the youth and most likely among more of the Israeli masses.
We quote various refuseniks at length:
‘I refuse to join the army as long as it continues its barbaric practices of oppression and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian natives’
‘I stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and hope to create a future together.’
‘I refuse to join the Israeli army of apartheid and oppression.’
‘ I refuse to cooperate with Israeli apartheid and ethnic cleansing.’
The growing realisation that the Israeli army is barbaric, that it is indeed the world’s most immoral army.
The contrast between how the Palestinians treat their enemies and how the Israeli state does, could not be more stark. The Palestinians are part of a liberation movement and are bound by the ethics of liberation. Namely, your values are expressed in the way you treat your enemy.
The Palestinian resistance would never violate a corpse. They treat their prisoners well, sharing the little food they have with them. This is borne out by several testimonies of the released captives. They take special care of children and youth.
The Israeli army on the other hand, have massacred civilians every single day since their invasion of Gaza began. Their tanks drive over Palestinian civilians, even pregnant women are not spared; the Palestinian prisoners, from the young to the elderly are subjected to torture and degradation; they are often denied medical treatment. The Israeli army has destroyed every hospital in Gaza, killing and kidnapping medics. Women and young boys are subjected to sexual assault. The Israeli army is acting out the playbook of US imperialism. The same barbarism was used by them against the Vietnamese liberation movement in the 1970s although it may be argued that the imperialist attacks on the masses in Gaza are far worse than what the Vietnamese masses had to endure.
The growing protest movement
The growing thousands that protest weekly in Israel, calling for Netanyahu to go and for new elections show that many Israelis have seen through the lies of Netanyahu and imperialism. They see him as sacrificing the youth to further his own political career. Many are starting to see through the lies that they were told around Oct 7th, the deliberate exaggeration which was used as a basis for genocide against Palestinians.
More importantly there is a growing realization among the youth and the Israeli masses against the basis of Zionism. They recognise not only that the Palestinians are native to the area but that they see a common future with them as neighbours in peace. This means that they reject the imperialist conception of Israel as being a military base for domination of the masses in the region. They reject the genocide against Palestinians. Since Oct 7th more than 500 000 Israelis have left the country indicating they see no future for the Israel on its current genocidal path. More are sure to follow. Among the masses of the world Israel has become a pariah state, is recognised as an apartheid state or worse. The Palestinian resistance in Gaza probably has the resources to last another 2 or more years, despite what heavy slaughter may happen to the 2,3 million civilians. At the forefront of the minds of the resistance will be how to prevent the slaughter. Imperialism is using the genocide and the threat of it as a bargaining chip to regain control of the region. However, the longer the daily massacres occur the more there will be a realization that imperialism does not care for the lives of the Israeli soldier nor civilian. They are expendable cannon fodder for the plans of imperialism. The refusenik movement will grow to deepen the split in the army to the extent that one part will go into open revolt against the Netanyahu faction.
We call for the pilots to openly refuse to be part of the bombing campaign
We call for the rank and file soldiers and lower officers to refuse to carry out orders and to refuse to serve, to refuse to carry out any act of genocide or ethnic cleansing. The soldiers should join the protest movement against the Israeli regime.
We call for Palestinians and Israeli masses to unite in the protests – Netanyahu must go.
For grassroots councils of Palestinians and Israeli masses as well as councils of the refugees to elect delegates to a joint Constituent Assembly which should elect an interim government and draft a new Constitution. For a unified Palestine from the river to the sea that respects religious differences in a secular state. Any government representative or judicial official should not earn more than an average wage of a skilled worker and should be subject to instant recall. A process of rebuilding trust between former Israelis and the Palestinians should be developed. No capitalist should be eligible for government. Hold the genocidaire leadership responsible.
The counter-revolutionary role of the Palestinian Authority, the PA
The resistance of the Palestinian masses in Gaza is not being led by the PA nor are they participating in any way on the ground. By contrast, in the West Bank the PA has been arresting and kidnapping members of the Palestinian resistance. The PA is suppressing protests of the Palestinian masses. Imperialism is desperately trying to revive a role for the PA to take over Gaza and to continue to play its role as subcontractor to the Zionist regime and imperialism. The so-called hearings at the ICJ which started on the 19th Feb 2024 supposedly about the violations of the Palestinian ‘territories’ is nothing but a PR attempt to revive and rebuild the 2-state Bantustan option and to rebuild the credibility of the PA, the current partner of Zionism and imperialism in control of the Palestinian masses. The Palestinian masses have lost too many souls and too much in the current genocide to accept a piecemeal option. The PA has since inception excluded the millions of Palestinian refugees outside of the region of historic Palestine. Therefore from the beginning it was based on an undemocratic basis. Only councils of the Palestinian masses that includes all the refugees can set up the basis of a free Palestine from the river to the sea. Only those Israeli masses that are prepared to live in peace as neighbours, with full respect to all religious differences, should be allowed to stay in historic Palestine. A joint Constituent Assembly based on instant recall and that no representative should earn more than a wage of a semi-skilled worker, should set up an interim government and should lead the way to resolve all democratic questions. No outside force can determine who Palestinians should elect as their leadership and their form of system.
The case of Egypt
For decades Mubarak was the puppet of US imperialism in Egypt. After the global uprisings after 2011 he was overthrown by a mass movement. Morsi was elected as President but then deposed and killed by the Sisi generals. The Sisi regime is under the control of US imperialism. Sisi is just another Mubarak. He maintained the siege on Gaza for many years. Now that the genocide is taking place he is helping to limit aid to Gaza. Nothing prevents him from delivering aid directly to Gaza. If Israel threatens to bomb the trucks, let them carry the consequences of that. Now the Sisi regime is building a death camp for the mass extermination of Palestinians. Sisi must go. It is time to return to Tahrir square. The regime must go. The Egyptian masses can stop the starvation and extermination of the Palestinians. It is time to expel the US troops from Egypt and for the country to become a direct democracy. No banning or harassment of opposition. For free political activity. For grassroots councils in Egypt to elect a Constituent Assembly to form a new interim government. Sisi must go. We have the power to stop the genocide. Open the Rafah border to allow aid in and for the injured to leave to get emergency medical treatment. The Israeli army should be ‘asked’ to leave Gaza with immediate effect.
The case of Jordan
The monarchy in Jordan is under the control of US imperialism. They have saved the Zionists many times in the past by curbing the masses. Now they are allowing goods to come via Jordan to Israel. They are undermining the blockade by the Houthis. The heroic action of the Houthis has helped to increase the pressure on the apartheid state of Israel and is a force against genocide. By the Jordanian regime assisting the Israeli state once again, especially at this moment of genocide against the masses in Gaza is treacherous. It goes counter to the basic principle that states must act to prevent genocide.
For committees of the Jordanian masses to organise protest against the monarchy. It is time for the monarchy to go. For a Constituent Assembly based on area local councils of delegates. For an interim government that will act to blockade Israel and act against the genocide. For cutting all ties with Israel and expulsion of all US troops from Jordan. For direct aid and medical assistance to the masses in Gaza, Jerusalem and West Bank.
Of course, once Jordan is under democratic control of the masses, the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees there should be assisted to move back into historic Palestine, starting with a move to respective parts of the West Bank.
The case of north and south Israel and the Golan Heights
Thanks to the rank-and-file fighters of Hezbollah and the Palestinian resistance, large parts of north and south Israel lie empty. This a perfect opportunity to begin the process of the refugees returning to historic Palestine. Ashdod and Ashkelon were part of Gaza in the past and this should be reclaimed. This should be considered as part of the political process going forward, also considering the massive destruction in Gaza. The Palestinian resistance and Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon have played an important part in dividing the Zionist forces.
Also, it is the perfect opportunity for the masses in Syria, supported by the broader resistance forces to assist in reclaiming the land that is legitimately part of Syria, the Golan Heights. The vast majority of the indigenous population have rightly refused to take up Israeli citizenship. Once it is under the democratic control of the masses it should be strengthened and fortified to prevent any attempts at annexation of it in future.
The question is why has the Syrian regime, which plays host to a Russian military base and allows the seizure of its oil and strategic assets by US imperialism, not act to re-take the Golan Heights? We identify the Syrian regime as being a tool of French and German imperialism. They have partnered with US imperialism, with Isis, with Hezbollah and the Iranian regime to weaken and destroy the Syrian resistance. The tactic of the Assad regime of carpet bombing the masses opposed to it and driving them out where they cannot kill them, is being used by imperialism in Gaza. These are serious lessons for the resistance today.
The case of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia is under the total control of US imperialism. It has not only waged a 9 year war against the Houthis but also actively kept economic and military links with the US and Israel. Now they are helping Israel escape the blockade by the Houthis. This is aiding the genocide against the Palestinians. The monarchy has to go. For the local and migrant workers to unite to protest against the monarchy. For the expulsion of US troops from Saudi Arabia. Blockade Israel and give direct medical and other aid to Gaza immediately. For councils of workers of Saudis and migrant workers to set up a Constituent Assembly which will elect a new interim government. No representative to earn more than the wage of an average semi-skilled worker and must be subject to instant recall.
The case of South Africa
The 11th November 2023 marked the biggest march in the history of South Africa except for the 9th August 2014 march, both in Cape Town, with in excess of 150 000 protestors taking to the streets against genocide and in support of Palestine. By our estimation, for the march last year, the ANC organised only a handful of taxis of their supporters. The vast majority of the masses came because they support Palestine, not because they supported any political party. Traditionally, going back in its entire history, the ANC has never mobilised its base in mass action in support of Palestine. The issue has largely been left to the Muslim community and anti-war activists to lead the mobilisation in defence of Palestine.
The ANC govt is in its most vulnerable position in 30 years. It has lost majority support of the electorate due to it implementing the imperialist cuts and attacks on the masses through cuts in the public sector, cuts in wages, allowing high prices, allowing imperialism to continue stealing hundreds of billions of Rands every year, they have allowed unemployment to grow to the highest level on the planet while the imperialists have stripped the assets of the country. It is trying desperately to rebuild its shattered image in the eyes of the masses. It has adopted its old approach of radical posturing in support of the Palestinians while in practice supporting Israel, in effect aiding the very genocide it claims to want to stop. Despite the parliament voting for the closure of the Israeli embassy, it is still operating. Gold and diamonds still get exported to Israel. The diamond sales from South Africa (from Anglo American) subsidize the arms industry in Israel by $1bn annually. So, the continued diamond sales to Israel is subsidising the genocide against Palestinians. The progressive left wing in the ANC has forced a radical posture in support of the Palestinians, lodging a case at the ICJ against the genocide. The right-wing, the capitalists, remain in control of the ANC, they have limited the challenge against genocide by forcing the challenge to include a condemnation of Oct 7th. (we have included a detailed exposure in our article on critical support for the ICJ challenge). The right-wing of the ANC has broken from the tradition of a liberation movement as they equate the violence of the oppressor with the revolutionary violence of the oppressed. Thus for the right-wing the actions of Mkhonto We Sizwe, one of the liberation armies, are the same as that of the apartheid regime. So, they say the actions of the Palestinian resistance is the same as that of the genocidal Israeli army. We reject that because the liberation movement has the right and duty to resist oppression. The right-wing of the ANC, by condemning the actions of Hamas is opening the door to the Israeli army to murder Palestinian resistance fighters. We reject that. We have already explained that the Palestinian resistance had no other mechanism to free the thousands of prisoners held in the Zionist gulags. It was the violent system of oppression by which imperialism rules in historic Palestine that led to the Oct 7th mass captive-taking by the Palestinian resistance.
The thousands of apartheid killers who murdered tens of thousands of resistance members from South Africa have never been prosecuted. Many were still part of the state apparatus after 1994 and many opened their own security companies. In 2003 imperialist invasion the second biggest armed force in Iraq were 40 000 mercenaries from South Africa. This is the deal that imperialism forced on South Africa. What this means is that the ANC, despite their threats to prosecute South African citizens fighting in the Zionist army, is unlikely to carry through with their rhetoric.
Imperialism needs a reactionary base of killers that they can depend upon in times of uprising. They are the reserve forces who will commit mass murder until the masses are under control again. This is why imperialism protects Israel. The Israeli army is their reserve reaction to crush whoever stands up to challenge the rule of imperialism in the Middle East.
The ICJ ruling that Israel is committing genocide has helped to further mobilise the masses of the world against Israel. Such is the contradiction of the bourgeois courts. The courts regulate conflict to prevent it spiralling out of control to threaten the system while keeping the imperialist rule intact. The ICJ has never brought justice to any oppressed group. If the ICJ had ruled that there was no genocide then the masses of the world would more readily have taken the path of open revolt. This would have threatened imperialist rule globally. This is why the ICJ ruled that it is a genocide, knowing full well that they will drag the case out over years and then neutralise the anger of the masses while ensuring imperialist rule and domination continues.
The ANC has consistently, over many years actively supported the PA, the subcontractor for Zionism. Their position then and even now in the ICJ process is to support a 2-state solution, in other words a Bantustan for Palestinians. Thus, despite the radical posture, the ANC still supports the continued existence of Israel, the military base of imperialism in the Middle East. It follows that the ANC, despite their rhetoric, support the continued enslavement of the Palestinians.
For a free Palestine, from the river to the sea
No reliance on the ICJ and ICC, they are tools of imperialism. For mass action against our regimes for their complicity in genocide
No to the 2-state Bantustan option
No vote or support for any party that allows trade and diplomatic relations with Israel
We never accepted bantustans in South Africa and we don’t accept them for Palestinians.
Shut down the Israeli embassies.
Scrap the veto power in the UN
For the cutting of all trade, economic, academic, military and social ties with Israel immediately. No blood diamonds for Israel; no coal for Israel.
For Free Palestine action committees at all workplaces, schools, communities.
Expropriate Anglo American without compensation and place it under workers’ control. End unemployment now, in South Africa, the rest of Africa and around the globe. Let us end world hunger.
Dismantle all the 1000 US military bases around the globe. The enemy of the US soldier is at home, in the White House and the Senate.
For a new workers party in South Africa and every country in the world and the setting up of a new International of the working class.
Let us also support the masses in the DRC and Sudan against the imperialist forces.
Let us also support the masses in Myanmar against the dictatorship.
Let us support the masses in every fight against imperialism and their capitalist agents in every country.
The 20th century started with the genocide against the Hereros by German imperialism. We can stop the genocide against the masses in Gaza and the West Bank by imperialism.
Workers of the world unite. We have nothing to lose but our chains. We have a world to win.
Forward to Socialism.
23 Feb 2024
Workers International Vanguard League
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