Jacob Bielski – Springfield, MA
On Friday, November 22nd, Israel and Hamas agreed to pause the ongoing war to exchange hostages and allow trucks to deliver much-needed supplies to Palestinian civilians. The deal went into effect on Friday, November 24th, and was extended from five to seven days, ending on December 1st. In total, the Israeli State exchanged 240 Palestinian prisoners, many held without charges, for 81 Israeli citizens and 24 foreign nationals taken by Hamas during the October 7-8 attack. The ceasefire ended as agreement between the two sides on which hostages to release broke down.
Although some commentators initially called the agreement, brokered by Qatar, the first de-escalatory measure of the war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear that the war will continue until his objectives are complete. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) blocked displaced Palestinians’ attempts to return to their homes in Northern Gaza during the ceasefire, and the full implementation of the agreement saw several delays.
On December 1st, the IDF resumed bombing the Gaza Strip and Hamas fired rockets into South and Central Israel. As the truce ended, six hostages taken by Hamas were confirmed dead. Netanyahu recalled diplomats from Qatar on December 3rd, and it is unlikely that peace talks will resume. As of December 10th, the Gaza Health Ministry reported at least 17,700 Palestinians killed by the IDF onslaught, most of them children and women.
While the temporary relief for the hostages and Palestinian civilians was welcomed, neither the Israeli government nor Hamas provides a path to lasting peace and prosperity for the working class in Palestine and Israel. The war is exposing the cracks in Netanyahu’s far-right governing coalition. However, only a united, mass movement of the Palestinian and Israeli working classes can end the war and point the way forward.
Protests in the US, at times numbering in the thousands, are a good start to pressuring capitalist politicians to end the onslaught against Gaza. A protest in Oakland even delayed a US military supply ship, by some accounts preparing to deliver arms to Israel, from leaving. Furthermore, the pro-war consensus in the labor movement is breaking down. The UAW called for an “immediate, permanent ceasefire,” making it the largest union to oppose the war. Other unions opposing the war include the United Electrical Workers, APWU, UFCW Local 3000, and Starbucks Workers United.
Northern Gaza Devastated, Invasion Expands Southward
Before the truce, the Gaza Health Ministry reported more than 13,300 Palestinians killed by the IDF invasion and bombardment, two-thirds of them women and children. Israel’s invasion displaced 90% percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents. Previously, the United Nations (UN) called Gaza a “children’s graveyard” due to the high proportion of children killed. The Ministry does not differentiate civilian and military deaths. An IDF spokesman recently claimed a ratio of two civilians killed for every “Hamas militant.” However, CNN notes it is unclear whether the IDF counts civilian workers employed by the Hamas-controlled government as militants.
A recent BBC analysis noted that reports from the Hamas-controlled health ministry only count civilians confirmed dead by doctors at hospitals, not those lost in the rubble, meaning that these figures likely undercount the dead. This, in part, explains the increase in the official death toll to 15,000 during the ceasefire.
In contrast to previous statements from President Biden, the BBC quotes Barbara Leaf, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, saying, “We think they’re very high, frankly, and it could be that they’re even higher than are being cited.”
On November 10th, the Foreign Ministry of Israel released updated figures concerning Israelis killed in Hamas’ brutal October 7th attack, revising it. The Israeli State revised the number from 1,400 killed to 1,200 killed, still predominantly civilians.
On October 27th, the IDF launched an invasion of the northern Gaza Strip, encircling Gaza City under the cover of night and a communications blackout. As of December 1st, the Israeli State reported 77 IDF soldiers killed in the ground offensive.
As of November 20th, an updated analysis by researchers from Oregon State University and the City University of New York using satellite imagery estimated half of all buildings in Northern Gaza were destroyed or damaged. Additionally, Israel continues to bomb Southern Gaza, hitting 13,200 structures south of the October 13th evacuation line, before the ceasefire. The ongoing bombardment and targeting of hospitals, refugee camps, and neighborhoods has left Palestinians without safe refuge from Israel’s invasion.
Since the end of the truce, Israel has expanded its invasion southward. IDF forces ordered various neighborhoods evacuated and increased the scope of bombardment. The IDF offensive killed at least 400 Palestinians between December 1st and December 3rd. The expansion of the invasion indicates that the Israeli ruling class likely seeks to occupy and potentially annex Gaza.
Capitalist Powers Fear a Wider War
The US government has reaffirmed its support for the Israeli government, sending munitions and planes to support Israel despite the IDF bombing civilians. Additionally, the US sent two of its 11 aircraft carriers and a Marine rapid response force to make a “show of force” in the region.
US President Joe Biden visited Israel on October 18th, the first time a US president has visited the country during a war. In a speech, Biden reaffirmed support for the Israeli State but cautioned leaders not to go too far retaliating against Gaza. Despite the devastation wrought by the IDF, the Biden Administration refuses to call for anything more than a humanitarian pause to the fighting
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Biden’s words reveal capitalist unease that the war could spill over into a regional conflict and erode the position of US imperialism in the Middle East. As Hannah Sell, general secretary of the Socialist Party of England and Wales, recently wrote:
“There is a potential ‘superpower’ that stands against the onslaught on Gaza. The massive demonstrations that have taken place across the Arab world – including Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, and Tunisia, as well as on the West Bank – have given a glimpse of that superpower. They are a central factor in US imperialism and other Western powers changing their tone, at least, and attempting to prevent the Israeli government from going ‘too far.’ The imperialist powers and the Arab regimes are undoubtedly anxious to try and avoid the real danger of a regional war. Above all, however, they are anxious to avoid a new ‘Arab Spring.’ Just over a decade ago, mass movements of the working class and poor swept the region, overthrowing dictatorships. Ultimately, those movements were defeated because the working class of the different countries lacked their own parties with a programme for the socialist transformation of society. Nonetheless, the working class is potentially the most powerful force in society, capable of overthrowing the existing order. The elites fear they might not be so lucky next time around.”
The fear of a wider war has prompted the Biden administration to attempt to rein in Israeli state terror and, alongside pressure from families of hostages at legislative hearings in the Israeli Knesset and mass protests throughout the world, pressured Netanyahu to negotiate a pause in the fighting. During the ceasefire, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited Israel to pressure the State to “reduce the war’s grave humanitarian toll” but proceeded to praise Israel’s efforts to “protect” civilians shortly after.
Since Israel declared war on Hamas, Hezbollah—an Islamist political and military organization in Lebanon—has fought in skirmishes with the IDF on Israel’s northern border. Hezbollah, along with other Hamas allies like the Houthi rebels in Yemen and the State of Iran, have been reluctant to fight a wider war, limiting engagements to put pressure on the IDF and draw forces away from the ground invasion in Gaza.
Crisis of Imperialist Leadership Delays Military Aid
Early in the conflict, the Biden Administration proposed a $106 Billion spending bill, including $14.5 Billion in military aid for Israel, 100 times the amount of humanitarian aid Biden announced for Palestine after his Middle East visit. Biden aimed the spending package at shoring up US imperialism around the world, including more military assistance to Taiwan and Ukraine to counterbalance Chinese and Russian imperialism and money to continue building the Border Wall started by Donald Trump.
While Democratic and Republican politicians—with a few individual exceptions—support military aid for Israel, the two parties are split on how to manage US Imperialism at large. In particular, right-wing House Republicans are critical of US military aid to Ukraine. Biden’s bill also arrived amid an unprecedented debate between the Democratic and Republican parties over the US budget (see page 4).
The Republican-led House of Representatives passed a bill approving just the proposed aid for Israel, alongside cuts to funding for the Internal Revenue Service to investigate tax evasion by the wealthy, on November 2nd. The US Senate proceeded to block the bill, wanting to see the entire proposed military aid package passed without cuts. A temporary spending bill to keep the US government open did not address the military aid; Congress is expected to revisit the bill after the Thanksgiving Holiday.
The congressional battle over aid for Israel demonstrates the profound crisis of leadership among the US capitalist class in recent decades. Additionally, it indicates that while the two parties of big business may differ in how they go about implementing US imperialism, both are staunch supporters of war and exploitation. While Biden poses as the antithesis of Trump, he promotes the same policies of escalating tensions with China and implementing an authoritarian security policy on the US-Mexico border. Meanwhile, the Republican Party’s anti-war facade concerning the war in Ukraine is broken by their rabid hatred of Palestinians and eagerness to support Israel in leveling the Gaza Strip. Workers must oppose military aid to Israel and other anti-worker US allies like Turkey, Egypt, Azerbaijan, and Saudi Arabia.
United Class Struggle Can Win Safety and Peace for All Workers
As we wrote in our initial statement on the war:
“The Independent Socialist Group (ISG) opposes the attacks on civilians. We demand an end to the United States’ support for the IDF and Israeli Government’s state terror against Palestinians. We also oppose the terrorist tactics and right-wing politics of Hamas and the collaborationist approach of the Fatah-led Palestinian National Authority. Neither offers a viable way for the Palestinian people to achieve liberation.”
Hamas, a right-wing, fundamentalist political party and military organization, has held power in Gaza since a 2007 election. After the secular Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) made peace with Israel following the Oslo I and II Accords in the 1990s, many Palestinians saw Hamas as the only remaining militant opposition to the Israeli occupation. Since taking power, Hamas has suppressed protests and elections in Gaza. It receives most of its support from right-wing, anti-worker regimes in the region, including Iran, Turkey, and Qatar (the latter two being US allies). The rise of Hamas over the PLO parallels the rise of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, which also opposes the Oslo Accords.
In IsraelOn the other side of the conflict, neither Netanyahu’s Government nor the Israeli liberal opposition leaders can provide safety and democracy for Jewish Israelis, especially as both groups work to oppress Palestinians and Arab Israelis. Netanyahu’s inability to provide security for Jewish Israelis has discredited him among his supporters since the October 7th attacks, even as the attacks bolstered support for an invasion of Gaza among Israelis. The October 7th attacks cut across the mass protest movement against Netanyahu that swept the country from January to September 2023, peaking with demonstrations of 600,000+ people and a general strike in March.
Before the fighting, Hamas and the Israeli government could not count on majority support from workers in their countries. In June, Israeli media outlet Haaretz noted that Netanyahu’s far-right coalition would likely lose its majority if an election were held at that point. Israel’s failure to secure the release of all 240 hostages held by Hamas has revived protests against Netanyahu numbering in the thousands. As pressure mounts for Netanyahu’s resignation, commentators think he will pursue a policy of unending war until he can claim a significant victory capable of saving his position and government coalition.
While support for Hamas has surged amid Israel’s invasion and bombing campaign, past polls showed Palestinians were against Hamas breaking the pre-October 7th ceasefire. As Hamas demonstrates its inability to defeat the Israeli State occupation and guarantee a decent standard of living for Palestinians, workers might seek a political alternative.
The working class on both sides of the border is the only force capable of ending the decades of violence. There have been powerful mass protests in both Israel and Palestine in the recent period. Additionally, protests against the war have spread like wildfire across the Middle East in countries like Turkey, Syria, Jordan, and Qatar. As the death toll climbs, anger and opposition to the war will likely intensify, and mass protests could reemerge in Israel. Independent working-class organizations that can democratically organize mass struggle to stop the war and win a peaceful resolution are needed. Only a united working-class movement can pave the way for peace, democratic rights, and self-determination for all in a socialist Middle East.
The task of workers and youth in the United States is to oppose US capitalism and imperialism, which are key backers of Israeli state terror. Workers and youth can expand the protests and organize committees to build the anti-war movement. This process would include passing resolutions in union meetings to oppose weapon production and shipments to Israel. The UAW, UE, and APWU coming out against the war and calling for a ceasefire is a promising sign. Eventually, workers will need to build for strikes in the rail, trucking, and maritime shipping industries, as well as the arms manufacturing industry, to make these demands a reality, regardless of how Congress votes to allocate money. The Independent Socialist Group demands:
- Stop the invasion of Gaza! For the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli military from the occupied territories and an end to the bombing campaigns and blockade.
- End the US “show of force” in Israel and Palestine. Recall the US Navy carrier strike groups and Marine rapid response force from the region.
- Israeli-Americans should refuse to fight in the IDF or participate in the invasion of Gaza.
- End US weapons shipments and all military aid for Israel and other right-wing, anti-worker governments in the region, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. Reject Biden’s request for $106 billion in emergency funding for war abroad and the border wall at home.
- Cut ties between the IDF for training programs with US police forces and other institutions. End cooperation between US and Israeli war industries.
- Expand mass protests in the US and around the world against the invasion of Gaza to defend democratic rights and win self-determination for the Palestinian people.
- Oppose Islamophobia and anti-Semitism; no place for the far-right in the anti-war movement.
- Unite unions, workers, and youth to break with the pro-imperialism Democratic and Republican parties and build a workers’ party. A US workers’ party could organize solidarity and support for the right to self-determination for workers worldwide, oppose US imperialism and massive military budgets, and fight to improve workers’ rights and living standards at home and internationally.
The Independent Socialist Group stands in solidarity with the Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI), which participated in the 2023 anti-Netanyahu protests in Israel and has consistently stood for the rights of both the Palestinian and Israeli working classes. The CWI has published further analysis of the situation in Israel and Palestine today, as well as the history of the struggle for Palestinian rights. In Israel and Palestine, the CWI demands:
- Release all hostages and political prisoners.
- For democratically organized defense committees in local communities.
- For a mass struggle of the Palestinians, under their own democratic control, to fight for liberation. For a socialist intifada!
- For the building of independent workers’ parties in Palestine and Israel and links between them.
- For a united workers movement to fight for self-determination, democratic rights, and socialism for Palestinian and Israeli workers.
- For a confederation of socialist states in the Middle East, which could democratically plan the economy to rebuild destroyed and displaced communities and greatly improve the living standards of workers and youth throughout the region.
Independent Socialist Group 