by Ashley Rogers & Cat White
Philadelphia, PA / Boston, MA
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) escalated their genocidal invasion in February by bombing the city of Rafah in Southern Gaza, the last official “safe zone” for Palestinian civilians. The IDF has demanded since the start of their offensive that Gazans move south to avoid the areas under active attack. 1.4 million people, half of Gaza’s population, are trapped now in a city with a pre-war population of 300,000.
Refugees have no escape, facing an IDF advance from the north and the closed Egyptian border to the south. The Egyptian state has reinforced the concrete border fence with barbed wire and 40 tanks. Even if Egypt allowed refugees to cross, Palestinians correctly fear that they will be denied the right to return, undermining the basis for a Palestinian state.
According to the Associated Press, IDF air strikes and ground operations have killed more than 28,000 Palestinians, about 70% of them women and children. Over 80% of the population of Gaza has been displaced. Most have nothing to return to.
Worldwide Calls for Ceasefire
Amid the apocalyptic destruction of the Gaza Strip, activists, workers, and youth around the world looked to the genocide case against Israel—brought to the United Nations by South Africa—to bring an end to the fighting and much-needed relief for Palestinian civilians.
Mass protests around the world won the temporary ceasefire in November. 61% of likely voters in the US, as well as a growing number of unions, favor a ceasefire. South Africa’s case charging Israel with genocide in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) began on December 29th, 2023 with the court reaching a preliminary ruling a month later. Unfortunately, the ICJ “stopped short of calling for a ceasefire”. Despite the court’s criticism of the Israeli state, under capitalism, international law is enforced by imperialist military powers, which won’t bring peace to the working class, as seen with the ongoing crisis in Sudan.
US, Qatari, and Egyptian officials announced progress on a ceasefire proposal on February 6th to much fanfare. However, Israel rejected the proposal, with Netanyahu stating “There is no solution besides total victory.”
With no end to the suffering in sight for the 2.2 million people of Gaza or the 100 remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas, independent working class action is needed to stop the genocide, free all hostages and political prisoners, bring genuine liberation for the Palestinian nation, and rebuild the region to a good standard of living for all.
Israeli Right-Wing Pushes Genocidal Vision of “Victory”
Just two days after the ICJ ruling, several right-wing Members of Knesset (MK), Israel’s legislative body, attended a conference planning to resettle Gaza in the wake of Israel’s invasion. Minister of National Security, Itmar Ben-Gvir, called for the “execution of terrorists” and “emigration for Gazans.” Another speaker referred to it as the “Nakba 2,” or mass expulsion of Palestinians, supposedly justified by the laws of war. According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, similar sentiments have been expressed on social media by IDF soldiers occupying Gaza. These and other examples demonstrate clear genocidal intent among a section of Israel’s state, military, and ruling class.
The IDF offensive has made the Gaza Strip nearly unlivable. In late January, the BBC reported that 50% of all of Gaza’s buildings have been destroyed or damaged, and the World Health Organization states only 13 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals and 13 of its 77 primary health clinics are operating—in a partial capacity. The IDF has targeted Palestinian culture and history, destroying Gaza City’s central archives, looting museums, and leveling about 390 educational institutions.
The lack of clean water, sanitation, shelter, and medical facilities is causing famine and disease for the residents of Gaza. The UN classifies 400,000 Gazans as at risk of starvation, but the situation is likely far worse. Most families are forced to skip meals, eat grass, and drink from puddles.
While the ICJ ordered the Israeli state to provide more aid for Palestinian civilians to prevent a genocide, Netanyahu’s government responded by taking legal action against the UNRWA, a body responsible for providing medical care, relief supplies, and education to millions of Palestinian refugees. The Israeli state accused a dozen UNRWA employees of supporting Hamas, leading at least nine countries – including the US – to cut off their funding of the organization. The UK’s Channel Four news recently criticized the Israeli legal briefing for “‘containing no evidence’ for the allegations against UNRWA workers.”
Fears of Regional Escalation
Israel has exchanged fire with Hezbollah along the border with Lebanon since the beginning of the war. In response to a Hezbollah rocket attack in December, a member of Israel’s war cabinet stated “The time for a diplomatic solution is running out. If the world and the government of Lebanon don’t act to stop the fire toward northern communities and to push Hezbollah away from the border, the IDF. will do that.” In early January, Israel fired missiles at an apartment building in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, killing several Hamas leaders.
Since December, Houthi forces in Yemen, professing support for Palestine, have launched attacks on dozens of ships conducting trade through the Red Sea, forcing ships to avoid the Suez Canal and make the much longer journey around Africa. In response, the US announced “Operation Prosperity Guardian,” sending warships to defend shipping in the region, with more than twenty countries joining the US-led coalition. On January 12th, the US and UK began launching missile strikes against Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. Iran, an ally of the Houthis, has also deployed a warship in the Red Sea.
Risk from Houthi attacks dropped traffic through the Suez Canal by 60% from November to December 2023. The price of shipping a container from Asia to Europe has increased by 600% since the IDF offensive began. Crucially, 12% of oil and 8% of natural gas shipped by sea passes through the Suez Canal. JPMorgan estimates that attacks in the Red Sea could raise inflation by as much as 0.5%.
Trade disruptions and recession are inevitable consequences of capitalist competition for resources, land, and influence spilling over into war. The history of US intervention in the region is one of prolonged, bloody wars that devastate the working class and local industry. Rather than bringing democracy and economic opportunity, US interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan led to increasing poverty rates and a resurgence of religious fundamentalist terror groups.
Bipartisan US Backing of Openly-Acknowledged Genocide
Israel’s war on Gaza is financed in large part by the United States. The Biden administration gave $3.3B in military aid to Israel last year, and is negotiating for billions more. Democratic and Republican administrations are both fully culpable for the cumulative $130B in military aid sent to Israel over the last 75 years. The Obama administration, which rode a wave of anti-war “bring the troops home” sentiment to office, failed to withdraw US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, escalated drone warfare, and guaranteed Israel $3.8B annually for its military and missile defense systems.
The single greatest help the US working class can offer the working class of the Middle East and other victims of US imperialism is to break free of the two rabidly pro-imperialism corporate parties to organize a party of our own. A US workers’ party could re-energize the protests into a powerful new anti-war movement able to coordinate, sustain, and escalate the struggle, and run real anti-war candidates. Even the hint of a workers’ party in formation, if connected with a powerful anti-war mood, could pressure the two corporate parties to pull back their support for the Israeli state.
United Workers’ Struggle Can End the War
The ongoing invasion of Gaza, settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, and Hamas’ October 7th attack, have led to despair that Israelis and Palestinians can achieve lasting peace and national rights for both groups. In November, the Associated Press reported a surge in Israeli national unity around the war, mirroring sentiments when the US launched the Global War on Terror after 9/11.
Yet families of hostages held by Hamas protest Netanyahu’s continued bombing and rejection of Hamas’ ceasefire proposals. Prior to the war, Netanyahu’s governing coalition was on the verge of collapse due to mass protests and strikes against his attempted power grab. Some reservists even refused to be called up for active duty in the IDF. October 7th was intended to be the 44th consecutive Saturday of mass demonstrations. The attack cut across the movement, but support for the Netanyahu government has remained flat.
New mass movements will need to be built against the far-right government which offers no path to peace. It is possible to break sections of the Israeli public and IDF soldiers away from supporting the invasion and occupation.
In Palestine, support for Hamas has surged since October 7th as many see the group and its allies as resistance to Israeli state terror and now genocide. But Hamas remained in power in Gaza for the last 16 years by repressing both elections and protests, preventing Gazans from democratically deciding and organizing the best means of resistance to the occupation. Hamas, backed by anti-worker dictatorships in Iran, Qatar, and Türkiye, lacks the perspectives needed to achieve real national and democratic rights for the Palestinian people and a good standard of living.
Only a socialist federation of the Middle East will be capable of undoing the destruction of the region after more than a century of imperialist wars. A socialist federation could protect the rights of all ethnic and religious groups and implement the return and resettlement of people displaced by war and discrimination. Such a federation could initially take the form of multiple nation-states working together, or a single state with protections for people of all nationalities. Its exact composition would be up to the democratic decision-making of the Palestinian and Israeli working classes.
In the short term, the building of independent, working-class parties in Israel, Palestine, and neighboring countries, with links between them, is necessary. Workers can be united across national lines with a clear way to achieve peace and economic security that such parties could provide. A movement against genocide, war, and capitalism can be built, taking inspiration from the First Intifada in Palestine, the recent anti-Netanyahu protests in Israel, and the mass protests of the 2011 Arab Spring. Organizing for a ceasefire can be the first step to toppling the Netanyahu government, ending the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, and working toward a socialist Middle East, free of imperialism, exploitation, and war.
Independent Socialist Group 