Middle East

Last year's war in Lebanon ended in defeat for Israel, but it also shook up Lebanese society. The general strike that took place shortly afterwards is testimony to this fact. Luke Wilson interviewed a student activist in Beirut on how he sees the situation now.

Many tears have been shed over the fall of Gaza under Hamas control. In reality what has happened is that the carefully prepared plans of imperialism have exploded in their face. They had bought off and corrupted the leaders of Fatah in order to get them to police the Palestinians for them. Because of this the Palestinian masses turned away from Fatah and embraced Hamas. So where do we go from here?

We are republishing this article by Yossi Schwartz on the War of 1967 to provide some background information to the recent events taking place in Gaza and the West Bank. Read the full article: Israel: The 1967 War

Rob Walsh reviews new book by Andreas Malm and Shora Esmailian (Published by Pluto Press, www.plutobooks.com). The book looks at the role played by the Iranian working class in past movements and the role they are playing today. A compelling read.

In the recent period the idea of boycotting Israeli academic institutions has been raised as a way of helping the struggle to defend the rights of the Palestinians. Comparisons have been made with the boycott of the old South African Apartheid regime. In South Africa it was the mass movement that brought down that regime, not the boycott. The same is true today as it was then.

The killing taking place in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon is now being added to the long list of barbaric acts the masses have had to suffer in that country. But what is behind all this? Why for instance is the US government preparing to send millions of dollars to the Lebanese army to crush a tiny group of Islamic militants?

The policy of imperialism is to provoke civil war among the Palestinians, hoping that Fatah can crush Hamas, but it is clear that Fatah is losing as it is seen as more and more a stooge of imperialism. That explains also why Israel is now intervening directly. These events serve to highlight once again that on the basis of capitalism there is no way out.

At the end April Turkey was thrown into a constitutional crisis as the ruling AK Party’s presidential candidate failed to gain the support of two thirds of parliament. The Republican People’s Party (CHP) challenged the result through the Constitutional Court. Now Turkey faces early elections. Behind all this is the ongoing conflict between the AKP, which has the backing of big capital in Turkey and imperialism, and the old Kemalist military state apparatus.

The crisis of the Israeli state is deepening. The rats have begun to abandon the sinking ship and are calling for the heads of Olmert and Peretz. Keen to save face and remain in power without having to face fresh elections, the ruling clique are prepared to sacrifice the current administration in order to form a new war cabinet.

There were around five to six thousand workers at the Shiroodi sports stadium near Tehran. The Labour House, however, again used its own rotten old method for dispersing the workers.

Egypt is entering a crisis. The working class is standing up, as strike after strike shakes the country. The government has decided to hit back, attempting to close the Centre for Trade Union and Workers’ Services.

For the last three years Egypt has experienced a wave of strikes, mainly in order to fight against a new wave of privatisation of state owned companies promoted by the Mubarak government. The movement started amongst textile workers but has now spread to other sectors, encouraged by the fact that most of the strikes have ended up in victories