Israel & Palestine

Israeli vice-premier Haim Ramon has suggested ceding Arab neighbourhoods to a future Palestinian state. This has divided the Israeli political establishment… obviously. But what it reflects is the pressure on the Zionist ruling elite to make at least some verbal concessions in an attempt to stabilise the situation.

A critical comment by Moroccan Marxists on the line of thought developed in the article, The victory of Hamas in Gaza and the questions facing Israeli and Palestinian workers by Yehuda Stern in Jerusalem, that we published on Wednesday, 11 July 2007. It is the opinion of the Editorial Board that the Moroccan Marxists are absolutely correct in their criticisms.

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

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 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.

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.

War in Iraq has solved nothing for US imperialism. Equally Israel’s attempt to invade Lebanon last year also failed miserably. Every time imperialism tries to use the jackboot it merely serves to destabilise even further this already extremely unstable region. Now they are preparing for more wars…

Today another general strike of the public sector has started. The last one was called off after the courts issued an injunction. Now the pressure is piling up once more. The workers of Israel are making it clear where they stand. They deserve a leadership that is prepared to go all the way.

We publish a summarised version of an introductory speech on the Middle East given by Fred Weston at a recent meeting of the International Marxist Tendency. In answering some of the pessimists on the left he points out how imperialism is facing defeat in the region and highlights the enormous potential for class struggle.

The recent internecine fighting between different factions in Gaza has temporarily calmed down after an agreement was patched together to form a government of national unity. This will eventually break down as none of the pressing problems of the Palestinian people will be solved.