Capitalism has transformed the vast wealth of petroleum and minerals in the Middle East into a curse for its people. The existence of Israel is akin to a cancer on the body of the region, grafted to ensure the continuation of imperialist yoke and dominance. The entire Arab ruling elite is complicit in this imperialist project. The Palestinians have no friends, no sympathizers except for the oppressed and exploited people of the world.
Recent days have made it clear that Hezbollah’s perception of “mutual deterrence” between it and the Zionist state did not sufficiently take into account the unequal nature of this deterrence (a miscalculation similar to Hamas’s, albeit much less serious), and that its perception of the commitment of its sponsor in Tehran to defending it was also illusory, as Iran responded to the repeated attacks that Israel has been launching directly against it only once, last April, and in a manner that was almost more symbolic than harmful.
If Israel is to be successful in its historic aim of removing all Palestinians “from the river to the sea”, it needs a new shot in the arm. The dynamism that followed October 7 has run its course. A reboot is needed. This is the number one reason for the recent attacks on Hezbollah and Lebanon.
The roots of religious fundamentalism with all its forms, formations and faces in South Asia should be looked for in the historic evolution of these societies under colonialism, imperialism and subsequently the independent rule of a lackey bourgeoisie. With the uneven and combined pattern of development, the noxious amalgamation of impoverishment, religious prejudices and superstitions of the foregone times, partial modernity, socio-cultural remnants of feudalism and tribalism, finance capital and black money has only complicated the evolution of these countries.
We are with the people in the streets to defend their vote. We are on the side of their democratic demands. But at the same time, we mark distance with the political leaderships that are trying to manipulate them or use them as “cannon fodder.”
The latest figures available from UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) indicate that the number of children killed in the Gaza Strip has now exceeded 14,000, in addition to the number of missing, wounded, forever disabled, and orphans, which is many times that number.
The people of Britain wanted to oust the Tories at any cost. In this regard, they cast a vote of hatred and disgust against the Tories rather than a vote of hope and optimism for Labour. The situation is the inevitable result of Tory policies over the last 14 years, which have desperately worsened the conditions of toiling Britons.
The far right has been pushed back by popular mobilization—now we must implement the program of the New Popular Front!
This “genocide in real time” has been on the world’s iPhone and TV screens. Israel has never been more isolated among the capitalist states and their international institutions. The Palestine solidarity demonstrations have been the largest anti-imperialist movement since the youth radicalization of the late 1960s.
Starmer’s huge majority in parliament may give the illusion that he is running an all-powerful government, at least for a period. However, the election results reveal that the social basis for such a government is weak.
Strengthen the united and militant left, prevent the far right from coming to power!
Whether people welcome the idea or dread it, the collapse of Israel has become foreseeable. This possibility should inform the long-term conversation about the region’s future. It will be forced onto the agenda as people realize that the century-long attempt, led by Britain and then the US, to impose a Jewish state on an Arab country is slowly coming to an end.
Destroying Hamas altogether was never a realistic goal. Hamas is much more than just its military wing. It has a broad popular base. It may be a rightist Muslim Brotherhood affiliated movement, but it’s a powerful rightist Muslim Brotherhood affiliated movement. All experience shows that even an invasion cannot eradicate organizations of this type. The IDF leadership and the Israeli intelligence organizations are fully aware of this.
The electoral success behind a banner that aspires to rescue a democracy kidnapped by the elites cannot be understood without assessing the democratic deficit of the societies in which it arises.
Israel was defeated and is still being defeated, not because of the fact that at the start of the ninth month of this accursed war, Hamas has not been toppled. The emblem of defeat will forever appear alongside the menorah and flag, because the leaders, commanders and soldiers of Israel killed and wounded thousands of Palestinian civilians, sowing unprecedented ruin and desolation in the Gaza Strip. Because its air force knowingly bombed buildings full of children, women and the elderly. Because in Israel people believe there is no other way. Because entire families were wiped out.
