STATEMENT of IWL(FI)
Written by IWL-FI – International Secretariat
Tuesday, 22 July 2014 02:42
Israel continues with vicious attacks against the Gaza Strip by means of intense and continuous air raids. At the same time, the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu administration announced that land invasion on that Palestinian territory was not to be discarded.

Israel lies when they say that “only military objectives” have been bombed. These attacks have already cause 200 deadly casualties – most of them civilians – many old people, women and children among them. As a sample of this reality, one of the places bombed by aircraft was a bar, where Palestinian residents watched TV to see the football match between Argentina and Holland for the World Cup in Brazil.

Western pro-imperialist media tried to prove that what was going on was the outcome of two peoples of different regions (Palestinians and Jews) who “do not acknowledge” each other and, therefore, “cannot live in peace together.” But reality drilled through this outlook and images and information prove beyond any doubt that the real aggressor is the Zionist state and its military forces, armed to their teeth, against a people who, comparatively, are all but unarmed.

A long history of usurpation and aggressions

In order to understand the current “Palestinian Question”, it is necessary to see the way the State of Israel was created in 1948 and what this creation meant for the Palestinian people. Zionism, a political-ideological that carried out the creation of the modern State of Israel, justified their activities by means of a historic fraud: what got together in Israel was “A people without land” (the Jews) and “a land without a people” (Palestinians). With this tremendous lie, the cruelest of crimes committed by Zionism in quest of “erasing” the Palestinian people from history were justified.

During the first decades of the XX century, European Jews started flowing into a territory of an absolute Arab majority ad this process was boosted by imperialism (English first and then American). After the II World War (1945) this process became stronger. European Jews were fleeing from the atrocious genocide by the Nazis inflicted on them by the Nazi and the world was shocked. This just feeling was used by the Zionists for their own benefit: Who could stand against the creation of a state where Jews would be able to “live in peace” and “Recover from their wounds”?

The control of the Middle East, owner of two thirds of world’s oil reserves was of strategic value. That is why, the USA, apart from seeking support from allied petro-monarchies, such as Saudi Arabia) needed “a base of their own”, a sound foothold to control the region. Israel was to be that foothold.

In spite of the increase of the Jewish immigration, Arabs were clearly still a majority on that land: at that time there were 1 300 000 Arab Palestinians living there and 600 000 Jews. But the UN granted Israel 52% of the surface and left 48% for the Palestinians. That is to say: right from the very beginning Israel stood for Usurpation and theft because Palestinians had to yield 52% of their territory to a minority which had been created artificially. Even on the land given to Israel, Palestinians were still a majority: 950 000.

However, there was still a pending problem: what had to be done with the Palestinian people who lived on that land? The Zionist solution was terror and carrying out “ethnic cleansing” to evict Palestinians out of their homes and their lands. Armed Zionist organisations, such as Ergun and Lehi raided hundreds of Palestinians towns, murdered men, women and children as in the case of Deir YAssin (near Jerusalem). Six months of “ethnic cleansing” (with the benevolence of imperialism and Stalinism) caused the number of number of Palestinians dwindled to mere 138 000 Palestinians on Israeli territory. All the others were violently evicted.

Evicted Palestinians then went into exile to Arab countries, especially Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) or to more distant regions, such as the USA and Latin America. In this way, this people were divided into three sectors: those who lived within the frontiers of Israel, those who live in Gaza, those who live on the West Bank and those who went into exile. And this was how Nakba (the tragedy) of this nation was spawned by the creation of the State of Israel. This is also the way the struggle for the recovery of their historic territory began.

The fake solution of the “two states”

That is to say: the State of Israel was created in 1948 as an imperialist military enclave in the Middle East. Ever since then and up to our times, the history of Israel is that of permanent aggression and repression against the Palestinian people and the Arab peoples as a whole. There has also been a permanent expansion against the Palestinian people and occupation of territories granted by the UN to the Palestinians and their reduction to Gaza Strip and West Bank cut through by the  as a “gruyere cheese” through the Wall of Shame, that hedges this land in and deprives it of the best extension and access to water.

American imperialism and the UN assert that the only solution to the confrontations between Israelis and Palestinians is “two peoples, two states”. On t hat point they can rely on support from Pope Francisco. Additionally, there is the support from Al Fatah (now ruling the West Bank), the PLO (Organization for Palestine Liberation), the Al Fatah and different other organisations as well as an important part of the world left.

Why is this solution false? Firstly, it is nothing but the continuity of the 1947 UN resolution. It would once more legalise and sanction the usurpation and theft that the creation of the State of Israel, even if it is based on the frontiers previous to the 1967 war. Secondly, the Palestinian people would definitely be divided into three sectors: the million and a half living in Israel would be doomed to put up in isolation with attacks of Israeli governments against their memory and their history, be directly evicted, or be left in unbearable conditions like those who already live in eastern Jerusalem. The three million and a half of Palestinian inhabitants of Gaza and West Bank, inhabitants of a future “independent” mini-state would have to live in a fragmented state, with no chance of economic independence, without armed forces of their own and with their frontiers patrolled by the NATO. Lastly: the five million living out of Palestine would see their right to return home definitely lost.

At the same time, this Palestinian mini-state would have to coexist with the Zionist military monster at their side with their permanent need to cause aggressions to self-justify their existence.

For a Secular, Democratic and Non Racist Palestine

In the face of the proposal of the “two states”, the only real solution is the construction of Sole, Secular, Democratic and Non Racist Palestine on its entire historic territory, the central demand of the foundational programme of the PLO in the 1960s.

A Palestine with no walls or concentration camps, a Palestine to which the millions of the evicted Palestinians can return and where those who remained there and are oppressed can recover their rights; at the same time a country where all the Jews who are prepared to coexist in peace and with equal rights.

But this proposal cannot be carried out and there can be no peace in Palestine as long as the State of Israel has not yet been definitely defeated and destroyed.

We call on all Jewish toiling masses to join this struggle against the racist state and gendarme of Israel. However, we must be aware that, because of the character of the Jewish-Israeli population, more likely than not only a tiny minority will accept this proposal while the vast majority of them will defend fiercely “their” state and privileges and so we shall have to fight against them to the bitter end.

The real reasons for the current attacks

The kidnapping and murder of three young Israelis, whose bodies were found on West Bank a few days before served as alibi used by the Israel government to justify this new attack. So far, no Palestinian organisation claimed this fact and even some analysts mention the possibility that it could have been a provocation staged by the Israelis themselves. And yet, the Israeli government blamed the Hamas organisation for it. The underlying reason for these attacks is altogether different. American imperialism (as well as the European) has been boosting the opening of negotiations with the Palestinians with the perspective of the “two states”. That was the reason for the trips of U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, and Pope Francisco. The agreement between Al Fatah and Hamas, as we shall see further on, lies within this scope.

Israel and the Netanyahu do not wish to start these negotiations, and let alone letting Hamas sit at that table. Therefore the current attack is a way of “bombing” any possibility of immediate negotiation.

Imperialism has a tactical policy that differs from that of the Israeli government and these attacks jeopardise this policy. But at the same time, the USA and imperialism as a whole are not about to abandon their strategic ally – far from that they defend their “right to the defence” and, once again, there is no punishment for their crimes.

On the other hand, Israeli society is suffering a deep crisis and a division that splits the “Jewish national spirit” on which Israel was built, especially because a part of the founders of the Zionist state (Ashkenazi European immigrants and their descendants) have acquired bourgeois-like characteristics and are no longer willing to give their lives for it. That is why, this attack is also a way of trying to overcome this crisis and of recovering this spirit of “national unity”, as usual through war and aggression against Palestinians.

Palestinian leaderships

Ever since the Oslo agreements (1993), Fatah and the PLO as a whole capitulated to imperialism and Israel when they acknowledged its existence and forsook their foundational slogan. In this way, they became administrators of this sort of Bantustans (fake black republics created during the South African apartheid) for that is what the territories of the PNA (Palestinian National Authority) really are. At the same time, the “Palestinian police” who often cooperated with Israel in the repression of people.

However, the Islamist group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, never gave up their programme of destruction of Israel and reunification of Palestine. They also suffer constant aggressions from Israel, who still regard them as a terrorist organisation and insist on attacking the Gaza Strip. However, their government on this territory repressed all the oppositionist expressions, even those who fight against Israel, the way they did with the demonstrations of solidarity with Egyptian revolution in 2011.

At the same time, they have always sought an agreement with Al Fatah and the Mahmoud Abbas administration accepting that he should continue as president of the Palestinian National Authority (PA) and go on negotiating security agreements with Israel. In practice this means also accepting the policy of “two states”. This is the meaning of the recent reconciliation and it really stands for a capitulation of Hamas. The agreement Al-Fatah-Hamas would be a way of showing imperialism that there is a Palestinian leadership (with a “united front”) capable of controlling the process in the territories and of governing the Palestinian mini-state.

With their policy, the leaders of Al Fatah and of Hamas basically express the interests of the bourgeois sectors West Bank and Gaza, who might draw some benefit from the creation of the Palestinian mini-state. But they do so sacrificing the other two Palestinian sectors, essentially those living in exile who, as we have seen, would lose any possibility of returning.

So, in order to fulfil the historic task of recovering the Palestinian territory and carry out the task indicated in the founding of the PLO it will be necessary for new leaderships to surface from the struggles and with new generations young people (both at home and in exile) increasingly drifting away from the old organisations and who do not lower their historic flags.

Boost a great international campaign to halt this new Israeli aggression

We repudiate this new aggression of the Zionist state against Palestinian people and once again we express our solidarity with and our support for the Palestinians. International isolation of Israel (as the real aggressor) accrues.

Demonstrations of solidarity with Palestinians accrue in many cities in the Arab world and on American continent. We call to redouble and increase this international campaign to force Israel to stop this new genocidal action

It is also necessary to demand concrete actions from the governments, such as severance of diplomatic relations and trade agreements privilege with Israel (such as those with Mercosur) within the framework of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) and other organisations are developing.

This is especially important for the Arab world. President Al Sisi of Egypt says he supports the Palestinian cause. So we must demand from him to open unconditionally the frontier of Egypt with Gaza and allow the flow of weapons for Hamas and the entire population of this territory can defend themselves against this aggression.

The Lebanese organization Hezbollah was the only one who militarily defeated the Israeli army in 2006. But now, their forces are in Syria defending dictator, Al Assad. Let us demand from them to get out of Syria and place all their power and military experience to fight at the side of the Palestinians against Israel. Syrian dictator, Al Assad also says that he supports Palestinians (and this is one of the central reasons for which great part of the world left support him). But today the borderline of his country with the Zionist state is regarded by Israelis themselves as one of the “safest”. He must stop attacking Syrian “rebels” and Palestinians in the Yarmouk camp and help Palestinians of Gaza and West Bank to halt the Israeli attack”

Let us halt the Israeli aggression!

Our full solidarity and support for Palestinian people!

For a Sole Palestine: Secular, Democratic and Non Racist!

International Secretariat of the IWL-FI

Sao Paulo, July 16 2014