77 years after the Nakba (May 15th, 1948), or ‘catastrophe‘ in English, various organisations are promoting a global action in support of the Palestinian people that will take place in the coming days, culminating on Thursday, the 15th, when protests and events will take place all over the world. From the International Workers’ Unity – Fourth International (IWU-FI), we join this world day in defence of the heroic Palestinian people, against the delivery of weapons to Israel and genocide, and the attempt of the criminal Netanyahu, with the support of the far-right Donald Trump, to annex Gaza, killing and expelling Palestinians.
We will also join, in June, the ‘March to Gaza’, called for by the Global Coalition Against the Occupation of Palestine, an activity that has already been taken up by organizations from more than 25 countries, and that aims to carry out a mass mobilization in Rafah, on the border of Egypt with Gaza, to demand the entry of humanitarian aid.
The genocide that the Zionist entity has been perpetrating for more than a year and a half, and which has claimed the lives of some 52,000 Palestinians, mostly children and women, took a leap forward with Israel’s refusal to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, and the subsequent intensification of bombing since March 18th, the date on which the Zionist entity unilaterally broke the ceasefire, refusing to move to the second phase of the precarious agreement signed with Hamas in January of this year.
Since the 2nd of March, Netanyahu’s criminal government, and its far-right allies, have maintained a blockade of the strip, preventing the entry of food, water, fuel, medicine and other resources. Israel is using hunger as a weapon of war, trying to break the Gazan people.
There is an unprecedented crisis in Gaza at the moment. The enclave’s 2 million inhabitants are on the brink of starvation, and the lives of 65,000 children are at serious risk. All bakeries have been closed for more than 40 days, and humanitarian organisations, such as World Central Kitchen, which distribute food, have ceased operations because supplies and fuel have run out.
Israel is proposing a new plan to allow humanitarian aid in. The plan, jointly agreed with with the US, would involve setting up several delivery points in the Israeli military-controlled area of Rafah, in southern Gaza, involving private security contractors and humanitarian agencies. The Zionist army would control access to humanitarian aid. This plan would be put into action as soon as the planned offensive begins, following Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on 13th-16th May, and after the mass expulsion of people from the north and centre of the strip to the south.
Days ago Netanyahu announced a new, broader, and more intense offensive in Gaza, saying: “One thing will be clear: there will be no in-and-out. We’ll call up reserves to come, hold territory — we’re not going to enter and then exit the area, only to carry out raids afterward. That’s not the plan. The intention is the opposite“, meaning that he intends to stay. Army chief Eyal Zami was more explicit, saying “The plan will include, among other things, the conquest of the Gaza Strip and the holding of the territories, moving the Gaza population south for their protection“. They have stopped using euphemisms, and clearly state what their real objectives are: to take the entire Gaza Strip and expel its population, i.e. to continue the ethnic cleansing that began 77 years ago.
Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right finance minister, confirmed Netanyahu’s plan in brutal terms: “We are occupying Gaza to stay“… “We are finally going to conquer Gaza. We are no longer afraid of the word ‘occupation’“… “We have to say the truth, returning the hostages is not the most important thing“.
The Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, was given access to a government document detailing the plans. The central objectives would be the military defeat of Hamas, the liquidation of its government and operational control of the territory, and the displacement of the Gazan population, and, ultimately, the release of the hostages.
This new military offensive only shows the failure of the Zionist army, that following more than a year and a half of aggression, has not achieved its original objectives. The Gazan people, despite the bombardment and siege, continue to resist heroically, and despite the blows they have received, the resistance organisations continue to face the Zionist aggression with weapons in hand.
From the IWU-FI we say that, in order to defeat the attempt of ethnic cleansing and occupation of Gaza, we must continue the mobilisation of the peoples of the world. Around the world, millions of people will join marches and actions in the framework of the global day for Palestine on the anniversary of the Nakba. Already, in Madrid, on the 10th of May, some 80,000 people mobilised, shouting out “It is not a war, it’s genocide“, demanding an end to the sale of arms to Israel.
We demand that Arab and Middle Eastern governments break off all relations with Israel, and that they support the Palestinian resistance organisations in Gaza and the West Bank with arms and all kinds of resources. We stand for an immediate ceasefire, the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Gaza, the West Bank, Syria and Lebanon. We reject the ethnic cleansing promoted by Trump and Netanyahu, as well as the US and Israeli bombing of Yemen. We demand the immediate opening of border crossings to guarantee the entry of food, medicine, fuel and water, and the restoration of electricity. We reject Israel and Trump’s plan to militarise and privatise the delivery of humanitarian aid.
