By Sofia D., Red Phoenix correspondent, Minnesota.

Since Hamas’ Operation Al-Aqsa Flood commenced on Oct. 7, Israel has escalated the continuous genocidal war against Palestinians. Many of the facts of this genocide are already well known, but let us review some of the prominent facts since Oct. 7:

• Israel has killed more than 13,000 people in Palestine.
• Israel has displaced roughly one million people, and destroyed around a quarter of the buildings in Northern Gaza.
• Israel has cut off all supply lines to Gaza, leaving the strip without food, water, electricity, or medical supplies. Biden has recently announced an exception for some supplies entering through Egypt, but not nearly enough to support the population. The majority of Palestinians to die will not be killed by bombing, but by hunger, dehydration, and disease.
• Israel has bombed multiple hospitals, schools, and mosques in Gaza.
• Israel has been targeting journalists, and has intermittently cut off internet access to Gaza.

This genocide has been funded and supplied by imperialist powers, including the US. American weapons manufacturers such as Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have been telling investors to expect a spike in stock-value from military sales to Israel. Israel receives 3.8 billion dollars annually from the US in military aid, and since Oct. 7, US states have loaned over 300 million dollars to Israel. American finance capital is everywhere invested in Israel continuing its genocide of Palestinians.

In order to maintain growth in the weapons industry, Israel relies on the masses of Israel to either buy wholeheartedly into Israeli nationalism, or to simply be neutral collaborators. A resistant mass movement in Israel would destroy Israel’s economy. Signs of such a movement are appearing in small pockets: Arab Israelis have been protesting in support of Palestine, young Israelis are refusing to join the military, and progressive Israeli parties are calling for a ceasefire. Still, this resistance is not wide-spread in Israel, and the people voicing opposition to the genocide face harsh persecution and silencing.

Due to this circumstance, it is the duty of progressive forces worldwide, and especially in imperialist countries like the United States, to pressure our government into bleeding Israel of “aid.” Across our nation, protests against Israel’s actions in Palestine have been widespread, and they are working. Some US officials believe they will be forced by the mass movement to publicly call for a ceasefire within weeks.

This genocide is driven not only by extreme racism, but by US business interests. Not only is there incredible profit from the business of war itself, but the well-known natural resources in Gaza provide a compelling reason for imperialists to annex the territory. At the root, Israeli economy and policy are subordinated to the interest of imperialist banks and industrialists. This incredible power that capital has over the state is explained by the highly developed monopoly capital in Israel in everything from agriculture to electricity.

Fascism can only be defeated by socialism; its nationalism can only be countered with proletarian internationalism. Its subjugation and genocide of nations and peoples can only be defeated by the struggle on all sides for the right of nations to self-determination, and the right of oppressed nationalities to equality.

A two-state solution is no longer possible or practical and would only finalize the destruction of Palestine economically and politically, as Israel controls all of the land, water, and resources Palestine would need to function as a state. The only progressive solution is a single, bi-national Palestinian state, with equal rights for all ethnicities, religions, nations, and peoples living within the territory, and political representation of both nations. To accomplish this, working class Palestinians and Israelis must first overthrow the apartheid state of Israel through a militant mass movement.

Workers and progressive forces in Israel must fight to win over the working masses, who are oppressed by the same imperialists as Palestinians (around 20% of families in Israel live below the poverty line). This fight will be difficult, but it is especially necessary as 29% of Israelis support immediate escalation, while 22% remain undecided. In other words, nationalism has a hold of the Israeli masses, without regard to class.

For workers and progressives in imperialist countries, we must build a mass movement, carry out political strikes, and pressure all political and economic institutions into discontinuing the use of Israel as an imperial outpost in the Middle East.

Categories: International, Israel, Palestine