the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Jun 21, 2021
Following a cease-fire negotiated on May 20th, Israeli aircraft dropped bombs on Palestinian areas in Gaza on June 16 and June 17. Why were they bombing?
Palestinian young people periodically “send a message demanding respect” via balloon. They attach flammable devices to helium balloons, and wind carries them over the Gaza border into Israel. They cause small fires in vacant fields. The bombing of buildings in Gaza by Israeli fighter jets was retaliation for this.
When far-right Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu recently stepped down, a new far-right government stepped up. The military response allowed the new Israeli government that had been in power for a few days to put to rest any propaganda that things will change in Israel with a new government.
In Washington, D.C., a 3.8 billion-dollar-a-year package of military assistance to the state of Israel is in the pipeline. This shows the U.S. government supports the right-wing policies of the Israeli government. President Biden stated on May 21, “There is no shift in my commitment ... [to] Israel. Period.”
For as long as capitalist interests in the Middle East maintain this barbaric equation of funding Israel to repress poor people’s struggles in the region on behalf of U.S. imperialism, the Palestinian people will be faced with no other choice than to languish or fight. They have chosen to fight. Despite being met with police brutality, ordinary Palestinian people have protested non-stop since the cease-fire.
Near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian protests have faced tear gas and rubber bullets. East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah district has seen continued demonstrations by Palestinian activists fighting forced evictions. They view themselves as protesting the ethnic cleansing of their neighborhood. They continue to fight despite violent attacks by Israeli riot police.
For years, Palestinians have been subject to geographic and political divisions that have created differences in experience. Current unity in the struggle is bringing new hope to Palestinians.
An activist recently explained that Palestinians from all regions can relate to the fight for equal rights going on in East Jerusalem against forced evictions. They see themselves in Israel’s attacks on this neighborhood.
In the words of one observer, “What Israel did recently was its biggest strategic mistake: It showed Palestinians the reality, that it deals with all of us this way … that we’re all unequal.”
“Israel created a hierarchy for Palestinians from different places. But the way it dealt with us in this time, there was no difference. It showed us the cause is one.”