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
Mar 17, 2025
This article is translated from the March 14 issue #2954 of Lutte Ouvrière (Workers Struggle), the paper of the revolutionary workers group of that name active in France.
Negotiations for the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire began in Doha, Qatar on March 10. Far from ending the 16-month all-out war against the Palestinians, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is increasing the pressure and sowing death on all fronts.
Israeli pro-government website i24news proudly announced as much with its headline: “One dead in Lebanon, five in Gaza and three terrorists eliminated in Jenin.” The war continues in all its forms. Israel blocked the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza on March 4, stopped the supply of bread and basic necessities, and closed the main crossing points into the enclave.
Israel’s energy minister decreed the shutdown of Gaza’s electricity supply on March 9. The territory’s main water desalination plant has to supply drinking water to hundreds of thousands of Gazans but can’t operate without electricity.
Gaza’s residents are long accustomed to using their own generators if they have them and to getting by for hours without power. Having returned to their ruined neighborhoods, they are once again dependent on the meager quantities of available fuel. The Israeli far right in the person of former minister of internal security Ben-Gvir demands the banning of all fuel entry into Gaza and the bombing of all of Gaza’s fuel tanks. (He resigned his position because he rejected the idea of any ceasefire.)
So, the negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire don’t stop Netanyahu from continuing his war. He has the firm support of his ally Trump. The Israeli army has deployed in the West Bank, is driving Palestinians from their homes in the Jenin refugee camp there, and is supporting attacks by far-right Israeli settlers. Israel’s army is sending killer drones into Gaza.
The residents of Gaza expected food, construction supplies, and the planned withdrawal of Israeli troops from the buffer zone on the Egyptian border. But once again they live under constant threat.