Israel/Palestine

See our publications on Israel/Palestine, and articles on fighting left antisemitism.

Gaza: End the war! Rebuild life!

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeated his intention to launch a new assault on Rafah, the Gazan city on the Egyptian border where over half of Gaza’s population is now sheltering, many in tents. Meanwhile, on 7 February, 35 Israeli NGOs and campaign groups, including Standing Together, Peace Now, B’Tselem, Gisha, and others, released a new statement calling for an immediate ceasefire, a comprehensive prisoner exchange, and the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza. A massive billboard commissioned by Standing Together on Tel Aviv’s Ayalon highway reads: “This war must end...

Letter: Not a response to others' slogans

Martin Thomas’s letter in Solidarity 699 purports to be a response to my article about the charge of genocide in Gaza in 698. In fact, it mostly responds to things I did not say and arguments I did not make. Martin dismisses my references to Chinese and Russian states’ attacks on the Uyghur and Ukrainian nations as irrelevant, on the basis that Israel’s assault on Gaza is not an attempt at forced assimilation. He then goes on to assume that I “must” therefore mean a definition of genocide which he gives. But my article was very clear about what definition I was using – the definition in the...

About Lula's statements on Gaza

This article was first published in French by Arguments pour La Lutte Sociale (Arguments for Social Struggle), here . This translation is abridged and lightly edited. —— At the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Brazilian President Lula said: “What is happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people has not happened at any other time in history. In fact, it has already happened: when Hitler decided to kill the Jews.” It’s important for left-wing activists who want to re-establish a genuine internationalism based on truth and not supporting any geopolitical camp, to give some arguments...

Stop massacre in Rafah

The Israeli government plans an assault on Rafah, the city in southern Gaza on the Egyptian border, that could kill tens of thousands of civilians, or even more. Strikes on the city took place overnight on Sunday 11 February, with 52 Palestinians reported killed. Israeli raids succeeded in rescuing two hostages, Fernando Simon Marman and Louis Har. The rescue of two hostages is, of course, an immense relief for the men themselves and their friends and families. The best way to ensure the safe return of the remaining people held in Hamas captivity is a ceasefire agreement which includes the...

Full ceasefire, peace, two states

At the time of writing, negotiations between Israel and Hamas, mediated by a variety of third parties, towards a new ceasefire and hostage exchange agreement, were reported to be continuing, despite Israel’s rejection of Hamas’s latest proposal for the terms of such an agreement. By the time Solidarity reaches readers, a ceasefire may have been pushed far into the future by an Israeli assault on Rafah. The Hamas proposal rejected by Israel was for a four-and-a-half month ceasefire, in which all surviving Israeli hostages held by Hamas would be released in stages, in exchange for the release of...

“Someday this war’s gonna end”

One of the great speeches in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now is made by Robert Duvall, playing a somewhat insane US Army colonel in Vietnam. After delivering his oft-quoted “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” speech, he tells the young Martin Sheen that sadly, “someday this war’s gonna end”. Someday the war in Gaza is going to end, and not a moment too soon. According to current rumours coming out of Israel, Netanyahu is telling his top officers that everything needs to be wrapped up before the start of Ramadan [10 March]. In other words, regardless of what actually happens on...

Letter: “Massacre” too weak a term?

Ben Tausz ( Solidarity 698 ) criticises the editorial of Solidarity 696 for saying that “there are good reasons to be wary about insisting Israel’s war represents ‘a genocide’.” He takes those measured words as “inveighing so heavily” against the genocide label. Our coverage since October 2023 has denounced what we have called “catastrophe”, “massacre”, “slaughter” of civilians in Gaza; Israel’s new targeting policies, licensing attacks likely to kill many civilians for the sake of a possible few Hamas-fighter casualties; the destruction of ordinary civic life in Gaza, risking mass deaths...

Stop starvation in Gaza!

Over 26,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the current war began. 65,000 people have been injured. A large majority of the dead are civilians — Israel’s own claim for the number of Hamas fighters it has killed is 10,000. Over 80% of Gaza’s population is now displaced. Health crises caused by the destruction of healthcare infrastructure, damage to basic sewage and water systems, and lack of essential supplies and provisions could ultimately kill even more than direct military assault. Satellite image analysis by the BBC suggests Israeli bombardment has destroyed or damaged between 144...

Gaza: build solidarity on the ground

On 2 February, over 1,000 Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel met in Haifa for the 4th National Congress of Standing Together, the largest grassroots social movement in Israel campaigning for peace and equality. Addressing the congress, Palestinian activist Shahd Bishara, a member of Standing Together’s national leadership, said: “Do you understand the lack of hope and helplessness of the Palestinians between the river and the sea from the situation? [...] As a Palestinian who sees the catastrophe that is happening to my people, I am also part of this country that experienced horrors on...

Teetering on the brink of wider war

The drone attack that killed three US troops in Jordan on 28 Jan has led to an escalated US response to Iranian-backed militias. The US says it has hit 85 targets in Iraq and Syria in early February. Especially given how long it has taken the US to respond, this will have been far from a decisive blow against the militias and their arms caches. Since 7 October, there have been over 160 attacks on US troops in Syria and Iraq. 28 Jan was the first resulting in soldier deaths, which meant the US was almost certain to respond. The targets are the local militias, but the message it sends is to the...

This website uses cookies, you can find out more and set your preferences here.
By continuing to use this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.