Israel/Palestine

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Statement from Palestinian members of the national leadership of Standing Together As Palestinian citizens of Israel, our daily existence is marked by systemic discrimination, persecution, neglect, and violence. We live in a state of constant tension, denied recognition of our Palestinian history, identity, and culture. Since the Hamas attack on October 7th, we have been facing a deeply traumatised Israeli society and a political leadership that capitalized on these atrocities to further incite against us. Our situation has become even more untenable, as we face collective trauma and the fear...

The profile of calls to boycott Israel has risen since 7 October. The official Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement is playing catch-up with a primarily social media-driven effort, which has now spread to advocate boycott of the most active anti-war movement in Israel, Standing Together. Following the Hamas attack and the Israeli onslaught, people used TikTok and other social media platforms to call for boycott of various brands. At one point, the four being targeted were McDonalds, because an Israeli franchisee provided free meals to the IDF; Puma, as the kit supplier to Israel’s...

An excerpt from a speech by Palestinian activist Shahd Bishara, a member of Standing Together's national leadership, given a Standing Together's National Congress on 2 February.

Statements by Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant that the “intensive phase” of Israel’s assault on northern Gaza is over, and that it will soon end in Khan Younis in the south, will give little succour to the growing numbers of injured Palestinians, and the friends and families of the growing numbers of dead. Israeli troops remain, and military action could well flare up again. Hamas is far from “destroyed”, will hit more Israeli troops as their pace slows, and “permanent war” is its declared aim. Ongoing and worsening crises of homelessness and lack of basic resources, including medical...