Statement of the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (jointly adopted by the International Bureau and the Section in Occupied Palestine), 23 November 2023 [UTC: 10.00], www.thecommunists.net
1. Israel and Hamas have agreed a deal which includes a four-day truce in the war and a substantial increased delivery of humanitarian aid, including medical and fuel supplies, into the besieged Palestinian territory. The deal will see Hamas release 50 women and children held in Gaza, and Israel free 150 Palestinian women and children from its prisons. Fighting will be paused for an additional day for every further 10 captives freed from Gaza. During the period of the truce, Israel will stop military actions in all areas of the Gaza Strip, including the movement of military vehicles. Israeli drones in southern Gaza will stop in these days and they will stop in the north for six hours per day. Israel shall not attack or arrest anyone in all areas of the Gaza Strip during this time. Freedom of movement will be guaranteed along Salah al-Din Road from the north of Gaza to the south. The truce shall start Friday morning.
2. The truce comes after Israel waged a genocidal war against Gaza for more than 6 weeks. Relentless bombardment and invasion by the Israeli occupation forces have resulted in at least 13,000 people dead and 6,000 people missing – 70% of them are children, women and elderly. Most of the population has been expelled from the north of Gaza. There is no doubt that the Israeli government plans to enforce a new Nakba, i.e. to expel the whole Palestinian population from its homeland in Gaza.
3. Taking these conditions into account, the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency and the Internationalist Socialist League (RCIT Section in Israel / Occupied Palestine) consider the truce as a small but important victory for the Palestinian resistance. It represents a political achievement for several reasons. First, it brings, albeit limited, relieve for the traumatised Palestinian population and will allow the resistance fighters to rest and regroup. Second, it was imposed against bitter opposition of the bloodthirsty Zionist regime which rests on the unlimited support of the U.S. – the most powerful imperialist state. It is telling that while the Palestinians and its supporters around the world are celebrating the truce, Israel’s public opinion is highly critical of the Netanyahu government.
4. Third, while the Netanyahu government has announced that it intends to continue the war after the four days, it is clear that international pressure on Israel and the U.S. to stop its genocidal war will increase massively. As the vote in the UN General Assembly on an immediate ceasefire – with 120 states voting in favour and only Israel, the U.S. and 12 other states against – demonstrated, most countries in the world oppose the Zionist massacre in Gaza. Finally, the deal forced Israel and the U.S. (which was strongly involved in the secret negotiations for the deal) to recognise Hamas as a serious force and negotiating partner.
5. Why were Israel and the U.S. forced to accept the truce? There are several reasons. First, the Israeli army faced the determined resistance of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, PFLP, DFLP, Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, Popular Resistance Committees and other organisations. These fighters heroically defended their people and their homeland with all their strength. Despite sacrificing numerous martyrs and destructions of many tunnels, the resistance in Gaza remains a strong and coherent fighting force.
6. Second, Israel’s genocidal war has provoked a huge global pro-Palestine solidarity movement – the largest anti-war movement since 2003. They are mobilising millions of people on the streets which puts massive pressure on the U.S., Western Europe, and Australia – the most important supporters of the Zionist terror state. There is hardly any Western country where the majority of the population supports their governments’ unlimited support for Israel’s war crimes. Likewise, these mobilisations have forced bourgeois governments in the Arab and Muslim states as well as in Latin America and Africa to put pressure on Western powers to stop Israel’s war. Countries like Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Bahrain, Jordan, Turkey, Chad, South Africa and Belize have already cut – partially or completely – diplomatic relations with Israel. The Western propaganda based on Israel fake reports is weakening the position of U.S. and European imperialism in the Middle East and in the Global South. As a result, Western powers get increasingly isolated as most countries refuse to follow their lead. Hence, Washington and Brussels (rightly) fear that they are losing influence in the Global South while their rivals China and Russia can expand their influence even more. This is even more the case as the BRICS+ states (China, Russia, India, Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and UAE, Egypt, Iran, Argentina, Ethiopia,) – an alliance of major emerging economies led by the Chinese and Russian imperialism which seek a greater say in a global order long dominated by the U.S. and its allies – has condemned any kind of forcible transfer and deportation of Palestinians from their own land. It is symbolic that the diplomatic mission of foreign ministers of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation have first visited Beijing and Moscow before they travelled to Western capitals.
7. At the same time, it would be foolish to ignore the limitations of the truce and the remaining huge dangers. The Israeli occupation forces remain in Gaza and the Netanyahu government wants to continue its barbaric war. Hence, a Nakba and the destruction of the resistance factions are still a very acute danger. While the Biden Administration is under massive pressure, it has not decided to force Israel to stop its aggression. Furthermore, even if the Palestinian resistance succeeds in stopping the invasion, the humanitarian disaster requires gigantic efforts. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian have been made (again) refugees. Large parts of the enclave have been destroyed by Israel and it will take years to rebuild the infrastructure and houses.
8. It is impossible to foresee if and when the war will resume. There is a strong possibility that the crisis-ridden Netanyahu government will face a collapse. However, it is also possible that Israel’s ruling elite might orchestra a change of government by getting rid of its most famous liar and the extreme right-wing fanatics and replacing it with a more stable “right-wing/centre” government which would continue the war. If the war resumes, it is very likely that the international mass mobilisations and pressure on the U.S. will increase even more. But we can not foresee if such pressure will be enough to stop the Zionist monster before it has finished it murderous job. It is a race against time.
9. What can already be said with certainty is that the Western powers have faced a historic political and ideological defeat by exposing themselves in front of the whole world as hypocritical and cynical apologists of a genocide despite their constant reference to “human rights” and “Western values”. This disaster will have long-term political repercussions for the of the U.S. and its allies. And what can also be stated is that the war – even if Israel would succeed in enforcing a Nakba – has resulted in a gigantic politicisation of generations of youth all over the world. This event has produced millions of new fighters for justice and liberation and it has strengthened the cause of anti-Zionism and anti-imperialism more than thousands of books and meetings could ever have done!
10. The RCIT and its Section in Israel / Occupied Palestine reiterate their solidarity with the Palestinian people and its heroic resistance struggle. We advocate the military victory of the resistance led by Hamas without lending political support to the program or all tactics of its leadership. We combine such a position with the perspective of smashing the Zionist Apartheid state and the creation of a single Palestinian state from the River to the Sea. Such a state would have a Palestinians majority as it would allow the right of return of all refugees. At the same time, it would guarantee full cultural and religious rights for the Jewish minority. Such a state would have a secular and democratic character and should be a workers and poor peasant republic as part of a socialist federation of the Middle East (“Palestine, red and free – from the River to the Sea”).
Victory to the Palestinian Resistance! Defeat Israel!
International Bureau of the RCIT
Internationalist Socialist League (RCIT Section in Israel / Occupied Palestine)
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We refer readers to a special page on our website where the RCIT documents on the 2023 Gaza War are compiled: https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/africa-and-middle-east/compilation-of-articles-on-the-gaza-uprising-2023/.