Talks between former US President Jimmy Carter and the exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, which led to offers by the latter of a six – months truce. Meshaal indicated that Hamas would be willing to cease firing rocket at Israel from Gaza, and begin negotiations for the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, without requiring a simultaneous Israeli ceasefire in the West Bank in return, insisting only on one in Gaza, and that Gaza’s border with the outside world should be re-opened.
Israel’s response was rocket firing aircraft to hit Beit Hanoun, killing a woman and her four young children, a 74-year old man and a 17-year old student. It is clear that the expansionist settler state will not reciprocate any halt to armed actions, and sees no need to pay any political or military “price” for Shalit’s return, despite using his capture as a pretext for imposing a humanitarian crisis on Gaza’s 1.5 million Palestinian residents. In Meshaal’s words, Israel is not interested in a mutual truce, preferring instead to dictate the terms of a Palestinian surrender.
Meanwhile, the US and European Union continue to back Israel in refusing any direct contact with Hamas’ elected administration in Gaza, in favour of its unelected Fatah counterpart in Ramallah. And this is despite a growing recognition from the Israeli commentators that only Hamas can reliably enforce a truce on the smaller Palestinian factions currently fighting alongside it.
Socialists across the world should denounce the Israel for its refusal to end the war crime that is the siege of Gaza, for its continued criminal attacks on the civilian population, and expose the outrageous lie that its actions are “defensive” one’s dictated by Palestinian intransigence. Israel’s siege was designed to scupper any negotiations that might place pressure on it to withdraw fully from the occupied territories, by turning Palestinians against Hamas and promoting Mahmous Abbas’ aid-dependent “government” as a party to a deal that would accept a tiny and dismembered Palestinian “state”.
Far from achieving this, however, the siege has boosted Hamas’ prestige in the eyes of all Palestinians, especially after the turn to mass and political methods following the breach of the blockade at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. Ahmed Yousef, an advisor to Hamas premier Ismail Haniyeh, has said that: “The next time there is a crisis… Israel will have to face half a million Palestinians who will march toward Erez [on the border with Israel]… This is not an imaginary scenario and many Palestinians would be prepared to sacrifice their lives.”
The risk that mass actions like this could make public opinion in Arab countries to force their governments to take action, or break the pro-Israeli consensus in Europe and the US, must weigh heavily on Israeli politicians used to dealing with people demonized as “terrorists” through the methods of unrestrained force.
The latest turn of the screw on Gaza is the suspension of UN food handouts due to a desperate shortage of petrol. It is to prevent the escalation of this humanitarian crisis that Hamas has been forced to reduce its demands for the Israeli concessions necessary for a ceasfire.
At the same time, we should point to the dangers that any negotiations truce will bring. The reports of Carter’s negotiators stress that Hamas is not really serious about its charter’s non-recognition of Israel. It is likely that a truce might be the start of a process of political concessions which could open the way to a Palestinian Bantustan, in return for recognition of its rule in Gaza and a blind eye turned to its imposition of a theocratic government. At present US-Israeli intransigence makes this an unlikely scenario. But to prevent this in the longer term it is a burning necessity that a workers movement should arise to give leadership to the emerging mass struggle. And for this, a political party for the Palestinian workers will need to be built.
Successful demo for Palestine in Leeds
On Saturday 26 April 100 people marched through the streets of Leeds against the brutal siege of Gaza. The demonstration was initiated by Revolution, the socialist youth organisation, and supported by the Palestinian Solidarity Group, the Socialist Worker Party and others. Demonstrators carried, a gigantic Palestinian flag and a huge red banner stating “END THE SIEGE OF GAZA. VICTORY TO THE INTIFADA” made our message clear to all the shoppers and passers by. Their response was very positive.
After the rally a networking meeting discussed what to do next. There was the upcoming protest at Leeds University against an Israeli diplomat who was speaking to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the foundation of Israel and how to build for the May 10th national Free Palestine demonstration in London. Called under the slogans – End the Siege of Gaza, End Israeli Occupation, For the Right to Return of Refugees, it assembles at 1.00 pm at Temple tube station on the embankment, ending in a rally in Trafalgar Square.