As Israeli troops go into Gaza, support for the Palestinian resistance is now urgently needed!
The Israeli government confirmed that they have sent “limited” ground forces into the Gaza strip. An IDF spokesperson said that this was to secure areas where Hamas and other Palestinian forces had been firing rockets into Israel.
After a week of bombardment by fighter bombers and artillery, this marks the beginnings of a major escalation of the conflict by Israel.
The spokesperson outlined the objectives of their actions, the troops will be “completing the mission of the air force, going for Hamas headquarters and weapons caches and giving a blow to their capability to launch attacks into Israel.”
Given the high number of civilian casualties already,450 dead including over 11 killed earlier on Saturday when a missile struck a Mosque and over 2250 injured, the offensive will inevitably lead to more suffering wherever the IDF carries out its operations.
The international community of political leaders sits by and impotently calls on Israel to ‘restrain itself’, others wholeheartedly back Israel’s actions. Whilst we must call on all our governments to demand an immediate Israeli ceasefire and withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza, we have no illusions that this will make any serious difference.
Israel needs to suffer a bloody defeat, as it did in Lebanon in 2006 when Hizbullah smashed its invasion forces to pieces. A region wide uprising, led by the working class. Is the best way for the masses across the region to defeat the hated Israeli state.
In this conflict all true socialists are unreservedly on the side of the Palestinians fighting against the occupation of their country. We are for the defeat of the Israeli army by the Palestinians.
The size of the anti war demonstrations in north Israel on Saturday also show that there are growing numbers of Israelis who are opposed to what their government is doing. The fact that the Israeli communist Party called for a general strike against the Gaza attacks is an excellent initiative. Progressive anti-Zionist and anti-war forces must join together with the Arab working class, Palestinian, Egyptian, Syrian and from the other countries, to smash the Israeli governments murderous plans.
As long as Israel exists as a racist, colonial state armed to the teeth and prepared to throw its military weight around, there will never be peace in the region. From the ruins of the Israeli state a new, bi-national workers state can be built for Jews and Arabs to live together, one that is not tied to the imperialists in Washington and Brussels, one that can act as a beacon of solidarity and hope for billions across the planet. A united socialist states of the Middle East is not only possible, it is desperately needed.