EDITORIAL

Strengthen Solidarity With Palestinian People

THE situation in Palestine, particularly in the Gaza strip, continues to worsen by the day with Israel amassing a force of 5000 troops and advancing its tanks towards the border. During the course of the last one week, Israel bombed bridges, seized the airport and destroyed the electric power plant that has resulted in one of the world’s most densely populated area being plunged into darkness. This has also cut off the flow of electricity to hospitals, other civic amenities, including  the filtration stations which provide the city’s water.  The Associated Press reports that Israel has begun “razing farm land”.  Clearly, Israel is deliberately destroying  the very means for continued  human survival in Gaza.

The immediate provocation for this Israeli attack  is the capture  of  a 19 year-old Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit by the military wing of the Hamas on June 25. The release was contingent on Israel releasing all Palestinian political prisoners in Israel’s jail by the evening of June 27. Israel refused and instead mounted this fresh offensive.

Many believe that Israel had been planning such a premeditated attack for many weeks. The kidnapping of its soldier was an excuse to launch this attack.  Palestine’s permanent observer on the UN Security Council said on June 30 that the Israeli invasion “was clearly premeditated and planned”.  A UN Security Council resolution condemning this attack was considered. This was naturally blocked by the USA.

Soon after the internationally legitimised elections in January in Palestine, USA and Israel had not only refused to recognise the democratic verdict of the Palestinian people, but also resolved  to remove Hamas from power.   Apart from daily assassinations and incitements, Israel blocked the flow of international financial resources alongwith food and medical supplies to Palestinian territories.  The month prior to the capture of the Israeli soldier, according to the UN Secretary General for Public Affairs, at least 49 Palestinians, including 11 children, were killed  by the Israeli forces and 259 injured.

On June 30, Israel, went further and “arrested” 64 leading members of the Hamas,   including 7 cabinet ministers  and  at least 20 law makers.  These illegal arrests,  roundly criticised by the international community only reflect Israel’s intention to escalate tensions further.  The Communist Party of Israel has openly condemned  this offensive of its government  and called for large-scale demonstrations to denounce  Israel’s, “crimes by the occupation of large territories of the Gaza strip with the excuse of releasing the kidnapped soldier”.  It has called for the immediate Israeli pull out from all parts of the Gaza strip.  Commenting on such Israeli aggression, a leading Israel newspaper Haaretz editorially said, “the issue is of a soldier who must be brought home, not changing the face of the middle-east”.

The international community cannot remain mute spectators of such gross violations of human rights by Israel which is fully backed by US imperialism.  The Israeli argument that it is only protecting itself from the terrorist attacks by the Hamas is simply unacceptable. The root cause of the problem  is Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and its refusal to concede to the Palestinians their  fundamental and legitimate right to an independent home land. 

  If after Israel vacates its occupation of Palestinian territories, terrorist attacks  continue, then the whole world will support Israel and its actions to defend itself.  However, as long as Israel continues to occupy Palestinian territories,  the vast majority of the world realises that such occupation in flagrant violation of all international norms and UN resolutions is, in the first place, the provocation  that unleashes a terroristic response.  The question of Israeli occupation, which is denying Palestinians their home land and Middle East its peace, remains the central issue. And, this is the only issue.  

The international solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for homeland must be strengthened. The call given by the central committee of the CPI(M) for strengthening the popular expression of such solidarity assumes greater significance in the background of these developments.