Israel/Palestine

The intercommunal conflict can be traced back to the Ottoman empire.

Historically, socialists have played more a role of recognising Israel than opposing it in the sense of the “From the River to the Sea” slogan

The history of red-brown alliances seems to be repeating, with leftists allying with Hamas and Hezbollah against Israel

"Zionism" can have very different meanings, and equating it with the current Israeli government is false to history

On 15 November, hundreds demonstrated in Tel Aviv, in perhaps the biggest protest so far in the war critical of the government, calling for a new hostage-prisoner exchange.

We need to emphasize that a reactionary opposition cannot be liberating. The oppressed people of Palestine need to form a democratic opposition in the midst of this war... And if a people-centered and secular government comes to power in Israel, perhaps both sides could live peacefully alongside each other while respecting each country’s territorial integrity.

"I cannot follow the logic of how a bilateral ceasefire contributes to our agreed-upon ends: two states for two peoples living peacefully next to one another in a shared homeland"

Following the 24-30 November truce and hostage exchange, Israel has returned to intense bombardment and a ground offensive in southern Gaza, and talks for a new truce look distant. The Times of Israel quotes Israeli military sources as accepting the Hamas figure of over 15,000 killed so far in Gaza. The Israeli military sources claim only 5,000 of those as Hamas fighters. World Health Organisation figures show even larger thousands at risk of death from disease caused by the living conditions of displaced people, or now untreated because of the destruction of healthcare. Senior US government...

Rape and terror on 7 October By Gerry Bates On 4 December, the United Nations hosted a special session to hear about rape and sexual violence during the 7 October massacre in Israel by Hamas. Meni Binyamin of the Israel police Crime Investigations Unit has told the New York Times , from testimony from survivors of the massacre and from soldiers and emergency medical workers coming in after, that: “There were violent rape incidents, the most extreme sexual abuses we have seen, of both women and men... dozens”. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, who leads a Civil Commission of investigation, says that thanks...

My husband and I lived with two of our six children in an apartment on the seventh floor of the al-Karamah Towers, in the northwestern part of Gaza City. On 7 October 2023, at 10pm, our area was heavily bombed... we decided to leave... We left home and went to stay with our extended family nearby, in a-Shati Refugee Camp. My husband and I and our six children stayed with them for a week... It was very dangerous in the camp, too, with non-stop bombing... After a lot of discussion among us... we... decided... to head to Khan Yunis, which was considered safer at the time. On 15 October 2023, my...