Palestinian supporters protest during a march in response to the conflict between Hamas and Israel in New York City, USA, October 8, 2023. Photo: Bill Dores
By Khaled Barakat – Oct 13, 2023
Since October 7, the alliance represented by the United States, Israel, Britain and European countries, along with their subordinate Arab reactionary regimes, has been exposed by the initiative and achievements of the Palestinian resistance â and this camp is now responding with a genocidal assault on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.
The resistance is unifying the Palestinian masses in the homeland and in diaspora, unifying the Arab masses from the Gulf to the ocean, unifying the international forces of liberation and dignity, the free people of the world who have declared their full support to the Palestinian peopleâs resistance and struggle for liberation. The imperialist-Zionist-reactionary camp is united in committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinian people in Gaza, and they share a joint responsibility for every crime carried out by the Israeli occupation military.
The people of the world have seen how the rhetoric of imperialism and Zionism is collapsing and being exposed. The masks of âhuman rightsâ and âdemocracyâ have been pulled from the faces of these forces. What is happening today in Palestine is genocide and ethnic cleansing at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces, targeting universities, hospitals, schools, razing entire residential areas and neighbourhoods. Nothing and nobody in Gaza has been untouched by this brutal and criminal assault.
The Zionist enemy is carrying out this war of ârevengeâ without a strategy or clear targets, making it even more dangerous and brutal. They seek to cover the complete chaos in the Israeli regime and army with genocidal rhetoric and demands, making this regime a greater danger not only to the Palestinian people but to the entire region and the world.
The United States and Europe rushed to support their colonial project in the region without conditions or restrictions. This is expected behaviour, and has been repeatedly the case for over 100 years. âIsraelâ is a colonial settler project that was established by these forces. And the level of repression that has risen inside these imperialist powers â such as Germany, France, Canada, the United States, Australia and elsewhere â is also not a surprise, targeting Palestinian activists and communities and banning marches and demonstrations for Palestine, especially in Germany and France. Today, this is accompanied by the ban on the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network in Germany as the latest assault on our communities.
The rise of resistance in Palestine and the rise of Palestinian mobilization in the diaspora reflect the rise of an international revolutionary movement that is being born, from Gaza to Sanaâa to Berlin.
In the last few days, the Palestinian people have been united behind their armed resistance. It is crucial for our struggle to be clear and to be principled in these times and at all times, but particularly when the Palestinian people are facing total genocide. There is no room for ambiguity and general statements that are devoid of content. What the Palestinian people expect from their allies and solidarity movements around the world is unconditional and full support of the Palestinian resistance actions and to bring an end to the illusion of the so-called âtwo-state solution.â The battle of October is not only a Palestinian battle against Israelâs crimes and genocide, it is the birth of a Palestinian, Arab and international revolution, on military, political, social, economic and all levels, because this revolution is being born in the oceans of pain and blood of our peoples, through the will and determination of the Palestinian people to launch their revolution.
This revolution does not come from a position of comfort. It comes from the most impoverished area of our people, under siege, on the front lines of the anti-imperialist camp confronting Israel. This is what makes the Palestinian revolution an international revolution. The U.S. sending its military forces and aircraft carriers to the region only proves that the Palestinian people are at the forefront of confronting imperialism, Zionism and fascism.
This is the time for anti-imperialist movements around the world to unify in their struggle and the tasks of the revolution locally in their countries. This is not separated from the rise of Africa and the shifting international balance of power. This is not just the battle of the Palestinian people. As the October Revolution in Russia opened the horizons of defeating capitalism and confronting imperialism in 1917, as October of 1956 marked the Egyptian peopleâs defeat of imperialism and Zionism, a liberatory moment for the entire Arab homeland, as October 1973 marked the Arab reclamation of stolen land from colonial occupation, todayâs glorious October battle is an international battle, and this is the time for an international revolutionary front.
The battle of October has also been a battle of the entire camp of resistance in the region, led by the Palestinian resistance in Gaza. This sacred and unshakeable relationship has been forged through joint sacrifice and struggle of Lebanese, Yemeni, Syrian, Iraqi, Jordanian, and all Arab masses. As the Palestinians are rising, Palestine has proven once again to be the cause and the compass of the Arab masses, and as Palestine rises, sectarian wars and divisions and reactionary projects promulgated by imperialism in our region will be defeated and fade away. It is the destiny of the Palestinian people to be at the forefront. History and geography have chosen this for us for many, many centuries, defending Egypt, Syria, Lebanon , and we will remain as the shield and sword of the Arab nation until it practices its full self-determination and liberation from the ocean to the Gulf.
As the camp of the enemy is led by the United States, âIsrael,â the European imperialist powers, with the complicity and submission of Arab reactionary regimes, another camp in the region is rising, led by the people of Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Bahrain, Lebanon and the masses of North Africa; this camp stretches to Caracas, to Haiti resisting new imperial invasion, across the continent of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. It is the camp of the people who seek to develop and protect their own resources, wealth, destiny, culture, freedom and future â the future of humanity. And this camp is led by the working class of the world.
Western media is being exposed on a moment-by-moment bases, promulgating fascist propaganda and malicious lies and misrepresentations about the Palestinian resistance, its cause and its battle. At the same time, more people than ever are aware of the role of these state and corporate media forces in warmongering, fomenting racism and hatred, and manufacturing consent for genocide.
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The battle of October has goals and objectives, which were put forward clearly by the Palestinian resistance:
1) The freedom of our political prisoners. The Palestinian people have ordered their armed resistance forces to take the necessary actions to ensure the liberation of the Palestinian prisoners, and as our Palestinian people issued this resolute decision, they understand that this is going to come with a great deal of sacrifice and pain, due to the nature of the enemy.
2) The Palestinian people have demanded to end the siege on Gaza, permanently. They have launched an 18-month popular uprising known as the Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege to achieve this goal, and thousands of Palestinians were murdered, injured and paralyzed by the occupationâs forces as they marched to defend their right to return to their homes and to break the siege. Over 70% of the Palestinian population of Gaza are refugees since al-Nakba, denied their right to return home.
3) The Palestinian people will no longer accept the constant threats against their Christian and Muslim holy sites, particularly the Zionization of Jerusalem, our eternal capital of Palestine.
4) The end of the so-called âtwo-state solution,â permanently. No progressive voices should echo the reactionary King Abdullah II of Jordan, the fascist general Sisi of Egypt, and their crony Mahmoud Abbas. No progressive voice should be calling for permanent colonialism as a solution. The path of return and liberation against imperialism and Zionism will only come through a unified people, their revolutionary armed forces , on their unified land, from the river to the sea, and an international framework of revolutionary mutual solidarity.
An alternative world is possible. Socialism is possible. Justice and true peace and freedom are possible. They are possible with the defeat of imperialism and Zionism. And these are the messages and the lessons of the October battle in Palestine: that resistance is possible and the people of the world do not need and will no longer accept the bootheels of imperialism on their backs. This is the time to stand with the fishers of Gaza, the workers, the students and the teachers, to stand with the 5,350 Palestinian political prisoners subjected to all forms of torture and oppression, whose freedom is now within grasp. This is the time to support the Palestinian armed forces and the Lebanese resistance. This is the time to defend Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as they are not only sacred and holy places; they are also the manifestations of our history, culture and existence. Â Be part of this historical battle by raising your voice, now. The time is now to take a position, to be clear, to stand for justice. Do not wait until after the battle is done.
