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If an Israeli ground offensive begins in Rafah, there will be a revolt.
by thomas foster
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Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Issue 2895
Students participating in a breakout session at the assembly (Photo: Socialist Worker)
Around 130 campaigners took part in a Stop the War rally in London on Tuesday.
They are defiant at recent Conservative attacks on the Palestinian movement and have vowed to keep fighting.
People were exposed to the news that Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians waiting for aid trucks to arrive in northern Gaza, killing and wounding several people.
This confirms a deliberate pattern of such attacks since last week, when Israel killed more than 100 Palestinians seeking food and water. “Flour Massacre”.
And the days are counting down to the start of Ramadan, when Israel has threatened a ground attack on the southern Gaza town of Rafah. More than 1.25 million displaced people have taken refuge in Rafah, and a full-scale Israeli offensive could lead to massacres, increased famine, and mass expulsion of Palestinians to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
After hearing from a variety of speakers, the meeting divided into breakout groups made up of local organizations and activists, staff and students, and workers from various sectors.
Richard Boyd Barrett, a socialist elected to the Irish parliament, condemned Israel’s “barbaric attack on the people of Gaza”.
“The starving people being slaughtered by Israel reveal the genocidal nature of the Israeli regime. Only a genocidal regime based on apartheid and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people could commit such horrific crimes. Yes,” he said.
“All of this was facilitated by the United States, Britain, and the major imperialist powers. Decades of imperialist support laid the foundations for Israel to think it could avoid problems.”
Samira Ali from Goldsmiths University said: “The pre-Ramadan ceasefire is not happening. The Israeli onslaught will continue and accelerate. The worst fears may be yet to come.
Samira added: “When our rulers say that Islamists are regulating our streets, they are saying that all Muslims are the problem.”
“Hope lies not in elections, but in mass movements in the streets.”
“We need to look at occupations across the country. We need more workers and sectors to join this fight.”
As Palestinian activist and writer Ghada Karmi argued: Action is required. What we need to talk about are the enablers of the state of Israel.
“Western countries are actively complicit in arming, supporting, and financing the state of Israel. It is these enablers that should be the targets of our operations.”
Lindsay Jarman, an advocate for the Stop the War coalition, said: “What we’re talking about is a completely bankrupt government attacking people’s right to protest.”
Our rulers are “frightened by the scale of the movement,” she said.
PCS union general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “We are watching the ethnic cleansing of Gaza live on TV and on our phones.
“And what we see in Rafah is not war, but annihilation.
“On average, 240 Palestinians are killed every day and 48 mothers are killed, or two every hour. 19,000 children are orphaned or left without an adult caregiver. Palestinians are starving to death.
“Without a free and independent Palestine, there can be no justice and no peace.”
Friday’s Workplace and Student Day of Action is an opportunity to escalate action, and Saturday’s demonstrations need to be massive.
If Israel launches a ground attack on Rafah, we must press ahead with further strikes, occupations, roadblocks, and other destructive actions.
- March 8th (Friday) Workplace Action Day.Click here for details
- National demonstration gathers at 12:00 noon on Saturday, March 9th and marches to the US Embassy in a corner of Hyde Park.Click here for details