From the UK SOCIALIST WORKER:
Israel spreads terror across Gaza and West Bank
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu (Picture: World Economic Forum on Flickr)
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has shown up the reality that Israel will never allow a “two state solution”.
He said, “In any future arrangement Israel needs security control of all territory west of the Jordan River.”
His words expose the White House’s assurances that Israel should work towards bringing about a two state solution as lies. The only reason the US made them is because it fears support for Palestine will detonate a wider revolt in the Middle East that threatens its interests.
Netanyahu’s remarks come as the Israeli state massacres Palestinians in Gaza—and spreads terror across the West Bank.
Palestinians in Gaza now make up 80 percent of people worldwide who are suffering from famine or catastrophic hunger, according to a new United Nations report. It goes on to say that every single person in Gaza is at least hungry, with a quarter of the population currently starving or not getting enough food to eat.
Martin Griffiths, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, added that the 400,000 Palestinians at risk of starving are “actually in famine, not just at risk of famine.” And the around 335,000 children in Gaza who are under five are all at a high risk of severe malnutrition that could stunt their growth.
The Israeli state, which has tried to stop aid from crossing the border into Gaza, has engineered the situation.
The Israeli state has only allowed 21 percent of all planned deliveries. Only five out of 24 deliveries containing food and other supplies have been able to reach destinations in the north of Gaza.
The UN said that a slow vetting process for aid vans and the reluctance of Israel to open border crossings is making the crisis worse.
More than a million Palestinians have fled to the city of Rafah to try and escape Israel’s bombs. With so many people being forced to crowd into the area, the UN quickly ran out of tents to give people.
Many now have to make tents out of any materials they can get their hands on. Salam Al-Sinwar fled to Rafah with her family. She said that they were forced to sleep on the street for three days before they were given a tent.
“When we arrived in Rafah, we stayed on the streets for three days until somebody brought us this tent,” she said.
“There are insects here that come from under the sand, and it is freezing cold. Adults can’t cope with this weather, especially at night—so how can children?
“My children are sick. They are always cold and hungry. We can’t afford to buy any food, so we wait for people to bring it to us from aid trucks. I do not want to eat or drink. All I want is food and clean water for my children.”
The situation underlines the need to keep mobilising against Israel—and its imperialist backers in the White House and Downing Street.
Actions called by PSC, Stop the War and others:
- Saturday 20 January: National Day of action for Palestine—local demonstrations.
- Monday 22 Jan – Saturday 27 January: Stop Arming Israel Actions, including local Barclays protests on Sat 27 Jan.
- Saturday 3 February: National Demonstration for Palestine in London.
- Wednesday 7 February: National day of workplace and student action for Palestine
‘We live in fear of soldiers and settlers’
Yasmeen lives in a small village near Ramallah in the West Bank with her husband and two young children. They are still traumatised after Israeli soldiers raided her house without warning last year.
“Israeli soldiers broke into my house at midnight,” she told Socialist Worker. “As soon as they saw the soldiers with their dogs and their guns, they started screaming and crying.
“My son is still scared of dogs after that night and doesn’t want to sleep without me anymore. Our babies should not be seeing guns. They should be playing.
“I am visually impaired, and I asked the soldiers why are you coming into my house? What threat are we?”
“The soldiers justified their raid by saying that they were looking for people with snipers. Israeli soldiers have raided other people’s homes in our village, even destroying people’s furniture.”
She added, “We are really scared of the settlers. When they come to the village you know they want to kill you. After 8 pm, everyone locks the doors to their homes and hopes that the settlers will not come and kill their children.
Yasmeen added that everywhere in the West Bank, Palestinians are living in fear of attacks from settlers and soldiers. “I went into Ramallah to pick up medication and nappies for my children,” she said.
“While I was there, Israeli soldiers opened fire on us while people were shopping in the market. I wasn’t scared to die, but I was scared about leaving my children. I thought about what their lives would be like without me.
“I didn’t want them to feel how I felt. A settler killed my father. They shot him in the heart, and he died right there. The pain of his loss has never left me. I think it will be there for as long as I live.”
But Yasmeen says the Israeli attacks will fuel resistance. “When you trap people in a bottle for their whole lives, they will try to break free one day,” she said.
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