THE SOCIALIST PARTY: AGAINST ALL CAPITALIST WARS!

 

AGAINST ALL CAPITALIST WARS!

THE UNDERLYING CAUSE OF THE ISRAEL— GAZA WAR IS NOT UNDYING ENMITY BETWEEN TWO GROUPS – JEWS AND ARABS – BUT A FIGHT BETWEEN DIFFERENT CAPITALIST FACTIONS THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THE HORRORS UNLEASHED ON INNOCENT PEOPLE BY HAMAS NOR FOR ISRAEL’S SAVAGE RETALIATION

Some say that the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East would not have happened if the State of Israel had never been founded. But it was and it exists. And the same kind of thing could be said about countless conflict situations in the world today. So we must look at the situation as it is and, if we do, we find that, as in other such conflicts, the underlying cause is not undying enmity between two groups –Jews and Arabs – but a fight between different capitalist factions, via their respective governments, over land, resources and strategic routes. 

In Gaza, the Hamas organisation, who are both anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic, came to power via elections in 2007 with the stated aim ‘to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine’. But those elections were the end of any form of democracy there and, in their time in office, Hamas has crushed multiple protests against them by rivals, keeps a tight and oppressive rein on any kind of opposition and does not hesitate to kill any opponents. During that time the people of Gaza have been plunged increasingly into poverty with, for example, 40% unemployment, with their leaders enriching themselves assisted by backers from other Arab countries and enjoying multi-million-dollar land deals, luxury villas and black market fuel from Egypt.

 The continuing oppression by Israel (a country by the way where 22% of its own households live in poverty) has also of course been a significant factor, as its government has sought to facilitate the enrichment of its own capitalist class by grabbing land and keeping a tight lid on protest. Now the lid has come off – and in the most horrific way. 

There is no excuse for the horrors unleashed on innocent people by Hamas nor for Israel’s savage retaliation, killing thousands, depriving a land of food, water and power and threatening to flatten its infrastructure regardless of what may happen to the inhabitants in the short and long term.

 Of course Israel’s government will support its own capitalist class to the hilt – after all that is its role. And it is all part of a play-book, which we see played out time and time again as governments representing their capitalist classes fail to resolve conflicts by diplomacy and resort to horrifying violence. 

We can only repeat the same thing we have always said when this has happened – that workers (in this case Arab and Israeli ones) have no interest in fighting one another but have a common interest in uniting with other workers to abolish capitalism and establish socialism.

Object: The establishment of a system of society based upon the common ownership and democratic control of the means and instruments for producing and distributing wealth by and in the interest of the whole community.