16-10-2023: The news of a Hamas attack from the Gaza strip into Israel has reverberated around the world, leading to much trepidation about what is to come. Violence begets violence, and none are more prepared to fuel this cycle than the imperialist ruling classes of the West, based in Washington, London and Brussels. It is scarcely believable that Hamas would have been able to launch such an attack without first obtaining the green light from the deep states of the West, replete with assurances that the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) would not respond in the first instance. The official story of a massive intelligence failure amongst the IDF is not credible, to say the least. The Gaza strip is arguably the most heavily surveilled geographic area on Earth,[1] and it is inconceivable that Hamas launched a “surprise attack” which included pulling down fences with a bulldozer and walking into military bases without being stopped and taking out army tanks. The Egyptian Intelligence Minister reportedly directly informed Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu 10 days before the attack that “something unusual, a terrible operation” was about to take place from Gaza.[2] The response was indifference.
Hamas terror
The oppressed Palestinians unquestionably have the right to resist and the right to defend themselves against some 75 years of unbearable oppression at the hands of the Zionist Israeli state, even with arms. Yet this time, it is clearer than ever that Hamas is being used as a proxy force by the West to enact massive retaliation and other chaos which could lead to a world war. Regardless of the horrific crimes of the IDF, the reported kidnapping of innocent Israeli civilian hostages, children, grandparents, people with a disability and others[3] – let alone summary executions – cannot be justified and must be condemned. These actions are eerily similar to those of ISIS and Al Qaeda, which Western governments activated for years during their still ongoing war of regime change against Syria. As The New Atlas points out,[4] Hamas are used as a tool of imperialism in a decades old “strategy of tension”, where destablisation through terrorism and violence ultimately work to the interests of the benefactor.
In fact, the monstrous retaliation against Gaza and Palestine that will now be unleashed by the Israeli state probably benefits Netanyahu and the imperialist West regardless of how many innocent civilians die needlessly. The IDF have announced a total siege of the Gaza strip,[5] including electricity, fuel, food and water, which could lead to the starving of over 2 million people. The Israeli state can now partially alibi an even greater military suppression of the Palestinian people who have endured arguably more injustice than any other. It is impossible that Hamas would not be aware of this and would not be cognisant of the thousands of Palestinians who will perish under IDF bombardments in response. Even though Hamas has won elections in the occupied territories in the past, today any notion that Hamas is fighting for the Palestinian people or indeed its “national liberation” must be discounted.
The rise of the East and the decline of the West
A deadly conflict at this point in time between Hamas and Israel can only be viewed in connection with the international situation. NATO’s proxy war on Russia via Ukraine has completely failed, and the elites in the West are very much aware that they cannot defeat Russia militarily – short of a nuclear exchange which could destroy the planet. Not only that, it has become evident that the West not only armed Nazis but celebrated the fact. Even this is difficult for the most ardent backers of empire to sustain politically. The US state in particular needed an off-ramp from Ukraine, they needed something huge in order to shift the focus away from what will likely be a “UkroNazi” collapse during a US Presidential election cycle. An orchestrated suicidal Hamas attack on Israel fits the bill to a tee. Israel’s retaliation and spreading of the conflict into Lebanon and Syria will also solve another dilemma for Washington – how to keep their troops in Syria to prevent reconstruction taking place. Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad just returned from a triumphant visit to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), where PRC President Xi Jinping pledged material support for war torn Syria.
This is occurring soon after the ground-breaking rapprochement between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, brokered by the PRC’s top diplomat, Wang Yi. The prospects of peace between what to that point had been considered eternal mortal enemies was another indicator of the positive benefits to the world from an economically and politically rising China, as the anchor of the non-imperialist BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) bloc. The US and European Union (EU) former colonial powers obviously cannot sustain a world in which the PRC and her non-imperialist allies deliver both peace and the prospects of economic development. If the US and the EU cannot rule, they will seek to destroy. It is these forces which are ultimately behind the October Hamas initiated attack on Israel, who are quite prepared for a world war to block the rise of BRICS allies.
The potential wars on Russia and China, or via the Middle East, launched by the West constitutes yet more proof that the capitalist mode of production is rotten ripe for replacement by its successor – socialism. Indeed, the eminent danger of world war can only be overcome with the working class raising itself to political power over the majority of the globe. While the political leaderships of the BRICS will not undertake this goal, working people should orient towards the BRICS while tackling the task of bringing down the ancient and decrepit Western empires driving us to extinction. It is well acknowledged that these political tasks will be difficult, but the rise of the East and the decline of the West is a material indicator that objective history is moving towards the supercession of class society.
Some demonstrations now taking place in the West are chock full of the faux left, who in backing Hamas and its provoked war are yet again falling for the trap laid for it by “their own” elites. Firstly, many of them should have embraced the Zionist Israeli state, as it was the most enthusiastic enforcer of Covid repression – which they backed. Secondly, most of them also applaud the arming of Nazis in Ukraine against Russia. ENOUGH! What is required is a genuine left wing, headed by internationally linked Marxist vanguard parties based on Permanent Revolution. Today, working people should demand: End Western military support for Israel! US troops out of Syria! Abolish NATO! Abolish AUKUS! No war on Russia or China! No war on Iran and the Middle East!
WORKERS LEAGUE
E: workersleague@protonmail.com
[1] www.globalresearch.ca/no-hamas-invasion-not-israeli-intelligence-failure/5835433 (11-10-2023)
[2] winepressnews.com/2023/10/09/nato-leaders-pledge-their-support-for-israel-as-nation-cuts-off-food-and-water-to-gaza-netanyahu-knew-about-attacks-in-advance/ (11-10-2023)
[3] www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/several-americans-confirmed-killed-israel-orders-complete-siege-gaza-barbarians (11-10-2023)
[4] www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne7Rsa7vba0 (11-10-2023)
[5] www.rt.com/news/584426-israel-gaza-complete-seige/ (11-10-2023)
Image: The Al-Abbas Mosque in Gaza City destroyed by Israeli Defence Force bombing. http://www.mirror.co.uk
Red Fire 