Image by Carlos Latuff
Editor’s note: This statement was released around this time last year from the Manchester branch of the Anarchist Federation on the Gaza war, but it continues to remain relevant today and cuts to the core of something we must be clear on: just exactly what it is we, as anarchists and revolutionaries, stand in solidarity with when we stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine. Thus, we felt it was worth republishing at this time, as food for thought. We must not whitewash the realities of authoritarian extremism on both “sides” of the “conflict.” As the statement says, whoever dies, both the State of Israel and the Palestinian extremists win. We must also remember that there is strong evidence of collusion between Mossad (Israeli intelligence) and many Palestinian extremists, and Mossad agents themselves have been known to don Palestinian attire and conduct black op false flag attacks. This all serves to de-legitimate and marginalize militant yet non-extremist grassroots resistance from below on the part of both Palestinians and Israelis, many of whom seek to work together towards peace and reconciliation.
Statement from the Manchester branch of the Anarchist Federation on the Gaza war
One thing is absolutely clear about the current situation in Gaza: the Israeli state is committing atrocities which must end immediately. With hundreds dead and thousands wounded, it has become increasingly clear that the aim of the military operation, which has been in the planning stages since the signing of the original ceasefire in June, is to break Hamas completely. The attack follows the crippling blockade throughout the supposed ‘ceasefire’, which has destroyed the livelihoods of Gazans, ruined the civilian infrastructure and created a humanitarian disaster which anyone with an ounce of humanity would seek an end to.
But that’s not all there is to say about the situation. On both sides of the conflict, the idea that opposing Israel has to mean supporting Hamas and its ‘resistance’ movement is worryingly common. We totally reject this argument.
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