Victory for the Palestinian Resistance … A blow to Israel and its allies

Statement by the Revolutionary Socialists

The resistance triumphed after an attack lasting 50 days: bombing with all kinds of advanced weapons, thousands killed and twice that number injured and the expulsion of around half a million Palestinians from their homes.

The resistance triumphed in the face of this brutality by an enemy armed with the latest American weapons, some of which were being used for the first time to kill Palestinian civilians and to destroy their homes. The resistance triumphed, despite all the destruction incurred by the Palestinian people in Gaza, in the face of human and material losses which cannot be forgiven or forgotten.

Despite the terrifying disparity in the balance of forces, the Palestinian resistance won when Israel failed to achieve the goals of its offensive, the first of which was to liquidate the resistance and break the Palestinian people. The Resistance won, because it broke the silence over the Palestinian struggle, which forms an additional blockade alongside the suffocating military and economic siege endured by the Palestinian people.

The voice of the Palestinian cause has once again been heard around the world, with the launch of popular movements backing the resistance and opposing the Zionist attack which is supported by the Great Powers. Israel has become popularly isolated, and even a number of regimes officially announced their opposition to Israel because of the aggression.

The resistance won when Israelis tasted some of the fear and anxiety which Palestinians have experienced for decades, as its rockets reached deep into Israel. Israeli settlements emptied, and Ben Gurion Airport became unsafe for air traffic, while sporting and cultural activities and tourism ground to a halt. This is in addition to the military cost of the attack, and the economic and civil infrastructure losses which Israel will have to shoulder.

The resistance won when Netanyahu accepted negotiations on new terms, and was forced to announce them to the Cabinet over the phone without even meeting them face to face. And behind Netanyahu stand his big backers – the US and European Union – and his close friends in the West Bank and in Egypt, who were not ashamed to attack the resistance and condemn it openly. They supported the Israeli attack, and pressurised the resistance factions which had united in negotiations over the acceptance of Israeli proposals for a ceasefire.

We will not be be surprised when we hear self-congratulatory explanations from Abu Mazen, that obedient servant of Israel, or simplistic analyses claiming that Al-Sisi’s regime is the protector of the Palestinian cause and that he can claim credit for reaching an agreement.

Stopping the attack, opening the [Rafah] crossing and ending the siege: these intial terms of an agreement may remain partially-met goals. It is not guaranteed that these terms will be met, but there is no doubt that what has been achieved is a crack in wall of concrete which surrounds the entire Palestinian people, and particularly in that surrounding Gaza. It also confirms that resistance is the only way to deal with Zionist aggression and the regimes which collaborate with it.

Long live the Palestininan resistance!
Down with Zionism and its allies!

The Revolutionary Socialists
28 August 2014