By Behzad Navid
November 29 is commemorated as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. On this day in 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 181, known as the “Partition Resolution.” This resolution laid the foundation for a fully sovereign Palestinian state which, despite facing immense pressure today, continues to be supported by the overwhelming majority of UN member countries.
November 29 is a day to express the unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people in their ongoing struggle against apartheid, occupation and injustice.
Seventy-seven years after the adoption of Resolution 181, the racist and increasingly fascistic Israeli regime continues to violate international laws and UN resolutions. As a puppet of imperialism in the region, Israel openly expresses its intent to occupy all of Palestine, establish a Greater Israel and essentially redraw the region’s geopolitical map.
Over the past 18 months, the massacre of Palestinians, particularly in Gaza and the West Bank, along with the Palestinian people’s steadfast resistance, has sparked a solidarity global movement. This unprecedented movement aims to end the support Israel receives from politicians and corporations, especially in the West.
Official statistics report that approximately 44,000 people have been killed in Gaza, with over 103,000 injured. Of the deceased, seventy percent are women and children. This atrocity that serves as a clear example of the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. This massacre has led to tens of thousands of missing, injured and disabled individuals, two million homeless, and the destruction of about 70 percent of residential areas, hospitals and schools. The infrastructure in Gaza has completely collapsed, and there is a targeted policy to create famine among the remaining population.
These horrors have shocked global public opinion, resulting in unprecedented protests across many capitals worldwide. The outrage stems from the recognition that these mass murders are crimes against humanity, facilitated by the financial and military support of imperialist powers.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, arms shipments to Israel have been consistently high since 2011. In the most recent conflict, the US supplied 70.2 percent of the weapons, followed by Germany (23.9 percent) and Italy (5.9 percent). Reports also indicate that 90 percent of Gaza’s population has been displaced, and Israel has ordered the evacuation of 84 percent of Gaza.
The immense human toll and the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, coupled with the destruction of their land by Israel, expose the complicity of imperialist nations and NATO. The justification that “Israel has the right to defend itself” discredits their claims to uphold human rights and international law.
As mentioned, Israel’s fascistic, ultra-nationalist and apartheid-driven agenda aims to involve more regional countries in the conflict, particularly Iran. Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent comments on a ceasefire with Lebanon focused instead on the need to target Iran. This strategy threatens to eliminate any hope for Palestinian national self-determination while inflicting massive damage on Iran and its allies in Iraq, Yemen and Syria.
For the past four decades, the Middle East and wider region from Afghanistan to Gaza have been dangerously exposed to military and political interventions by US imperialism and its reactionary allies, with little effective resistance to protect the people. Palestine is a prime example of this. The phenomenon of “political Islam,” whether in the form of state power or militia groups, has failed to oppose imperialism effectively. These forces do not pursue social justice, human-democratic rights or the economic and social emancipation of the masses – in fact, they often oppose these progressive goals. The record of Iran’s theocratic dictatorship is a glaring example of this failure.
Recent developments in Syria have also worsened the situation, with rebel forces backed by Turkey and other Arab countries regaining control of at least half of Aleppo in a surprise offensive. In response to the escalating regional instability, the Islamic Republic of Iran has used provocative language to show its support for the so-called “axis of resistance,” including recent statements by Supreme Leader Khamenei calling for Netanyahu’s execution following the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for him.
However, the primary goal of the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy is the survival of the theocratic regime at any cost. The ruling clerical regime in Iran has a well-documented history of sowing division among Palestinian forces. Its reckless actions, which stoke regional tensions, reflect the internal existential crises faced by the regime. Under increasing political and economic pressure, the Islamic Republic has escalated its repression of women, youth and working people in recent months. This intensification of domestic oppression is intended to preserve the regime in the face of a mounting crisis of legitimacy and growing opposition at home.
Ultimately, the path to peace and stability in the region lies in ending the Israeli occupation and the settlements in Arab territories, as mandated by UN resolutions and in full adherence to international law. The establishment of an independent and fully sovereign Palestinian state within the pre-June 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital is the necessary step to securing a just and lasting peace.
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