October 31, 2023
The war that started on October 7th with the attack of Hamas on several Israeli border towns, resulting in the killing of 1,400 people and the taking of more than 200 hostages, continues with the Israeli army's counterattack on Gaza, with unprecedented and catastrophic intensity. So far, more than 8,000 people have been killed by Israeli bombings and artillery attacks in Gaza, most of them children. The Israeli government has deployed a large force around Gaza and started occupying it. The reaction to the attack by Hamas is far-reaching and more disastrous than before. In the years 2008, 2009 and 2014, Gaza also witnessed Israeli bombings, but this time, the intensity of the attacks and the dimensions of the continuous bombings are much wider and the victims of these attacks are far more than before. There is collective revenge on the people of Gaza. Efforts for a ceasefire and providing aid to the people of Gaza are hardly possible, and the circle of siege of the people of Gaza is getting tighter every day. Israel has restricted people's access to water, food, medicine, electricity and fuel. It has called hundreds of thousands of people to leave their homes in northern Gaza. Also, in the West Bank, the violence of the Jewish settlers against the Palestinians has intensified and more than a hundred people have been killed.
Efforts for a ceasefire, to end the war and to stop killing of people have failed, various resolutions for a ceasefire in the UN Security Council have come to a dead end with the veto of the US government. But the UN General Assembly has been able to call for a ceasefire through a resolution with a decisive vote. Western countries, while supporting Israel, under the pressure of public opinion protests, have warned about the expansion of this war and the continuation of the current disastrous situation. Despite all this, the Israeli government ignores these calls and warnings, continues to avoid establishing a ceasefire by expanding military operations and intensifying the bloody occupation of Gaza. What is happening in Gaza has no other meaning except removing the residents of this area and trying to annex it to Israel. The killing and forced displacement of the people of Gaza is a violation of international laws and a clear crime against humanity.
Israel's disastrous reactions, however, do not justify Hamas' attack on civilians in Israel, killing of ordinary people, killing of children and others who have no role in the daily violence of the Israeli government. These actions were clear crimes that disgusted the peace defense forces in Israel and Palestine, in the region and the world. It is not clear that Hamas launched such a surprise attack with calculation, but the result could plunge the entire region into the flames of war. The actions of Hamas in this reprehensible and unacceptable attack, in practice, are also against the interests of the rightful struggle of the Palestinians against the occupiers, and they harm the process of the struggle for the realization of the national rights of its people. The responsibility of Hamas in responding to the crimes committed cannot justify collective revenge against the people of Gaza and an even bigger crime.
The war in Gaza has had a great impact on the region and has increased the continuity of those divisions in the region, so that normalizing the relationship with Israel in the Arab world has become much more difficult than before. The cancellation of the meeting of the heads of Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority with Biden during his trip to the Middle East, after he commented on the bombing of the hospital in Gaza, shows the sensitivity of the situation in the region. The double danger at the present moment is that the conflicts will go beyond the limits of Israel and Hamas and spread to other countries, including Lebanon. A step that can increase the possibility of the current war becoming a regional conflict and beyond.
The surprise attack by Hamas questioned the myth of the authority of the Israeli government and its control over the situation and showed that the security approach, building a wall and fence cannot ensure Israel's security and continue the occupation of Palestine. The end of this war can cause the Israeli society to distance itself from the stereotypes and myths of the sacred promised land claimed by the fundamentalist Jews of this country and strengthen a tendency in the Israeli society to search for a way for democratic coexistence and living in peace for both nations.
From the very beginning, the government of Israel has blocked the way of living in peace and security between the two nations by refusing to accept UN resolutions and has not adhered to any of the international laws, it has not even fulfilled its commitments with the Palestinians in Oslo. Until today, the Israeli government, with the full support of the US government and its western allies, has violated the rights of the Palestinian people and has practically hindered the establishment of the Palestinian state by expanding Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories. But this war showed that there is no other way but compromise. Despite the temporary subsidence of deep differences in the domestic political atmosphere, Israeli extremists have never faced international anger and protest as much as today, even within Israel itself. This war, after many years, has again made the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict the most important issue in the region. The intensity of violence in the killing of innocent people from both sides has revealed the shortcoming of the international community and the lack of attention to the discrimination against the Palestinian people. What is happening in Palestine is a festering wound that has been festering for decades, and every time it manifests itself in front of the eyes of the world with much bigger tragedies than before. This fact has increased the pressure on the countries supporting Israel's policies and made it more difficult to openly support this destructive war.
There is no doubt that the policies of the Islamic Republic in supporting Hamas and other militant forces such as Islamic Jihad and the provocative statements of the leader of the Islamic Republic and his entourage have no other meaning than fueling the dangerous conflict between the two sides. However, if the rantings of the leaders of the Islamic Republic and their verbal threats lead to a practical action in the region, it can create the risk of further involvement and face the people and our country with disastrous consequences. On the other hand, there are forces among the opposition who want to drag the Islamic Republic's foot into this war by boasting of the regime's support for Hamas. Especially a part of the opposition, which calls for striking the "snake's head" in Iran, i.e., the Islamic Republic, and propagates the attack on Iran, fits in this category. While firmly demarcating such approaches, we believe that the Islamic Republic should stop adventuring in the region and not play with the national interests and security of the Iranian people.
The Left Party of Iran supports an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, the immediate cessation of all Israeli military operations against the people of Gaza, the immediate release of hostages by Hamas, and the start of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians to establish lasting peace, based on the United Nations resolutions. Our party believes that there is no other way than to agree on a just solution to avoid war and bloodshed and end this long conflict. Along with these actions, it is essential and vital that the needs of the people of Gaza be provided as soon as possible and the ways of providing aid to the residents and the injured be opened as soon as possible. We believe that the conflict between Israel and Palestine has no military solution. None of these two nations is able to eliminate the other. The solution that has been agreed upon by the international community so far is the solution of forming two governments. This solution is still on the table and is considered a solid legal basis for reaching peace and reconciliation.
Political-Executive Board of the Left Party of Iran
October 31, 2023
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