Gaza

On May 16th, Israeli tanks initiated an assault on the city of Beit Lahia, in the south of Gaza; the opening salvo of operation “Gideon’s Chariot.” Israel intends to assault, capture, and hold the entirety of the north, with all Palestinians still living in the shattered ruins of their homes to be displaced to a tiny sliver of land in the south. Netanyahu insists that the objective is to destroy Hamas and rescue the remaining hostages, but all people of conscience know this is a decrepit lie – if ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu wanted the hostages freed, all he needs do, is accede to Hamas’ just demands, as outlined in the ceasefire negotiations in March:

A permanent ceasefire.

The withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Gaza.

The return of displaced persons to their homes – or what remains of their homes.

The end of the blockade on food, medical supplies, fuel – the end of the famine.

The release of Palestinian political prisoners.

The reconstruction of Gaza.

It is clear to all whose humanity remains intact that this is Israel’s final solution: to rid the world of the people of Gaza. For eighty years, the Palestinian people have fought back against the yoke of imperialism and genocide; they have often smote the tanks and the jackboots of the zionist war machine. Their extermination is paramount to US domination of the region, and whatever petty grievances exist between Trump and Netanyahu, the US and their Israeli lapdogs will pursue that objective. 

The Palestinian resistance is not destroyed – they will defend their homeland and their people as they have always done, but they cannot stand alone. It is the responsibility of all righteous and morally sound people to stand with the Palestinians, to reject the Zionist project, to throw a wrench in the machinery of empire, to get dangerous.

India/Pakistan

Last month, an attack on Indian tourists in Kashmir triggered a conflagration between India and Pakistan; Last week, this skirmish – of potentially nuclear ramifications – came to a close, uncertain, unsatisfying to both sides, potentially temporary.

The attack, which killed 27 tourists and wounded 17 others, was carried out by a group called The Resistance Front. Much has been said of this organization, deemed terrorists by the Modi government. India alleges that The Resistance Front is a front for the Pakistani Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba: this may be true, it may not be.

This is irrelevant.

Kashmir has been partitioned, occupied, since 1947. The people of Kashmir, like those of Palestine, have been denied their most basic right of self-determination, denied their politcal will. Any violence, whether it is carried out by the Kashmiri people authentically, or by an opportunistic front, is born of the contradiction of colonialism, of the domination of a whole people.

The solution is singular: End the occupation of Kashmir! Freedom, Independence, Self-Determination for Kashmir!

Syria/Middle East THing

On May 13, Trump announced that he would remove sanctions, and begin the process of normalization with the new government of Syria. Trump’s objective seems clear, though not entirely cogent: stabilize West Asia, establish Syria as a bulwark against Iran, deepen existing diplomatic and trade relations with established imperial vassals in the region, and push the Abraham Accords – normalization with Israel – on those selfsame vassals.

Israel has long been the lynchpin of western imperialism in West Asia, and recognition of the Zionist state by their equally US-aligned Arab neighbors would be no less than a coup for the imperialists. Trump’s pleas has been met with a deafening silence from the Gulf states – but not from Syria. Al-Sharaa, Syria’s new leader, has sent discrete signals that he’s willing to normalize with Israel, and sacrifice what little sovereignty Syria has left before the altar of US domination.

No prophesy can tell whether Trump will be able force normalization with Israel on the Gulf states, or make West Asia safe for US imperialism. But, at least for the time being, the United States has taken a further step towards the circumvallation of its competitors in the region – Russia and Iran – and of Palestine.