These are difficult days in Palestine and Israel.
In Gaza, the Netanyahu Government continues its endless war which, despite it claimed intention, seems more concerned with keeping the IDF in Gaza than eradicating Hamas or freeing the remaining Hostages, those living or the remains of those who have already been killed. Indeed, by arming anti-Hamas militias, it is repeating the mistakes Israel made 20 years ago when it allowed Hamas to bring in weapons to attack PLA/Fatah forces in Gaza. Many Gazans continue to protest against Hamas and the destruction it brought down on the territory, protests Hamas tries to repress through executions and intimidation. The words of a Hamas leader, calling the sacrifice of Gazans “the price we have to pay,” haven’t helped.
In the West Bank, Jewish Terrorists are attacking Palestinian farmers almost daily. This includes a pogrom carried out in the village of Deir Dibwan near Ramallah. Mostly the Israeli Police & IDF allow these attacks to happen, arrest the Palestinians being attacked or, on occasions, actively support the Jewish Terrorists. The IDF also continues its “anti-terrorist” raids although in many cases those it kills are not terrorists
In Israel itself, the Governing Coalition limps from crisis to crisis, the only thing holding them together being the near certainty that if the Coalition breaks up, that in the subsequent election, they will be out of office. If this happens, the long expected Judicial Inquiry into why the 2023 Hamas Attack was allowed to happen & how the subsequent war will be able to start, also the long running Netanyahu Corruption Trial will speed up and may well end in him facing a prison sentence (if he doesn’t disappear off to Florida to live with his wife & son who are already there), Currently, Israel is due to hold elections 27 October 2026 but they could happen much sooner.
As well, the anti-war coalition inside Israel continues to gain ground. Led in part by Standing Together, the anti-war coalition holds demonstrations almost daily across Israel. Recently, many of these demonstrations have included protestors holding up pictures of children killed in Gaza Last week they staged a March from Tel Aviv to Gaza to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis that is happening there because of Israel’s actions.
It is the work of the Israeli anti-war coalition along with the brave anti-Hamas protestors in Gaza, that give me hope. It is clear that in both Gaza & Israel it is out of touch leaders who, despite their public’s wishes, want the war to continue the fighting, that in there is a desire in many (if not most) to end it. Hopefully, these saner voices will prevail; hopefully, this will not be before too long.
I know it is easy sitting here in the UK to feel powerless in what we can do to help bring the current war to an end but I would encourage people to take part in the regular Vigils help by UK Friends of Standing Together in Nottingham, London, Sheffield, Cambridge and many other places. It may seem a little gesture but, as two of the leaders Standing Together told us when they joined the Nottingham Vigil a few weeks ago, knowing there are people in the UK supporting them means a great deal to them.
Finally, the other action you can take, if you haven’t done already, is to become a paid-up member of LDfPME. We are active in helping to shape our Party’s policy on Palestine/Israel and to try to keep people informed about what peacemakers are doing that often doesn’t get covered in the British News. The cost is £10 every calendar year and is easy to do, just fill in the form on our website and follow the instructions to pay by bank transfer. We will be at Conference in Bournemouth and are looking to arrange a Fringe event (possibly with other Groups) and may even take part in the exhibition on a shared stall. Hope to see you there.
Leon Duveen
Chair, LDfPME