Ali Mansfield, Camden and Haringey Socialist Party
Ahead of a meeting of the UN General Assembly, Keir Starmer announced the British government’s formal recognition of a Palestinian state. The governments of Canada and Australia made similar announcements on the same day. Netanyahu has responded with vows to extend settlements in the West Bank.
Starmer, who has previously spoken in favour of the Israeli state’s ‘right’ to withhold power and water from Palestine, is not moved by genuine concern for the self-determination of Palestinians. His government has maintained more than 90% of export licences for sending arms to Israel. Several components of the fighter jets used in the Israeli state’s bombing campaign are manufactured in the UK. RAF planes have carried out surveillance flights over Gaza. In a parliamentary debate, then-foreign secretary David Lammy said, in March, that: “Israel remains an important ally. We have an important trading relationship… any discussion of sanctions is just not correct.” The British government’s support for the Israeli regime reflects capitalists’ interests in maintaining it as an ally in the Middle East.
At the same time, increasing sections of the capitalist class’s representatives fear the potential for further radicalisation caused by the horrors unfolding in Gaza. The Labour government’s complicity in the genocidal onslaught in Gaza has provoked massive public anger, and the move to recognise Palestinian statehood reflects the pressure of that anger. This follows partial U-turns on cuts to disability benefits and winter fuel payments, also after massive public outcry. Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s announcement of a new party has added to this pressure. Huge sections of the 800,000 people who signed up to know more about ‘Your Party’ will have been moved to do so in part by the issue of Gaza.
Building on the clear enthusiasm for a new party to fight for a political voice for the working class is vital in taking the anti-war movement forward. Mass organised working-class action is also needed, including to restrict the supply of arms to Israel.
Starmer’s token gesture will not end the unimaginable horror inflicted upon the Palestinian masses in Gaza. Nor will it end the enormous anger directed towards his government. The government’s stated aim is “to protect the viability of a two-state solution and create a path towards lasting peace for the Israeli and Palestinian people”. But genuine self-determination for the people of Palestine is not possible on the basis of capitalism, nor can capitalism offer any hope for peace in the region.
The only way forward is on the basis of the mass struggle of Palestinians, with the working classes throughout the region, with the aim of socialist transformation. By taking power out of the hands of the tiny capitalist ruling classes, and taking wealth and resources into the hands of the working-class masses – including in Israel – democratically planned economies can lay the foundation for negotiation on borders, the distribution of resources, and a region free from famine, war and repression.
