Communist Party of Israel: Far-Right Gov’t Aggressive Policy Will Only Increase.

The regime coup advanced by the Netanyahu government will obliterate all democratic space still left in Israel and solidify Israel’s status as a right-wing dictatorship. By eliminating the independent judiciary in general and removing the supreme court’s power in particular, the government will be able to institutionalize apartheid, attack groups within Israel such as Palestinians citizens of Israel and left-wing activists and legalize the annexation of the West Bank.

Hadash and CPI demonstrators in Jaffa against the far-right Israeli government and their planned fascist reforms, March 16, 2023 (Photo: Zo Haderech)

By increasing the power held by the government and abolishing any checks and balances, Israel’s aggressive expansionist policy in the region will only increase. As this fascist Israeli government continues its devastating march towards dictatorship and war, and the escalating attacks on Palestinians in East Jerusalem and on Al-Aqsa Mosque threaten to raise the tension in the region and bring further killing, injuring and oppression. The Communist Party of Israel (CPI) sees that meetings and “talks”, such as the Aqaba meeting, are a means for further Israeli leverage and a pretext for eliminating any chance of ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian State, therefore we think that the Palestinian Authority should consider its participation in efforts made by reactionary forces, which have given up on support for the Palestinian cause, and the American administration representing the interests of the Israeli occupation.

Facing this fascist government, the Palestinian people is threatened by ethnic cleansing while the world watches. Palestinians in the OPTs are facing violence from the Israeli army, as we saw in Nablus, and from settlers aided by the army, as in the attack on Huwara. These attacks both represent official Israeli government policy whose aim is to annex as much land as possible with as little Palestinian as possible (i.e., ethnic cleansing).

The Palestinians within Israel are being threatened by the regime coup, which will remove any legal protection against discrimination, and by Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s plans of increasing home demolitions and assembling Jewish militia forces backed by the police in the historic (“mixed”) cities. We warn that these armed groups of right-wing activists, like the settlers who torched Huwara, are posing an immediate threat to the lives of Palestinian citizens of Israel. Netanyahu’s commitment to Ben-Gvir, made 10 days ago, to subordinate these national militias to the latter’s authority, and to expedite their creation, clearly signifies a total commitment to oppression of Palestinian protest within Israel as a chief goal of this government.

The Government’s legal coup have been met with massive demonstrations for the past 2 months. These protests mainly focus on the concrete plans for the judiciary and do not generally refer to the deep problems – the occupation and racism. We in CPI and the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash-Al-Jabha) participate in these protests within “The Block Against the Occupation,” a coalition of groups and activists who share our belief that there cannot be a struggle for democracy without a fight against the occupation. We notice increased attention to the occupation among the protesters themselves, but not among the leadership. The protest movement is led by the Israeli bourgeoisie block, afraid of losing Israel’s international reputation as a “liberal democracy,” which benefits its business interests.

The immensity of the protest represents an actual division within the Israeli society between Netanyahu’s right-wing populist block, including the Jewish religious communities, the settlers, and a large section of the Jewish working class on the one hand, and the protesters who represent the upper middle classes, professionals, a smaller section of the Jewish working class, alongside big capital on the other.

The Arab masses, at large, do not participate in this protest due to its general Jewish nationalistic rhetoric and exclusion of left-wing positions. Nevertheless, we see the struggle against this legal coup as a necessary preventive action. Moreover, the fascist government laid down nearly 150 laws that uncover its orderly work plan, among them the violation of the right to strike and the right to association in a manner that aims to exclude mainly the Palestinian citizens and the democratic Jews from participating in the next elections. If these “reforms” pass, the possibility of future struggles for a Palestinian state, for peace, justice, and democracy will be diminished significantly.

We also see potential of radicalization within some sections of Israeli society, understanding that the government’s commitment to the occupation is connected to its legal plans, and the government’s aggression and invasions are a diversion to halt the protests and its demands. Now, more than ever, the international solidarity is most needed. Now, more than ever, international popular condemnation of Israel’s escalating actions and policies, leading to legalizing both occupation and apartheid are a necessity. The coup needed in Israel is against fascism, exploitation, occupation and apartheid.

Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=30947