Last weekend’s edition of Rizospastis, the Greek Communist daily newspaper, published an interview with a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Israel, Reem Hazan and head of its International Relations Section. Above excerpts from the interview with Hazan.
“Last night [Thursday, August 7] the Israeli cabinet approved the beginning of a full-scale occupation of the Gaza Strip. We warn of the continuation of ethnic cleansing, the war of extermination and the further destruction of Gaza,” Hazan says and continues, “This government, motivated by racial supremacy and messianic fanaticism, must stop. Even those in the Israeli leadership who hesitate to expand the war do so out of concern for their soldiers and their prisoners, not out of concern for committing war crimes against an entire people. Israelis must not accept the continuation of this war and this criminal government. The protests demanding an end to the war and the overthrow of this government must continue. Only with an agreement and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces can the cessation of the extermination of the Palestinian people be ensured.”
Reem Hazan, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Israel (Photo: Rizospastis)
Regarding the impact of the images of starving Palestinians inside Israel, Reem Hazan points out “In recent weeks, following images of famine, brutal killings, and Israel’s failure to communicate its narrative to the world, more voices have been growing in Israel – and in the world, which can no longer deny it – demanding an end to the war and a cessation of further involvement in it. The peoples, the free people of the world, unlike most of their governments, support the right to liberation and the anti-war struggle.
We have seen this in dozens of countries, with a steady increase, since this government decided to proceed with changing the characteristics and borders of the region, under the pretext of defending its right to exist, which cannot be done at the expense of other peoples and their right to sovereignty and independence – in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Greece, Cyprus and all the countries of the world. The persistence of the solidarity movements in the struggle of the Palestinian people and in the anti-war movements is shaping the desired cumulative effect, even if it seems slow to us. This hypocrisy, double standards, and subordination of International Law to allow Israel to abuse, plunder and dominate the region, cannot continue.”
The cadre of the Communist Party of Israel said to Rizospastis: “The international isolation of Israel’s policies and crimes, which is mainly led by popular and leftist movements, has become one of the most powerful weapons of defense of the Palestinian people. Opposing the policies of the Israeli government, which seek war both domestically and internationally, is an internationalist duty, based on a history of struggle that opposes policies and practices, a struggle that isn’t hostile towards entire peoples. We, in the Communist Party of Israel and the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash), continue to organize protests inside Israel, by Palestinians and Jews, in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Nazareth, the Galilee and the coastal cities. We continue to work to strengthen the struggle partnerships to overthrow this government and change public opinion in Israel through local and national partnerships, such as the ‘Partnership for Peace’, the first and broadest anti-war alliance, for liberation and peace. We continue to participate in strengthening the steadfast resistance of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, through donation campaigns, especially the ‘Think of Gaza’ campaign, led by our comrades, and through solidarity visits.”
