World Socialist Web Site – March 4, 2024
Following “flour massacre,” hundreds of thousands
around the world protest Gaza genocide
by Jacob Crosse, Nick Barrickman and Dan DeVries
As the genocide in Gaza enters its fifth month, millions of people took to the streets around the world in protest. Protests were held on every major continent, in many cases drawing tens of thousands of people.
The US-backed Israeli ethnic cleansing campaign has officially killed over 30,400 Palestinians. Large protests have continued despite attempts by capitalist governments and the media to smear demonstrators as antisemitic.
Thousands marched in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday. Thousands marched in Caracas, Venezuela, and similar figures were seen in Milan, Italy, and many other cities.
Protesters held up signs that read “Hands off Rafah,” in opposition to a planned Israeli assault. Some 1.5 million people are currently sheltering in the southernmost city in Gaza. Over 80 percent of Palestinians have been displaced since October 7, with many families forced to relocate multiple times in order to try and evade constant Israeli attacks.
Despite repeated US airstrikes, in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, millions of people protested against the Gaza genocide beginning on Friday and through the weekend.
The US and NATO powers continue to provide military, economic and political support to Israel. This steadfast support continues even as reports confirm that Israel military forces are deliberately massacring starving civilians and aid workers.
Following the “flour massacre” in Gaza City last week, Al Jazeera reported Sunday that an aid truck delivering flour into Gaza was destroyed in an Israeli attack near Deir el-Balah. At least nine people had been killed, with an eyewitness recounting seeing “body parts in the air.”
In a statement issued on Sunday, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Adele Khodr wrote that in a single hospital in the northern Gaza Strip at “least ten children have reportedly died because of dehydration and malnutrition.”
In the United States, over 60,000 people demonstrated in nearly 200 cities in the past week, according to a tracker maintained by Jay Ulfedlder, program director at Nonviolent Action Lab, located at the Harvard Kennedy School Carr Center for Human Rights Policy.
Protests were held over the weekend in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Portland, Tuscon, New York, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Washington D.C.
In Detroit, Socialist Equality Party presidential candidate Joseph Kishore and vice presidential candidate Jerry White spoke with many of the more than 1,000 people who took part.
Kishore issued a statement from the rally, stating, “This is a genocide made in Washington.” He added that the genocide “is part of an expanding global war,” including the US-NATO war against Russia over Ukraine. “The fight against imperialism is a fight against capitalism,” Kishore said, and this requires the development of a movement in the working class.
Despite the pouring rain, thousands turned out to Washington Square Park in New York City. While demonstrations have been a near-daily event in the city since last October, Saturday’s event was one of the largest in the last couple of months.
Without exception, demonstrators expressed their disgust with President Biden and the Democratic Party. Many had previously voted for Biden but vowed not to do the same in 2024, though many did not have a clear idea of what to do as an alternative.
While there was a sense of urgency to stop the genocide in Gaza, participants expressed wanting to do more than showing up to protests and shouting slogans.
Nick said he strongly supports “the Palestinian cause because it is not a war, it is a genocide. Everything that is happening right now in Gaza is just horrific. It is ridiculous to think about it.
“Our government is actually funding money, weapons for Israel for a long time,” he added. “This needs to be stopped immediately.”
“They make so much money off of wars. It is nothing new, if you look at the Afghanistan war, Iraq war, all based on lies. I was very young at that time when it was the Iraq war. And back in the day, there was no Instagram, Facebook and social media. So they were lying to us, always been there lying to us. The mainstream media, you are looking at fake news … and now people are waking up to the reality.”
In Washington D.C, around 2,000 people gathered outside the Israeli embassy to protest the slaughter. The event was held at the same location where 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell immolated himself in a fatal protest last Sunday.
One young person told reporters, “It was never about the hostages… Which is why you’re bombing them from the north, pushing them further out into the Egyptian border… The [Israeli] hostages themselves have made accounts that they were treated with dignity, as opposed to the Palestinians who are arrested and imprisoned in Israel who all have the same traumatizing experiences of being treated like animals, as opposed to human beings.”
One young worker said, “Especially the people in the working class in this country who need somebody to stand for them and need somebody to speak for them, because there’s definitely something wrong with the system that we live in.”
Genevieve spoke about the importance of the working class in stopping the genocide. She said “I think the only way to fight against oppressive forces like this is by getting the working class to be aware of this sort of injustice. There’s no institutional way to bring about progress. No way to do it within the system we have created… We can’t keep funding genocide like this, it’s not okay.”
When a reporter asked her about Biden’s recent appeal in Brownsville, Texas, for Trump to “join him” to pass anti-immigrant legislation in order to secure more military funding for Ukraine and Israel, she responded “He’s not working with what the people want… We’re not voting for Biden.”
She added, “We can’t work within the confines of a system that’s been created to serve people at the top.”
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/03/04/inco-m04.html
Hamas proposes Russia as main mediator in Gaza genocide ceasefire
By Al Mayadeen English
Hamas political bureau deputy head Moussa Abu Marzouk notes that the movement is prepared to work on the captives’ release and a list of the captives but on the condition that a complete and immediate ceasefire is implemented.
During an interview with Sputnik, Hamas political bureau deputy head Moussa Abu Marzouk stated that the Palestinian Resistance suggested that Russia become involved in resolving the war on Gaza in counterbalance to the US and “Israel”.
"We want Russia to be the main actor in counterbalance to the US and Israel. We call for it and we propose that Russia be backed by a number of countries which support it in this. And we will seek to achieve this goal to find balance in the issue," Marzouk said.
He noted that Hamas is prepared to work on the captives’ release and a list of the captives, but on condition that a complete and immediate ceasefire is implemented.
According to Marzouk, no agreement on a truce has been achieved and Hamas is losing trust in the Israeli authorities partaking in the case.
This comes as a three-day inter-Palestinian gathering, initiated by Russia to facilitate consensus among different Palestinian factions regarding the genocide in the Gaza Strip, commenced on Thursday.
In their statement, the factions agreed to continue ongoing discussions to achieve national unity, stressing that their objective is to address the termination of the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip and guarantee unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Furthermore, the factions reached a consensus on the imperative necessity to compel "Israel" to withdraw its troops from the enclave, as outlined in the statement.
Russia attempted to implement a ceasefire back in October, when the war on Gaza first started and before it became a bloodbath, but Russia's resolution was vetoed by the US in the UN Security Council.
Middle East Monitor - March 2, 2024
Houthis insist on entry of aid into Gaza in exchange for salvaging sunken British ship
Yemen’s Houthi group insisted Saturday on bringing relief aid into the Gaza Strip in exchange for allowing the sunken British ship Rubymar in the Gulf of Aden to be salvaged, Anadolu reports.
“We confirm again that the offer is valid to tow the ship (Rubymar) in exchange for bringing relief trucks into Gaza,” Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the group’s Supreme Political Council, said in a statement on X.
“We hold Britain responsible for all consequences,” he added.
There was no comment from Britain regarding the statement.
The British ship Rubymar, which was targeted by the Houthis on Feb. 18, was carrying large quantities of ammonia and oils, according to the official Saba Agency.
Last Saturday, the Yemeni government said that the ship was heading toward the Yemeni Hanish Islands in the Red Sea, which threatens a “major environmental disaster.”
Meanwhile, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said last Saturday that “the unprovoked and reckless attack by Iran-backed Houthi terrorists caused significant damage to the ship, which caused an 18-mile oil slick.”
“The M/V Rubymar was transporting over 41,000 tons of fertilizer when it was attacked, which could spill into the Red Sea and worsen this environmental disaster,” it added.
The Yemeni Houthi group has been targeting cargo ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden owned or operated by Israeli companies or transporting goods to and from Israel in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, which has been under an Israeli onslaught since Oct. 7.
With tensions escalating due to joint strikes by the US and UK against Houthi targets in Yemen, the group declared that it considered all American and British ships legitimate military targets.
Information Clearing House – March 4, 2024
George Galloway Wins UK Parliament Seat in Landslide After Pro-Palestinian Campaign
By Julia Conley
British politician George Galloway warned the Labour Party leadership Thursday evening that his victory in the town of Rochdale’s parliamentary election signaled “a shifting of the tectonic plates” following a campaign in which he vehemently defended Palestinian rights and condemned the U.K. government for backing Israel during its monthslong slaughter of civilians in Gaza.
“Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza,” Galloway said after declaring victory, addressing the Labour Party leader. “You have paid and you will pay a high price for the role you have played in enabling, encouraging, and covering for the catastrophe presently going on… in the Gaza Strip.”
Galloway easily won the by-election, which was called after the death of Labour MP Tony Lloyd in January, garnering 12,335 votes—nearly twice as many as the runner-up, independent candidate David Tully.
The Labour Party had run Azhar Ali, but pulled its support after he was heard saying Israel had “allowed” Hamas to attack the southern part of the country on October 7. The attack prompted the Israel Defense Forces to begin a relentless bombardment of Gaza that has now killed more than 30,000 people and implement a near-total blockade that has left at least a quarter of the population ﾓone stepﾔ away from famine, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The fact that Israel knew of the battle plan for the Hamas-led attack has been widely reported.
Without the support of the party, Ali came in fourth in the by-election.
Galloway focused heavily on Gaza during his campaign, as well as a lack of healthcare services in impoverished Rochdale.
Having been forced out of the Labour Party in 2003 for his condemnation of the British and U.S. invasion of Iraq—referring to British Prime Minister Tony Blair as a “wolf” and urging the military to ignore orders that violated international law—Galloway ran as a member of the left-wing Workers Party of Britain.
His victory marks the first time the party will be represented in the House of Commons.
Galloway focused his campaign heavily in the Muslim community, which makes up about 30% of the population of Rochdale.
He told voters that his first move as a member of Parliament would be to “ask the prime minister to meet me urgently to hear from the frontline, what millions of British people think about what’s happening in Gaza.”
Starmer has expressed strong support for Israel since October, even as it has waged attacks on hospitals, refugee camps, and crowds of people trying to access humanitarian aid. The Labour leader waited until late February to call for a “cease-fire that lasts.”
Galloway warned the Labour leader that his victory would “spark a movement” in the government of a country where two-thirds of the public in a recent poll said Israel should stop its bombardment and call a cease-fire.
“I want to tell Mr. Starmer above all, that the plates have shifted tonight,” said Galloway.
Labour’s support for “one of the great crimes of our age” led to Galloway’s triumph in Rochdale, saidﾠjournalist Owen Jones.
“His victory,” Jones said, “shows how angry natural Labour voters are.”
Julia Conley is a staff writer forﾠCommon Dreams.
US Supreme Court rules Trump can’t be kicked off ballots
The judges unanimously rejected a bid to prevent the former president from contesting this year’s election in Colorado
The US Supreme Court has shot down an effort by Democrat activists to stop former President Donald Trump from contesting the upcoming presidential election in multiple states. Trump hailed the verdict as a “big win for America.”
Monday’s ruling reverses an earlier decision by the Colorado Supreme Court, which found in December that the state could keep Trump’s name off ballots under a constitutional amendment prohibiting “insurrectionists” from holding public office. Activist lawyers had successfully petitioned the state to remove Trump’s name, arguing that his alleged encouragement of the Capitol Hill riot in 2021 had made him an “insurrectionist.”
The states of Illinois and Maine had also attempted to bar Trump from contesting the election, but both will now be forced to abandon these efforts.
The ruling was unanimous, with no written dissents published. However, two different concurrences were filed.
In the majority view, conservative justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, John Roberts, and Brett Kavanaugh argued that “nothing in the Constitution requires that we endure [the] chaos” of an electoral map in which different presidential candidates were offered to voters in different states.
“The judgment of the Colorado Supreme Court therefore cannot stand,” they concluded, before arguing that only Congress could enforce the insurrection clause against presidential candidates.
Concurring with the decision, conservative Amy Coney Barrett agreed that “states lack the power to enforce” the clause, but argued that the five justices in the majority should not have ruled that Congress has this power.
Liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson also concurred with the majority, but argued that the ruling went too far to “insulate” Trump from “future controversy.”
In a post on his Truth Social platform immediately after the ruling was announced, Trump described it as a “big win for America.”
The court was expected to side with Trump, after all nine justices expressed skepticism at the Colorado Supreme Court’s judgment during a hearing last month. At the time, Kavanaugh pointed out that Trump had not been charged with the crime of insurrection, and all nine justices voiced reservations at allowing an individual state to determine the outcome of a federal election.
Having won eight out of nine primary contests so far, Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee to challenge President Joe Biden in November’s election. Recent polls show him with a lead of between one and six points over his Democratic rival.
Al Jazeera – February 29, 2024
Iran launches ‘domestically developed’ imaging satellite from Russia
The launch of Pars 1 is fourth this year, with West accusing Iran of plans to use tech for military purposes.
Russia has launched an Iranian-made research satellite into orbit amid rising tensions with the West.
The Pars 1 remote sensing and imaging satellite was launched on Thursday by a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome and will scan Iran’s topography from an orbit of 310 miles (500km), according to the official IRNA news agency.
Iran’s Telecommunications Minister Issa Zarepour said Pars-I was “fully domestically developed”.
Iran claimed it had simultaneously launched three satellites into orbit in January using its own rocket, nearly a week after the launch of a research satellite by its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Western governments, including the United States, have repeatedly warned Iran against such launches, saying the same technology can be used for ballistic missiles, including ones designed to deliver a nuclear warhead.
Iran, under sanctions from the United States since the latter’s withdrawal in 2018 from a landmark nuclear deal, which granted Tehran relief in return for curbs on its nuclear activities, has countered that it is not seeking nuclear weapons and that its satellite and rocket launches are for civil or defence purposes only.
In August 2022, Russia launched Iran’s remote-sensing Khayyam satellite into orbit from Kazakhstan, reflecting deeper scientific cooperation between the two countries, but also sparking controversy that Moscow might use it to boost its surveillance of military targets in its war in Ukraine.
Moscow has sought to strengthen its alliances with other countries ostracised by the West, including Iran, which has been accused of supplying Moscow with armed drones for its offensive in Ukraine.
This month, the US said it would soon impose new sanctions on Iran over its backing for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Tehran denies the allegations.
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