The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
Week commencing 1st December 2023
The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
Week commencing 1st December 2023
The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
he guns remain silent in the Gaza Strip as diplomatic efforts to prolong the Gaza cease-fire beyond the prisoner exchange continue in the Gulf state of Qatar. A total of 69 Israeli hostages have been freed by Hamas, and Israel has handed over 150 Palestinian prisoners in return. Some humanitarian aid has been arriving in Gaza via Egypt as part of the ceasefire deal. But despite growing international pressure to end the carnage the Israelis say they will resume their offensive as soon as the exchange is over.
Sheikha Hessa bint Khalifa bin Ahmed al Thani, a member of the Qatari ruling family and the Arab League’s special envoy for humanitarian affairs, says Israeli aggression must be stopped.
“We must move immediately, under international auspices, towards a comprehensive solution,” she said. Calls for a lasting ceasefire have become a global demand,” she said. “All countries are required to take a moral and humanitarian stance to stop this barbaric war today, not tomorrow.”
At UN Headquarters in New York António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the world forum, said the Palestinians in Gaza were suffering “a humanitarian catastrophe”. Marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on Wednesday, the UN Secretary-General said “almost 1.7 million people have been forced from their homes – but nowhere is safe”, while also warning that “the situation in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, risks boiling over”.
In the Kremlin Russia repeated its support for a “two-state” solution in a message to Palestinian leaders and the Turks are calling for Israel to be charged with war-crimes.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says Israel has violated international law by committing various crimes in its latest war on Gaza, which has killed more than 15,000 people in less than two months. In a phone call on Tuesday with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the Turkish president said that Israel must be tried in international courts for war crimes it has committed in Gaza over the last few weeks.
“Israel continues to shamelessly trample on international law, the laws of war, and international humanitarian law by looking in the eyes of the international community, and it must be held accountable for the crimes it committed in front of international law,” Erdoğan said.
The Turkish leader also discussed the “expectations of the international community regarding Israel’s unlawful attacks” on Gaza as well as issues such as the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people in the Strip and efforts that can guarantee a permanent settlement in the Middle East.
Meanwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin re-affirmed his country’s support for a “twostate” solution to end the Middle East conflict. In a message to Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority that runs the “autonomous” zone in the West Bank, the Russian leader said “it is in this (the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state within the 1967 borders) that we see the key condition for achieving a comprehensive, longterm and just Palestinian-Israeli settlement”.
Putin stressed that: “Now, when the bloody conflict is bringing untold suffering to the peaceful population of Palestine, I consider it particularly important to reaffirm Russia’s consistent position in favour of the realisation of the legitimate rights of your people to establish their own sovereign state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
“This undoubtedly corresponds to our common interests and is in line with the consolidation of regional security and stability. I wish you, Mr President, good health and success, and I wish all Palestinians peace, well-being and prosperity in their homeland.”