As the genocide in Gaza continues, our movement matters more than ever, asserts Thomas Gibbs  

Despite the media silence, Israel’s genocide in Gaza is still ongoing. The Israeli army has continued with a full ground operation in Rafah, where 1.5m Palestinians are sheltering, as well as mass bombardment of central and northern Gaza.

Only recently, the IDF admitted to bombing an UNRWA-run school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, a strike allegedly targeting Hamas, but killing scores of sheltering women and children.

Official figures have confirmed 40,000 Palestinians killed since October 2023, and a further 90,000 injured, but we now know that the figure is much higher. At least 20,000 children are unaccounted for and presumed to be dead and buried in the rubble.

Earlier this month, The Lancet published a peer-reviewed journal that suggests at a conservative estimate, ‘186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.’ These would include indirect deaths such as through Israel’s mass starvation of Palestinians or inadequate treatment because Israel has decimated Gaza’s health infrastructure.

Despite the mainstream blackout, the Palestinian cause made a significant dent in the votes during the general election. Sir Keir Starmer’s total unwillingness to oppose Israel’s genocidal onslaught on Gaza coincided with his party receiving a smaller amount of the popular support than it saw in 2017 and 2019. 

Independent candidates putting Palestine solidarity front and centre proved a serious threat to Starmer’s Labour Party, with Shockat Adam unseating Jonathan Ashworth, Jeremy Corbyn fending off private-healthcare tycoon Praful Nargund, and Leanne Mohamad finishing only 500 votes behind Wes Streeting.

All of this is credit to the movement and to the electorate more generally, but where does it leave us now? Whilst the media have been all too keen to identify ‘the Gaza Effect’, often characterising these independents as being ‘pro-Gaza’, we must remember that Gaza is only a part of the issue, and the establishment’s myth of a ‘Gaza war’ only serves to support Israel’s mission of divide and rule.

Zionists have worked hard to fracture Palestinian society on the ground and isolate different fronts of their struggle against settler colonialism. But Gaza’s population is predominantly made up of refugees whose families were expelled from the ‘48 territory (what is now Israel), and ultimately Palestinians in Gaza are Palestinian before they are Gazan.

Time and time again, resistance from Gaza has explicitly cited as its motivation not only the seventeen-year-long siege on the strip, but also the illegal settler-expansion projects in the West Bank (including threats to the al-Aqsa sanctuary in Jerusalem). Any genuine call for peace in Gaza has to consider this full picture.

Under the cover of this barbarity, Israel has also carried out its largest land grab in decades. These parcels of land, northeast of Ramallah, can now be leased to Israeli citizens by the state. Meanwhile, its occupation forces continue their deadly attacks across the West Bank – from Jenin to Tulkarem to Nablus – and settler violence soars, empowered by far-right government ministers. Between October and May, over 500 Palestinians were killed by Israel in the West Bank, with 2023 being the deadliest year on record.

We have to be clear that a ceasefire is the bare minimum; as Israel itself is fully aware, this only leaves us back at square one. Likewise, the growing movement among the political class to recognise a Palestinian state must be met with scepticism. Starmer’s future Palestinian statehood comes with so many caveats that it’s not clear that his party means it at all (a sentiment echoed by centrist politics across Europe, often using timing as an excuse).

Moving forwards, we need to be pushing MPs not only to fight for a ceasefire and Palestinian statehood, but to be identifying and properly addressing the real obstacles in the way. What all aspects of the Palestinian cause have in common is Israel, and we continue to see that being ‘pro-Palestine’ is meaningless without being categorically anti-Zionist. A movement that realises this – not just for Gaza, but for the West Bank, Jerusalem, the ‘48 territory, and the world – is Israel’s worst nightmare.