Relentless movement for Palestine forced the sanctions announcement

The announcement that governments in Canada, the UK and France have threatened sanctions against Israel unless it abandons its current offensive in Gaza is a product of the relentless movement that has filled the streets around the world for the last 20 months. 

 

It is a weak response given the severity of the crimes being committed by Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli state, but it is still a sign of some movement in what had seemed to be a monolith of unquestioning support for the zionists by the western Imperial powers. 

 

It reeks of hypocrisy since those same governments have provided diplomatic cover and material support for Israel’s onslaught. 

 

But the cracks seem to be growing. The EU has just threatened to end trade talks with Israel if they continue. This can provide us with both a strategic opening and a more confident broader movement. 

 

It is worth analyzing how and why this has happened. 

 

The movement is the key. There were tens of thousands on the streets within days of the offensive launched after October 7 forcing governments to pay attention. 

 

There was a much larger pool of people who had watched the war crimes unfold over the years and they were ready to mobilize. There was sigificant growth of pro-Palestine organizations and, crucially, Jewish anti-zionist groups during the attacks on Gaza in 2008, 2012 and 2014 along with the huge mobilizations organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement in 2021 against the Shaikh Jarah evictions.

 

The movement has gone through difficult moments and ups and downs as happens with any mass actions but it has not retreated. And the results have been obvious. The NDP motion - watered down by Trudeau - calling for recognition of a Palestinian state, sanctions on Netanyahu, an arms embargo and other measures is a significant advance that we did not see during past operations in Gaza. 

 

These calls may fall short of all the demands of the movement but they are a start. This public call for sanctions should give confidence to all those who fight for Palestine.

 

Imperial rivalry

 

The moment is also different because of the context of inter-imperial rivalry we are watching unfold. The Trump visit to the Gulf States without a side trip to meet Netanyahu is telling. Trump is more interested in building relations with the trillonaire Saudi regime and bolstering US imperial interests in the region. 

 

The fact that talks to normalize relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia were brokered by China is a direct threat to the US dominance in the diplomatic field in the region. China is a much bigger priority to US Imperialism than any other state. 

 

The US has, up to this point, given Israel all the weaponry, financial and diplomatic support it needed and there is little indication that they are abandoning that policy now but that that may not be the case in perpetuity. If Trump feels that the question of Gaza will impede his profits he may call for more restraint from Israel.

 

Genicide and global condemnation 

 

The scale of the slaughter in Gaza is unprecedented. In the last few weeks Israel has intensified bombings while continuing the months long blockade. The UN states that 14,000 children are in danger of starvation in the next few days and bombings have ramped up again. For even casual observers, the brutality of the zionists is hard to ignore. The wall of support for Israel is breaking as the war crimes are constantly exposed. 

 

This does not mean that there is a massive rift between the Israeli state and the western powers. Israel still occupies a central role in the US imperial project and will still receive staunch support. But it is an indication that cracks have started to emerge around Gaza among the NATO leaders. That public breach of consensus strengthens the movement and aids in reaching more people.

 

We need to recognize that the movements have forced this concession, albeit small, by our governments and to redouble our efforts to end the genocide and build a long term movement for a Free Palestine. 

 

And crucially, we need to build the campign for an arms embargo on Israel. There is a cross country day of action scheduled for June 5. Find details at: armsembargonow.ca