On 20 September, the UK recognised the state of Palestine, alongside France and Canada. With the customary arrogance of leaders from the western world, they all spoke as if their words were shifting the axis of history.

The revolutionary communists of North Africa and the Middle East are proud to announce the upcoming Arabic-language Revolutionary Communist School from 24 to 26 October!

Celebrations have erupted in Gaza and Israel at the announcement by Trump on Truth Social that a peace agreement has been reached between Israeli and Hamas negotiators in Egypt. That there is celebration is understandable, especially for Gazans who until this point faced a future of certain death by bombardment or starvation. However, we must tell the truth, ugly as that truth may be.

Last week, US President Donald Trump stepped in to impose his 20-point peace plan to end the genocide in Gaza. He is now proposing that Gaza be handed over to an American-led transitional authority, chaired by himself, with the assistance of the destroyer of Iraq, Tony Blair.

Israel’s interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla has sparked an eruption of mass anger across the world and particularly in Europe. In Italy, this has led to not one but two political general strikes for Palestine. This represents the decisive entry onto the scene of the powerful Italian working class. In Spain too, millions were on the streets. Many hundreds of thousands took to the streets of hundreds of cities all over Europe.

At around 6pm GMT on 1 October, Israeli armed forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla of over 40 vessels which had been travelling towards Gaza to break the naval blockade and deliver humanitarian aid. By this morning, 2 October, the majority of the boats had been seized by Israel and their occupants, hundreds of people, have been illegally detained, and transported to Israel. Amongst those seized were Greta Thunberg, the former mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau, an Irish senator and many other political, trade union and solidarity movement figures and pro-Palestine activists.

Reporters Without Borders has warned that, “At the rate journalists are being killed in Gaza by the Israeli army, there will soon be no one left to keep you informed”. Gaza has become the deadliest place for journalists in the world. Over 270 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed by Israel since 7 October 2023.

This week, Israel erupted into a ‘nationwide day of stoppage’ after Netanyahu announced the conquest and occupation of Gaza, effectively signing the death warrants of the remaining hostages.

Famine is ravaging Gaza. Over the past weeks, the most horrific images have come out of the occupied territory, showing men, women and children reduced to skin and bones. One million children in Gaza – half the population – are at risk of starvation. At least 180 Palestinians, including 93 children, have already died from malnutrition with dozens now starving to death every day.

Last week, the jihadist regime of al-Jolani orchestrated another pogrom. Those targeted were members of the Druze minority in Syria’s southern Suweida province. Using this as an excuse, Israel dropped enormous bombs on the headquarters of the defence ministry and sites near the presidential palace in Damascus. 

Since breaking the ceasefire in March, Israel has aimed to render Gaza uninhabitable, to drive it towards total collapse, and thereby to prevent anyone from staying or returning.

On 20 June, an official document was circulated to EU embassies in Brussels. This ‘note on Israel’s compliance with Article Two of the EU-Israel Association Agreement’ is a damning summary of the genocidal war currently being conducted in Gaza. The significance of this document is that it is now the official opinion of the EU’s own legal body that Israel is committing the gravest war crimes. And yet, the EU, in violation of its own legal requirements, continues to back Israel to the hilt.

“They shoot women because their hair is uncovered. They shoot students. They just suck the oxygen out from these brave and gifted people, the Iranian people. The decision to act, to rise up this time, is the decision of the Iranian people.” These were the words of Israeli PM Netanyahu in the midst of Israel’s war of aggression against Iran.

There was a time when international diplomacy was a relatively stable affair – undoubtedly complex, but at the same time fairly predictable. The great powers decided policy quite cynically, in line with their own national interests. 

13 June 2025 marked a dangerous turning point in the Middle East. Israel, backed by US imperialism, launched unprecedented strikes on Iran, targeting military sites but also causing heavy civilian casualties.