- The Palestinian conflict has shifted from oblivion to the world front line following Sixteen’s historic attack on Israel last Saturday. Since then, the intensity of the war has only increased and Israel is constantly bombing Gaza. The BDS Euskal Herria movement, which promotes boycotts against the State of Israel, divestments and sanctions, has organised mobilisations in solidarity with Palestine, and we have spoken to Koldo Alzola, a member of the movement and former Palestinian militant.
Alzola is also a member of the Uhintifada radio programme, which has been denouncing the occupation in Palestine for fourteen years, and Gazan journalist Mussaad Bashir, who has just interviewed for the radio programme, tells us what she has told her: “During the interview with Bashi, Gaza was being bombed, he tells us that Israel is giving a very violent response to the Hamas attack and that the Palestinians plan to be even more violent. He tells us that the Israeli press is preparing citizens for war and promoting international protection for that war.”
Surprise and subsequent response
Sixteen have attacked Israel by air, land and sea, conquered peoples and colonies, killed hundreds of soldiers and civilians – the Saturday is the day that Israel most died in a single day in all its history. Alzola says it was a widespread surprise: “We have all been surprised, but the most surprising thing was the Israeli regime, which has been revealed.” Sixteen has highlighted the “shortcomings” of Israel’s alleged military capacity and total control of the territory, which the Palestinians will “pay out of the skin”, according to the BDS member. Ezequiel Kopel, an expert journalist in Middle East conflicts, has pointed out that aggression is the result of years of preparation, otherwise it is not possible to prepare a large operation in such a controlled territory. Alzola agrees with the hypothesis that “perhaps since the last great massacre in Gaza has left 2,400 Palestinian deaths since 2014.”
“Israel is conceived for war, collapse without war: it is the axis of the economy and the adhesive to unite such a heterogeneous society”
The war has deepened and deepened: The possibility for the Israeli army to enter the interior of Gaza is on the table, the Minister of Defence has appointed “human animal” to all Palestinians and has ensured that they will be treated. Alzola says that the same war is the soil and living condition of the State of Israel: “Israel is conceived for war, collapse without war: it is the axis of the economy and the adhesive to unite such a heterogeneous society.”
National authority, Hamas, left
“Calling on the two sides to abandon violence by equating the two violence… Occupying and occupied violence cannot be equated”
What are the international implications of the new phase of the conflict that has opened up, but the margins are many and dangerous (the process of normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, Iran and Hezbola, Arab countries, the West...). In any case, Alzola explains that the Hamas attack has also affected Palestinian internal leaders: “The national authority has no legitimacy, it is a Zipayo government. The last elections were held in 2007 and were the winners of Sixteen. This coup has given Hamas more legitimacy among the citizens, it appears as an almost unique agent capable of making national resistance.” He says that the movements on the left in general are very weak, that we have not been able to know what the position of the Popular Front has been, which for years has been the main reference, but he has stressed that the nearby organization Masar Martxan, Palestine of the diaspora, supported the aggression continuously.
The importance of reporting
Alzola is offended by the media’s message during these days. “In Spain, the media are uncritically collecting the story of Israel.” With another message that is also painful: “Calling the two parties to avoid violence, to equate the two violence … one cannot equate the violence of occupier and occupied, the resistance of the occupied. There have probably been abuses of Hamas attacks, but one does not remove the other: attention must be paid to the origin.” It calls on the media and independent sources.
“We have very close links with the Israeli regime: administrations, companies. It is up to us to demand that these relations be denounced and suspended.
And from Euskal Herria?
Historically Euskal Herria has been very supportive of Palestina.Estos days there have been and will be mobilizations in the capitals of Hego Euskal Herria, convened by BDS Euskal Herria. Beyond supporting calls, the most effective thing that can be done in Euskal Herria for Palestine is to cut off ties with the State of Israel, according to Alzola: “We have very close links with the Israeli regime: administrations, companies… It is up to us to demand that these relations be denounced and interrupted. The most prominent day is CAF: The railway that is being built between Jerusalem and the eastern colonies is illegal under international law for being in occupied areas. And the government financially supports CAF, is one of the shareholders”