The Israeli occupiers of Palestine are adding to their long list of crimes. They are attempting to drive Palestinians from the homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem. Mobs of reactionary Zionist settlers are roaming the streets and attempting to murder Palestinian motorists. Israeli airstrikes are raining U.S.-made bombs on homes in Gaza. The death toll of Palestinians, including children, is mounting each day. The cruel and callous reality of the occupation is there for the whole world to see. The great South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela was entirely correct to identify Israeli apartheid as a “crime against humanity.”

The people of Palestine are expressing their right to resist – and progressive and revolutionaries should welcome that resistance. Brave Palestinian youth are setting the occupation’s police stations on fire. Resistance organizations are meeting repression with rockets. Protesters from Lebanon braved Israeli gunfire and crossed in the occupied territories. We must answer the call of this mass heroism with solidarity and support. Every act of resistance is a step towards liberation.

The Israeli occupation of Palestine is made possible by the U.S. financial, military and political support. The Biden administration is backing the airstrikes on Gaza, calling them a ‘proportioned response.’ Spokespeople of the U.S. State Department become tongue-tied when asked if Palestinians have a right to resist. The Biden administration follows Trump in recognizing the illegal annexation of Golan and Jerusalem as the capital of the Zionist state. Following in the footsteps of past administrations, the current one considers organizations that fight for a free Palestine, such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, as ‘terrorists.’

The U.S. supports Israel because it is a tool for empire that helps corporations loot the resources, land and labor of the Arab peoples. Washington is trying to stitch together a U.S.-dominated alliance of Israel and the reactionary Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia, to ensure U.S. domination of the region.

In the days and weeks ahead, it is vital that anti-war, progressive and revolutionary organizations go all out to support the struggle of the Palestinian people. May 15 is Al Nakba Day and major mobilizations in defense of Palestine will take place all over the world.

Every act of resistance and solidarity is a step towards liberation. Israel exists on stolen land and borrowed time – and the occupation will be defeated by whatever means the struggle dictates.

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!

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