Hundreds of Palestinians have been rounded up and dozens killed in the latest assault, in which Israel has deployed armored units to occupy Palestinian cities. The troops on the ground are backed by U.S.-supplied combat helicopters and warplanes. In addition to the wholesale arrests of men and women, beatings in detention, and torture that is stock-in-trade of the Israeli captors, the world is witnessing a prime minister and his cabinet openly discussing whether or not they are going to assassinate Yasir Arafat, head of the Palestinian Authority. The thoroughly brutal character of the capitalist regime in Israel and its imperialist backers in Washington is on full display. Big-business newspapers and capitalist spokespeople's main concern is not the plight of the Palestinians, but for the Bush administration to find some way to get the situation "under control" in order to get back on track with its plans to assault Iraq.

But the governments in Israel and the United States are not having an easy time of it. The resistance of the Palestinian people has put their struggle back into the center of politics in the Middle East and the solidarity actions in capitals across the region are bringing additional forces to bear. Workers and youth are taking to the streets from Syria to Morocco to demand their governments break ties with Tel Aviv, often facing police attacks and tear gas. Some have also called for removal of the U.S. ambassador as an expression of outrage at Washington's refusal to condemn the actions of the Israeli government. Egypt's decision to downgrade relations--as temporarily as possible, the regime hopes--is one indication of the impact of the support for the Palestinian struggle there.

Jordan, with its majority Palestinian population, is a potential powder keg for the imperialists. The U.S.-backed monarchy has a bloody history of repression against the Palestinian people. Today, despite a ban on protests, they again face militant demonstrations in the streets.

There are ultimately only two ways the conflict can be resolved. One is through the imposition of a terrible defeat on the Palestinian people, something they have shown they have no intention of allowing to happen. Palestinians instead recognize the underlying weakness of Israel, even though it is armed to the teeth with the latest and most deadly weapons of war. The Israeli rulers are incapable today of rallying the population on a pro-war footing, as growing numbers see the reality of continued military conflict and economic hardship instead of the mirage of a secure and prosperous Jewish homeland they were promised.

The other resolution of the conflict is through revolutionary struggle for a democratic and secular Palestine, a battle that is in the interests of Palestinians and working people who are Jewish. This battle would break down all the walls, borders, and barriers put up by the imperialist rulers over the decades with the aim of pushing back the struggle for self-determination of the Palestinian people and suppressing resistance of toilers throughout the region.
 
 
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