Indiscriminate bombings, forced displacements and new illegal settlements in the West Bank are evidence of the colonial and criminal aspect of Netanyahu’s regime. Governments must break off relations with the Zionist state. The mobilized demand for a cease-fire becomes urgent on the road to a free Palestine, from the river to the sea.

By Ruben Tzanoff

May: blood, fire and occupation

On May 15, “77 years after the Nakba”, bombings in Jabalia killed at least 103 people, including journalist Hassan Majdi Abu Warda who died along with several members of his family.

By May 17, the aggressors had already launched a new phase of their ground offensive in Gaza, advancing into eastern Deir al-Balah and other areas with the intention of occupying up to 75% of the territory within two months.

After the invading army ordered the forced displacement of the entire population of Khan Younis to Al Mawasi, a coastal area already saturated and also under fire, the shelling followed, killing nine of the ten children of pediatrician Alaa al-Najjar, whose family had no links to political or military activities, and Yaqeen Hammad, a Palestinian girl known for promoting messages of peace and humanity on social media, in her home.

On May 26, an airstrike hit a school in Gaza that served as a shelter for displaced persons, killing at least 30 people. And on May 29, the Israeli government approved the creation of 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the legalization of previously unauthorized outposts, in further violation of international law.

Accomplices complain

The savage military offensive, the blockade imposed by Israel, and the catastrophic situation in Gaza have deepened the world’s rejection of the genocide, to the point that even some partners and friends of Zionism are criticizing it and exerting pressure. Of course, this is not a genuine concern for human rights, nor a sudden shift toward Palestinian self-determination by Western imperialism; rather, it is a partial and hypocritical relocation, since it does not imply the severance of diplomatic, economic, or military relations between the governments and Israel.

Donald Trump negotiated directly with Hamas for the release of an American hostage and established agreements with the treacherous monarchies of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. This suggests a partial distancing from Netanyahu’s policy in the face of his refusal to accept a cease-fire as proposed by US imperialism.

Europe is also putting pressure on Israel. For example, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called on Israel to stop the “abominable escalation” of violence in Gaza, warned of possible sanctions and the revision of bilateral agreements if there is no immediate cessation of aggressions. The Spanish Congress of Deputies initiated the urgent processing of a law to impose an arms embargo on Israel and the British government announced the suspension of commercial contacts. Even at Eurovision 2025 there were repeated displays of repudiation of the genocide. Netanyahu has tried to counter these events by victimizing himself with the murder of two employees of the Israeli embassy in Washington on May 21.

Ceasefire, free Palestine from the river to the sea

The offensive to eliminate Hamas and free the hostages that began in October 2023 has proven to be only an excuse that to date killed 53,000 Palestinians, wounded another 120,000, mostly women and children, and caused the internal and external displacement of millions of people.

The more politically isolated Netanyahu is, the bloodier is his military response that he extends in time in order not to be held accountable at national and international level, for this he is a criminal who must be stopped and punished. It is urgent the need to multiply the mass mobilizations for a ceasefire, the support to the Palestinian people and for the rupture of relations with the Zionist State.

The genocide, ethnic cleansing and occupation of Palestine reflect the State of Israel in the mirror of the worst Nazi-fascist regimes. It is a racist and colonialist enclave with which there will never be either just peace or coexistence in solidarity among different peoples, something that can only be achieved with a unique, secular, democratic, non-racist and socialist Palestine, as part of the Socialist Revolution in the Middle East.