Lebanon’s Occupation Has Begun. No Room for Ambivalence! 

Continuing its genocidal campaign in Gaza and the West Bank, Israel has launched yet another invasion in southern Lebanon while the Hezbollah leadership is already eliminated. This is the fourth invasion of Lebanon since 1978. But Israel hopes this time will be the last and “the job will be done”. Indeed, the Zionist regime believes it seized a historic opportunity for the war it has been preparing for since 2006. Israel wants to finish Palestine, crush Hezbollah, and spread the war to Iran and Syria. To cause a sharp turn in the regional power relations, they entered the mode of total war against Iran and its allies. 

It is evident that conditions are convenient for Israel. With the US and NATO on its back, Israel’s strategy of spreading the war proceeds in front of the whole world. Running wild without opposition, Israel ruthlessly continues its massacres, killing hundreds of civilians every day without blinking an eye. Israel is also applying its tactics in Gaza to Lebanon. They want to break people’s will to resist with threats of clear state terror, massacres and ethnic cleansing. Reactionary Arab regimes and Turkey are supporting Israel, either openly or covertly. AKP government shows great resistance(!) while complaining about Israel but continues to do backdoor business with it. Most importantly, the Kürecik radar base responsible for the early detection of ballistic missiles fired from Iran towards Israel, continues to perform its critical function. 

Cornered, Iran is alone and vulnerable to attacks. It had to watch its greatest ally in Middle East, Hezbollah, take heavy blows. Although most of the missiles Iran launched at Israel to establish deterrence has been shot down by US and Israel, some managed to penetrate the Iron Dome. Should it be approved by its patron US, Israel wants to launch effective retaliation. Another possibility is the US interpreting the recent attack as “Iran saving face” and continuing to shield Israel from handling its affairs in Gaza and Lebanon. But Israel’s intention is to draw Iran into open conflict and thus deal a crushing blow to Iran with the US being made a part of the war. Should the conflict with Iran escalate, the United States would want to protect its only stable ally in the Middle East. 

But the Biden administration wants to rein in Israel to a certain extent. For example, the US is against the complete destruction of Gaza because it fears that such brutality would lead to revolts in Jordan, Egypt and other Arab regimes. The US is against an all-out regional war because it believes that would be costly and risky. The US has already spent hundreds of billions of dollars to finance the war it is currently losing in Ukraine, and to support Israel’s war in Gaza and Lebanon, it continues to spend more. All of these huge spendings are accelerating the US’s fall behind its global rival, China. So, the Biden administration is limiting Israel to a certain extent but definitely not out of humanitarian concerns. But ultimately, the US would not want to allow Israel to fail. 

However, historical experience shows that history can proceed differently. Israel may achieve tactical advantages and successes by dealing heavy blows to its enemies, but turning these into strategic victories is something else. Because Israel and its imperialist allies failed to liquidate the struggle against colonial oppression. On the contrary, forces that reorganize resistance in the occupied territories have always emerged without delay. And not only that. New generations in the central imperialist countries that opposed their governments’ complicity in the genocide carried out by the State of Israel became radicalized because of this. This time will not be different. 

At this point, let’s briefly recall what the wars of the US and its cooperators in the Middle East have led to. There is no country named Libya anymore because of the unending civil war caused by the military intervention. The invasion of Afghanistan turned into a fiasco; the country has been handed over to Taliban. The interventions in Syria destroyed it, the country has been turned into ruins. As if all these were not enough, Israel wants to drag Lebanon and other countries into a bloodbath. The Western bloc, which stirred up the whole world with the fuss about the "inviolability of international borders" when Russia invaded Ukraine, now supports the occupation of Lebanon as Israel's right to defend itself, with its usual hypocrisy. 

The Socialists' Attitude is Clear 

We touched upon AKP’s hypocrisy. Different segments of the opposition against the AKP in Turkey find the oppression of Palestine, Lebanon and Iran favourable. Those who value secularism and therefore are delighted by the oppression of Islamists should understand that the issue is not one of religion. For example, without Iran-backed Hezbollah, the Assad regime in Syria would have been overthrown and the country would have fallen into the hands of jihadist fanatics. For this reason, Christians in Syria are grateful to Hezbollah for being able to live in Syria. In short, the wars have little to do with religion, the main issue is imperial interest. 

Similarly, names close to the Kurdish movement in Turkey such as Eren Keskin or Ayşe Hür openly support Israel. You can't get to anywhere by applauding the tearing apart of other oppressed peoples and supporting imperialist projects. Only your major departure from basic ethical values and consistency can be remembered. And that would put you in a very negative light against the people of the world. 

The revolutionaries’ position in this conflict is clear, historical and principled. We stand with the oppressed and against the oppressors. We stand with the oppressed Palestinians and now the Lebanese, who are targets of ruthless attacks by the imperialist state of Israel. We support their right to defend themselves. 

Peace, brotherhood and prosperity in the Middle East can only be achieved by the overthrow of Zionism and the ruling classes of all regimes in the region. The struggle against imperialist barbarity is a struggle against the rotten capitalist system that feeds it. Let us fight for justice and peace under the banner of socialism.