The people of Palestine have suffered from multiple oppressions for many years. Their homeland was occupied. They lost many of their youth. Their intellectuals were exiled or killed. Their children experienced war and explosions. Women experienced the loss of their homeland and their children.
Israel has continued to occupy more and more areas on a daily basis and has turned Gaza into a prison for its inhabitants. The people of Palestine cannot even breath and live under deplorable conditions. At the same time, Israel and the states that support it have pushed aside progressive movements and organizations among Palestinians. The government of Israel has been able to use propaganda to cover the crimes that it has committed against the Palestinian people with the help of imperialist states.
Wherever there is oppression, there is also struggle. The Palestinian people are tired of the oppression of the state of Israel and the silence of the countries that support it. Hamas has witnessed the desire of the Palestinians to fight back and has exploited the lack of progressive alternatives in order to start its own attacks on Israel.
I condemn war crimes against innocent Palestinians and Israelis. The people of both sides should not be deceived by the propaganda of militarist states in the West and the East. Under these difficult circumstances, they should be by each other’s side and not against each other.
The people of Afghanistan have suffered from the hell of religious fundamentalist regimes and occupying powers. We can understand the pain of the Palestinian people and are with them. However, many of us make a distinction between Hamas and the resistance and struggle of the Palestinian people.
The people of Afghanistan have experienced resistance against Russian and U.S. imperialism. They have also experienced many bloody and treacherous years of religious fascism. If a freedom-seeking resistance movement which opposes occupation, does not work toward democracy and secularism, the religious fundamentalist forces will easily hijack the results of the popular struggle. They will make life a living hell of terrorism for all people and especially women. Regional imperialist and reactionary countries will also try to sow the seeds of terrorism and religious fundamentalism in a newly emerging country and will support religious fundamentalist forces by providing them with opportunities for profit making.
At the same time, U.S. imperialism and the murderous government of Israel are trying to reduce the resistance of the Palestinian people to Hamas. Since Hamas is a terrorist organization, Israel and the U.S. argue that they have the right to fight against terrorism. In truth however, Hamas is only part of the resistance of the Palestinian people and not its majority. By equating the Palestinian struggle with Hamas, Israel continues to deceive people around the world and justifies its murders in the name of self-defense.
We need to emphasize that a reactionary opposition cannot be liberating. The oppressed people of Palestine need to form a democratic opposition in the midst of this war. If the Palestinian people themselves do not take up the leadership of the resistance against the occupation, and if the reactionary forces of Hamas are the leaders of the resistance, they will poison a future Palestine with religious fascism.
The conscious, educated and progressive people of Palestine can take up the leadership of a liberatory resistance. And if a people-centered and secular government comes to power in Israel, perhaps both sides could live peacefully alongside each other while respecting each country’s territorial integrity.
Afghanistan
November 30, 2023
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