SYRIA: Caught in the vice of capitalism and war

Interview with Eliseos Vagenas, member of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece  (KKE) and Head of the International Relations Section of the Party, published on Rizospastis, the organ of the CC of the KKE, on 14 December 2024:

—  We are witnessing turbulent developments in Syria. Before we get into the facts, let us consider a less discussed aspect. Why is Syria so important? What is its significance in the Middle East?

Solidarity with Hadash MP Ayman Odeh against the threats by racist Israeli Minister Ben Gvir

Hadash MP Ayman Odeh

Racist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir appears to call to deport Hadash MP Ayman Odeh over comments he made regarding the Palestinian right to struggle against occupation. 

Speaking at the Knesset Science and Technology Committee on Tuesday, December 10, the Hadash-Ta’al chair stated that, while Hamas’s attack on innocent civilians on October 7, 2023, constituted a “very deep moral injury,” expressing his opposition to “harming innocent people.” He also believed that every nation “has a right to struggle against its occupants.” “This is true in every place in the world, and this is the right of the Palestinian people,” said.

The KKE expresses solidarity with the communists and the people of Syria

During a speech at a party event in the city of Larisa on Sunday afternoon, the General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Dimitris Koutsoumbas, referred to the ongoing developments in Syria and the capture of Damascus by the Syrian "opposition forces". 

More specifically, Koutsoumbas said:

"In Syria, another war zone has been ignited on the global chessboard of imperialist competitions. There is another intervention that portends new sufferings for the people of Syria and the peoples of the region, new waves of refugees, possibly new border changes. 

Communist Party of Turkey: "In Syria, Israel and the USA have won a temporary victory using the jihadists"

On the occasion of the fall of Damascus in the hands of the armed jihadists and the alleged overthrow of the Assad government, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) issued the following statement:

"The plan put into effect by the US imperialism and the reactionary forces in the region about 15 years ago in order for the disintegration of Syria has succeeded as of yesterday. The jihadist forces mobilised by the USA, Israel, Britain and the AKP government overthrew the Syrian government in a short period of one week.

KKE leader Dimitris Koutsoumbas on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

In a statement (here in Greek) concerning the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which was established by the UN in 1977, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), Dimitris Koutsoumbas notes:

"We join our voices with the voice of the people of Palestine, with the voices of the peoples of the whole world who demand: The genocide that the state of Israel, the war criminal Netanyahu who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, is carrying out in the Gaza Strip with the support of the US, NATO and the EU, must stop here and now.

 

Hadash MP Touma-Sliman: Israel Must Be a State with Equal Rights for All its Citizens

Last week, while visiting the European Parliament on the invitation of the Portuguese Communist Party, MK Aida Touma-Sliman (Hadash) give an interview to Rosa Luxemburg Foundation on the escalating repression against Arab-Palestinians in Israel, the Gaza war, Netanyahu’s plans for territorial conquest, and the shrinking space for left-wing forces in the country. Above some excerpts of the interview.

As an Arab-Palestinian citizen of Israel, you have been very vocal about the discrimination and inequality facing your community in the past, even referring to Israel’s 2018 Nation-State Law as an “apartheid law”. How have things changed since 7 October?

 

KKE delegation meets Hadash MP Ofer Cassif

A delegation from the International Relations Section of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) met with Ofer Cassif, MP of the Hadash Joint List in Israeli Parliament (Knesset) and member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Israel (Maki), during his brief stay in Athens.

It is reminded that Ofer Cassif is being persecuted in Israel because he publicly condemns Netanyahu government's anti-people policy, opposes the genocide of the Palestinian people and the occupation, as well as the attacks against the other peoples of the region. 

 

The destruction of Gaza and what followed did not start on October 7

By Oded Goldreich and Assaf Kfoury

An incendiary war has been raging for more than a year in the Middle East.  It has been indescribably devastating on Gaza and has now extended to the West Bank, to northern Israel and Lebanon, with ominous signs of expanding further into a regional war. This is a war driven by an Israeli government bent on exacting vengeful retribution on all its perceived enemies, unrestrained by its American benefactor and main purveyor of weapons. While this war has been extensively covered by the media, what is mostly understated or forgotten are the circumstances that led to it – a covert decades-long war waged by Israel on the Palestinian people. 

Palestinian Communist Party denounces Israeli ban on UNRWA

Statement Condemning the Expulsion of UNRWA from Jerusalem and the Prevention of its Work in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

The Palestinian Communist Party strongly condemns the decision by the Israeli Knesset to expel the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and sever all communications with it. This decision poses a direct threat to the rights of Palestinian refugees and exacerbates their humanitarian and social suffering, as UNRWA plays a vital role in providing essential services in education, health, relief, and infrastructure.

Cyprus Communist Initiative on Christodoulides-Biden meeting in Washington DC

In a statement (here in Greek) concerning the meeting between the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides and U.S President Joe Biden in the White House on 30/10, the Communist Initiative of Cyprus (Κομμουνιστική Πρωτοβουλία Κύπρου - Kıbrıs Komünist İnisiyatifi) stresses out:

"Telling the truth is one of the greatest human values. But in this country and in this era, the truth is forbidden, so when we tell the truth, the bourgeois and their parties will discredit the truth, they will vilify us, but we will not take a single step back.

Netanyahu’s far-right regime intends to ban Hadash!

The Israeli far-right government is working systematically to disqualify Arab and Left-wing representatives from the Knesset to secure a permanent majority. It is trying to prevent public and parliamentary dissent against the occupation of the Palestinian territories and the endless war in Gaza and Lebanon.

Netanyahu’s coalition decided to ban Hadash and is still unclear which legislation will be used to ban Islamic Ra’am party. This is done under the false accusation of “support for terrorism”.

Greek dockworkers blocked the loading of a container full of bullets bound for Israel

On Thursday 17 October, COSCO dockers at the Port of Piraeus detected a container full of bullets that had entered the country via North Macedonia and was bound for Haifa, Israel, to be used in the massacre of the Palestinian and Lebanese people. 

The COSCO dockers, led by their trade union, the Container Handling Workers’ Union at the Piers of Piraeus (ENEDEP), took decisive action to prevent the container from being loaded onto the ship and demonstrated on the spot, calling on the people of the region to join the demonstration.

Joint Statement of Communist and Workers Parties: We stand against the widening of war in the Middle East!

Joint Statement of Communist and Workers Parties

We stand against the widening of war in the Middle East!

We, the undersigned communist and workers parties campaigning for peace and progress in the Middle East, hereby express our most profound concerns over the unprecedented escalation of the situation in the region with the Israeli multi-dimensional attacks on Lebanon and full-scale invasion of the country. This has predictably resulted in the retaliatory missile strikes by Iran on Israeli targets, following on from Israeli attacks on Lebanon and other provocative infringements on Iranian sovereignty.

Online meeting of Palestinian and Israeli communists: Stop the war on Gaza and Lebanon Now!

Stop the war on Gaza and Lebanon Now!

Only by establishing a Palestinian sovereign state will there be peace and stability in the region.

Dear comrades, the Communist Party of Israel and the Palestinian People's Party would like to invite you to an online meeting. We will discuss the escalation in the region, and the situation in Palestine and Israel.

Speakers:

Greek soldiers lead the way in demonstration against the imperialist war in the Middle East

With large anti-war demonstrations organized by the Communist Party (KKE) in Athens, Piraeus and various districts throughout Attica, Greece on Saturday 5/10, thousands of protesters raised their voice against the imperialist carnage in the Middle East, demanding an immediate end of Greece's participation in the warmongering plans of Israel, US and NATO in the region. 

The demonstrators demanded the immediate return of the Greek frigate "Spetsai" from the Red Sea, the termination of Greece's multifaceted political and military alliance with the State of Israel and expressed their solidarity with the people of Palestine and Lebanon who are being slaughtered by the Netanyahu government and its allies. 

KKE says: "No involvement of Greece in the wars — Solidarity with the peoples of Palestine and Lebanon"

On 30 September, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) issued a statement on the escalation of Israeli aggression, which reads as follows:

The terrorist state of Israel, with the blessing and the support of the USA, NATO and the EU, is proceeding to a generalized war against the peoples of the Middle East, with unpredictable consequences for the wider region and internationally.

 

European Communist Action: Statement in solidarity with the peoples of Palestine and Lebanon

The European Communist Action (ECA) Parties participating in the Teleconference "On the Work of the ECA Parties Within the Youth" held on September 28th condemn the criminal attacks carried out by the murderous State of Israel in Palestine and Lebanon.

The ECA Parties demand the immediate end of every Israeli aggression and express their full solidarity with the peoples of Palestine and Lebanon, their resistance and the Communist Parties in the region.

 

KKE calls for mass condemnation of the Israeli state's crimes in Lebanon

In a statement, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) denounces the recent murderous military attack of the Israeli state in southern Lebanon and calls for a mass popular condemnation of these crimes. More specifically, the statement (here in Greek) reads:

"The KKE calls for mass popular condemnation of the new crimes committed by the terrorist state of Israel in Lebanon, which have so far resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries. The attacks in Lebanon, combined with the ongoing operations in Gaza and the West Bank of Palestine, constitute an escalation of the war in the Middle East with unpredictable dimensions in which the peoples will be the victims.

KKE condemns Israel's deadly hybrid attack in Lebanon and Syria

In a statement, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) condemns the recent deadly hybrid attack of Israel in Lebanon and Syria. More specifically, the statement (here in Greek) reads:

The KKE condemns the long-planned terrorist attack of the state of Israel in Lebanon and Syria in an unprecedented murderous way, blowing up the pagers, mobiles and walkie talkies held by thousands of people, thus resulting in at least 12 deaths and thousands injured, including children. 

World Federation of Trade Unions and PAME hail the massive anti-war mobilizations of the people in Israel

In recent statement, the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) hails the  massive anti-war mobilizations in Tel Aviv. More specifically WFTU stresses out:

The World Trade Union Federation is pleased to note the mass mobilizations of the people in Israel against the anti-people policies of the Netanyahu government and are calling for an end to the ongoing genocide in the Palestinian land.