Article by Angelo Alves, member of the Political Committee of the CC and of member of the International Department

The events in the Gaza Strip represent a powerful indictment against the dominating classes in Israel, the Arab reactionary forces, Zionism and imperialism. We are witnessing the worst war carried out by Israel since the Six Day War in 1967. A dirty war, plotted and prepared for months. A murderous war, objectively supported by the world’s main imperialist powers which, from the open support by the USA, to the shameless stance of most European Union governments, give Israel all the time necessary to continue the slaughter and invade the territory.

In spite of the around a thousand killed and thousands of wounded, in spite of the dozens of thousands left without homes, in spite of the information on the use of forbidden weapons in the Gaza invasion, in spite of figures that refer that around 90% of the victims of invasion are unarmed civilians, in spite of the bombings of homes, schools, hospitals and places of worship, in spite of the attacks on humanitarian convoys and UN installations, among many other crimes, in spite of all this, hypocrisy continues to reign in the so-called "international community" and contributing to the bloodbath. Once again in its history, the UN Security Council chose to whitewash the Israeli crimes and demand nothing from Israel, approving a Resolution, which in view of the barbarity, just launches an "appeal" for a cease-fire "leading" to the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory. The result was an expected one, that is, nothing. The Israeli aggression not only did not stop, but increased, now entering its "third phase". Sarkozy, the "tireless" French president, "surfs" over the situation and together with Hosni Mubarak works towards "a Franco-Egyptian peace plan" which is much talked about but completely ignores the most basic demands: end of attacks, immediate withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces and an end to the blockade on Gaza. In the leadership circles of the European Union, the classic solution to "send a multinational force with a robust mandate" begins to take shape confirming the trend already witnessed in the 2006 Lebanon war, of a greater European involvement and military presence in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the core issue on the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and the numerous United Nations Resolutions which recognize them completely disappears from the official discourse. It is the system working.

And because all this is linked, some of the perpetrators of the crimes, of hypocrisy and connivance with Israel, met last week in Paris in a conference called "New World, New Capitalism" organised by Tony Blair and Nicholas Sarkozy. Figures like Angela Merkel, Francis Fukuyama, Giulio Tremonti (Italian Finance Minister), Pascal Lamy (director of WTO), Jean Claude Trichet (President of ECB), and Yaël Tamir (Israeli Education Minister), among others, formed the political arch of this initiative, whose motto was once again the exhausted speech on the re-foundation of capitalism, of regulation and ethics, among others … Note the depth of the speeches on the rivalry with the USA by Sarkozy and the peregrine proposals by Merkel on the creation of a world economic council, similar to the UN Security Council and of a "Charter" for the good functioning of the economy (capitalist, of course) similar to the Human Rights Charter. That is, those who use the international institutions to enable the bloodbath in Palestine, are the very same who want to transform into official world doctrine the system that is at the root of the injustices, poverty, war and death and to create new institutions of economic domination, with still more centralized power. To be noted that John Monks, General-Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, participated in this ideological orgy of "salvation" of capitalism. It is the system working …