From day to day, the struggle for power, territory, and resources in the Middle East claims more lives – the lives of innocent persons, including children and women. These are individuals who dream of living in peace and harmony in their own homeland. A land that can sustain and protect everyone, offering shelter to a diverse population with different languages and believes.
However, these people and their lands have become targets of greed, driven by imperialism and colonialism, as well as gangs of Islamist mercenaries. Their lust for power knows no limits, and they do not hesitate to sacrifice thousands of lives, seeing people merely as pawns in their war. Without a defending force that fights for the people rather than dynastic power, the people of Palestine are subjected to merciless attacks carried out by the Israeli state, which enjoys support from colonial powers. The Netanyahu government, with its fascist tendencies, is more than willing to sacrifice thousands to overcome the crises it faces and present itself as the great defender of the Israeli state. Various NATO states oppress and demonize any human reaction against the massacres of the militarily superior Israeli air force. Losing ground in the region to Russia and Iran, the NATO block will do everything to strengthen and defend its strongest local ally in the region.
Just as the Hamas mercenaries represent the same cruel mentality as their allies Iran and Turkey, the Israeli state demonstrates that human life holds no value to them. Iran and Turkey are determined to become hegemonic powers in the region to establish a place in the future world order. We witness their strategy every day here in Kurdistan – creating mercenary armies or Islamist groups to occupy, establishing dominance, and expelling or slaughtering anyone who refuses to live under their totalitarian rule. Their politics in Palestine is no different, and Hamas has shown on several occasions that they are willing to play this role, congratulating Azerbaijan for the occupation and ethnic cleansing in Artsakh.
As the Internationalist Commune in Rojava, we understand that both of these forces, the Israeli state and Hamas are not very different from the colonial Turkish state, which continues to attack everywhere in Kurdistan, seeking to complete the genocide it initiated a century ago. Just as the
Hamas aligns with Turkish fascism, Israel played its part in the abduction of Rêber APO and the ongoing international conspiracy against the Kurdish people. Therefore, we are well aware that neither of the forces involved in this war will bring peace and a better life to the region. Regardless of which warlord rises to claim leadership, be it a leader of mercenaries or the president of a nation-state, the people of the Middle East yearn for peace.
We acknowledge that most of those who are now rising up against the massacres carried out by Hamas and the Israeli state remain silent or even applaud when the Turkish state massacres Kurdish civilians and freedom fighters. Neglect and hatred against minorities in the Middle East, such as Kurds, Armenians, and Assyrians, have been widely spread in the region and beyond by those who have had and still have an interest in dividing the people. Despite Kurdish freedom fighters supporting the Palestinian cause in the 1980s, various Palestinian organizations are now funding settlements in occupied Afrîn, working hand in hand with Turkish fascism for its ethnic cleansing against Kurds. It’s clear that many of those speaking on behalf of the Palestinian people today do not represent the unity of the people in the region.
For those who aim for this unity, it is essential to empathize with the suffering of the people because it is a matter of conscience to stand with those being killed in the fight for power and hegemony. While the methods and the ideology can not be accepted we support the legitimate struggle of the
Palestinian people for freedom and autonomy. We strongly condemn the massacres carried out by the Israeli state against the people of Gaza. In
the face of chaos in the Middle East, we stand with the oppressed peoples and will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that Rojava’s solution of democratic confederalism spreads to the entire region. For a free, democratic and diverse Middle East. Free from colonialism, self-determined and inspiring for the world!
Internationalist Commune of Rojava,
21/10/2023