"The Palestinian left has an important historical role in uniting the Palestinian political forces", underlined Adel Amer, Secretary General of the Communist Party of Israel (Maki), this week in a discussion with "Zo Haderech" newspaper, concerning Palestinian politics in the midst of the war in Gaza. The transcript of the interview is as follows:
— Amid the annihilation war in Gaza, have there been changes in the Palestinian political arena?
— Certainly. The war has had and will have an impact on the arena and the Palestinian political map. However, it may still be too early to point out the depth and nature of the changes. What is clear is that Israel is making tremendous efforts to impose a new reality on the Palestinian people and Palestinian organizations. It aims to destroy Hamas, not only as an organization that advocates armed struggle but also as a political force, and to drain all the organizations within the PLO of their substance. Whether it will succeed in this is still too early to determine.
— Before the war, the official Israel actually worked to preserve Hamas's rule in Gaza as a counterweight to the PLO, and to prevent progress towards implementing a two-state solution...
— This is done with the aim of solidifying the internal Palestinian division, which serves the interests of the Israeli government. However, since the outbreak of the war, it is difficult to point to any Israeli strategy other than the strategy of destruction – of the Palestinian people and their political forces. Against Hamas, Israel uses weapons, and against the Palestinian Authority and the organizations affiliated with the PLO, it uses the method of neutralization – draining the Authority and the PLO of any governing content and ability to influence processes in the occupied territories.
Therefore, Israel refrains from any cooperation with the Authority, blocks the transfer of Palestinian tax funds that enable the Authority to operate, and deepens its control over Areas C and B in the West Bank. This is a de facto implementation of Smotrich's plan to annex the occupied territories. This is how Israel attempts to reshape the Palestinian arena. All these processes and crimes are contrary to both the agreements between the Palestinian Authority and Israel and to international law.
— How are the Palestinian factions responding to this? Have they adopted a new strategy?
There have been several rounds of negotiations between the Palestinian factions aimed at ending the division: the Cairo Accords, the Moscow Accords, and recently the Beijing Accords. I believe that the current Palestinian reality necessitates the unity of all Palestinian forces and the adoption of a joint strategy to preserve the Palestinian project for achieving independence. The challenges are very great and there are dangers.
The war of extermination is not only physical destruction but also the destruction of the Palestinian people's right to self-determination. Gaza has become a place where normal and even basic life cannot be sustained. What is happening in the West Bank is a process of partitioning into cantons; of besieging all the cities and their surroundings; of paving apartheid roads that Palestinians are forbidden to travel on.
The goal of these measures is to trample the possibility of establishing an independent Palestinian state. In the face of this Israeli project, it is essential for the Palestinians to formulate a strategy that addresses the challenge. This confrontation requires organizational unity around the Palestinian historical project that the PLO adopted in the 1970s: a state alongside a state. At the same time, the international community must be mobilized to support this principle. The French initiative for the recognition of a Palestinian state should be embraced wholeheartedly and promoted even more vigorously. The PLO leadership must lead the campaign to advance international recognition of a Palestinian state.
— What is the role of the Palestinian left under these conditions?
The Palestinian left, in all its components, has an important historical role in uniting the Palestinian political forces. This is a role that the left is trying to fulfill, but the prolongation and brutality of the war undermine its efforts. It is the duty of the leftist forces to unite the Palestinian political forces and the entire Palestinian people around the political project to end the occupation, establish an independent Palestinian state within the borders of June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and respect the right of return for the refugees. The first step is to deepen Palestinian unity through strengthening and expanding the ranks of the PLO.
— During the war period, the leadership of the Israeli Communist Party held meetings with the leadership of the Palestinian People's Party. What was planned?
Since October 2023, we have held several meetings with the People's Party, mainly around the joint struggle against the war and the political repression of its opponents. Representatives of the People's Party told us about their activities and the proposal they submitted to all Palestinian political forces at the end of March 2025 with the aim of stopping the war of annihilation.
Main points of the initiative: Unity of the Palestinian political forces, including Hamas, with the aim of stopping the war; international protection for the Palestinian people, including in the West Bank; international and Arab guarantees for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state; and the suspension of armed struggle. The current period requires deep Palestinian thinking and steadfastness in ending the occupation and realizing the right to establish a state.
— Before the war, the official Israel actually worked to preserve Hamas's rule in Gaza as a counterweight to the PLO, and to prevent progress towards implementing a two-state solution...
— This is done with the aim of solidifying the internal Palestinian division, which serves the interests of the Israeli government. However, since the outbreak of the war, it is difficult to point to any Israeli strategy other than the strategy of destruction – of the Palestinian people and their political forces. Against Hamas, Israel uses weapons, and against the Palestinian Authority and the organizations affiliated with the PLO, it uses the method of neutralization – draining the Authority and the PLO of any governing content and ability to influence processes in the occupied territories.
Therefore, Israel refrains from any cooperation with the Authority, blocks the transfer of Palestinian tax funds that enable the Authority to operate, and deepens its control over Areas C and B in the West Bank. This is a de facto implementation of Smotrich's plan to annex the occupied territories. This is how Israel attempts to reshape the Palestinian arena. All these processes and crimes are contrary to both the agreements between the Palestinian Authority and Israel and to international law.
— How are the Palestinian factions responding to this? Have they adopted a new strategy?
There have been several rounds of negotiations between the Palestinian factions aimed at ending the division: the Cairo Accords, the Moscow Accords, and recently the Beijing Accords. I believe that the current Palestinian reality necessitates the unity of all Palestinian forces and the adoption of a joint strategy to preserve the Palestinian project for achieving independence. The challenges are very great and there are dangers.
The war of extermination is not only physical destruction but also the destruction of the Palestinian people's right to self-determination. Gaza has become a place where normal and even basic life cannot be sustained. What is happening in the West Bank is a process of partitioning into cantons; of besieging all the cities and their surroundings; of paving apartheid roads that Palestinians are forbidden to travel on.
The goal of these measures is to trample the possibility of establishing an independent Palestinian state. In the face of this Israeli project, it is essential for the Palestinians to formulate a strategy that addresses the challenge. This confrontation requires organizational unity around the Palestinian historical project that the PLO adopted in the 1970s: a state alongside a state. At the same time, the international community must be mobilized to support this principle. The French initiative for the recognition of a Palestinian state should be embraced wholeheartedly and promoted even more vigorously. The PLO leadership must lead the campaign to advance international recognition of a Palestinian state.
— What is the role of the Palestinian left under these conditions?
The Palestinian left, in all its components, has an important historical role in uniting the Palestinian political forces. This is a role that the left is trying to fulfill, but the prolongation and brutality of the war undermine its efforts. It is the duty of the leftist forces to unite the Palestinian political forces and the entire Palestinian people around the political project to end the occupation, establish an independent Palestinian state within the borders of June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and respect the right of return for the refugees. The first step is to deepen Palestinian unity through strengthening and expanding the ranks of the PLO.
— During the war period, the leadership of the Israeli Communist Party held meetings with the leadership of the Palestinian People's Party. What was planned?
Since October 2023, we have held several meetings with the People's Party, mainly around the joint struggle against the war and the political repression of its opponents. Representatives of the People's Party told us about their activities and the proposal they submitted to all Palestinian political forces at the end of March 2025 with the aim of stopping the war of annihilation.
Main points of the initiative: Unity of the Palestinian political forces, including Hamas, with the aim of stopping the war; international protection for the Palestinian people, including in the West Bank; international and Arab guarantees for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state; and the suspension of armed struggle. The current period requires deep Palestinian thinking and steadfastness in ending the occupation and realizing the right to establish a state.
