KCK Co-Chair Cemil Bayik answered questions on the Palestinian issue in an in-depth analysis in which he spoke about where this question came from, how it is handled by the different global and regional players today and what the interests of the peoples are.

Part one can be read here

It is said that there are attempts by the US to get Israel to comply. What is the US trying to achieve, what goals are the hegemonic forces pursuing? Are there efforts to renew the ‘Greater Middle East Project’?

Regarding this topic, I would particularly like to emphasize the following. Above all, the approach of the US, but also of all the other forces, must not serve to deepen the war. Any military approach only increases the problem and delays a possible solution. The forces participating in the conflicts must direct all their efforts towards an end to the war and a solution to the fundamental problem. To achieve this, a political will must be shown that corresponds to democratic values. All forces that move solely on the basis of their own interests at the global and regional level and take a position accordingly stand in the way of a democratic solution.

A genocide is being carried out against the Palestinian people. This is what we are seeing in Gaza right now. These efforts must be stopped and further occupation of the land of Palestine must also be stopped. Then a solution can be sought and efforts can be made in this direction. Only then can Israel’s security, which is currently being discussed so much, can be established. Of course, we see that the attitude of capitalist modernity, and accordingly also of the USA, is different. They do not act in a democratic sense to find a solution, but rather act based on their interests and thus deepen the rifts and contradictions. The USA does this as the current hegemon of capitalist modernity. It is the strongest force in the third World War and due to its role and characteristics cannot be part of a democratic solution.

There is talk that they want to stop Israel, but it is the policies of the USA, NATO and the capitalist states that over many years have brought Israel to the point that they can pursue such a warlike, genocidal policy. Therefore, these forces must also be stopped. Only when limits are set to capitalist modernity, of which the USA is the pioneer, and interest-driven politics are restricted, can the Israeli state be restricted. Is this a policy that the USA can and will lead? Therefore it is not necessary to do an analysis of it. The US does not restrict Israel. The mentality and politics of the states and all forces of capitalist modernity contradict a solution to the existing problems. In order to force capitalist modernity to take action, a social struggle is needed. If society takes a clear stand and shows shared red lines, then the USA and the forces of capitalist modernity may be forced to take steps. A solution can only emerge from the strength of society.

It is obvious that the USA and all the other forces, including the states of the Middle East, are operating in a framework of the third World War. The third World War is a war between the hegemonic forces of capitalist modernity for leadership at regional and global levels. It is a war of reorganization of energy routes, trade routes and strategic geopolitics. In the same time, this war also shows the depth of the crisis in the system of capitalist modernity. The forces of capitalist modernity are trying to prolong their existence through the world war. That is why, as much as this war is a war of the rulers, between states, it is also a war against society and the peoples.

The victims of this war are society and the peoples. The war in Gaza is the best example of this. The USA, Turkey, Iran, NATO and many other countries are exploiting the Palestinian struggle for their own interests. The Israeli state and its government are also doing the same. The Israeli state is also part of capitalist modernity, uses fear, repression and conspiracy against the Israeli population and tries to enforce the interests of its own system. It is obvious that these methods and policies cannot create a free life and security for the Jews. How could the Jewish people live in freedom and security while Palestine is occupied and Palestinians are subjected to genocide? Can a Jewish country be created on this basis? Of course that is impossible. We believe that the Israeli people see and recognize this reality. We attach great importance to this.

The Middle East is an important center. No system or ruler can assume a leading role if it does not take a stand in the Middle East. This is a reality that was as true in the past as it is today. As some say, the Middle East is not losing its importance. On the contrary, the importance of the Middle East in the system of capitalist modernity, which has reached the stage of total consumerism, has increased even more. If we say today that there is no longer any geography that is not given importance, then that is certainly not a false statement. The Middle East has an important significance in geopolitics. Essential energy sources are found here and significant trade routes cross this region. In addition to forces like the USA and Russia, more and more China and India are now also joining in. And Iran and Turkey are increasingly trying to forge new alliances in order to gain more influence. Saudi Arabia and similar states are increasingly pursuing similar aspirations. Iran has created groups tied to itself on a broad level and is trying to secure its own influence. In this way, they also try to live out the conflicts with the USA without being confronted with problems in their own country. A system has been created in which the war is fought far away.

Turkey is trying to become a force through the genocide of the Kurds. In order to get support for this, it is ready to enter into any alliance. Of course, the USA is a force with great influence, as it is throughout the world, including in the Middle East. They want to design the Middle East fundamentally according to their own interests. They act and move with this mentality. There are also the conflicts between the USA and China, which were originally fought in the Asia-Pacific region and are now spreading further and further around the world. This is now also evident in the Middle East. It can be seen that China’s relations with the Middle East have increased recently. They have taken strategic steps. The essential move was their efforts to bring Iran and Saudi Arabia together. Relations between the two states, which have historical conflicts with each other, have significantly improved. China has also announced that they will work on the Palestinian question.

In the Middle East everything is interconnected and everything influences each other. Asking whether the Hamas attack on October 7th and the Israeli state’s subsequent attack on Gaza will lead to an expansion of the war in the region shows a lack of understanding of the politics of the Middle East. At the G20 summit that recently took place in India, decisions were made regarding new energy and trade routes, so China cannot implement its own plans. As is known, not only China, but also Iran, Turkey, Russia and other forces are angry about this decision. They are all forces of capitalist modernity that look at the world and life from their perspective and do everything for their own interests. So the struggle of the Palestinian people was sacrificed to the struggle for interests, power and partnership between these powers. This is a clear situation. It is the same framework in which they approach the Kurds. What is important is that we are aware of this and base our fight for freedom and democracy on the strength and unity of the peoples.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, the Gulf countries… there is a diplomatic traffic involving all regional countries right now. There is a prominent demand for a ceasefire in Arab countries. What is the approach of the Arab states to the Palestinian question? How does this approach affect the Palestinian people and their struggle?

The state of Israel has always been striving to realize the goal envisioned by the Zionist ideology. According to this, the geography designated as Jewish land needs to be cleansed of any other communities, and it needs to be turned into a place inhabited entirely by Jews. This means the occupation of Palestine and the genocide of the Palestinian people, which is where all the problems originate. This idea has been the official policy of the Israeli state and its government. Even though the struggle and pressure of the Arab people in general, and partly of the Arab states, and the organized struggle and resistance of the Palestinian people in particular have forced the Israeli state to put some compromises on the agenda, this idea and policy has not changed. This is the goal and the policy that Israel is pursuing now. This ideology and policy has always been supported by capitalist modernity, especially by the US. Therefore, the mentality and policies pursued by the state of Israel are not only the result of internal dynamics. Capitalist modernity has a role for Israel in the Middle East and Israel is expected to play this role. We know that some people do not think this way and even think that Israel is playing a role for others. But this is not the reality.

The state of Israel has been condemned to an ideology and a policy called Zionism. This can only change through a serious internal social struggle and the resulting transformation. It would not be wrong to say that such a consciousness and movement is gradually emerging within Israeli society. This should be seen as a correct and positive development. It will be developments of this kind that will transform Israel and end the Arab-Jewish contradiction and conflict, including the solution of the Palestinian question. Therefore, it is necessary to attach importance to this and strive for its development. Without this, Israel, backed by the US, NATO and other forces of capitalist modernity, will not be able to abandon its policy of occupation, annexation and genocide. On the other hand, this situation also makes its opponent similar to itself. Those who oppose Israel and its policies need the US and NATO to fight against such an Israel. This makes them dependent either on the US and NATO or on forces that have some contradictions with the US and NATO forces, but are not fundamentally different from the US and NATO forces, that pursue economic-political power like them, and that think about their global and regional interests. We think this is one of the biggest deadlocks. Unfortunately, this is the situation that Palestinian organizations are in most of the time. They have become dependent either on the US and NATO or on the powers that are in conflict with them.

As for the Arab countries, it would be more accurate to call them Arab states, because the approach of the people and the approach of the states differ from each other. At the time of the establishment of the state of Israel, there were Arab states ruled by kingdoms. It is known how these states were created. These kingdoms were established by Britain and were dependent on it. Israel is also a state established with the consent of Britain. These kingdoms, disconnected from the people, would not have been able to stop the state of Israel, which was given a strategic role by Britain and therefore by capitalist modernity. This situation did not change even after the development of Arab nationalism and the change of regimes according to this ideology. Already in the 1970s, the Arab states lost interest in the Palestinian question. Their internal contradictions deepened and Israel and foreign powers took advantage of these contradictions. Although not on an official level, many Arab states have developed relations with Israel since then. Their support for the Palestinian movement, on the other hand, was limited. State interests and balances came to the fore. These concerns are also at the forefront now. In fact, state interests and balances are even more prominent than in the past. Before these developments began, there were official dialogues between Israel and many Arab states. A compromise and agreement was reached between them under the name of the Abraham-Hebrew Covenant. It is stated that this process has been disrupted due to the current situation, but no Arab state party to this process has taken any stance to confirm this.

The agreement between the Arab states and Israel does not envisage a solution to the Palestinian problem. It is not easy for an agreement that does not solve the Palestinian problem or does not envisage such a solution to be successful. Now, a very important part of the Arab states have relations with the US. In a way, they are dependent on the US and Israel. They exist and make politics according to the balance that the US has established in the Middle East. In the current situation, all of them have their eyes and ears mainly on the US. Neither the Arab League, nor the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, nor any other organization can do anything despite the US and NATO. Ceasefire calls and verbal reactions have no real value. They are made to save face, to appease the reaction of the Arab people. The power that manages this process is the US. The US has global and regional calculations and plans. It acts accordingly. Undoubtedly, a serious social reaction and pressure may force the US, Israel and even the Arab states to take some steps and this may lead to changes in the plan. Apart from that, the US plan is the one that will work.