After a catastrophic summer, rebuilding hope in Palestine
Saturday 5 September 2026, by Édouard Soulier
In Gaza as in th West Bank, the situation has been catastrophic throughout the summer. As elections begin in Israel and Palestine, the challenge remains for us to relaunch mobilization and international solidarity.
In Gaza, the scorching heat in tents has further aggravated the suffering. The lack of basic necessities and electricity is making life hellish: hospitals can no longer provide real care, water cannot be properly pumped or filtered. According to a report published on 13 August by the IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification), the world’s main body for monitoring famine, acute food insecurity remains widespread throughout the Gaza Strip.
Famine, bombings, colonial violence
Nearly 1.2 million people are in a food “crisis” situation (phase 3 out of 5) and more than 200,000 in “emergency” (phase 4). According to the IPC, nearly two million Gazans may soon face high levels of food insecurity. The report also estimates that 74,200 children under the age of five will need treatment for acute malnutrition by April 2027, including more than 11,400 for severe malnutrition, as well as 24,600 pregnant or breastfeeding women. After months of genocide and blockade, the health consequences will be felt for years to come.
Yet the bombing continued, maintaining a horrific level of death in Gaza. Israel went so far as to call the balloons and kites launched into the enclave a “threat,” warning that it would intensify its strikes and evacuate areas used as “launch sites.” The kites with which children play are thus presented as acts of war. One more pretext to bomb and displace the population.
In the West Bank, the situation is increasingly critical. Settler attacks, with the complicity of the army, have reached an unprecedented level: cattle theft, destruction of equipment and physical assaults, several times a day. Attempts at self-defence are immediately described as “terrorist” and repressed in blood, often collectively, in a reversal of the now systematic reversal of guilt.
There is no significant change to be expected for Palestinians in the first Israeli elections in four years, which will be held at the end of October. Massacre, genocide and colonial expansion have produced broad national unity: in the campaign, candidates are competing in radicalism against Palestinians. Neither the creation of a Palestinian state, nor the end of the occupation, nor even an end to the genocide are really defended. A large part of Israeli society seems to have internalized the idea of solving the “Palestinian problem” by violence.
Elections in the midst of genocide
In a grotesque mirror game, the Palestinian Authority also announced elections at the end of November. If they are not cancelled as in 2021, they will be the first since 2006. About 64% of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are under 30 years old, so most have never voted. Under international pressure, the Palestinian Authority, despite being ultra-collaborative, is being asked to reform or risk losing part of its funding, particularly from Europe.
Following talks in Cairo, a coalition was formed around Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and, more particularly, historical opponents or former members of Fatah. Left-wing groups are expected to announce soon whether they will join it. Such an alliance could threaten Abbas and his camp, so discredited is the Palestinian Authority. Unable to protect the inhabitants from the settlers, it has mainly worked over the past three years to neutralize Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank, to the point of appearing as a proxy force for the occupation.
However, it seems difficult to imagine that the elections will take place serenely in the midst of genocide, while the occupier targets, arrests or assassinates opponents who may run. Nearly 10,000 Palestinians are currently imprisoned, particularly for their political opposition. The precedent of 2006 also remains in the memory: Hamas’ electoral victory was not recognized by either Israel or the Western powers, paving the way for the blockade of Gaza.
However, these elections can provide Palestinians with the opportunity to rebuild national unity, to relaunch a hopeful political struggle and to renew mass opposition to genocide and occupation. The Israeli noose must still be loosened. After a catastrophic summer, the urgency is therefore to relaunch the mobilization to end impunity and to strengthen international solidarity.
28 August 23026
Translated by International Viewpoint from l’Anticapitaliste.
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