The genocide in Gaza since October 2023, which has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, has marked a historic turning point in the Palestinian struggle and in the nature of the conflict with the Zionist project.
What unfolded went far beyond another war or another episode of Israeli violence; it exposed to the world the true nature of the Zionist project as a settler-colonial enterprise built upon ethnic cleansing, apartheid and the systematic erasure of the indigenous Palestinian people.
Since its emergence in the late 19th century, the Zionist movement has sought to establish a settler-colonial state in Palestine through the mobilisation of western imperialist powers and an enduring alliance with dominant forces in the international system.
While classical colonialism sought primarily to exploit indigenous populations, Zionism belongs to the tradition of settler-colonial movements that sought to replace them. From its inception, the movement went beyond seeking political rule, aiming to transform Palestine's demographic, political and cultural character.
