Western individualism has coached us to believe that conflicts in the global south and worldwide are separate to us, whether that's racism, capitalism, imperialism only affects those that are directly oppressed. The goal of the capitalist ruling class has been to erode solidarity whether by race, class, gender, or even geography. Dividing our struggles can mislead us to the mentality that Palestine isn’t our problem, which is dangerous. The ongoing genocide of Palestine by Israel has been documented globally, exposing links between the West and Israel previously unknown to some. Social media has rightfully made us wake up to the struggle in countries on the other side of the world. Atrocities seen through our phones have fuelled our anger, our activism, and our unity to stand with those who need help. We’ve slowly recognised that the struggle of Palestinians is also the struggle of all colonised people worldwide, battling against the forces of colonialism and capitalism. 

When one hears the word apartheid, South Afrcia usually comes to mind. The divide between Black and White South Africans, as well as the struggle and eventual freedom of president Nelson Mandela. The global understanding of apartheid as an oppressive immoral structure, has rarely been applied to the situation in Gaza, though several of its central tenets apply according to B’Tselem, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the UN. Despite apartheid being a violation of human rights, and considered a crime against humanity, Israel has for decades seemed to get away with it as the world turned a blind eye. As the event from the 7th of October still dominates a lot of our thoughts, most of us have woken up to the violence that Palestians have been enduring for years. When we look at the struggles with Palestine and South Africa, it’s almost impossible not to compare the two. A majority of South Africa’s apartheid was through the exploitation of labour against Black South Africans, compared to Palestinians where they need permits and security checks to even work and travel across the West Bank. In some cases, the oppression faced by Palestinians goes beyond what was experienced during the 1960s in Cape Town. 

South Africa didn’t have separate roads, yet in the West Bank, the roads network have a purpose in separating the streets of Palestine and Israel. This facilitates Israel’s settler colonialism. Roads connecting illegal settlements allow settlers to illegally live on and set up businesses on Palestinian land, whilst protected by a strong military presence. A striking difference between these two apartheid states is that South Africa was not able to maintain racial segregation thanks to pressure from boycotts, awareness from organisations such as The Coloured Peoples Organisation, and The African National of Congress (ANC), which led to its demise. As we assisted in the end of segregation in Cape Town, we must do exactly the same for those in the East. We do this by critiquing the economic and military power Israel has over Palestians through their links to the Western World, particularly the US and the UK. We should be vocal about the reasons the UK government and opposition recently ruled out a ceasefire. British banks such as Barclays, Citibank, and HSBC all hold offices in Israel, with Israeli banks, such as the Mizrahi Tefahot bank also set up in the UK. Financial cooperation between these two countries is one of the many factors that drives their connection and allows for partnership in whatever deals will work to their benefit. Palestine, without the same financial power, is not part of a shared economic ecosystem with wealthy nations, which mitigates shared interest. Oppression doesn’t just come in the form of military violence, but also through economic strength. A plethora of nations who have been colonised are at the disposal of these wealthy nations. 

Angela Davis book, freedom in a constant struggle, highlights the deep links between the US and Israel in a military context. Israel's military base is considered the most powerful in the Middle East. It receives more than $3.8bn of military assistance a year from the US. After Qatar, Israel is the second largest spender on their military equipment. Until 2017, G4S, one of the largest private organisations, and the biggest private security company in the world, operating in 85 countries with more than 80,000 employees. ran Israel's training for their police force, helping to maintain the oppression of Palestinian prisons in Israel. Political prisoners under the Israeli government were managed by G4S, who were able to use different ways of torture and behaviour that violated human rights through their power. Under the disguise of security, G4S have been highly involved in maintaining apartheid, the use of technology, and the nature of prison schemes and detention centres all over the world. G4S presence in the Western world is subtle but very much alive. One of their most profitable industries has been through deportation. Since 2006, in the US, they’ve provided transportation for people being removed from the US to Mexico but have been accused of mistreating those under their care. Up until 2020, they ran two immigration jails in the UK, right next to London Gatwick Airport: Brook House and Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centres, but had reports of abuse. They still however, run four private prisons in the UK, but have been hit with multiple allegations of abuse, including violence, prison labour and child abuse. If we notice the similarities between how G4S treats Palestinian prisoners and prisoners in the UK, the joint nature of their respective struggles is obvious.