We would like to start this piece with a note of hope and of optimism ("optimism of the will" in Gramsci's phrase), even as we recognise that — three years into Israel's genocide in Gaza — this is in constant tension with feelings of powerlessness and pessimism of the intellect.
To nurture this hope and optimism, we would like to convey the complexity of liberation struggles and the need to view them from a longue durée perspective, as protracted fights against systems of domination, oppression and exploitation. Why the emphasis on a longue durée?
At a time when the deadly and dehumanising forces of empire and capital are bent on destroying hope and killing the idea of resistance, we cannot afford to fall into defeatism. We must find hope by drawing linkages across history and geographies.
Doing so can show us that a better world is possible and parts of it are present, in the histories and daily practices of struggle, solidarity and care that continue to be lived, remembered and enacted.
It is these histories and practices that we must foster.
Continuing to build the better world we want to live in — including in Palestine — can come about solely through the concerted and collective efforts of us all, not only by continuing to practise solidarity and care but also by building better systems that are grounded in the principles.
One part of the collective efforts is analysing, diagnosing and (re)framing; as well as challenging and debunking myths, lies and misconceptions. This includes revealing ignored or lost histories of resistance and solidarity and bringing to the fore the unshakeable will of downtrodden and oppressed people everywhere who have fought to overturn the status quo and vanquish seemingly invincible enemies.
The genocide, brutal occupation, ethnic cleansing, mass starvation and untold destruction taking place in Palestine and the broader region perfectly lay bare the violent and ugly underpinnings of the global capitalist-imperialist system and condense its deadly and devastating contradictions. They show that system's tendency to deploy large-scale and unimaginably cruel violence. In the face of all of this, our feelings of frustration, anger, sadness, pessimism and hopelessness are at times assuaged by glimmers of hope and moments of inspiration, alongside a sense of humility, when we witness Palestinians' sumud (steadfastness) and ongoing resistance.
Despite the calamity and the pervasive, omnipresent and unrelenting catastrophe they face, Palestinians continue to resist and cling to their land. Another source of hope and inspiration is the amazing global outpouring of solidarity with Palestine taking place, which makes clear that Gaza has awakened the world and Palestine has become the quintessential and defining struggle of our time.
As in previous eras marked by massive colonial and imperialist violence, we are again witnessing how far colonialists and imperialists will go to preserve and expand their domination.
Israel's genocide in Gaza is but one part of the colonial expansionist project of Zionism, accelerating its long-standing ambition of removing Palestinians from their lands, through extermination or forced displacement. Israel is also seizing the moment to redraw the map of the entire region, expanding its territorial control in pursuit of "Greater Israel". The clearest evidence of Israel's expansionism and ambition to dominate the entire region is its war on Lebanon and Iran, its colonial expansion in southern Lebanon and Syria as well as bombings of Yemen.
While it is unclear how the regional war raging will end, Israeli and US plans for Gaza point to their vision for the region as a whole: it is a vision in which US and Western imperialism, Gulf complicity and Indian cooperation come together to crush Palestinian — and regional — independence and self-determination.
In response to the expansion of Zionist violence and above all Israel's genocide, we have seen the resurgence of a global movement in solidarity with Palestine. A key component of this movement is South–South solidarity, in the form of Southern countries' commitment to the Palestinian cause and efforts to isolate Israel, echoing the era of Third World solidarity.
South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for breaching the Genocide Convention is one such effort. As a nation whose struggle against apartheid developed alongside and together with the Palestinian struggle for liberation, South Africa's ICJ case highlights the use of international law to expose and exacerbate the contradictions of the liberal world, which not only allows genocide but participates in it. This is a historic development: African men and women (with their allies) are confronting white supremacy and colonialism.
In the Hague in 2024, national representatives who suffered and combated apartheid stood up for basic human decency, justice and solidarity. In their actions, the heirs of Mandela are honouring his memory and underlining the truth of his words: "We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians".
Several Global South countries have also cut diplomatic ties with Israel (Brazil, Bolivia, Nicaragua and others), severed trade with it (Colombia and Turkey) or banned the use of their ports to transfer goods, particularly military goods, to it (Malaysia, Spain and Namibia). In contrast, Western powers (the US, the UK, Canada and Germany) have backed Israel. Particularly notable in this connection was the rebuke Germany's support for Israel received from Namibia, its former colony, which referenced Germany's failure to learn from its murderous history of committing two genocides in the 20th century (the genocide of the Herero and Nama in Namibia and the Holocaust in Europe).
Often, it is people's pressure from below that has pushed such action by states. Such was the case with Colombia's ban on exporting coal to Israel and Brazil's cancelling of its planned purchase of Israeli military equipment.
However, there are limitations to state-led solidarity, even where it has popular support behind it.
A stark example is the fact that South Africa — despite arguing before the ICJ that Israel is committing genocide — continues to export coal to Israel, which powers that genocide. Other examples include Turkey, which hosts part of a pipeline from Azerbaijan through which 28% of Israel's oil during the genocide has flowed; China, with its muted response to the genocide and trade with and investment in Israel; and Indonesia, with its participation in Trump's Board of Peace.
Even so, we are seeing the beginnings of a move towards a multipolar world, in which the South asserts itself politically and economically. We are not (yet) in a new Bandung phase but with our collective force we can work together to accelerate the decline of the US-led empire. It is becoming crystal clear not only to Palestinians and Arabs but also to the oppressed majority worldwide that they can no longer function in the world as it is constituted, dominated as it is by a system that dehumanises people, that enshrines super-exploitation, that subjugates nature and humanity, generates inequality and poverty, reproduces war and militarisation and causes ecological destruction and climate chaos.
If we cannot function in this world, we are left with only one option: to change it. This is why we see revolts and rebellions against capitalism, colonialism/imperialism, patriarchy and White supremacy taking place on all continents and in all regions.
Yet the rebellions often remain episodic and largely geographically confined. For the resistance they embody to succeed against the powerful forces opposing them, they need to go beyond the local and to reach the global: they need to create enduring alliances. Such an aim is not only possible but necessary: transnational solidarities and alliances are crucial in the global struggle for the emancipation of the wretched of the earth.
It is here that we need to take inspiration from the past — specifically, the period of decolonisation struggles, Bandung, Third-Worldism, the Tricontinental and similar internationalist experiences. We must immerse ourselves in the histories of these revolutionary and progressive projects. Building on this revolutionary heritage, being inspired by its insurgent hope and applying its internationalist perspective to the context is of utmost importance to Palestine and to other emancipatory struggles all over the world."
This is an edited and shortened version of the introduction of the book "Towards Palestinian Liberation: Global Perspectives on Anti-Colonial Resistance & Solidarity", published by Daraja Press and the Transnational Institute (May 2026). It is being distributed by AMEC in South Africa.
Abi Bae is a Korean researcher and activist, working at Transnational Institute (TNI). Hamza Hamouchene is an Algerian researcher and activist, currently the North Africa Programme Coordinator at TNI.