WIN discussion June 2025. See it HERE. After decades of subjugation under military occupation, the Palestinian people today are facing outright genocide. How did this happen? The Oslo agreement, signed 32 years ago, had been heralded as the first step towards a two-state solution, with promises of Palestinian self-governance, economic growth and a pathway to prosperity and sovereignty. In reality it crippled the Palestinian economy, leaving Israel in control of Palestinian finance, trade, and borders, and placing genuine independence out of reach from the very beginning. The division of the West Bank into areas A, B and C, along with ever-tightening movement restrictions and relentless settlement expansion, fragmented Palestinian communities and stifled economic life. Unemployment soared and living standards plunged. And now the entire population is facing annihilation.
This week we welcomed Fadel Takrouri, a physicist, socialist and trade union activist now living in Britain, who was born in Palestine and educated in a refugee camp. Fadel outlined the trajectory of the Palestinian struggle, the displacement of earlier socialist tendencies by both Fatah and Hamas, possible perspectives for the future, and responded to many of the questions everyone is asking.