On the evening of 5 January 2026, a meeting entitled “Palestine and Kurdistan between war and revolution“ was held at the People’s House of Quinto in Florence, Italy.
Around 150 people discussed the possibilities of a democratic way out of the crisis imposed by the forces of the capital with Zilan Diyar (Women Weaving Future, Kurdish Women’s Movement in Europe, TJK-E) and Sharif Hamad (Palestinian activist from Gaza), starting with an overview of the historical conditions that led to the current phase of genocide.
In a statement, the organizers said: “Genocide is a strategy employed by capitalist modernity to reshape the balance of power in the Middle East and thereby reaffirm the interests of hegemonic powers worldwide. The Kurdish and Palestinian questions emerged alongside the partition of the Ottoman Empire by European states after the First World War.
Yet today, the hegemon’s rhetoric tells us that these two peoples are on opposing sides of history. Israel’s anti-Turkish narrative exploits the Kurdish question in a manner that mirrors Turkey’s instrumental use of the Palestinian people in its anti-Israeli rhetoric. However, despite the mutual accusations, military and commercial relations between Turkey and Israel continued until the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.
It is therefore necessary to maintain solidarity with both peoples’ struggles, and understanding their expectations and proposals for solutions can provide a solid basis for this solidarity and a new internationalism. Today, all the peoples of the Middle East are facing a very dangerous phase in which they must develop autonomous strategies to survive the new partition led by the US.”
The evening also provided an opportunity to consider the wider implications of war on a global scale: “The kidnapping of Maduro in Venezuela and the threats to the whole of Abya Yala show that the Middle East crisis is the epicentre of a more general global crisis. The wars and massacres taking place there are a prelude to other genocides throughout the rest of the world. Even in Italy, there are people who want to lead the country into war. These people are speaking out more and more, even though they haven’t said who we should be fighting against.”
The Palestinian and Kurdish struggles have always inspired millions of people, representing a symbol of hope and redemption for the whole world, speakers noted. The meeting’s conclusion was marked by the shared sentiment among those present that this marks the initial step in the rebuilding of a new internationalism among peoples and the relaunch of an agenda independent of the interests of the hegemonic powers.