This is a part of the article series Decolonial Praxis: Going Beyond Empty Words, edited by Fernando David Márquez Duarte, Dulce Alarcón Payán and Javier Daniel Alarcón Mares. Editorial and Translation Assistant: Lorenia Gutiérrez Moreto Cruz.

A crucial component of Decolonial Praxis has always been solidarity with oppressed groups. In this piece we discuss the Mexicali Committee in Solidarity with Palestine, where both of us (co-authors of this chapter) are part of the committee. We take the Mexicali Committee in Solidarity with Palestine as a case study of Decolonial Praxis. We begin this article with a contextual discussion of the genocide against Palestinians, and the Palestinian struggle, since the nineteenth century, including the Nakba. We continue with the theoretical discussion, focusing on the discussion of colonial oppression, on apartheid and genocide (including definitions on both and international legal conventions that have addressed them), and on transnational solidarity, especially between oppressed groups. We also include a brief discussion of the life and family experiences of one of us co-authors, who is Palestinian-Mexican. Finally, we conduct a discussion of the case study of the Mexicali Committee in Solidarity with Palestine, as the case of Decolonial Praxis, where both of us have been participating.

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We use a qualitative research methodology with a participatory action research (PAR) method, using participant observation as a research instrument; along with an extensive documentary review of the acts of the committee meetings; and bibliographic research for the theoretical and contextual sections. The conclusions we arrived at are: (1) The Mexicali Committee in Solidarity with Palestine is a case of Decolonial Praxis, (2) Solidarity between oppressed groups grows even when there are no apparent common elements between them , such as the case of Palestinians and Mexicans, (3) The genocide and oppression imposed by Israel against the Palestinians are phenomenon of colonial oppression, internal colonialism and necropolitics, intertwined.

Context of Palestine and the Palestinian Struggle

The colonial oppression and genocide that the Palestinian people have been suffering did not begin in October 2023. It began in the nineteenth century and hit its worst point during the Nakba of 1948, or so it was thought. To begin, it is important to discuss the historical context briefly.

One of the most important written records of the Zionist planning was the Balfour Declaration: 'On November 2, 1917, the Balfour Declaration was issued. It stated: 'His Majesty's Government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish People and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object ' ' (Schoenman, 1988, p. 20). Arthur Balfour, Former Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, author of the declaration, also wrote: 'Zionism, be it right or wrong, good or bad is rooted in present needs, in future hopes of far profounder import than the desires of the 700,000-plus Arabs who now inhabit that ancient land ' (p. 21). From the declarations of Balfour himself, it is clear that the British did not care about the Palestinian people, they wanted to impose a Zionist state for their own imperialist interests.

A few years later, in 1922, the League of Nations openly presented as one of its goals of 'establishing a settler colony in Palestine for the Jewish people…in public international law. The Palestine Mandate juridically erased the national status of the Palestinian people by: (1) framing the Arabs as incapable of self-rule; (2) heightening the significance of establishing a Jewish national home ' (Erakat et al., 2023, p. 77). The imposing of Israel, dispossessing the Palestinians from their land is not something that was born in the United Nations (UN) Organization, it began to be pushed since before the UN existed, with its predecessor (League of Nations). This was even before the Holocaust.

By 1935, 'Zionists controlled 872 of a total of 1,212 industrial firms in Palestine. Imports related to Zionist industries were exempted from taxes. Discriminatory work laws were passed against the Palestinians resulting in large scale unemployment and poor working conditions ' (p. 28). Not only were Palestinians forcefully dispossessed from their lands, but were also  imposed a clear economic injustice, giving clear privilege to Zionist companies, and enacting laws to discriminate Palestinians.

This process was obviously accompanied by violence. During the British colonial rule, Zionist forces became police enforcers in Palestine, protecting the British imperialist interests. Moreover, the British provided armed forces to protect the Zionists. There were 17,863 members of the armed forces of the Zionists in the decade of the 1930s. These armed forces were afterwards named 'Colony Police ' (p. 29).

In 1947, the UN passed Resolution 181 that called for the Partition of Palestine:

The Resolution proposed that 55% of the land should go to the minority Jewish population while 45% should go to the majority Palestinian population. Arab leaders rejected the Resolution and less than a year later, as a result of war, the State of Israel was established. Many of the Palestinian refugees fled to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as well into the neighboring countries of Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. (Erakat, 2009, p. 30)

The Resolution proposed that 55% of the land should go to the minority Jewish population while 45% should go to the majority Palestinian population. Arab leaders rejected the Resolution and less than a year later, as a result of war, the State of Israel was established. Many of the Palestinian refugees fled to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as well into the neighboring countries of Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. (Erakat, 2009, p. 30)

Between November 29, 1947, when the UN partitioned Palestine, and May 15, 1948, when the State of Israel was proclaimed, the Zionists armed forces had seized 75% of Palestine, forcing 780,000 Palestinians out (Schoenman, 1988, p. 33).

In the territory of Palestine that was occupied by Israel after Partition there were around 950,000 Palestinians. 'After less than six months only 130,000 to 165,000 people remained. After eliminating most of the Palestinians from their land, the Israeli government began the systematic destruction of their homes and possessions. Around 400 villages and towns were destroyed during 1948 and 1949 ' (p. 41). This destruction and dispossession allowed Israel to create their settlements and give the homes of the Palestinians to Jews that arrived mainly from Europe: 'Between 1948 and 1953, 370 Jewish towns and settlements were established. 350 were on 'absentee ' property. By 1954, some 35% of Israel's Jews lived on property confiscated from absentees and some 250,000 new immigrants settled in urban areas from which Palestinians had been expelled ' (p. 43).

Another critical juncture in the colonial regime imposed in Palestine was in 1967. Before 1967, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip remained under Jordanian and Egyptian authority, respectively. Then in 1967 the 6-day war happened. As a result of Israel's armed aggression, it expanded its colonial control and 'occupied the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights of Syria, and the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt ' (Erakat, 2009, p. 30). From that moment, 'Israel imposed martial law on the Arab-Palestinian inhabitants of the Occupied Territories by expanding its Emergency Regulations Laws, first enacted during the British Mandate in 1945 as a mechanism to suppress civilian uprising ' (p.31). It is worth noting that the UN enacted a resolution that same year calling on Israel to withdraw its armies from the territories invaded in 1967, with no effect.

Theoretical Discussion

To introduce the theoretical discussion of this article it is important to highlight the main points to be addressed in this part:

The processes that the Palestinians are and have been suffering are colonial processes. Palestine was invaded by colonial powers (especially the British) and is currently occupied by a colonial power: Israel. These processes have been imposed against the Palestinians through pure violence.

The processes that the Palestinians are and have been suffering are colonial processes. Palestine was invaded by colonial powers (especially the British) and is currently occupied by a colonial power: Israel. These processes have been imposed against the Palestinians through pure violence.

We argue that it is not coherent to articulate a decoloniality approach without praxis with the oppressed groups. This piece is not a historical discussion of the genocide against Palestinians; it is a discussion of Decolonial Praxis in solidarity with Palestine from a participatory action-research stance.

We argue that it is not coherent to articulate a decoloniality approach without praxis with the oppressed groups. This piece is not a historical discussion of the genocide against Palestinians; it is a discussion of Decolonial Praxis in solidarity with Palestine from a participatory action-research stance.

The structural violent processes that the Palestinians suffer are colonial processes. The colonial invasion by European empires around the globe established not only a global capitalist  system, but also a racial hierarchy of power, as Quijano discusses in his prominent piece on coloniality of power, where he argues that 'All the forms of labor, production, and exploitation were in ensemble around the axis of capital and the world market: slavery, serfdom… ' and in the same page he writes 'At the same time…the idea of  'race ', as biologically structural and hierarchical differences between the dominant and dominated ' (Quijano, 2000, p. 216), which after formal independence of most nation-states in this continent has been led by the US under a 'capitalist imperialism ' (Quijano, 1993, p. 146). This can be seen in Palestine (both Gaza & the West Bank), where Palestinians are deemed as inferior by the Zionist regime of Israel, just because they are Palestinians, and they are not only being killed, but systematically exploited for profit, both their bodies and their lands.

After the colonized societies and countries obtained 'formal independence ', colonial oppression was not eradicated, or even affected. The elites of colonized countries (heirs of the colonial capitalist families) that achieved independence have perpetuated colonial oppression through internal colonialism. The minorities (especially Indigenous groups) colonized by the nation-state suffer from similar oppression to colonialism and neo-colonialism: they are prohibited from conducting  self-government and are oppressed by the elites of the state. Internal colonialism is the extension of imperialist capitalism, which is also colonial and uses exploitation to perpetuate the system "both in the intensification of the domination of national and international capital, and in the occupation of territorial and social spaces from one country to another or within the same country" (González Casanova, 2006, p. 86). Palestinians suffer processes of internal colonialism in their own lands, by being systematically killed, and by being denied self-government, and self-determination.

González Casanova has directly argued that Palestine has been suffering from internal colonialism processes, fueled by western powers for profit and political interests linked with profit: 'Neoliberal policies...They unleashed  'humanitarian and justice wars ' for the appropriation of military positions, vast territories, and valuable energy resources, such as those that have occurred since the invasions of Kosovo, Palestine, Afghanistan, and Iraq ' (González Casanova 2006: p.99). As it can be appreciated, González Casanova argues that the US tried to justify its armed invasions with moral imperatives, when they conduct these attacks to control resources. Palestine is a land that has an important deposit of natural gas and that Israel gave concessions to companies from Israel, Azerbaijan, the UK, and the US in late October 2023, while conducting daily massacres against the Palestinians (Dutton, 2023). González also argues that 'The U.S. government began a new era of the  'terrorist state ', and a new era of transnational, international, and internal conquests and colonization. In all of them, internal colonialism tends to be articulated with international and transnational colonialism, with its networks of powerful oligopolistic companies ' (González Casanova, 2006, p. 100). The genocide against Palestinians is a case of what González Casanova describes, where oligopolistic gas companies are articulated together with colonialism executed by Israel against Palestinians.

The role of the US in the Palestinian genocide is also stated by Noura Erakat:

The US unconditional support for Israel has made it the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid since 1976 and the largest cumulative recipient since World War II. The privileged relationship to Israel is also demonstrated by Israel's special benefits and favorable treatment under U.S. assistance programs unavailable to other countries. In addition to economic aid, unique U.S. support for Israel is evidenced by diplomatic favor. Between 1972 and 2003, the U.S. has been the lone veto of UN Security Council resolutions critical of Israel 38 times. (Erakat, 2009, p. 32)

The US unconditional support for Israel has made it the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid since 1976 and the largest cumulative recipient since World War II. The privileged relationship to Israel is also demonstrated by Israel's special benefits and favorable treatment under U.S. assistance programs unavailable to other countries. In addition to economic aid, unique U.S. support for Israel is evidenced by diplomatic favor. Between 1972 and 2003, the U.S. has been the lone veto of UN Security Council resolutions critical of Israel 38 times. (Erakat, 2009, p. 32)

González Casanova's ideas are closely linked with Fanon's arguments discussed in his book The Wretched of the Earth. Fanon explains how capitalism reconfigured into its neocolonial form: 'Capitalism in its ascendence period saw colonies as a raw materials source, that transformed, could be sold in the European market ' (Fanon, 1963, p. 32). The situation in Palestine is characterized by brutal violence, but it also has been conducted alongside capital impositions since the early twentieth century, even before the Nakba, with the support of the British, as discussed earlier. The Zionists of Israel not only prohibited jobs for Palestinians, but also benefited companies from Israelis and from western powers. This was possible due to the dispossession of land from the Palestinians.

Another argument that is relevant to consider from Fanon's thought is his ideas on anti-colonial movements and violence. Fanon discussed extensively about anti-colonial independence movements, arguing that armed violence is necessary for colonized people to achieve independence, mainly due to two reasons: because colonizers will never accept losing the invaded territories peacefully, and because he argues that the colonized people have been subjected to violence by the colonizers since their birth, for several generations, and thus, colonial oppression can only be purged by violence. But this time, exercised by the colonized against their oppressors:' since their birth, it is clear for him that this narrow world, full of contradictions, cannot be purged but with absolute violence ' (Fanon 1963, p. 18). This is manifested in Palestine, with the rise of Hamas, and before, Fatah and other groups with armed sectors. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have suffered from violence all their lives in the hands of the Zionist state of Israel, and they have seen how diplomatic........

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