RAMALLAH, At the time of writing this statement, we Palestinians in historical Palestine are all under ongoing brutal unequivocal attempts at genocide (as defined in the 1951 UN Convention on Genocide) and attempts at ethnic cleansing in all our cities, towns and villages. Our Palestinian people are being taken hostages, from Gaza to the West Bank through to the cities of 1948. Some 7 million Palestinians are targetted for further ethnic cleansing by Israeli Border Police and occupation armed forces informed by policy decisions of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Israeli apartheid Government.
Today, apartheid Israel continuous brutal carpet-bombing and collective punishment of Palestinian civilians in the open-air prison of the Gaza Strip has entered its 8th day, killing 200 Palestinians, including 59 children and 35 women, as well as injuring over 1300. News reporters and lay eyewitnesses record horrific stories of children’s body parts being collected from the street and women and children outcries being heard from under the rubble, where no one is able to save them. In addition, more than 500 residential buildings have been demolished and hundreds of roads destroyed crippling transportation notably ambulance services.
This is well beyond an armed assault or armed clashes. This is genocide of par excellence!
In the West Bank, Israeli armed forces are firing live ammunitions at unarmed popular demonstrations and are extra-judicially executing Palestinian civilians at illegal military checkpoints that are placed on Palestinian land, resulting in the death of 21 Palestinians including 1 child, and injuring over 4000 civilians. Arab citizens in Israel as well are victims of in-grained systematic demonization by the Israeli apartheid Government, which, in turn, incites openly fascist Zionist groups to target and hunt (under Police protection and complicity) civilian Arab citizens in the streets. As a result, 2 Palestinian citizens were killed, many houses were burned, 600 were detained and hundreds of injuries.
Shamefully, many western Governments were quick to condemn the launch of inferior Hamas rockets into “Israel proper” and show solidarity with apartheid Israel occupation, yet refrained from showing any solidarity with the Palestinian victims of apartheid Israel that have been suffering for years. Those are the same Governments that remain silent in the face of Israeli apartheid and its crimes in Jerusalem.
The selfsame Governments have also been well aware of the decades of the expanding apartheid Israel military occupation on Palestinian lands terrorizing Palestinians populations and violating human rights on daily basis for the past 73 years. They also saw on the news apartheid Israel army use of internationally prohibited destructive weapons against the besieged defenseless civilians and crowded neighborhoods of the open-air prison of Gaza.
Yet, these Democratic Governments have so far failed to condemn the organized state terrorism of apartheid Israel. This failure can only be translated as enabling and fostering Israeli apartheid and occupation.
Palestinian popular uprising came in response to the outcry of Palestinians victims of ethnic cleansing in al-Sheikh Jarrah, and after weeks of apartheid Israeli forces and settlers attacks on al-Aqsa Mosque (the 3rd holiest place for Muslims world-wide); after assaulting peaceful worshippers inside al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem; as well as after months of continuous hate attacks by fascist Jewish groups that are incited and enabled by the Israeli apartheid Government. Regrettably, only after the Palestinians decided to embark upon a popular uprising did major Democratic Governments speak out – but sadly they spoke out in solidarity with the Israeli apartheid aggressor party rather than in solidarity with the oppressed party, the victimized party. Furthermore in the process they are also suppressing peaceful demonstrations of solidarity with the Palestinian people in their democratic republics.
Such double standard policies have to end !
Palestinians are not less human than Israelis, and our Palestinian lives matter. As stipulated in international law Palestinians too, have the right to resist this inhuman brutal occupation and defend ourselves.
For the sake of humanity, freedom, dignity, justice and peace, we, the Palestinian National Liberation Movement/FATEH International Relations Commission/FIRC urge global civil society, political Parties, world Leaders, Governments, international bodies, humanitarian institutions, Workers Unions, Student Unions, and Solidarity Movements to rise-up and call for immediate mobilization of a global anti-apartheid movement aiming at bringing down Israeli apartheid and occupation of Palestine. We call for immediate sanctions on apartheid Israel such as were applied on apartheid South Africa under the 1973 Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid.
End all forms of arm trade with apartheid Israel ! End all forms of trade with apartheid Israel ! End all forms of diplomatic relation with apartheid Israel ! Enough is enough !!!.
We the Palestinian people are determined that we shall not rest until we achieve our freedom, our legitimate national rights, and independence.
No returning back, we demand for ending the occupation now.
Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency