FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
18 October 2023
groundWork, Friends of the Earth South Africa
Media Contact: Tsepang Molefe, +27 74 405 1257,
groundWork, Friends of the Earth South Africa stands in solidarity with Palestine. The Palestinian people are yet again subjected to the horror of war unleashed on them by Israel while continuing to suffer under Israel’s apartheid occupation of 75-years, and the illegal military blockade of Gaza over the past 16 years. The exercise of violence against innocent civilians is unacceptable; we also oppose and condemn the murder and taking of Israeli civilian hostages.
groundWork, Friends of the Earth South Africa stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people who are yet again subjected to the horror of war unleashed on them by Israel while continuing to suffer under their apartheid occupation of 75-years and the illegal military blockade of Gaza over the past 16 years. The exercise of violence against innocent civilians is unacceptable; we also oppose and condemn the murder and taking of innocent Israeli hostages.
The dignity of Palestine is attacked with propaganda that justifies the bombings which are exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, unprecedented in the history of humanity. We demand the end of Israel’s criminal attack on the Palestinian people, the end of the siege of Gaza and of the current and historical blockade.
Israel’s criminal military occupation since the war of 1967, and their continued expropriation of land for Israeli settlements constitute open breaches of international humanitarian law and of various international agreements including United Nations (UN) resolution 67/19, intended to prevent the genocide of the Palestinian people by Israel. Last year alone, Israel’s attacks on the West Bank caused the deaths of 238 Palestinians, including 40 children. The current bombardment of Gaza, along with the cutting of water, food and electricity to Palestinians is a war crime and constitutes a genocide of the Palestinian people by Israel.
We condemn the global silence in the face of ongoing criminal and racist practices of the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian people. We call on governments, organisations and movements around the world that work for justice to condemn the oppression and brutality to which Palestinians are subjected, and to demand compliance with international laws and agreements.
We call for the liberation of over 5000 Palestinian prisoners in occupation prisons which include 1350 people jailed without charge or trial, of whom 39 are women and 170 are children.
We call on governments committed to justice and the dignity of peoples to support the Palestinian call to immediately reactivate the UN Special Committee against Apartheid. We oppose any escalation of the conflict due to the intervention of third countries acting with the intention of imposing their own foreign policy, and advocate for an immediate end to the violence along with the guarantee of self-determination and sovereignty for the people of Palestine.
Solidarity with Palestine is a show of commitment to a world free of all forms of discrimination and oppression.
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