Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Bloodshed in Palestine: Statements by the World Peace Council and the World Federation of Trade Unions

The World Peace Council expresses its deep concern about the circle of bloodshed in Palestine and Israel which has led already to the loss of lives of hundreds of civilians on both sides along with thousands of injuries. 
 
As WPC we state clearly that the root cause for this escalation is and remains the decades’ long Israeli occupation of the Palestinian lands, the policies of settlements, land robbing, the separation wall in the West Bank and the daily humiliation, harassment and killings of Palestinians by the regime of occupation, the thousands of Palestinian prisoners, the road blocks, the discrimination and deprivation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to their own state.

It would not be wise to expect that the accumulated injustice and occupation would not trigger and produce reactions of the Palestinian people who have the legitimate right to resist the occupation, as it is clearly stated in the International Law. The current Israeli government, in continuation of all previous ones, has escalated further the provocations in the West Bank, in East Jerusalem and the live of millions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip is more of an “open air” prison.

The decision to end the current hostilities lies with the Israeli government, which tries to take advantage of the situation by heavy bombardment of the Palestinian Gaza Strip while heavy and severe responsibilities belong to the USA, the EU and their allies in the region and the world, who not only support and endorse the ongoing occupation and all its actions but also speak today hypocritically about the “right for self-defense of Israel”, neglecting provocatively any such right to the Palestinian people.

The government of Israel is actually hostile also to its own people (Jews and Arabs) by the ongoing occupation of Palestine; the current escalation proves that the denial of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people does not allow peace and stability in the whole region and especially these hours where the danger for a regional war exists.

The WPC reiterates and underlines its demand for the end of the occupation of all Palestinian lands by Israel, the establishment of an independent State of Palestine within the borders of pre-4th June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital. We demand the release of all Palestinian political prisoners from Israeli jails and the right to return of all the Palestinian refugees according to the UN resolution 194. Occupation and Injustice cannot last forever!

The WPC Secretariat 8th October 2023.


 WFTU statement on the developments in Palestine

– NO TO IMPERIALIST HYPOCRISY

– A JUST AND PEACEFUL SOLUTION TO THE PALESTINIAN CAUSE

The whole world is watching with anxiety and concern the new bloodshed that is unfolding in Israel and Palestine and threatens to ignite the entire Middle East region.

For the WFTU there is no doubt that the root cause of this blood cycle is the ongoing occupation and illegal settlement of the occupied Palestinian territories by Israel and the continuous, daily crimes and the blockades of Gaza that have been committed against the Palestinian people for years. Crimes which are committed with the provocative tolerance and support that Israel receives from the big imperialist powers, that is, the USA, the European Union and the rest of their allies, and which in recent years have become even more brutal and unacceptable.

The attempt by those who over time turn a blind eye to the crimes and massacres against the Palestinian people and contribute to the maintenance of the occupation and colonization, to present Israel today as a victim of Palestinian aggression, is hypocritical and untruthful to say the least.

For the WFTU it is clear that the only way to secure and consolidate peace and security for the people in Palestine and Israel, but also in the wider Middle East, is to immediately end the Israeli occupation and settlement in the occupied Arab territories, as provided for in the UN resolutions, and to establish an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and guarantee the right of return of Palestinian refugees.

In this direction, the WFTU will continue to fight and express in all ways its solidarity with the suffering but struggling Palestinian people.

The Secretariat.

wpc-in.org, wftucentral.org