- by M Santos
- The Guardian
- Issue #2158
Rally for Palestine held at Forest Place, Boorloo/Perth on Saturday 2nd August.
The Albanese government was shaken by the historic March for Humanity over the Sydney Harbour Bridge of 300,000 people as well as other large protest actions around Australia. The mass gatherings swept aside the power brought to bear against protests by the courts and wiped out the pro-Israel deception and lies generated by the mass media.
More and more trade unions are taking a stand, and Labor Party branches continue to pass resolutions calling on the Labor government to take action. There are divisions within Labor’s parliamentary caucus.
The Victorian convenor of Labor Friends of Palestine, Oliver van Ingen, said: “There is a huge groundswell of support [for Palestinians] in the party and the broader community. Albanese is correct to call Israel’s actions ‘completely indefensible,’ and these actions must be met by a strong international response.”
UN officials have warned that the Israeli cabinet’s plans for a fresh offensive aimed at gaining total military control of Gaza City – home to around one million Palestinians – would risk igniting “another horrific chapter” of displacement, death and destruction.
The foreign ministers of Australia, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom condemned Israel’s plan in a joint statement late on 8 August, saying it risked “violating international humanitarian law.”
China, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Indonesia are amongst others denouncing the actions of Israeli occupation forces. Germany then announced it will halt shipments of military equipment that could be used in Gaza following the Israeli security cabinet’s approval of plans to expand the war.
UN WARNINGS
On 10 August the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on Palestine where Council members rang out warnings. China called the “collective punishment” of people in Gaza unacceptable.
Ramesh Rajasingham, head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “Israel is prolonging the war not to disarm Hamas, but to prevent independent Palestinian statehood. Its goal is the destruction of the Palestinian people through forced transfer and massacres to facilitate its annexation of their land.” Such illegal and immoral plans require “the mobilisation of all the tools available to stop them.”
Somalia’s representative warned that Israel’s announcement of its intention to impose military control over the entire Gaza Strip “is not an abstraction. It is a chilling blueprint for the next chapter of devastation.” For the two million people still trapped in Gaza it means the “escalation of what has already become hell on earth, literally and figuratively, leading to the world’s worst man-made famine.”
RECOGNITION
Recognising Palestinian statehood is important but it is only a first political but important step towards ending Israel’s genocide and seeing a lasting peace. Recognition MUST be accompanied by concrete action.
The Albanese government must carry out its obligations under international law to do everything it can to end the genocide.
That includes ceasing all trade and cutting off diplomatic relations with Israel. Australia should cancel the $900 million contract it signed with the Israeli arms manufacturing company Elbit and redirect that money to aid for Palestinians.
The Israeli government, clearly coordinating with US imperialism, is openly pursuing a plan to seize control of all of Gaza while subjecting its two million residents, half of whom are children, to displacement, starvation, and death. This campaign of conquest is a genocide. It comes after more almost two years of relentless bombing and war crimes.
The calls can be heard around the world demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the complete and unconditional withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza and all occupied territories, and the lifting of the siege that has created conditions of mass famine.
The whole world, including Australia, must act decisively to prevent the total destruction of Gaza and its people. This includes enforcing the rulings of the International Court of Justice and the Genocide Convention. As Israeli violence escalates exponentially in the West Bank and the expansion of illegal settlements threatens the full annexation of all Palestinian lands, the crimes being committed in full view of the world demand global resistance and urgent solidarity.
The Australian government’s shameful complicity in this genocide must be condemned. From providing political cover to continuing arms exports, and remaining silent as hospitals are bombed and families starve, Albanese and his government have made themselves enablers of war crimes.
The cover and support by the media establishment for Israel’s crimes, many of whom have demonised protestors while minimising or ignoring Israel’s atrocities, has deepened confusion and enabled further escalation.
COMMUNIST DEMANDS
The CPA reaffirms its full support for the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination, return, liberation, and demands:
- An immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli troops
- The lifting of the Israeli siege imposed on Gaza since 2006
- The dismantling of settlements in the West Bank within 12 months, as prescribed by the UN
- The creation of a viable Palestinian state within the pre-June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital
- The right of return for Palestinian refugees from 1948
- The release of all Palestinian political prisoners and an end to arbitrary detentions
- The cutting of all diplomatic ties with Israel
- That the Australian government implement an immediate two-way arms embargo and support Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) on Israel.
