300 Slaughtered in Palestine
28/12/08
éirígí spokesperson Daithí Mac an Mhaistír has called on republicans to do anything they practically can to extend solidarity to the beleaguered people of the Gaza Strip as Israel’s murderous assault continues.
Nearly 300 Palestinians have been killed and over 900 wounded since zionist forces began pounding Gaza on Friday in what is known as Operation Cast Lead (December 26).
As reported on this website, Israel’s most senior politicians have been preparing the ground for a major attack on Gaza for a long period of time.
Despite claims by the same politicians that the attacks were solely targeting police stations, large numbers of those killed have been civilians, including children. Among the targets hit are mosques, civilian workshops, media agencies, charitable societies, prisoners’ welfare groups and the local Islamic University. Gaza’s already crisis-stricken medical infrastructure and supplies are now at breaking-point.
Among the dead are seven teenage school children, who were struck down at a bus stop by an Israeli jet.
Daithí said: “Irish republicans have, for a long time, had a special affinity with the Palestinian people and their struggle to regain their homeland; it is more important now than ever that we show the population in Gaza that they haven’t been forgotten.
“What Israel is inflicting on the people of Gaza is a viscous, heinous war crime – all because the zionist party that kills the most Palestinians stands a good chance of getting the most votes in Israel’s upcoming election.
“Palestine may seem a long way from Ireland and it may be frustrating for people watching the bloodshed on their TV screens and feeling powerless to help. But there are small things that can be done.
“Attend any protests that have been organised in support of Palestine in the coming days, if none have been organised in your area then organise one; write letters to the newspapers explaining what’s going on in Gaza, media manipulation and censorship is part of the reason why Israel gets away with mass murder; boycott all Israeli goods; get involved with the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign or another support group.”
Daithí continued: “The Palestinian people have always demonstrated bravery and tenacity in the face of a superpower-funded, amoral enemy – it is important that they receive the support that this bravery deserves.”
Daithí also called on the Twenty-Six County government to expel the Israeli ambassador to Ireland:
“The expulsion of the Israeli ambassador would send a strong message that the siege of Gaza and the massacre we are witnessing is not acceptable. The people of Palestine are entitled to freedom, justice and peace and practical steps must be taken to help them achieve these rights.”
Saturday’s bloodshed was the most brutal Israeli attack on Gaza since the 1967 war, but Palestinian representatives have remained defiant.
Palestinian prime minister in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh declared that Israeli violence would not break Palestinian resistance, saying, “We bow only before God.”
Osama Hamdan, the Hamas representative in Lebanon, was equally defiant:
“We are talking about six decades of occupation and, until now, the Palestinian people are resisting,” Hamdan said.
“What has happened… in Gaza will not stop the resistance, will not defeat the Palestinian people. They (the Israelis) will find themselves under a reaction from the resistance.
“The peace process has completely failed, so we have to talk about a new process in the region which is supposed to start from the restoring of Palestinian rights and the commitment towards those rights.
“No one will accept now any talk about a peace process, because everyone knows that the Palestinian people are fed up with 17 years of negotiation without any result.
“The second thing which I believe is happening every morning is that Palestinians believe that there is no solution unless there is a resistance.”
In the occupied West Bank, thousands of people have taken to the streets in protest and a general strike has been declared.
Mustafa Barghouthi, the former Palestinian information minister who is based in the West Bank, called the Israeli attack “criminal”.
“Gaza is left today with nothing, no bread, no oil, electricity and medication even to treat the injured people,” he said.
“This criminal attack is directed at the will of the Palestinian people. It's an effort to break the Palestinian demand for freedom, independence and justice.
“Israel is responsible for this escalation. There was a ceasefire that everybody respected, including Hamas, and it was Israel that violated that ceasefire ... to prepare the ground for this bloodshed which Israeli politicians are using as their form of competition in the Israeli elections.
“This is a criminal act, unprecedented, unacceptable and Israel would not have dared to go this far if it were not for the silence of the international community at these inhuman crimes.
“Israel wants this escalation to break the backbone of the Palestinian people, but they won't break us.”
As Israel continues to pound Gaza and masses its troops on the border in preparation for a ground assault, it is important that Irish people act in anyway possible.
Protests took place today (Sunday) in Dublin and Limerick, while a demonstration will take place at Belfast City Hall tomorrow (Monday) at 12pm.
Details of further events will be posted on this website.