International Commission, YCL-LJC
July, 2014
The Young Communist League – Ligue de la jeunesse communiste condemns Israel’s Operation Protective Edge, another criminal attack on the besieged Gaza Strip supported by our Conservative government.
As of the time this is being written, over 1000 Israeli airstrikes have killed over 160 people, at least 20 of whom are children, and over 1000 Gazans have been injured. This is supposedly in response to an increase in rocket attacks from Hamas – home-made and smuggled rockets that have caused no casualties. This is all following the Israeli government’s atrocious “investigation” into the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens in the West Bank, in the process of which 400 Palestinians had been arrested and 5 killed, and that Amnesty international has called `collective punishment’. Despite this, Israel is calling the increase in rocket attacks “unprovoked”. In addition, a 17 year old boy from East Jerusalem, Muhammad Abu Khdeir, was murdered in ‘revenge’ by Zionist settlers, just one of many examples of an increase in racist anti-Arab sentiments encouraged by the political leaders of the Apartheid system.
Ironically, Israel was recently elected as Vice-Chair of UN’s 4th Committee, the one in charge of decolonization matters. The regional group “Western Europe and Other States”, of which Canada is member, supported Israel’s nomination.
As an imperialist country, member of the criminal alliance of NATO and colonizer of Indigenous territories, Canada seized this occasion to reiterate its unconditional support of Israel – more and more vocal under Stephen Harper’s Conservative government. Its diplomacy has been only focused on one side of this conflict, emphasizing the launching of rockets by Hamas, while supporting all the deaths and illegal operations by Israel’s occupation army. It is also noteworthy that no political party sitting in the federal Parliament condemned this operation, showing their commitment to Canadian imperialism’s interests.
Like the World Federation of Democratic Youth mentioned in a statement on Palestinian political prisoners, “One cannot find a better description of imperialism than through the acts of the Zionist entity. Occupation, displacement, attacks, settlements, wars, and economic sanctions against the Palestinians. Intervention in the whole region of Middle East, mainly in Lebanon and Syria. Destroying all aspects of rejection and life against occupation of Palestine and some part of Lebanon and Syria. As well as control of the region.”
To this day, the world witnesses the countless times Israel has broken international “human rights” laws, from its bombardments of Palestine, Syria and Sudan, to its illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territories. At the same time, we witness the UN and the international community remain silent, as they neither hold Israel accountable nor cease the flow of military and monetary aid to the genocidal Israeli Defence Forces. This rightfully questions the legitimacy of these laws that are used to denounce Palestinian resistance, but are entirely ignored and left unaccounted for when Israel continuously breaks them. Israel has and still is committing war crimes that equates to genocide, apartheid and daily terror. The western media and Israel label the resistance and struggle of Palestinians as “terrorism” while continuing to portray themselves as “civilized”, as the “only democracy in the Middle East” — designations that are only legitimized by attributing terrorism to people of colour and democracy to the white. All of this conveys the hypocrisy of Israel and the hypocrisy of imperialist nations. It is vital to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people because their voice matters.
The Young Communists of Canada supports fully the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and will continue to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement until they achieve their full liberation.The YCL-LJC stands on the side of the resistance against Israeli’s illegal occupation of Palestine, which represents one of the main obstacles to a peaceful Middle-East. As we mentioned in our last Convention, «In the face of an even sharper pro-Israel turn in the Harper Conservative’s foreign policy, the YCL continues to call for an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, the complete withdrawal of Israel from all occupied territories, dismantlement of the settlements and the Apartheid wall, lifting the siege on Gaza, respecting the 1967 Green-line boundaries, the full right of return for refugees, the release of all Palestinian prisoners, and a de-nuclearized Israel guaranteeing peace and security with neighbouring Arab states.»
We urge now all communists, peace- and progressive-minded people of Canada to join all initiatives, rallies and actions against Israel’s Operation Protective Edge, oppose Canada’s unconditional support to the Zionist entity, and to participate massively in the BDS movement.
For protests in your area please visit: http://samidoun.ca/2014/07/take-action-protests-around-the-world-respond-to-assault-on-palestine/