Stop the bloodshed
Amid the sharp escalation of air raids, bombings and drone attacks in Gaza, GUE/NGL MEPs have called for an immediate end to Israeli military operations.
The Group strongly condemns the killing of three young Israelis and expresses its condolences to their families. The MEPs equally strongly condemn the revenge killing of the young Palestinian abducted, tortured and murdered in retaliation and all the attacks and killings suffered by the Palestinian families who have subsequently experienced an escalation of violence and racial hatred amid numerous Israeli military operations.
The MEPs also called on Israel to respect UN Security Council Resolutions. Read the full statement:
GUE/NGL Statement: “We demand an immediate end to the blood bath currently committed in Palestine.”
Military operations carried out by Israel since the murders of the three Israeli teenagers have escalated into an explosive situation with air raids, bombings and drone attacks in Gaza causing dozens of victims among Palestinians, including children.
These military operations include the continuation of arbitrary detentions of hundreds of Palestinians, with the majority belonging to Hamas, as well as the illegal demolitions of houses in several cities, villages, and refugee camps; more than 2,200 buildings, both private homes as well as journalists’ offices, universities, and social organisations were raided.
The GUE/NGL group strongly condemns the killing of three young Israelis and expresses its condolences to their families. We equally strongly condemn the revenge killing of the young Palestinian abducted, tortured and murdered in retaliation and all the attacks and killings suffered by the Palestinian families who have subsequently experienced an escalation of violence and racial hatred amid numerous Israeli military operations.
The Israeli army has said that these operations were conducted in response to the abduction and murder of the three young Israeli men, and that their aim is to weaken Hamas. However, given the sharp military escalation of the situation and the high number of arbitrary detentions, the illegal use of force, the destruction of property, and raids on homes and offices of journalists, the GUE/NGL Group denounces this form of collective punishment.
Peace in the area cannot be achieved while Israel continues to ignore UN Security Council Resolutions stipulating that the Israeli forces should withdraw from the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and that an independent Palestinian state should be established on 1967 borders. It is imperative to freeze new settlements and furthermore the wall of shame should be removed.
The GUE/NGL group:
– declares that peace cannot be achieved by dropping more bombs, and that no form of collective punishment can be justified as a response to the murder of the three young men;
– demands an immediate end to raids in cities in the West Bank and to the bombing of Gaza, the open war preparations and for the immediate release of Palestinian prisoners who remain detained without evidence or trial;
– demands that the European Union and the international community act urgently to protect the Palestinian people. The United Nations is the only body that can conduct an impartial international investigation to find the killers of the three Israeli teenagers as well as of the young Palestinian;
– condemns all Israeli acts of retaliation against the Palestinian people, and particularly against young Palestinians;
– insists that the only way ahead is to support a peace process leading to the end of the occupation; expresses full support to efforts to achieve unity of the Palestinian people.
Source: http://www.guengl.eu