| "Oh. Well. In that case I guess we'll go home." |
Al-Awda, the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition, has strongly condemned the Israeli war crimes that are presently being committed against Palestinians, in the on-going siege of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In a statement issued yesterday, Al-Awda said, “We call upon the international community to take up their responsibility in protecting the Palestinian people from this aggression, and terminating the continuing Israeli policy of collective punishment.” Since military operations began on June 27, Israel has destroyed bridges, roads and water and electricity plants in the occupied territories. “More than two-thirds of the people have been denied access to water and electricity. Children, the sick and elderly are the first to be affected. Israel, the US and European Union governments have put the Palestinian people under siege for the past few months as collective punishment because these countries did not approve of the results of the democratic elections held by the Palestinian Authority,” continued the statement.
The statement added that the Palestinians felt that the Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip last year was a means of turning the area into the largest open prison with the largest population of prisoners in the world. The acquiescence of world governments to this indicates complicity in these war crimes.“Nothing justifies the Israeli savagery, including the destruction of water and electricity plants. Racist media coverage in North America has been trying to minimize the importance of these war crimes,” Al-Awda said. Al-Awda has called on supporters of the Palestinian struggle, the international community, activists and Arab organizations to demand an end to the siege.