Palestinians gather to receive food as Gaza residents face crisis-levels of hunger during the holy month of Ramadan, amid ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
The SACP has pledged its support for the people of Palestine.
The party issued its solidarity statement on Sunday, and denounced the Israeli government for “the war crimes committed against the Palestinian people”, following this weekend’s protests in Sandton and Cape Town.
The Annual Quds Day march was held in Cape Town on Friday, and on Saturday at the US consulate in Sandton.
The protests form part of the global solidarity calls for an end to the occupation of Palestine by the apartheid Israeli-settler state. The protests assert the Palestinian people’s right to national sovereignty and self-determination.
This comes as the war is reported to have claimed more than 33 137 Palestinian lives, while 75 815 have been wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza, since October 7.
Tens of thousands of Israeli protesters also rallied in Tel Aviv calling for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s resignation, and a deal to secure the release of Israeli captives held by Hamas in Gaza.
SACP spokesperson, Hlengiwe Nkonyane, said the SACP does not identify with the current war against the people of Palestine, adding that the party condemns in the strongest possible terms the ongoing war.
“The SACP condemns in the strongest terms possible the genocide committed by the colonial and apartheid Israeli-settler state in Palestine. This week, the regime continued its murderous rampage. Over 1 000 children in Gaza have lost one or both of their legs. Dozens more Palestinians have been killed.
“This week also revealed the carnage caused by the Israeli army’s over two weeks-long occupation of Al-Shifa hospital, Gaza’s biggest and most advanced medical complex. In addition to the destruction of the hospital, bodies were left strewn on the hospital floor and in the yard, with more Palestinians injured,” she said.
Nkonyane said the SACP is concerned about the death of women and children who are the main victims of the war.
“Since the launch of its genocidal offensive on October 7, 2023, the apartheid regime of Israel has murdered over 33 137 Palestinians in Gaza, of which at least 75% are children (14 500), women (9 560) and elderly people.
“The Israeli occupation army has thus far also killed about 162 UN Relief and Works Agency staff, injuring 26. Over 75 000 Palestinians have been injured, while more than 7 000 still lie buried under destroyed buildings and infrastructure, including over 5 000 children,” she said.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP) report, the humanitarian crisis is worsening in Gaza.
The WFP says famine is imminent in the north of Gaza as malnutrition among children is escalating at record-levels, with one in three children below the age of two, now acutely malnourished.
It added that the number of people in Gaza facing catastrophic-levels of hunger has doubled in less than three months, from 570 000 in December to 1.1 million at present.
“It is these levels that the SACP says it is worried about.
“The situation in Gaza is worsening as the reality of malnutrition and dehydration has led to the death of at least 30 children. The 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza now face starvation as a result of apartheid Israel’s policy of starvation, in line with its broader genocidal strategy to wipe out the Palestinian population.
“The SACP reiterates its message of solidarity with the Palestinian people and condemns Israel’s continued disregard of the International Court of Justice’s order and basic human rights. It is clear that the colonial Israeli regime is unprepared to heed the dictates of international law, and does so with the express support of its imperialist benefactor, the United States,” Nkonyane said.
The Star
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