Recalling the history of the Palestinian people and how they were expelled from their own territory by Israeli Zionism, supported by the U.S. and its allies, the settlement of colonialism in the neoliberal era, and the fight for Palestine’s self-determination as a global conquer were some of the topics discussed on Saturday at a seminar themed “Palestine: The Right to Live.”
The event was organized by the Simón Bolívar Institute for Peace and Solidarity on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, and served to renew the commitment to finding a fair and lasting solution for the Palestinian cause and achieve peace in the Middle East.
Lecturers Jamil Abuu Saada, from the General Union of Palestinian Communities in Europe; Hatem Bazin, from the University of California (Berkeley); and Sandew Hira, from the International Decolonial Network, reflected for 2 hours on the situation of Palestine, under threat of ethnic cleansing, the significance of efforts made in the last two decades to achieve peace, and how the suffering of Palestinians has increased as a consequence of the constant, illegal practices and policies of Israel, hampering any initiative for peace.
In this regard, Jamil Abu Saada, said that “Palestine is asking for the end of occupation of its territory, the return of its refugees and respect for international law (…) The Zionists’ aggression, in line with Europe’s and U.S. interests, must cease.”
Likewise, he pointed out that Israeli colonizers want to have influence in Palestinian territory because it is rich in minerals, oil and fertile land.
“They want the wealth and potential we have in the other side of the Mediterranean,” added the representative of the General Union of Palestinian Communities in Europe.
Furthermore, he recalled Resolution 2334 of the UN Security Council, adopted on December 23, 2016, which states Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, have “no legal validity” and constitute “a flagrant violation” of international law, making clear that it is a political conflict, not a religious one.
Hatem Bazin outlined some key points to understand the settlement colonialism model used by Israel to try to expel the Palestinian population from their lands, and how Zionism, a movement that emerged in Europe bearing a modern, European, racist epistemology, has systematically and deliberately been used by Israel against the Palestinian people.
In his statement, Bazin discussed “negotiation processes” like the 1993 Oslo Agreements and the U.S. sales of arms in the Middle East.
“Peace cannot be built if they continue selling arms (…) They just seek to activate a new war cycle to steal resources from other countries. Palestine is the issue; Iran is the target, though,” he explained.
Sandew Hira, criticized Israel’s policies and labeled them as “replicas of the apartheid imposed in South Africa. He also questioned the continuous violation of human rights and the systematic discrimination against Palestinians.
“Sometimes, anti-imperialist struggles have a very special meaning, like the struggle of the Palestinian people, because of the pain inflicted by the Israeli apartheid. Palestinians are humiliated in their own land” affirmed the spokesman of the International Decolonial Network.
Hira explained that while the Apartheid system required the work of black South Africans, in the Zionist Palestinian colonies, the local population is considered non-Jewish and a group that must be brutally oppressed expelled from their own lands.
Sandew Hira did not only questioned the Israeli repression, but also urged to take actions against a problem that is everyone’s.
“We must support the Palestinian fight and expressed our solidarity with that people, support the anti-imperialist fight,” he said.