Green Party statement on the violence in Israel and Gaza

Posted by Golriz Ghahraman October 17, 2023 5:08 PM

The Green Party is deeply concerned about the unprecedented escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza.

We condemn the targeting of civilians by any armed group in the strongest terms, no matter the context. Both Hamas and the Israeli Defence Force have a clear obligation to protect civilians from harm.

We call on Hamas to allow the safe and immediate release of all Israeli civilian hostages, without condition.

While the attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians was unconscionable and constitutes the gravest war crimes, nothing justifies the indiscriminate retaliation upon the trapped civilian population in Gaza by the Israeli Defence Force.

Two million people – including one million children – live in Gaza and have nowhere to go to escape bombing that is destroying their homes, schools, and hospitals.

Withholding access to water, electricity, or humanitarian supplies and blocking border points, while the ongoing military assault on Gaza continues, is a clear breach of international law.  

We are concerned that ongoing escalation will have devastating consequences. The international community must stand against these crimes against humanity and prevent ethnic cleansing.

We stand with humanitarian groups, the United Nations Secretary General, Israeli and Palestinian voices for peace and an end to the occupation and the blockade.

Together we call upon Israeli leaders for immediate cessation of the assault on Gaza and opening of aid corridors and supplies. We call on the international community to unite to support a ceasefire and a durable, just peace.

The only sustainable path forward for peace in both Israel and Palestine is respect for the dignity and rights of both communities to self-determination, through an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, freedom of movement, equal rights, and a path to statehood for Palestine. The global community must take all steps to secure a lasting peace.

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