by Bill Bonnar
The Scottish Socialist Party utterly condemns the current Israeli aggression against the people of Gaza; an aggression which has killed more than 1000 people and inflicted severe damage of the vital infrastructure of this region. We condemn as lies the Israeli argument that they are simply defending themselves against Palestinian attacks. What little resistance the Palestinians are mounting is simply a response to Israel’s overwhelming force and aggression. Israel’s so called campaign against Hamas is simply a cover for an act of collective punishment against the people of Gaza and a direct response to the accord signed between Hamas and Fatah creating a united Palestinian authority.
It is this unity and the growing international support for a just settlement for Palestine, rather than Hamas rockets, which Israel fears most. Attempts by Israel’s formidable propaganda machine to claim some kind of moral authority for their actions have been exposed as both obscene and absurd against the background of their callous disregard for human life. Even their friends in the western media are struggling to hold the line. The Scottish Socialist Party declares its continuing support for the Palestinian people in their struggle for justice and statehood. To this end we call for the following:
- The intensification of international pressure to bring about an immediate halt to Israeli aggression.
- Condemnation of Western, particularly American support for Israel and its bankrolling of Israel’s war machine.
- Condemnation of the British media reporting of this conflict, particularly the BBC, which continue to peddle the myth that Israel is simply responding to Palestinian aggression.
- Support for those peace forces in Israel who are dismayed and sickened by the actions of their government.
- All out support for the Palestinian solidarity movement here in Scotland.
- The Scottish Government to condemn Israeli aggression and declare its support for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
We also call for a future independent Scotland to join the more than 130 countries across the world in recognising the independent state of Palestine.
Bill Bonnar is the chair and international spokesperson of the Scottish Socialist Party.