Five Left parties call to observe June 17 as 'National Day of Solidarity with Palestine'

'It is deeply disturbing that the Government of India, instead of standing firmly with the Palestinian cause – which India has historically supported – has increasingly adopted a stance of equivocation and appeasement of the Israeli aggressor', a joint statement by the parties said

New Delhi: Five Left parties – CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML)L, RSP and Forward Bloc – on Monday called for observing June 17 as 'National Day of Solidarity with Palestine' as it “strongly” condemned the “ongoing genocidal war” being waged by the Israeli government against the people in Gaza.

“It is deeply disturbing that the Government of India, instead of standing firmly with the Palestinian cause – which India has historically supported – has increasingly adopted a stance of equivocation and appeasement of the Israeli aggressor. This marks a shameful deviation from India’s long-standing foreign policy rooted in anti-colonial solidarity and support for national liberation movements,” they said in a joint statement.

General Secretaries MA Baby (CPI-M), D Raja (CPI), Dipankar Bhattacharya (CPI-MLL), Manoj Bhattacharya (RSP) and G Devarajan (Forward Bloc) urged “widespread participation” in the solidarity demonstrations to raise the “voice of India’s people against genocide, apartheid, and occupation”.

The demonstration across the country, including at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, will be held to “condemn the genocide and war crimes committed by the Israeli government, express solidarity with the people of Palestine in their just struggle for nationhood, dignity, and freedom and demand that the Government of India take a principled stand, consistent with our historical support to the Palestinian cause, and immediately stop all military and security cooperation with Israel”.

The statement said for over 20 months now, Israel’s “relentless bombardment and military aggression” have killed more than 55,000 Palestinians, a vast majority of them being women and children.

“Essential infrastructure, hospitals, schools, and refugee shelters have been deliberately targeted, pushing the people of Gaza into an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. This is nothing short of genocide. Most inhumanely, Israel is even denying the entry of aid into Gaza,” it said.

The parties also condemned Israel’s attack on the humanitarian ship 'Madleen' of the Freedom Flotilla Gaza in international waters while urging the Indian government to demand the release of all detained international volunteers, ensure unhindered humanitarian aid to Gaza, and call for an immediate end to the inhuman siege.

“Despite growing global outrage, including from the UN and the International Court of Justice, the Netanyahu government continues its brutal campaign with impunity, backed by the United States and a few of its allies. The recent attack on Rafah, displacing hundreds of thousands of already displaced Palestinians yet again, shows the Israeli government’s utter disregard for international law, human rights, and basic humanity,” it added.