On Jan. 26, the International Court of Justice accepted South Africa’s landmark genocide case against the Zionist entity. The court issued the following ruling:

“The Court indicates the following provisional measures:

(1) By fifteen votes to two,

The State of Israel shall, in accordance with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in relation to Palestinians in Gaza, take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of this Convention, in particular:

1. killing members of the group;
2. causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
3. deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

The ICJ’s ruling, while imperfect, was welcomed by the various resistance groups in Palestine, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas. 

However, the imperialist world met the ICJ’s decision with vitriol. Zionist officials and their allies have ranted and raved against the South African genocide case since its inception. 

As published by the CIA mouthpiece Voice of America, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby claimed that South Africa’s ICJ filing was “meritless, counterproductive and completely without basis in fact whatsoever.”

The thousands of Palestinian children fighting for their lives while buried under rubble may disagree with Kirby’s assessment. 

To think, Kirby’s cruel comments came weeks before the ICJ even decided to accept South Africa’s case and order provisional measures for the Zionists to fulfill within 30 days. 

The wave of Western outrage at the South African filing did not end with U.S. security officials. Zionist media outlets and officials went on a full blitz against the accusations of genocide, including alleging that the South African case was a “blood libel.” 

Needless to say, the reaction of the U.S., the Zionist entity, and the other imperialists when the ICJ actually ruled in favor of South Africa was extreme. 

Falsely invokes historical accusation

In the wake of the ICJ’s ruling, Zionist officials again raised the claim of blood libel. In particular, Zionist president and war criminal Isaac Herzog issued a statement in response to the ruling. Herzog frothed, “Israel has the right of full self-defense” and “everyone with sense can see that Israel is acting in accordance with international law.” 

Herzog didn’t stop there. The blowhard child murderer went as far as to argue that any accusation of genocide against the Zionist entity is blood libel. There’s that phrase again! 

To fully dissect Herzog’s comments as the hateful and toxic venom that they are, it is important to first reckon with the blood libel conspiracies that have been weaponized against the Jewish community for hundreds of years. 

A blood libel is a superstitious accusation that Jewish people perform ritual blood sacrifice of Christians for a variety of reasons. The myth developed in medieval Europe in the 12th century. Originally, it was claimed that Jews sacrificed Christian children to obtain the blood needed to make unleavened bread, or matzah. 

As if the idea that Jews require blood to make matzah is not ridiculous enough on its own, the blood libel mythology further evolved in meaning and connotation. 

One of the most famous depictions of such a blood libel is William Shakespeare’s play, “The Merchant of Venice.” In the play, a Jewish merchant named Shylock demands a “pound of flesh” from a Christian whom Shylock believed wronged him. This version of the blood libel myth became more and more common as antisemitism focused more on ethnic than religious hatred. 

It was this particular and broader formulation of the blood libel myth that rose to mass prominence in Nazi Germany and its fascist allies in the 1930s and 1940s. 

At the core of the contemporary blood libel charge is the idea that Jews are inherently devious and unreasonable. To that end, Jews will demand a blood libel not only to practice their “satanic rituals,” but as recompense for perceived wrongs. 

Simply put, any accusation from the Jewish community about antisemitism is really just a pretext for a pound of flesh, according to this lie.

Antisemitism alive and well – in U.S. 

There is no doubt that blood libel antisemitism is alive and well – not only in the growing U.S. neo-Nazi movement but in depictions of Jewish people in mainstream media. 

For an institution supposedly run by a global Jewish cabal, Hollywood certainly produces a lot of television and films that depict Jews as unreasonable, vengeful, and bloodthirsty. 

With all that said, for the war criminal Herzog to assert that a thorough South African ICJ case against the Zionist entity is equivalent to hundreds of years of antisemitic mythology is a disgrace. 

Herzog and the broader Zionist movement’s accusations of blood libel against South Africa trivialize the very real phenomena of blood libel antisemitism and all antisemitism. 

The attempt to use the oppression of Jewish people to justify the genocide of the Palestinian people and obfuscate any attempt to stop that genocide is as callous as it is arrogant. 

In fact, the current greatest purveyors of the blood libel myth are the wealthy and powerful of the United States and its Zionist project. 

Is it not the U.S. government, the Zionist government, and all their allies who incessantly assert that to be Jewish is to have a blood feud against all Arab people? Is it not Benjamin Netanyahu who insists that every Jew has a solemn and inherent responsibility to kill Arab people? 

The real antisemitism lies within the U.S. ruling class, and that same ideology permeates even into what is supposed to be a “Jewish state.” 

Zionism is not about Judaism. Zionism is not about combating antisemitism. Zionism is only about the proliferation of the imperialist agenda and expansion of Western ruling class profits. 

Lev Koufax is an anti-Zionist Jewish activist.

As February 2024 began, the struggle in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance continued in earnest. 

As the sun rose on Feb. 1, approximately 200 protesters, including a reporter from Struggle-La Lucha, gathered in front of Union Station in Washington, D.C., to demand an end to the U.S.-led war on Palestine and Yemen, and to restore funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). 

The Biden administration led the charge for the West to collectively withdraw all funding for UNRWA after the Zionist entity levied phony accusations regarding UNRWA involvement in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks against occupation forces.

Today’s protests weren’t limited to Union Station. Hundreds of anti-Zionist demonstrators took to the streets to stop traffic at intersections and exit ramps across the capital. The message was clear: no business as usual in the imperial core as long as Palestine remains under siege. 

The coalition that organized the “Shut Down D.C.” day of demonstrations included the Palestinian Youth Movement, the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Civil Rights, Party for Socialism and Liberation, and many more. 

‘If we save Palestine, there will be a future for the world’

Speech by Mariela Castro at the II International Meeting of Europe for Cuba

Good morning.

First of all, I would like to thank comrade José Antonio Toledo and the team in charge of organizing the II International Meeting of the Europe for Cuba Channel, which is being held these days in the city of Bilbao, in the Basque Country.

I would like to highlight the symbolic impact of holding this meeting within the framework of several important historical celebrations, the 171st anniversary of the birth of the apostle of Cuban independence, José Martí, because of the validity of his thought and for what it means in the historical continuity of the emancipation project, initiated in 1868; and that after sixty years of the neocolonial US occupation, the full sovereignty of Cuba was achieved with the revolutionary victory of 1959, led by Fidel.

In spite of so many difficulties, it satisfies our hopes to be able to verify that 65 years after that epic, the liberating, popular, anticolonial, Third Worldism, socialist and anti-imperialist character of our revolutionary project has been strengthened, which considers respect for the full dignity of man as one of its fundamental pillars; which proposes to conquer all justice, equality before the law, social equity, solidarity and unity in the struggle to face the challenges of the process of socialist transition.

History has shown that all revolutionary processes that confront the power of the national oligarchies and the interests of the imperialist conglomerate have been the object of the most cruel and sophisticated strategies of aggression. Every liberating social project must study the lessons learned from the first socialist revolution in history, led by Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov, Lenin. In the centenary of his death, he continues to be an indispensable reference for the organization of the revolutionary struggle against capitalism, including the processes of decolonization and decolonization of peoples. It must be clear to us that we can never abandon the ethical principles that guide the strategies and tactics of socialist experimentation. Even in the face of the tremendous obstacles and contradictions that, in each concrete historical context, impose themselves as challenges.

Lenin, as well as Fidel and so many other revolutionary leaders, in all continents, made very valuable contributions that we must study in depth and apply in a creative and rigorous manner. We must strengthen the spaces for popular dialogue and consensus building in the unique national projects of revolutionary transformation aimed at the creation of mechanisms of true democracy.

Cuba faces colossal campaigns of economic, financial, commercial, ideological, cultural and communicational aggression. The enemies of the Cuban Revolution believe, once again, that this is the moment to undertake a final offensive to achieve our destruction. Trump’s genocidal policy and Biden’s continuism, combined with the consequences of the post-pandemic world economic crisis, have created a very difficult economic scenario. The arrogance of the empire and its acolytes pretend to ignore the histories of resistance of the oppressed and threatened peoples. In the face of the traitors and cowards, a history is built with the courage of women and men willing to give everything. “He who defends his homeland longs to defend it. Neither in blood nor in obstacles repairs…” said José Martí in the epic poem “Abdala.” “Fatherland or death, we will win” is not only a slogan; it is a conviction that runs through the veins that mobilize and unite several generations of our people when it comes to defending the Revolution.

Today, the unity of the revolutionary forces continues to be the backbone of our resistance. Unity is the most effective weapon against the aggressions of imperialism. The international solidarity of the revolutionary forces, in the present context where hegemonic imperialism since World War II sees its unjust order threatened, is an essential part of that unity that we owe in our struggle for a better world. Only this global unity of the revolutionary forces will be able to stop the advance of fascism, Zionism, xenophobia, racism, and the recolonization of our people.

Today, the defense of all emancipatory and anti-imperialist projects is a priority. And this unity and world mobilization, as rarely before, has been manifested in recent months to denounce and combat the genocide committed against Palestine by the Zionists, with the absolute backing of the U.S. and the complicity of the European Union and the United Kingdom.

The Palestinian resistance demonstrates the weaknesses of imperialism and Zionism, they are giving lessons to the world and have managed to awaken the conscience of the peoples. As never before, they achieved the unity of the insurgent forces in a strategy that encompasses all the fronts of struggle, including the communicational, but with an extraordinary human cost of sacrifice that hurts in the deepest. It is the price paid by all the peoples of the world for defending their independence and the right to self-determination. The cause of Palestine is the cause of all humanity. If we save Palestine, there will be a future for the world.

The people of Cuba, firm and in solidarity, gratefully embrace the solidarity it receives from other peoples, for the unceasing struggle against the arbitrary and illegal blockade imposed unilaterally by the U.S. government for more than six decades, for the sustained efforts to have Cuba removed from the infamous list of countries sponsoring terrorism, whose document has been drawn up by none other than the U.S., the most terrorist and aggressive country in history; for fighting the media war of the hegemonic press at the service of imperialism, full of insolent lies to numb the conscience of the peoples and annul critical thinking.

I welcome the reissue in Havana of Operation Truth to articulate the efforts of journalism and communication in an emancipatory key and defend the truths that they try to kidnap and distort.

I also welcome South Africa’s initiative to accuse Israel of genocide before the International Court of Justice. An initiative supported by Cuba and other States.

I would like to emphasize the admiration I feel for the different forces of the Axis of Resistance that are confronting imperialist aggressions, devoting their lives to the Palestinian cause and in support of their heroic resistance. I will not name them all, but I cannot fail to highlight the honorable role of the Yemeni Houthis.

At this moment, I ask that we do not forget Julian Assange and that we do not weaken the necessary efforts until we achieve his full freedom. In this same line of confronting the communicational war and fighting for the truth, I want to remind you that our dear comrade José Manzaneda will soon face a trial, accused by one of the most active organizations of the counterrevolution. Let us not allow another of our brave compatriots to be unjustly penalized. I urge all comrades participating in this meeting to express their commitment to Assange, Manzaneda, along with other journalists, artists, activists, politicians and intellectuals who suffer similar processes.

For the anti-imperialist and anti-fascist unity of peoples

For Socialism

For world peace

Homeland or death, we will win!

Source: Cuba en Resumen

Before 2015, Palestinians’ evidence of genocide by the Israeli state and militarized settlers was ignored by the ICC and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In 2015, Palestine was accepted as a member state of the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

An investigation by the ICC covering 2014 to 2021 concluded there was a  “reasonable basis” for the allegation of war crimes ongoing in Palestinian territories. However, Karim Khan, the new chief prosecutor, showed bias for Israel by stalling the continued investigation of the crimes.

But then, amidst the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza, South Africa stepped in – a former victim of apartheid with international support and the means to take on the ICJ on behalf of Palestine – and that could not be ignored. 

African solidarity with Palestine, like the solidarity of Black people in the U.S., has a long tradition. That solidarity inspires the support of all sectors of the working class. The courage and skills of South Africa’s representatives greatly moved our class.

The war wasn’t won with the Jan. 26 ruling by the International Court of Justice calling on Israel to “prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza.” But a battle was won by exposing and weakening Israel, forcing the ICJ to recognize almost every point in South Africa’s charges and to take up the issue of genocide.

South Africa was clear about the necessity of calling for an immediate ceasefire. Many were hoping for this as well. But the ICJ failed humanity on that point and fell into its historic Western imperialist biases by demanding Hamas release Israelis captured during the conflict while ignoring the much greater number of Palestinians kidnapped by the Israeli “Defense” Forces (IDF). 

The ICJ also seemingly forgot that the ongoing occupation of Palestine establishes the right to fight that occupation. It ignored the right of self-defense of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Genocide? Court couldn’t decide

The ICJ ruling was indeed a gain. But it falls far short of the necessity of stopping the Israeli massacres that now have reached unprecedented levels of daily killings, threatening the entire 2.3 million population in Gaza, with Palestinian deaths since Oct. 7, 2023, nearing 30,000.

Add to those the deaths from famine and lack of health care as a result of the Israeli war, and many thousands could be added to that number in the near future.

Emergency medical care for the people of Gaza will continue to be denied as long as the Israeli massacres continue. After months of bombing, just 20% of hospital capacity remains. The crisis of health care and hunger is driven by showers of bullets and 155mm artillery shells provided by the United States, aimed at people attempting to distribute humanitarian aid – like the flour provided by the United Nations. 

For attempting to feed children, parents and aid workers are being sentenced to death by the Israeli military. Do the people in the ivory towers of the ICC and ICJ really need a year to figure out whether these atrocities against humanity should be considered genocide? A clear and formal call for a ceasefire, requested by South Africa, should have been made, given that about 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, with nearly 50% being children.

The week before the ICJ ruling, the Israeli bombings and massacres of Palestinians continued at the pace set after the Oct. 7 Israeli raids inside Gaza. Just one day before the ruling, 150 people were injured receiving food, and Israeli terrorists attacked civilians next to a shelter and hospital. 

Al Jazeera reported: “On Jan. 25, the Gaza Health Ministry said the Israeli attacks killed 200 Palestinians in the last 24 hours and injured 370, as Israeli forces surrounded Nasser and Al-Amal hospitals in Khan Younis.

“At least 20 killed and 150 wounded as Israeli tanks fire shells and live rounds at people in northern Gaza City who lined up to receive much-needed humanitarian supplies, health officials say.

“The Israeli military demolished hundreds of buildings near its fence with Gaza as it seeks to create a ‘buffer zone’ in clear defiance of U.S. demands.

“Death toll from yesterday’s Israeli attack on UNRWA facility in Khan Younis rises to 13, as U.N. says Israel’s assurances of protecting civilians not being followed.”

And the day after … the ICJ couldn’t decide whether the incidents should be considered genocide or if calling for a ceasefire was really necessary.

Every hour in Gaza:

• 15 people are killed (six are children)
• 35 people are injured
• 42 bombs are dropped
• 12 buildings are destroyed

This is based on Israeli military figures for the first six days of the genocide, and it has not de-escalated since then. In fact, the Israeli military needed to re-order more artillery shells with special overnight delivery from Antony Blinken and Joe Biden, sidestepping Congress.

Congress probably didn’t mind, though, in light of the almost unanimous Democratic and Republican vote for a bill supporting Zionism – in its most reactionary, fascist form, represented by Benjamin Netanyahu.

So every day of killing means 15 x 24 Palestinians, with 6 x 24 being children. 

Killed by the U.S.-funded, U.S.-armed Israeli military. Every day.

U.S. cuts relief funds

On the same day the ICJ made its ruling, Washington decided that cutting off funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was a good idea. Even though the UNRWA facility in Gaza that provides vital, life-saving medical care to the injured was the site of a massacre the day before. Even though civilians there were bombed by shells from tanks launched by the Israeli military, it seems this was a good idea. 

The decision to freeze UNRWA funds was based on an allegation made solely by Israel, claiming that 12 members of UNRWA were part of the Oct. 7 military operation by the Palestinian resistance. (Israel’s government has been caught in numerous lies before and since Oct. 7.)

According to Reuters: “Since Israel launched its war following the Oct. 7 attacks, around a million Gazans, or nearly 45% of the enclave’s population, have been sheltering in UNRWA schools, clinics, and other public buildings.

“Nearly the entire Gazan population now relies on UNRWA for basic necessities, including food, water and hygiene supplies.

“More than 150 UNRWA staff have been killed since the start of the conflict, making it the deadliest conflict ever for U.N. employees.”

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the agency, said it was “shocking” that the U.S. and others cut off UNRWA’s funds. 

“I urge countries who have suspended their funding to reconsider their decisions before UNRWA is forced to suspend its humanitarian response,” Lazzarini said in his statement. “The lives of people in Gaza depend on this support, and so does regional stability.”

Victory forced out of ICJ

The ICJ ruling is certainly a historic development and a victory for South Africa and the world’s people in attempting to weaken and isolate Israel’s policies of genocide and apartheid.

It also clearly implicates not only Israel for its crime of genocide but also the givers of funds and weapons who make that genocide possible. So far, this has not deterred the direction of Israel or the U.S., Britain, Australia, and Canada, which follow the lead of the Biden administration and the Republican Party.

The ICJ said the continuation of famine and targeting of civilians and children are genocidal attacks and must end. Although giving Israel a month to check on the progress shows a lack of urgency in the ICJ, the ruling does allow the U.S. to be implicated in the crime of genocide – but the U.S. chose the day of the ICJ ruling to announce it was freezing funds for the U.N. agency standing in the way of famine and providing shelter and a modicum of safety, especially for Palestinian children.

The U.S. doubled down on genocide by defunding UNRWA. The next day, Britain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Finland, and the Netherlands also suspended funds.

The ICJ gave the world a victory that it did not want to give. It had no choice – not if it wants to keep some legitimacy in the eyes of the international working class. It was in spite of the historic role the ICJ and ICC have played in denying the suffering, the occupation, the right of self-defense of Palestinians, and the internationally legal right to fight an occupation, politically and militarily. That is exposed by the court’s refusal to call for a ceasefire and its lack of courage to label Israeli genocide now – not in months or years.

In spite of this, the international community and Palestinian leadership take the victory and demand they give us more, and we and they don’t have to ask for it in a nice way. However, we also have to make room for the visibility of people in Gaza who shed tears after finding out the ceasefire was not demanded clearly and that there was no clear condemnation of genocide.

Bisan Owda, a Palestinian filmmaker, activist, and journalist, has documented the crisis in Gaza since the latest Israeli terror campaign started. Owda has worked with the United Nations and shared footage with Western corporate media. After the IDF told Gaza residents to evacuate, Owda and her parents relocated from Beit Hanoun to Al-Shifa Hospital. Her family’s home and her office in Rimal were both bombed, destroying all of Owda’s film equipment.

Using only her phone for documentation, she shared a video of Gaza after the ICJ ruling. You could hear the sirens and the commotion in the background – the sounds of a war Zone:

“There is no justice in the International Court of Justice. The ICJ is dealing with a case of genocide that Israel is committing against Palestinians in Gaza Strip, forgets to tell Israel in her decision today to cease fire against Palestinians in Gaza. 

“We are under fire and under killing. We are under genocide for day 112 and the ICJ says the only solution for us and the final hope for us is forgetting to tell Israel to cease fire against us. Forgets to tell Israel that Israel must allow people who are displaced from the north of Gaza strip to return to their homes again. There is no justice in this world. ICJ is a lie, that’s it. Thanks world. 

“We are continuing this alone as we started this alone, with our own mobiles, to tell you the truth and to seek for justice. Now there’s no truth or justice. I’m just stuck out of my home and can’t get back and no one can get me back to my home or to stop killing us day after day for 112 days. There is no justice in this world.”

As Owda shed a tear, so did I.

All forms of struggle must continue

The struggle in all forms must continue. As Hamas Chair Ismail Haniyeh said, the ruling “confirms the legitimacy of the Palestinian resistance and the criminality of the Israeli occupation.” 

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the ruling “proves that the Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves and to seek justice and accountability for the crimes committed against them.”

South African determination and ability to build international support for the effort forced the ICJ to take their case and moved the struggle forward. South Africa’s Foreign Ministry said it was a “landmark ruling… [which] determined that Israel’s actions in Gaza are plausibly genocidal” and can only be interpreted as ordering an end to Israeli attacks.

“South Africa sincerely hopes that Israel will not act to frustrate the application of this order, as it has publicly threatened to do,” said the Foreign Ministry statement. 

South Africa was disappointed that the ruling did not order Israel to halt its military offensive in Gaza, as it had requested. But the people will take this limited victory and demand they give us more, and we don’t have to ask in a nice way. 

The Ansarallah movement in Yemen certainly isn’t – and we also support that.

John Parker is running for Congress in California (CA-37), representing the Socialist Unity Party on the Peace and Freedom ticket. Learn more about his campaign here.

On Jan. 26, the International Court of Justice accepted the genocide case brought by South Africa. In the acceptance, the court ordered the Zionist regime to take all measures to prevent the killing or wounding of Palestinians.

The court’s order says:

“The Court indicates the following provisional measures:

(1) By fifteen votes to two,

The State of Israel shall, in accordance with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, in relation to Palestinians in Gaza, take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of this Convention, in particular:

(a) killing members of the group;

(b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

 (c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

Following are responses from the Palestinian Resistance posted on the Resistance News Network:

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

Regardless of its direct disregard for the call to stop the aggression on the Strip, The Popular Front welcomes the decision of the International Court of Justice to accept the invitation presented by South Africa.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine welcomed the decision (https://t.me/PalestineResist/27364) of the International Court of Justice in The Hague regarding what it presented today on the urgent measures required to stop the genocide war against our people, expressing hope for the necessity of implementing these decisions and imposing their implementation on the zionist entity, starting legal accountability mechanisms for this occupation, considering it a brutal occupying force practicing all forms of massacres, killings, siege, displacement, and genocide, despite the fact that the authority to implement the ceasefire decision lies with the United Nations Security Council.

The Front stated: “Regardless of the fact that the International Court of Justice today did not issue a direct decision to stop the aggression on the Gaza Strip and our rejection of what was mentioned in the decision regarding the legitimate operation of October 7th against the brutal occupation, what was included in the text of its decisions today regarding the response to South Africa’s invitation is a historic decision, and a victory for justice and the Palestinian cause, especially since there is almost consensus from the court judges to proceed in considering the invitation presented by South Africa.”

The Front expressed its pride and honor in the Republic of South Africa for its great efforts in supporting the just struggle of the Palestinian people, calling for more solidarity and escalating activities to support our people and boycott the occupation, through the continuation of the global intifada of rage against the forces supporting the genocide war, affirming that all forces believing in justice and humanity should escalate their struggle against the system of brutality that exterminates our people from the imperialist powers that have violated our occupied Palestinian land.

The Front concluded its statement by affirming that the struggle is long to prosecute the leaders of the occupation and their partners in America, Britain, and others for their heinous crimes against the Palestinian people. It considered that this invitation presented by South Africa constitutes a step towards achieving this goal, despite the fact that the main bet today in facing genocide, massacres, injustice, and brutality should be on our people first, our Arab nation, and the free people of the world in light of the collusion and inaction of the international system, and their blatant bias towards the occupation.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Central Media Department
January 26, 2024

Hamas political bureau member Izzat Al-Rishq

The International Court of Justice’s acceptance (https://t.me/PalestineResist/27393) of the genocide case filed by South Africa, and the court’s rejection of “israel’s” request to dismiss it, is an important step towards justice for our people. It signifies the initiation of proceedings and procedures to hold “israel” accountable for its crimes, indicating that it cannot escape accountability. This marks a significant beginning in holding “israel” and all its supporters accountable for the genocidal crimes committed against our people.

The court’s adoption of the demand for urgent measures to protect our civilian people and to stop all acts leading to killing and genocide is an acknowledgment by the court of the magnitude of the crime committed by the terrorist occupation in the Strip.

We call for immediate action to oblige the occupation to implement the ruling of the International Court of Justice and to confront any zionist attempts to evade this obligation, and reject any attempts by the American administration, a partner in the crimes of genocide in Gaza, to circumvent the ruling.

We look forward to the International Court of Justice proceeding with its actions to try the zionist occupation entity for the fully-fledged crime of genocide that continues against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. This crime has not ceased or diminished even after the commencement of the trial sessions, but was accompanied by brazen zionist positions attacking the court and ongoing American positions washing the hands of the occupation from the blood of innocent children, women, and elders.

Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas

On the decision of the International Court of Justice:

The Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas welcomes the decision of the International Court of Justice in The Hague (https://t.me/PalestineResist/27364), which indicted the occupying state on charges of genocide, and demands that the occupation army protect civilians, lift the siege imposed on our people in the Gaza Strip, and respect its duties as an occupying force within the framework of international law and international humanitarian law. This decision means the cessation of all forms of aggression against our Palestinian people in Gaza.

We call on the international community to oblige the enemy to implement the court’s decisions and stop the ongoing “crime of genocide” against our people. We look forward to the court’s final decisions convicting the occupying state of committing the crime of “genocide,” war crimes, and crimes against humanity. This decision opens the way for enemy leaders to be held accountable for these crimes before the International Criminal Court, affirming the rights of our Palestinian people to self-determination, establishing their independent state, and returning to their lands and homes from which they were forcefully displaced, in line with international resolutions on this matter.

We in the Hamas movement appreciate the genuine position of the Republic of South Africa, its support for our Palestinian people and the justice of their cause, its sincere endeavor to repel the aggression against the Gaza Strip, and its rejection of the brutal crimes of the occupation. We also extend our thanks to all countries that have expressed their support for this noble humanitarian action.

Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas

Millions march worldwide, unions act in solidarity

The Palestinian uprising on Oct. 7 occurred after 75 years of brutal colonial occupation. Palestinian leader Leila Khaled says: ”Liberation is not achieved at the negotiation table.” 

Palestinian leaders have been continuously negotiating, during which time the Zionist arrests of Palestinians increased, as have Zionist settlements, with the confiscation of Palestinian land and the demolition of their homes, murdering and maiming many in the process. Palestinians were imprisoned in their own occupied territory through the Israel checkpoints.

Even before October, the Zionist entity was engaged in conducting a system of apartheid in Palestine, where the original people were denied their right to survival.

Since October, in over 100 days of bombing, Israel has killed nearly 25,000 Gazans, nearly 10,000 of them children. The Zionist goal appears to be the complete extermination of the Palestinian people. The Biden administration has assisted with billions of dollars of U.S.-manufactured weapons. U.S. weapons, including 2,000-pound bombs, are falling on homes and apartment blocks, murdering children, women, men, the elderly, and the youth.

Palestinians are ordered to evacuate their homes. Then, the refugee caravans and camps are bombed mercilessly. Hospitals and UN relief centers are targeted. Access to food and drinking water is blocked. Disease is spreading unchecked.

Cuba and South Africa charge genocide in the World Court

On January 9, South Africa initiated proceedings in the International Court of Justice against Israel for the Crime of Genocide. Cuba issued formal support. Indonesia followed with a similar proceeding. Chile and Mexico have called upon the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel’s crimes. Beginning in November, Bolivia, South Africa, Djibouti, and the Comoros called on the court to investigate war crimes of genocide in Palestine.

Namibia rejected Germany’s support of the genocidal Intent of the racist Israeli state against the people of Gaza. They commented that Germany committed the first genocide of the 20th century against thousands of Namibians. 

In countries around the world, millions have taken to the streets to demand a ceasefire.

Major labor unions in the U.S. and abroad have pledged solidarity with the call of the Palestinian General Confederation of Labor to take action against governments, like the U.S., that are arming Israel. They are picketing munitions factories and shutting down weapon shipments at the ports.

On January 12, the U.S. bombed Yemen in retribution for their solidarity with the Palestine people. Millions of Yemenis have protested, and militants are struggling to block arms shipments to Israel.

Leila Khaled says:  “We hear from inside Gaza those standing in the rubble chanting: We are with the resistance, and we will remain in the land of Palestine. Resistance against the Zionist entity has not stopped since the occupation and the displacement of the masses of refugees in different countries. Yes, Palestinian society was destroyed in 1948, but the Palestinian people restores itself every time.”

– No one held U.S. accountable for crimes it committed in Iraq as issue was not given necessary importance, Rensburg tells Anadolu

– South African lawyer says people believe what is happening now in Palestine is ideal scenario for legal process as U.S. continues to send money, resources to allow Israel to commit crimes in Gaza

After South Africa filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for genocide in Gaza, the country’s nearly 50 lawyers are preparing a separate lawsuit against the U.S. and British governments on the grounds that they are complicit in Israeli forces’ war crimes in Palestine.

The initiative, led by South African lawyer Wikus Van Rensburg, aims to prosecute those who are complicit in the crime in civilian courts in collaboration with lawyers from the U.S. and Britain, with whom he is already in contact.

Rensburg, who has been writing letters to various countries and the ICJ for the last few weeks demanding that Israel and its supporters be prosecuted, has begun preparations to file a lawsuit against the two Western countries with the support of his colleagues.

“The United States must now be held accountable for the crimes it committed,” Rensburg told Anadolu in an interview, detailing the process by which Washington and London will be tried as complicit in Tel Aviv’s war crimes against the people of Gaza.

‘ICJ case will guide us’

When he told the people around him about filing a lawsuit, Rensburg said he received a lot of support. “Many lawyers decided to join us in the lawsuit. Many of those who have joined are Muslims, but I am not. They feel obligated to assist this cause, but I believe that what is happening is incorrect.”

What happened in Iraq is an example of this, he said, noting that no one held the U.S. accountable for the crimes it committed in the Middle Eastern country as the issue was not given the necessary importance.

But now people believe what is happening in Palestine is an ideal scenario for the legal process to be carried out, the South African lawyer said, adding that “the U.S. is busy spending more money and more resources to (allow Israel) commit the crime.”

“No one says stop, enough is enough,” he remarked.

Rensburg said the genocide case filed by South Africa against Israel at the ICJ will serve as a guide for their case against the U.S. and Britain and that they will begin the process based on the outcome of the case and the steps to be taken by the United Nations.

‘The U.S. must now be held responsible’

If the ICJ trial against Israel is concluded in favor of South Africa, Rensburg believed that the U.S. may face sanctions even if it does not accept the verdict.

The ICJ ruling will also strengthen a case against the Joe Biden administration, he added.

Rensburg said he and his colleagues in South Africa are making preparations by contacting law firms in the U.S. and Britain.

Reminding that Berlin is still paying compensation for the crime of genocide committed by Germany even today, Rensburg said, “The U.S. must now be held responsible for the crimes it has committed. It must accept its responsibilities.”

Pointing out that similar cases were filed against former U.S. President George Bush in the 2000s, he said they believed that they could successfully carry out the legal process abroad by working as a team.

He said South Africa made stronger arguments in the case in The Hague, and that he is intimidated by the argument that an attack against Israel could happen again if the court ruled in favor of South Africa.

Last week, the group of lawyers, which has now grown to 47, wrote an open letter to the leaders of the U.S. and Britain governments, stating that they could not avoid responsibility.

Source

Community members are mourning the death of Tawfik Abdeljabbar. The 17-year-old native of Gretna, Louisiana – a U.S. citizen – was murdered on Jan. 19 by an Israeli Occupation Force officer in the occupied West Bank, in the Palestinian town of Al-Mazra’a. The U.S. State Department has confirmed the killing.  

The young man was a student at the Muslim Academy Gretna Islamic School. The family returned to Palestine last year to reconnect with their relatives. Tawfik hoped to improve his Arabic and had college plans.  

On the night of Jan. 20, several hundred gathered for a vigil at Masjid Omar mosque in Harvey, Louisiana. A separate vigil was held at a family home. One attendee spoke to Struggle-La Lucha about the experience.

“The house was full, people in every corner, in every room. Some were crying and being consoled; others were consoling until it was their turn to be consoled.

“As I scanned the sea of faces, looking for Tawfik’s closest relative in order to pay my respects, every face in that sea was one I knew. These are the faces of the moms of the countless kids I’ve taught in my 17 years at Muslim Academy. I knew everyone. Instantly, I felt soothed, relieved that I was surrounded by people who felt this loss as deeply as I did.

“As I hugged each one, probably longer than I would have normally, my tears fell. The hugs tightened. I didn’t want to let go. These mothers understood me, understood the pain of loss. We birth these babies, raise the children, and nurture the youth in the security afforded to us by where we live. But when we go home, instead of security in the knowledge that we’ll see our children, the insecurity of IF we see our children becomes an ever-present thought. I cried.

“‘I didn’t see you this morning,’ Tawfik’s father cried at his side when he bid his boy a final farewell.

“It reminded me of the last time I saw Tawfik. ‘Have a great summer! Stay out of trouble!’ I advised him, knowing that going home (to Palestine) meant IF, yet safe in the assumption of ‘it couldn’t happen to someone I know.’

“I cried a little more. I thought about Khair, Tawfik’s younger brother, the child I taught for nine months, who I grew to love and nurtured through the year. I cried harder. But surrounded by my people, by our faith, by our shared resilience, and in the knowledge that death is not the end for our martyrs, gave me peace … for a while. Until I left, until I returned home, where my rage at the ongoing genocide of my people welcomed me home.”

Another NOLA Palestinian community member spoke to Struggle-La Lucha.

“This needs to stop — the murder, us in the U.S., funding these murders. I want the broader community to understand that this is not the first time this happens. Shireen Abu Akleh was a Palestinian with American citizenship, and she, too, was killed by the IOF.

“We should care, regardless of the citizenship a person holds. And the only reason we’re telling everyone this is a murdered child from our community is so that the next time you see your Palestinian friend or co-worker, you understand that this – the occupation — is a dark shadow in their life – and that it could be any of us killed.

“What would you do and/or say if this was your Palestinian American friend or colleague killed? Will you remain silent and pray for us in the quiet? I fear the disappointment that may come with this answer.

“I think the media coverage needs to get better. Media claims objectivity, and yet, the biased reporting that favors Israel shows otherwise.”

Struggle-La Lucha also spoke with Kevin Ericksen, a Louisiana State University employee in finance. Ericksen says that he has “a quarter century of trying to change American policy toward Palestine” behind him and associates with Faith Organizing for a Free Palestine. Some of the members attended vigils for Tawfik.  

“Americans know more than they let on. But they’re good at deflecting, always bringing it back to Hamas and how Hamas is the alpha and omega of this tragedy.

“But no more. We now realize that there are clear victims of the $10 million per day that America gives the Israeli military. 

“Until Troy Carter [U.S. representative for Louisiana’s second congressional district] flies over to Nablus or Jenin and sits in front of one of the mothers whose son was killed by American guns and looks her in the eyes and tells her why her son’s killing was necessary for American national security, until Troy Carter looks her in the eyes, we don’t want to hear from him or any news outlet about how evil Hamas is the cause of all this.”

We at Struggle-La Lucha say justice for Tawfik Abdeljabbar! In the name of workers and oppressed people here in the belly of the beast — who have no interest in upholding U.S. imperialism — we say end the occupation! Free, free Palestine!

The Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas issued a 16-page document on Jan. 21 entitled ‘Our Narrative … Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’. The document addresses many critical questions about the context, the timing, and the events of October 7.

The document (PDF) was released in both the Arabic and English languages by the Hamas Media Office. It offers a rare insight into the reasons that led the Palestinian Resistance leaders to carry out a major Resistance operation on October 7, in addition to what actually transpired on that day.

The document starts by addressing “Our steadfast Palestinian people,” who have been subjected to a genocidal Israeli military campaign, which is, as of today, at its 107th day.

“In light of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and as our people continue their battle for independence, dignity, and breaking-free from the longest-ever occupation during which they have drawn the finest displays of bravery and heroism in confronting the Israeli murder machine and aggression,” the introduction of the document reads.

The other target audiences are “The Arab & Islamic nations” and “The free peoples worldwide and those who advocate for freedom, justice, and human dignity.”

Why Operation Al-Aqsa Flood?

The first section is entirely dedicated to the reasons behind Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

Hamas contextualizes the events by describing the brutal colonization process launched by the Zionist movement and, even before, by the British colonial authorities.

“Over these long decades, the Palestinian people suffered all forms of oppression, injustice, expropriation of their fundamental rights and the apartheid policies,” the document reads.

The paper also lists official figures related to the period between 2000 and 2023, revealing shocking numbers of Palestinians killed and injured.

Hamas also blames the so-called ‘peaceful settlement process’ and the obstinacy by the US administration and its Western allies that “have always been treating Israel as a state above the law; they provide it with the needed cover to maintain prolonging the occupation and cracking down the Palestinian people, and also allowing ‘Israel’ to exploit such situation to expropriate further Palestinian lands and to Judaize their sanctities and holy sites.”

“After 75 years of relentless occupation and suffering, and after failing all initiatives for liberation and return to our people, and also after the disastrous results of the so-called peace process, what did the world expect from the Palestinian people to do?” the document asks.

The Events

The second section, entitled ‘The events of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,’ describes the events of that day and debunks some of the Israeli lies.

“Avoiding harm to civilians, especially children, women, and elderly people, is a religious and moral commitment by all the Al-Qassam Brigades’ fighters. We reiterate that the Palestinian resistance was fully disciplined and committed to the Islamic values during the operation and that the Palestinian fighters only targeted the occupation soldiers and those who carried weapons against our people.”

“If there was any case of targeting civilians; it happened accidentally and in the course of the confrontation with the occupation forces,” the document highlights.

International Investigation

In the third section, Hamas reiterated that “When Palestine asked for investigation into Israeli war crimes committed on its territories, it was faced by Israeli intransigence and rejection, and threats to punish the Palestinians for the request to ICC.”

“We urge these countries, especially the US administration, Germany, Canada and the UK, if they are meant for justice to prevail as they claim, they are ought to announce their support to the course of the investigation in all crimes committed in occupied Palestine and to give full support for the international courts to effectively do their job.”

Who is Hamas?

In the fourth section, entitled “Who is Hamas,” the group describes itself as a “national liberation movement that has clear goals and mission” and “gets its legitimacy to resist the occupation from the Palestinian right to self-defense, liberation, and self-determination.”

“Our steadfast Palestinian people and their resistance are waging a heroic battle to defend their land and national rights against the longest and brutalist colonial occupation. The Palestinian people are confronting an unprecedented Israeli aggression that committed heinous massacres against Palestinian civilians, most of them were children and women.”

What is Needed?

In the fifth section, entitled ‘What is Needed’, Hamas calls for an “immediate halt of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the crimes and ethnic cleansing committed against the entire Gaza population”.

Moreover, it urges “to hold the Israeli occupation legally accountable for what it caused of human suffering towards the Palestinian people, and to charge it for the crimes against civilians, infrastructure, hospitals, educational facilities, mosques and churches.”

“We call upon the free peoples across the world, especially those nations who were colonized and realize the suffering of the Palestinian people, to take serious and effective positions against the double standard policies adopted by powers\countries that back the Israeli occupation. We call on these nations to initiate a global solidarity movement with the Palestinian people and to emphasize the values of justice and equality and the right of the peoples to live in freedom and dignity.”

To view the full document as a PDF, please click HERE. 

Source: Palestine Chronicle

Mexico and Chile have joined South Africa, Bolivia, Djibouti, Bangladesh, and the Comoros in calling on the ICC to investigate Israel for its crimes in Gaza, including war crimes and genocide.

Chile and Mexico have called upon the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the crimes being committed amid Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza. In the past 105 days, Israel has killed over 24,600 Palestinians in Gaza, with more than 7,000 people missing and presumed dead under the rubble.

In a statement released on January 18, Mexico and Chile stated that their referral to the ICC was “due to growing concern about the latest escalation of violence, particularly against civilian targets, and the alleged continued commission of crimes under the jurisdiction of the Court, specifically since the attack on October 7, 2023, carried out by Hamas militants and the subsequent hostilities in Gaza.”

The ICC is based at The Hague alongside the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which is the chief judicial organ of the United Nations that adjudicates disputes between states. Meanwhile, the ICC is a separate legal entity that has been established under the Rome Statute and is authorized to prosecute individuals. It has jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide, and crimes of aggression.

The referral filed on Thursday follows after Bolivia, South Africa, Djibouti, and the Comoros approached the court in November, calling on chief prosecutor Karim Khan to investigate the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Palestine.

While Israel is not a State Party to the Rome Statute and does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC, Palestine was accepted as a member state of the ICC in 2015. In February 2021, a pre-trial chamber of the court ruled that it had jurisdiction over the “territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem”.

The following month, the ICC, under former chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, opened an investigation into the “situation in Palestine,” covering the period starting from June 13, 2014. This was after Bensouda concluded that there was a “reasonable basis to believe that war crimes “have been or are being committed” in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In November, Bensouda’s successor, Karim Khan had stated that the investigation would cover “the escalation of hostilities and violence” since October 7.

However, Palestinian human rights organizations and legal representatives of victims have denounced delays and double standards in the investigation under Khan. In early December, Khan visited Israel, however he did not go to the Gaza strip despite the fact that Israel had already killed over 15,000 people by that time.

Even prior to the ongoing attacks on Gaza, which began on October 7, Palestinian human rights organizations had repeatedly called on Khan to issue preventive statements “to deter the commission of more crimes” by the Occupation. These calls, along with calls to expedite the investigation, were ignored.

These organizations have since urged the Court to issue arrest warrants for Israeli political, security and military officials “believed to be responsible for perpetrating, ordering, planning, and instigating international crimes, including genocide, committed over the past 100 days as well as since 13 June, 2014.”

In its statement on Thursday, the Mexican foreign ministry emphasized “the importance of guaranteeing the independence of the ICC prosecutor to investigate crimes committed in the context of the conflict in Gaza.”

The submission to the ICC was welcomed by the Palestinian foreign ministry, stating that the move “confirmed the urgent need for the Court to fulfill its mandate, to deter, investigate, and prosecute the most serious crimes of concern for the international community.”

“Israeli officials are not deterred as they continue their genocidal war.”

Mexico’s statement also cited UN reports on “numerous incidents that may constitute crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC.” Just in the past few days, UN experts have accused the Israeli occupation of using food as a “weapon” against the Palestinian people, noting that “every single person in Gaza is hungry.”

Speaking to the BBC following a visit to Gaza on Friday, Phillippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN Relief Works Agency, stated, “We’re running the risk here of losing a generation of children.”

Meanwhile, Mexico has also stated that it is “promptly following up on the case presented by South Africa before the ICJ and on the request for provisional measures.” Pretoria has accused Israel of violating its obligations to prevent and punish genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention. It has called on the ICJ to issue urgent measures, including ordering Israel to immediately cease its military operations in Gaza.

The Court is currently deliberating the case following hearings held on January 11 and 12.

While Israel’s allies, including the US have predictably dismissed South Africa’s case— with Germany going as far as to formally intervene in the proceedings on Israel’s behalf— the historic case has garnered growing support among the countries of the Global South. The court’s ruling in this matter will be legally binding.

In televised remarks delivered on Israel’s 100th day of bombing Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, “Nobody will stop us – not The Hague, not the axis of evil [a phrase coined by ex-US president George Bush and used by Netanyahu to refer to Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas] and not anybody else.”

Source: Peoples Dispatch