Update on the Israeli genocide against Palestine
Featured image: Death toll of the genocide
Israel is continuing its genocide against the people in Gaza. Until today more than 36,500 people have been killed in the Strip, more than 83,000 were wounded and around 11,000 are missing.
The Israeli army admitted to have carried out another murderous attack on a school, claiming that its warplanes bombed a compound supposedly used by Hamas inside a school belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Initial reports said that at least 29 Palestinians were killed as a result of the shelling that targeted the school which was housing displaced people in Camp No. 2 in Nuseirat. The accusations against the UNRWA of having ties with Hamas have been proven Israeli lies due to an UN investigation which brought up exactly zero results.
Israel is carrying out a policy of systematic torture in the army base of Sde Teiman, which has been used as a detention camp for Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, a new investigation by the New York Times confirmed on Thursday. Reports of abuse at Sde Teiman had already emerged in both Israeli and Arab media, following outcries from local and international rights groups about the horrific conditions there.
General Saeed Abyara, of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, was assassinated by Israeli air strike in Aleppo, Syria, in the early hours of June 3. Abyara is the first general to be killed after attack conducted by Israel in April hitting the Iranian embassy in Damascus and murdering several commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The incident caused retaliation by Iran, on which we reported. https://heraldorojo.org/2024/04/15/iran-hizo-lo-que-tenia-que-hacer/
Meanwhile nine out of ten children in the Gaza Strip are experiencing severe food poverty, midst the ongoing genocidal war in the enclave, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “Five rounds of data collected between December 2023 and April 2024 have consistently found that 9 out of 10 children in the Gaza Strip are experiencing severe food poverty, surviving on two or fewer food groups per day,” UNICEF said in a statement on Thursday. “This is evidence of the horrific impact the conflict and restrictions are having on families’ ability to meet children’s food needs – and the speed at which it places children at risk of life-threatening malnutrition.”
Thousands of illegal Jewish settlers, escorted by Israeli police, stormed the old city of Jerusalem on Wednesday, as they commenced the annual “Flag March” to mark Israel’s occupation of the city in 1967. Dancing and waving Israeli flags, the demonstrators chanted “Death to Arabs” and “May your village burn,” as they attacked local Palestinians, journalists, as well as shops along the route, according to reports. Several government and cabinet ministers participated in the procession including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu. In a fiery speech to the crowd, Ben-Gvir said, according to The Times of Israel: “The Damascus Gate is ours. The Temple Mount is ours. And God willing complete victory is ours,” referring to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
International solidarity continues, despite the repression reaction all over the globe unleashes upon those who stand up for Palestine.
In Brasil, on May 31, activists held a rally to denounce Israel’s recent attacks on Rafah in the Gaza Strip. The event took place in front of the “Teatro da Paz” in Praça da República, in Belém. Banners were shown and Palestinian flags waved. White sheets painted in red on the ground, symbolizing the Palestinian masses murdered by the Zionists’ attacks on Rafah, were spread.
Rally in Belém, Brasil; Source: A Nova Democracia
Speeches addressed the masses who were passing, calling for them to rise in solidarity with the people of Palestine and denouncing the war crimes of the Zionist State of Israel. Demands were raised that Luiz Inácio’s government shall immediately break diplomatic relations with Israel. Students burned American and Israeli flags.
On May 29, the Minas Gerais solidarity committee for Palestine held a rally in front of Minascentro, in the center of the capital of Minas Gerais, where the meeting of the “G20 energy transitions working group” was taking place. The solidarity committee denounced the environmental and energy policies coordinated by the G20 that indiscriminately exploit natural resources to fill their coffers, and end up affecting the people with the impacts resulting from exploitation, such as the disaster in RS. The protesters denounced the fallacious nature of the meeting. The protesters stood up for the liberation of the people of Palestine, chanting: “Free Palestine from the river to the sea!”
Rally in Minas Gerais, Brasil; Source: A Nova Democracia
The same day the same committee joined the national mobilization in support of the Palestinian Cause. Jointly, students, the Muslim community of Juiz de Fora and social movements together with the committee, exposed the historical process of the people of Palestine’s struggle to the present day, serving politicization and popular mobilization. Pamphlets were very well received by people passing by, who promptly signed the petition, created by the committee, for the breakdown of relations between Brazil and the Zionist State of Israel.
In the USA, police officers and university administrations have clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters on dozens of college campuses in recent weeks, arresting students, removing encampments and threatening academic consequences. More than 3,000 people have been arrested or detained. Lately, at Stanford University, demonstrators broke into and occupied the office of the president demanding divestment, transparency and amnesty. There was “extensive damage to the interior and exterior of the building,” which has been shut down for the remainder of the day and one public safety officer was injured, according to reports.
Source: New York Times
In Kristiansand, Norway, on June 1, the Kampkomiteen participated in the weekly Palestine rally.
Rally in Kristiansand, Norway; Source: Kampkomiteen
The president of the EU Commission, German Ursula von der Leyen, lately visited Finland. She attended a morning coffee event that was interrupted by Palestinian activists. The demonstrators shouted: “Ursula, Ursula, you can’t hide, you are supporting genocide!” Later, von der Leyen gave a speech. Even before the start of the event, the police were there to prevent the demonstrators from entering the place. However, von der Leyen’s speech was delayed due to the protesters, and some of them managed to sneak into the audience, where they chanted slogans over the speech. Demonstrations were organized in several cities in Finland on May 31 to draw attention to what Israel is doing in Rafah.
On Tuesday, June 3 , about 60 activists organized a demonstration at the Patria arms factory in Hämeenlinna, opposing Finland’s arms trade with Israel and militarization. Patria is a company mostly owned by the state that manufactures military vehicles and weapon systems. The protesters cut off road traffic to the Patria factory and rail traffic to the SSAB factory for Tuesday, and the protest was there from morning to night.
Protest blocking the Patria arms factory; Source: Punalippu
Earlier, on Thursday, May 30, police arrested students who have been holding a protest camp at Tampere University for two weeks. The university has not responded to them in any way. For this reason, they decided to go to the university board meeting. However, the university still refused to answer and instead resorted to repression by calling the police. The University of Tampere is ready to secure the continuation of cooperation with Israel, even with the help of the police.
In Tampere a demonstration against Israel’s attack on Rafah was announced for June 9, as well as a discussion event related to the elections and Palestine.
Poster calling for the rally and event; Source: Punalippu
In Germany, the Festival of the People’s was announced for June 16 in the city of Duisburg.
Poster for the Festival of the People’s; Source: Dem Volke Dienen
All over Denmark, demonstrations are organized every day for Palestine. In Copenhagen, the organization Kuffiyeh has called for demonstrations every single day in front of several ministries which have direct responsibility for supporting the genocide against the Palestinians. On 6 June, one of the daily demonstrations went from the Marble Church to the Ministry of Justice.
Demonstration in Copenhagen; Source: Roedefane
Students from the university camp in Madrid, Spanish State, have occupied a section of Complutense Avenue. The National Police arrived in the area to repress the students with the intention of expelling them.
