Greens reject excuses by the U.S. and Israel for violence against Palestinians

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 20, 2021

Contact:
Laura Wells, 510-504-4254, lwells@cagreens.org (GPCA spokesperson)
Tarik Kanaana,707-548-9137, tkanaana@mtu.edu
Green Party of California, 916-448-3437, gpca@cagreens.org

Greens reject excuses by the U.S. and Israel for violence against Palestinians

SACRAMENTO - In direct defiance of the will of the United Nations, the Israeli government has escalated bombing attacks on the Palestinian people. As an excuse for Israel’s attacks, the United States has said that Israel has the "right to defend itself."

"The Green Party rejects the 'self-defense’ excuse. Colonizers can’t claim self-defense,” said Noura Khouri, Green Party of the United States delegate from California, and national committee member of the Al-Awda Right to Return Coalition of the Palestine Action Network.

"Under international law, Palestinians have a right to resist and to self-defense. Yet they have no formal military, while they are being ruthlessly attacked by Israel, which has nuclear weapons, has one of the most powerful military forces in the world, and is backed politically, diplomatically, and financially by the United States. Without U.S. support, it would not be possible for Israel to wage this murderous campaign of terror on Palestinians," said Khouri.

Israel's decades-long land annexations and settlements are a violation of human rights and international law according to numerous UN resolutions. In April 2021, Human Rights Watch joined hundreds of other international human rights organizations — among them the Jerusalem-based non-profit B’Tselem — to condemn Israel for "crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution," and to ask for an end to the violence.

The Green Party of the United States backs the right of return as stipulated in UN resolution 194, and supports the implementation of boycott and divestment initiatives similar to those applied to South Africa in their apartheid era.

"Palestinians have some of the best minds and highest levels of education in the world, they have fertile and productive lands, and they have many resources. It is the Israeli occupation, backed by the US, that creates the poverty and hunger they suffer," said Tarik Kanaana, a member of the Coordinating Committee of the Green Party of California. "Security comes from respecting human rights and allowing people to have control over their own lives. What we need from the US most right now is to stop backing Israel politically, militarily and financially."

"It is time to ask something greater of ourselves and of Israel. Only when the strongest lay down their arms can the world begin to find its way to peace," said Susan Lamont, former coordinator of the Peace & Justice Center of Sonoma County, and Green Party of Sonoma County council member. "While the Greens honor the tender spot within the Jewish people formed by the burden and pain of their history, we also understand that their well-being is deeply tied to the well-being of all others."

-END-

REFERENCES:
The link in the paragraph "Israel’s decades-long…" is https://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20210515_israel_commits_war_crime...