A statement by the Jerusalemite Women’s Coalition in light of the most recent attacks by the occupation state, and the ongoing Nakba against the Palestinian people that began in 1948 and has continued for more than seventy years
May 15, 2021

The Israeli colonial state practices ethnically cleansing against Palestinians, the indigenous people of the country, armed with its’ violent technologies, including a military system and weapons of mass destruction. These practices go against international laws and the basic standards of humanity.

During the last month, the Zionist state intensified its policies of forced displacement in Sheikh Jarrah, suppressed the voices of protesters across Palestine, prevented Muslims and Christians in Jerusalem from freely worshipping during the holy week, Ramadan, and feast days. Furthermore, it launched an air and ground attack in Gaza.  It also strengthened its racist ideologies with the support of Jewish settler groups that believe in the so-called ethnic superiority of Jews. These settler groups and their members operate under the protection and support of the “security forces,” or the Israeli military and police, to stop the Palestinian Popular Movement’s attempts to stand against racism, ethnic and religious persecution, and apartheid.

In Gaza, Israel has used its highly sophisticated military technologies to attack civilians without any means of protection, killing scores of women and children, leveling residential buildings, and leaving hundreds homeless. Israel intends for their weapons to not only oppress and control Palestinians but also as a form of collective punishment, which is a flagrant violation of international law.

This apartheid regime on basis of Jewish ethnic superiority and with the support of its international friends, attacked Gaza under the guise of protecting its state, killing 132 people, including 31 children and 19 women, and wounded nearly a thousand people. The Israeli war machine has displaced and terrorized thousands of Palestinians in Gaza during the last days of Ramadan and during Eid al-Fitr. The latest attacks are a continuation of unending Israeli violence in Gaza: starting in 2008/2009, 2014, and 2018. In addition to living in an open-air prison under a military blockade, the Palestinians of Gaza continue to be suffocated by death and destruction.

We stress in particular the situation of women and children, families, and vulnerable groups such as those with special needs, pregnant women, and those who recently gave birth who are affected by state crimes. Palestinians across the region are suffering from psychological crises and difficulties, but these groups can suffer additionally with Israeli cruel dismemberment policies with their children and families due to health, environmental, and residential conditions. The constant threat Palestinians live in creates challenges for feminist and human rights activists around the world.

 

The occupation targets all things big and small, attacking schools, hospitals, refugee camps, residential areas, and playgrounds. These indiscriminate attacks confirm the occupier’s desire to kill, displace, and besiege Palestinians no matter where they may be.In Gaza, which is considered the most densely populated area in the world, they have executed, destroyed, displaced, and terrorized our people; In Jerusalem, the Zionist state has fired shots, attacked homes, beat and terrorized women and children, and helped (and protected) Jewish settlers who hold ideologies of racial supremacy to attack our families and our holy places. The people of Lyd, Haifa, Jaffa, Nazareth, the Nagab and other Arab towns in 1948 Occupied Palestine have also been suffering since 1948 from a state that treats them as second citizens next to Israeli Jewish citizens. Furthermore, in the last week settlers and Israeli forces have attacked homes armed with weapons, burned places of worship, and roamed the streets shouting, “Death to the Arabs.”

In light of the increase in violent state crimes, which the state of Israel commits with impunity and a complete disregard for human life, and on the day of the 73rd anniversary of the Nakba, on May 15th  we, the Coalition, demand the following:

  1. We insist on an immediate and complete stop to acts of violence against our people, wherever they are, in Gaza, Jerusalem, and the Palestinian cities and 1948 Occupied Palestine.
  2. That the international community recognize that the Nakba continues and that we reject all attempts to place the executioner (i.e., the Israeli state) and the victims (i.e., the Palestinians) on equal footing.
  3. Today not only are we being attacked by a military system that destroys, maims, and kills, but also by Zionist propaganda that always portrays the occupiers as victims. Therefore, we call on the international community and feminists around the world to help us call for an investigation of facts and access to justice and freedom.
  4. As attacks continue and it has become more than clear that Palestinians anywhere, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, are not safe from the Zionist state, we call on human rights organizations and the international community to provide protection for the Palestinian people and to punish Israel for the endless atrocities and war crimes.
  5. We call on human rights organizations and international institutions to investigate the crimes committed against Palestinians and pressure the Israelis to provide adequate humanitarian and medical services to the wounded and sick. And to also put plans in that action that will prevent current and future displacement, property destruction, and settler violence.

The Jerusalemite Women’s Coalition is a group of organizations, women’s institutions, and Jerusalemite feminist activists that includes all segments of Palestinian society regardless of religious, ethnic, and racial differences. As a feminist group, the Coalition stands against state criminality, rejecting any marginalization of the Palestinian community and individuals. We stand against consistent and embedded violence that takes place in the everyday lives of Palestinians, which aims at ethnically cleansing and dismembering, and erasing their futurity.