Statement Protesting the Threatened Israeli Annexation of the West Bank
The USA-Palestine Mental Health Network stands with the people of Palestine in opposing the proposed Israeli annexation of the West Bank. This proposal represents only the latest iteration of the long-standing Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people through the confiscation of their land and resources, demolition of their homes, and brutalization through military control over every aspect of their lives. The annexation is but one more step in the progressive erasure of Palestinian community, history, and identity that has extended over the past 70 years. The annexation of these lands—designated by the United Nations to become the future Palestinian state—threatens to proceed through the eviction of especially vulnerable Palestinians and the coercion of others; it strengthens the infrastructure supporting the illegal Israeli settlements and crushes whatever remaining hopes there might be for genuine justice and peace.
The Israeli annexation of Palestinian land is ironically proposed to occur at a global moment witnessing an international groundswell of opposition to colonialism, racism, and related forms of human exploitation. The current demand to dismantle police departments in the USA, for example, lifts the curtain on the flourishing Israeli industry providing weaponry and training in advanced military techniques to local police departments in the USA and internationally. We encourage mental health workers everywhere to connect the dots between the matrix of oppressive structures inflicting damage on human beings close to home and in Palestine, and to move forward with international solidarity movements that link together these strivings for dignity and freedom.
The Steering Committee, USA-Palestine Mental Health Network
July 3, 2020
