Israel is once again carrying out a large-scale massacre in the Gaza Strip of Palestine. As of 19 May, 219 residents of Gaza have been killed in the Israeli bombardment that began on 10 May, of whom 63 are children and adolescents. About 1,600 people have been injured, and the number of casualties is rising rapidly.
Israel claims that it began bombing the Gaza Strip in response to rockets fired at Israel by the Palestinian party “Hamas.” Originally, Hamas had demanded that Israel withdraw border police from Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem and from the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Just before Hamas’s ultimatum, Israel had already blockaded the roads on the Gaza border, halted what it described as the largest military exercise in its history, and entered into preparations for war. Then, when Hamas fired rockets after the ultimatum deadline passed, Israel used this as a pretext to begin a large-scale massacre in Gaza.
In Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, Israel has forcibly evicted Palestinian residents in order to move in illegal Jewish settlers, and it has sent border police, who are no different from an army, to suppress resisting residents brutally. As a microcosm of the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Palestinians that began with the founding of Israel in 1948, the forced eviction of Sheikh Jarrah residents and the suppression of protests provoked public outrage in Palestinian civil society. As the protests spread, Israeli border police even entered the nearby Al-Aqsa Mosque and fired tear gas, stun grenades, and rubber-coated bullets at protesters and worshippers at prayer. The protests naturally spread to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, militarily occupied in 1967, and to Palestinian cities inside Israel, and casualties rose as Israeli soldiers and police fired on unarmed protesters. It was in this situation, which is still ongoing, that Hamas demanded the withdrawal of the border police. And it is not only Hamas. Since Israel blockaded Gaza by land, sea, and air in 2007 and has periodically carried out large-scale massacres, all resistance forces in Gaza have begun to respond to Israel united. When Palestinians make their last response only after Israeli military and police violence against unarmed protesters has reached its extreme, Israel singles out only “Hamas” and frames its attacks to the international community as “legitimate defense” against a preemptive attack by a ruthless Islamic terrorist group.
Israel’s all-out attack on all Palestinians, in Gaza and inside and outside Israel/Palestine, has older origins. Israel was founded in 1948 by ethnically cleansing the indigenous Palestinians, on 78% of the land of “historic Palestine.” In 1967 it militarily occupied the remaining 22% of the land, that is, the West Bank including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, and it remains so to this day. Although Palestinian citizens make up 20% of its population, Israel passed a law of constitutional status declaring that “Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people,” and there are about 60 laws that officially discriminate against Palestinian citizens within the country.
For this reason, Palestinian civil society and South African civil society, which experienced apartheid directly, have long defined Israel as an “apartheid state.” What Israel carries out throughout Palestine meets the definition of apartheid as the “establishment and maintenance of domination by one racial group over any other racial group and systematically oppressing them.” Two former UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights in Palestine have defined Israel as an apartheid state. Recently, Israeli human rights organizations and international human rights organizations have also announced official positions defining Israel as an apartheid regime. Apartheid is the precise definition that encompasses the reality of suffering experienced by these Palestinians: in occupied Palestine, in Israel, and the 7 million Palestinian refugees who were expelled by the founding of Israel in 1948 and who to this day are denied by Israel the right to return to their homeland.
Palestinian civil society is now asking that, just as the whole world imposed sanctions on apartheid South Africa, Israel be sanctioned and a comprehensive arms embargo be imposed on Israel. Yet even in the midst of this, the United States supports Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip as the “exercise of the right of defense,” has voted down a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire, and has carried out the previously scheduled arms support as planned. What of Korea? Two days after Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip began, the Korean government held a signing ceremony for a free trade agreement (FTA) with Israel. Disregarding the military occupation, it states that “large-scale civilian casualties, including children, continue to occur in the process of indiscriminate rocket attacks, especially from the Gaza Strip, and the response to them,” placing responsibility for Israel’s massacre of Palestinian civilians on the Palestinian side.
As of 18 May, Israel is bombing southern Lebanon, suggesting the possibility of escalation. This year the International Criminal Court opened an investigation into Israel’s war crimes, but Israel pays no heed and continues to add to the alleged crimes. Israel must stop bombing Gaza immediately. But as long as Israel rules all of Palestine, it can resume bombing at any time. Israel must withdraw from all of the militarily occupied Palestinian territories, and the apartheid regime itself must be ended. We therefore make the following demands.
– Israel must immediately stop the massacre in the Gaza Strip.
– Israel must withdraw from all occupied territories in Palestine and Syria.
– The Korean government must scrap the FTA with Israel and impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel.
20 May 2021
160 Korean Civil Society Organizations Condemning Israel’s Invasion of the Gaza Strip
(사)개척자들, (사)우리누리평화운동, 강정 국제팀, 강정평화네트워크, 갤러리 포도나무, 건강권 실현을 위한 보건의료단체연합 (건강권 실현을 위한 행동하는 간호사회, 건강사회를 위한 약사회, 건강사회를 위한 치과의사회, 노동건강연대, 인도주의실천의사협의회, 참의료실현청년한의사회), 건강권실현을 위한 행동하는 간호사회, 경계를넘어, 경기북부평화시민행동, 경기여성단체연합, 경남여성회, 고양YMCA, 공익법센터 어필, 공익인권법재단 공감, 관악공동행동(관악사회복지, 관악주민연대, 난곡사랑의집, 난곡주민도서관 새숲, 전국교직원노동조합 관악동작지회(초등·중등·사립), 봉천동나눔의집, 푸른공동체 살터, 한울림장애인자립생활센터, 관악여성회, 삼성고등학교사회적협동조합, 관악평화철도, 관악교육공동체 모두, “참소중한)”, 관악교육공동체 모두, 관악여성회, 광주인권지기 ‘활짝’, 광화문서림, 국제가톨릭형제회 AFI, 국제민주연대, 극단 고래, 기독연구원 느헤미야 예수사회행동, 기지촌여성인권연대, 기후정의포럼, 김찬국기념사업회, 나눔문화, 난민인권네트워크, 난민인권센터, 남이랑북이랑, 노들장애인자립생활센터, 녹색당, 녹색당 서울시당, 다른세상을향한연대, 다이애나랩, 대안문화공간 품&페다고지, 대안문화연대 군축반전평화행동, 대한성공회 나눔의집협의회(노원·성북·인천·봉천동·수원·포천·용산·동두천·춘천), 대한성공회 정의평화사제단, 더 좋은 세상 뉴질랜드 한인모임, 더불어꿈협동조합, 동도교회, 동학천도교보국안민실천연대, 두레방, 두번째테제, 마감마녀들, 무지개신학교, 무지개장신, 문화나눔다가치, 문화사회연구소, 민주묘총 중앙대분회, 민주사회를 위한 변호사모임 국제연대위원회, 비무장평화의 섬 제주를 만드는 사람들, 비영리민간단체한바라기, 빌리카터, 사단법인 경기지역자활센터협회, 사단법인 아디, 사단법인 올마이키즈, 새민족교회, 생명안전 시민넷, 서울인권영화제, 섬돌향린교회, 성노동자해방행동 주홍빛연대 차차, 성문밖교회, 성소수자부모모임, 성소수자차별반대 무지개행동, 성신여자대학교 학생소수자인권위원회, 성인권센터 작은차이, 성적권리와 재생산정의를 위한 센터 셰어 SHARE, 세계시민선언, 소수자난민인권네트워크, 수요평화모임, 시드니 평화의 소녀상 연대, 신촌문화정치연구그룹, 실천불교전국승가회, 아시아평화인권연대, 얼굴있는거래, 연세대학교 <동아시아 수용소>, 연세대학교 신과대학 동문회, 연세민주동문회, 열린군대를위한시민연대, 우리다함께시민연대, 울산여성회, 원불교평화행동, 의정부지역자활센터, 이윤보다인간을, 이주노동자운동후원회, 이주노동자평등연대, 이주민방송 MWTV, 인권교육센터 ‘들’, 인권연구소 창, 인권운동공간 활, 인권운동네트워크 바람, 인권운동사랑방, 인천노사모, 일본군성노예제 문제해결을 위한 정의기억연대, 작은따옴표, 장수YMCA, 재) 성 프란치스코 평화센터, 전교조 관동지회, 전교조고양중등지회, 전국민주노동조합총연맹, 전국불안정노동철폐연대, 전국장애인차별철폐연대, 전북교육마당, 전북녹색연합, 전북여성단체연합, 전북장애인차별철폐연대, 전쟁없는세상, 전주YMCA, 정의당 국제연대 당원모임, 정의당 동작구위원회, 젠더정치연구소 여세연, 조선대학교 교지편집위원회 민주조선, 중앙대학교 사회학과 대학원 팔레스타인 평화를 지지하는 학생모임, 진보3.0, 진보네트워크센터, 참여연대, 참의료실현청년한의사회, 창작21작가회, 천주교 예수회 사회사도직위원회, 천주교인권위원회, 큐앤아이, 탐정들의 밤, 트랜스해방전선, 팍스크리스티코리아, 팔레스타인평화연대, 평등과 연대로! 인권운동더하기, 평화네트워크, 평화를만드는여성회, 평화바닥, 평화어머니회, 평화와통일을 위한 YMCA 만인회, 평화의바다를위한섬들의연대(제주위원회), 평화협정운동본부, 평화협정운동인천본부, 프로그레시브 코리아, 플랫폼c, 피스모모, 피스모모 평화페미니즘 연구소, 한국기독교교회협의회 국제위원회, 한국기독교교회협의회 인권센터, 한국농인LGBT 설립준비위원회, 한국다양성연구소, 한국성인지예산네트워크, 한국성적소수자문화인권센터, 한국여성노동자회, 한국이주인권센터, 한국주민운동교육원, 한국천주교 여자수도회 장상연합회 JPIC분과위원회(Justice. Peace. & Integrity of Creation), 한국청소년정책연대, 한국청소년청년감염인커뮤니티알, 한국한부모연합, 한국YMCA전국연맹, 한베평화재단, 한청협동지회, 해외주민운동연대(KOCO), 행동하는성소수자인권연대, 향린교회 <인문공화국>, DxE 야생동물소모임