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The Press Office for the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) published a statement on April 20 that stressed a report published by Israeli newspaper Haaretz, which included serious testimonies from soldiers and officers in the ‘occupation army’, exposed the commission of heinous crimes against Palestinian people during the ongoing war ‘of extermination’ in the Gaza Strip.
According to the statement, it affirmed the testimonies represented explicit confessions from within the Israeli military establishment, which proved beyond doubt that what was happening was war crimes and crimes against humanity committed systematically, reflecting an organised approach of killing, destruction, and abuse.
DFLP added that the testimonies coming from within the army itself revealed the extent of moral degradation and systematic criminal behaviour, ranging from premeditated murder, widespread destruction, and looting, to torture and brutal practices, including abusing civilians and burying some martyrs alive, in scenes that reflected the nature of the army and its behaviours based on hatred and racism.
The statement said that repetition of the testimonies and reports that continue to be revealed confirmed the crimes weren’t individual or isolated cases but rather a systematic policy that reflected the nature of the government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, revealing a military doctrine based on the complete desecration of Palestinian blood, whether in the Gaza strip, the West Bank, or Jerusalem, where orders are given to shoot civilians without any real threat.
DFLP warned against escalation of repressive policies against Palestinian prisoners, including the new legislation of the so-called prisoner execution law, in addition to practices of torture, abuse and deliberate medical neglect, and policies of enforced disappearance, all of which constitute additional crimes that require international accountability.
The Democratic Front affirmed what was stated in the report constituted conclusive evidence of the racist and fascist nature of the ‘Zionist regime,’ with all its political, military, and judicial components, which necessitates urgent action by the international community, led by the International Criminal Court, to pursue and prosecute Israeli war criminals.
DFLP called for the implementation of arrest warrants issued against Israeli leaders, foremost among them Netanyahu, and to work towards isolating the occupation state internationally and imposing deterrent sanctions on it, to ensure the cessation of its ongoing crimes against our Palestinian people and to achieve justice for victims.
HAMAS:
Hamas said it had held meetings in Cairo with mediators and Palestinian factions to complete the implementation of the first phase of the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement, which they claim that Israel has failed to honour, stressing the need to compel Israel to implement its commitments before serious talks on the second phase could begin, while also confirming that it had engaged constructively with proposals and is committed to continuing negotiations to reach an acceptable deal under US President Trump’s plan, aiming to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, secure full Israeli withdrawal, and begin reconstruction, on April 21.
Europe gets involved:
Spain, Slovenia and Ireland called on the European Union to debate suspending its association with Israel, citing the worsening situation in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, as the three countries formally requested the issue be placed on the agenda ahead of an EU foreign ministers’ meeting arguing that the bloc should reassess its position amid ongoing developments, Al Jazeera reported on April 22, noting that the EU-Israel Association Agreement governs political and economic relations between the two sides, and any move toward suspension would mark a significant shift in European policy.
French President Emmanuel Macron said: “We have clearly condemned what has been done in Gaza, and the violation of Lebanon’s territorial sovereignty, as well as the massive choices that have been made in recent months by the Israeli government, and this context makes it legitimate to question the future of the association agreement, because it is obvious that if Israel continues this policy, which, in fact, contradicts its own history, we cannot pretend that nothing has happened.”
Press TV reported that the estimated cost of rebuilding Gaza after the Israeli destruction and strikes is just over $71 billion, as years of unabated attacks and bombardments of the Gaza Strip have resulted in extensive damage.
Tasnim News Agency reported that Ireland and Spain weren’t going to broadcast this year’s Eurovision Song Contest over Israel’s participation in the contest, due to Israel’s presence being ‘unacceptable’ amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Former UN Special Rapporteur Explains the situation:
Professor Michael Lynk, a former UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, said: “Gaza is an integral part of Israeli apartheid, over 2 million people fenced off from the world, unable to leave, controlled entirely by Israel – there is no other place like it.
“Over 70,000 Palestinians have officially been killed since October 2003, with tens of thousands more buried under the rubble – 83% are civilians, over 20,000 are children,” he said.
Lynk continued: “The level of violence has exceeded even apartheid South Africa, using modern weaponry, much of it from the US, to destroy whole residential blocks and buildings, so as cruel and repressive as apartheid South Africa was, the depth of repression in Palestine has exceeded it – transforming apartheid into genocide, destroying people’s ability to survive as a recognized community in the world.”
The professor noted that for the first time in the US there was greater popular support for Palestine than Israel: “Even among American Jews, 39% agree a genocide has been committed and majority say Israel is on the wrong path, while 40 out of 47 Senate Democrats voted to end all military sales and aid to Israel, that didn’t happen 3 years ago.
“Public opinion is now pressing for qualitative changes in Europe and North America’s relationships with Israel, that’s where part of the optimism lies, 5-10 of Israeli Jews – academics, journalists and human rights organisations – recognise what Israel has become and identify Gaza as genocide,” he said, adding that they represented the future bridge between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs: “And there are hundreds of thousands of activists around the world who believe that too – that’s where our real optimism comes from.”
Elections
Chairman of the Central Elections Commission in Palestine Rami Hamdallah told journalists that EU representative to the Palestinian Authority praised the electoral process as ‘almost perfect’, highlighting how the low turnout in Deir el-Balah, the only city in Gaza which was able to hold elections, was due to the reliance on the civil registry, which had not been updated since the genocide and, thus, failed to account for the high number of killings and displaced people.
Saturday’s elections were the first vote in Gaza since the 2006 legislative elections were won by Hamas, and the majority of the lists presented were either independent or aligned with the ruling Fatah party, while Hamas remained absent.
