The PCP strongly condemns Israel’s actions against the Palestinian people, including its intention to colonize the Gaza Strip, and urges the Portuguese government to clearly denounce this escalation and undertake effective measures to immediately end the genocide of the Palestinian people, according to a PCP statement.
The party accuses Israel’s ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people of intensifying, with the complicity of major imperialist powers, noting that various UN agencies and structures confirm a situation of “acute hunger” in the Gaza Strip.
The PCP notes that since the United States and Israel took over food distribution from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), “over two thousand people have been killed and 15,000 injured.”
“In this context, the criminal government of Netanyahu aims to fully occupy and colonize the Gaza Strip, concentrating and expelling its population while officially announcing a plan to build Israeli settlements in the West Bank,” the PCP criticizes.
The PCP asserts that “the impunity with which Israel violates international law and basic human rights is only possible because the United States of America and major NATO and European Union powers support the Israeli government.”
“A reality not changed by political initiatives announced by various countries that, apart from not challenging support for Israel, are accompanied by unacceptable demands that disrespect the sovereignty and rights of the Palestinian people,” is suggested, in reference to the potential recognition of the State of Palestine by countries such as France, the United Kingdom, or Canada in September.
The PCP argues that “imperialism, particularly American imperialism, is carrying out actions to crush the legitimate resistance of Middle Eastern peoples and achieve their recolonization,” considering that Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, Iran, or Syria fit into this context.
“The scale of Israel’s crimes can no longer be hidden, revealing the true nature of imperialist powers, with Zionism as a tool in the Middle East,” the party asserts.
The PCP stresses the urgency to “immediately end the genocide in Palestine, ensure access to humanitarian aid, establish the State of Palestine, and fulfill the right of return for Palestinian refugees as determined by UN resolutions.”
“The PCP calls on Portuguese workers and people to increase their actions in solidarity with the Palestinian people and others who legitimately resist the imperialist offensive in the Middle East. It is urgent to halt the barbarity,” it states.
Israel has been conducting a military offensive in the Gaza Strip since an attack by the extremist group Hamas on October 7, 2023, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and the abduction of 250 people as hostages.
The Israeli offensive has caused more than 62,190 deaths in Gaza, the majority being civilians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry data considered reliable by the UN.
Nearly two weeks ago, Israel’s Security Cabinet approved a plan to occupy Gaza City, expanding military operations to refugee camps on the central coast of the territory, generating a wave of international and domestic criticism.
