Tunis, 13 October 2023
Our beloved Palestine — and steadfast Gaza in particular — has, for the past week, been enduring the brutal consequences of the war declared by the occupying authorities on a region already suffering under an inhumane siege that has deprived over two million civilians of the basic needs for a dignified life.
Under the false pretext of the occupier’s “right to self-defense” — and with blatant international cover — the occupying authorities unleashed their brutal military machine by air, land, and sea to target civilians and destroy Gaza’s infrastructure, adding yet another massacre to their bloody record. Women and children have borne the brunt of these attacks, with more than 250 women and 440 children among over 1,500 martyrs, and more than 300,000 civilians displaced and families forcibly uprooted.
Not only did the occupation forces carry out these massacres, but they also cut off water and electricity and blocked the entry of medical and food aid to Gaza — in blatant violation of the occupier’s obligations toward civilians as stipulated in the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949.
This bloodstained war has been accompanied by complicit international positions that effectively gave the green light to the occupying authorities to respond to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood — an operation that clearly embodied the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in Gaza, asserting their legitimate right to self-defense and resistance to reclaim their full rights, in the face of ongoing violations of holy sites, daily assaults, expanding settlements, and arbitrary detentions.
The Arab Trade Union Women’s Committee recalls today the extent of crimes committed against Palestinian women: more than 11,000 women have been imprisoned since 1948, and over 50,000 children under the age of eighteen have been detained since 1967 — horrifying numbers that reflect a systematic violation of all international conventions on women’s and children’s rights.
These crimes against the Palestinian people, particularly its women and children, only serve to strengthen the resolve of Arab women to rally around the just Palestinian cause and to offer all forms of support and solidarity at every international forum, exposing the crimes of the occupation and intensifying pressure to compel it to respect international legitimacy and enable the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination and to establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.
In this regard, the Arab Trade Union Women’s Committee salutes all the Arab trade union and civil solidarity campaigns and marches, and calls for diversifying forms of material and moral support for the Palestinian people. It also calls for the adoption of an Arab and international trade union action plan to urgently provide food and medical aid to the proud people of Gaza.
Long live the fight of Palestinian women, at the forefront of the Arab women’s movement.
Glory to the martyrs of Palestine, to the mothers of the martyrs, and freedom to all prisoners, women and men
On behalf of the Women’s Committee
Aisha Hammouda
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