The Labour Party Pakistan strongly condemns the attack of Israeli commandos on a convoy of ships carrying aid to the Gaza Strip. The murderous attack has brutally killed up to 20 people and wounded more than 30 people.

The six-ship flotilla, carrying 10, 000 tonnes of humanitarian aid, was an attempt by activists mainly from Turkey including Pakistan to defy a blockade imposed by Israel on Gaza since Hamas took power in Palestine in 2007. The blockade by Israel has apparently turned Gaza into the largest concentration camp in the world, with most of the 1.5 million Palestinians living there denied access to the most basic needs such as food, water and medicine.

This is not the first time the US-backed Zionist regime of Israel has committed such atrocities. From December 2008 to January 2009, the Israeli armed force committed a massacre which killed more than 1400 people and wounded over 5300 people in Gaza over 3 weeks.

The attack on humanitarian aid to Gaza has again revealed the true nature of the Zionist Israeli state – a racist state founded on the mass expulsion of the Palestinians. The genocidal regime of Israel has been supported by imperialist powers like US and its allies. These imperialist powers are continuing to provide financial support and weapons supply to Israel in order to carry on its siege on Gaza.

The LPP demands that:

– Israel immediately end the siege of Gaza, and allow all humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip.

– Governments all over the world have to condemn the killing of unarmed civilians by Israeli troops and bring Israel to justice for its war crimes.

– US and its allies stop all military aid to Israel and impose an arms embargo against Israel.

– LPP demand the immediate recovery of Talat Hussain and the two other activists, there is no news about the three

The LPP extends its solidarity with the people of Palestine as well as people who support the Palestinians’ struggle for justice. A lasting peace in the Middle East will only prevail if justice is upheld for the Palestinian people and imperialism is defeated.

We also endorse the following statement of the campaign Pakistanis For Palestine

Pakistanis for Palestine condemns Israel’s attack on the International Freedom Flotilla

Press Statement

Pakistanis for Palestine condemns the naked aggression of the Israeli Defense Forces against the international “Freedom Flotilla”, the convoy of ships attempting to carry humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip that has been unilaterally blockaded by Israel since June 2007. The ships were in international waters, about 150 km off the coast of Gaza, where Israel has no jurisdiction.

Current death toll: 20, Injured: more than 60

We demand:

1. That the United Nations include the Israeli Defense Forces in its list of terrorist organizations and put Israel on the list of states that officially sponsor terrorism;

2. That “the international community” end its hypocritical attitude towards Israel and authorize international news media to report objectively on acts of Israeli aggression; and

3. That Pakistan should use its status as the most important non-NATO ally of the US to pressure it to punish Israel for this gross violation of international humanitarian law

It is time for people of conscience all over the world to demand the end of the apartheid regime in Israel, the last colonial state in this post-colonial world, and to join the worldwide movement for the Boycott of, Sanctions on and Divergent from all organizations and entities that support the racist ideology of Zionism.

For more information on the BDS campaign, see: http://bdsmovement.net/
We subscribe to the three principles laid out in the Palestinian call for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel that calls on Israel to:

1. End its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall;

2. Recognize the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and

3. Respect, protect and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.

For more information, see: http://www.pacbi.org/campaign_statement.htm
We call on all Pakistanis who support the principles listed above to join the campaign.

Please contact us at:

Email address: PakistanisForPalestine gmail.com
Online petition: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFNRb2pFbXQwT2ZXa2VHNUg1Zk01S0E6MA