PSNA is today calling on all political parties to agree
to the immediate expulsion of the Israeli ambassador Alon
Roth-Snir, and the suspension of all other ties with
Israel.
PSNA’s call follows two damning new United
Nations reports released yesterday, alongside the personal
family experience of PSNA National Spokesperson Rinad
Tamimi.
Tamimi says “My family is directly affected
by the past two days of Israel’s massive ethnic cleansing
operation in Hebron in the Occupied West Bank, where my family,
including my 95-year-old grandfather, have been expelled
from their homes.
Tamimi with her 95-year-old grandfather in Hebron last year
(Photo/Supplied)
The United
Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Turk has condemned
Israel’s actions, More than 3,000 Palestinians have
been forced from their homes so far, in what Turk describes
as action “punitive in nature and designed to instil
fear”.
“Collective punishment is a grave violation
of international law. Threats to empty and erase entire
neighbourhoods also raise serious concerns of ethnic
cleansing,” Turk says.
Meanwhile yesterday, the United
Nations Independent Commission of Palestine and Israel
released its latest report which says
bluntly:
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“Israel has committed war crimes and the
crimes against humanity of extermination, persecution,
torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory, intentionally targeting
Palestinian civilians as it continues to commit genocide in
Gaza.”
The report confirms the source of the endless
violence and oppression by Israel goes back to the 1948
Nakba (Catastrophe) when more than 750,000 Palestinians were
expelled from their homes and land.
“As part of a
broader investigation into the root causes of recurrent
tensions and protraction of conflict, the report outlines
the key drivers of Israeli violence and concludes that
Israel has striven to expand territorially and displace
Palestinians through violence since the 1947-48
war.”
“These shocking reports confirm that Israel
has no intention of respecting New Zealand values or
international law,” Tamimi says.
“The argument
that we need the ambassador here to keep lines of
communication open is a smokescreen. There is not a scrap of
evidence Israel has ever taken any notice of us. The embassy
is not here to listen. It is here to propagandise, spy and
infiltrate the Pacific.”
“Across the country this
week the Palestine solidarity movement will be highlighting
these reports and demanding accountability for Israel in
nationwide protests.”
“The government must end its
rhetoric about the Israelis in the West Bank and finally
make an effective stand and cuts all ties with Israel, until
the refugees can return and everyone living between the
Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea has as equal
rights,” Tamimi says.
“It would be appropriate
justice for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to
follow the expulsion of my 95-year-old grandfather from his
home.”
