Protests calling for permanent ceasefire in Palestine held

Thousands of activists in Asia held protests in six countries last November 23 to amplify the growing worldwide clamour for an immediate permanent ceasefire in Palestine, where the brutal occupation by Israel-led forces has caused the countless loss of human lives. 

Civil society groups from around the world marked November 23 as the Global Day of Action in Solidarity with the People of Palestine. Similar protests were held in various countries in Asia including India, Japan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Philippines, Bangladesh, as well as countries in Africa, Latin America, Europe and the US. 

Apart from the immediate permanent ceasefire, the protesters also called for an end to the blockade in Gaza, an end to apartheid in Palestine, and giving the Palestinian people their “inalienable right to self-determination, independence and sovereignty.” The United States and its allies were also called out for ramping up financial and military support which has further encouraged Israel to act with impunity towards Palestinians. 

“We condemn the loss of all lives from the intensification of violence since October 7, as well as the loss of disproportionately Palestinian lives from Israel’s protracted occupation of Palestine. We stand with the peoples and communities across the world in calling for an immediate ceasefire, and we express our full support for the people of Palestine in their struggle for national liberation and lasting peace,” stated Lidy Nacpil, Coordinator of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development. 

“Israel’s blatant disregard for human lives and human rights, as seen in its historical and recent attacks on the Palestinian people, is completely unacceptable. The international community must come together to put an end to the atrocities and hold the Israeli state accountable for its crimes,” she noted. 

Nacpil added that “the four-day humanitarian pause in hostilities between Israel and Hamas is a welcome development, but a temporary ceasefire is not a solution to the occupation and oppression committed by Israel. A temporary ceasefire will not bring an end to 75 years of settler-colonial occupation and give justice to the millions of internally displaced Palestinians.” 

“We, the peoples of the Global South, are no stranger to colonialism. Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestine and the Global North’s centuries-long conquest of the rest of the Global South are branches of the same tree. We stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine not only because of our shared humanity, but also because of our shared experience of colonial oppression,” she further stressed. 

Ian Rivera, National Coordinator of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, , spoke on the global danger that the war presents. “Israel’s aggression against Palestine – which already claimed the lives of many, including children – imperils not only human life, but the precarious state of the climate. The war has occurred under the shadow of the US-led India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor – another neoliberal economic expansionism, mostly of G20 countries that will expand the use and build the infrastructure for fossil fuel extraction. This economic integration will consolidate Israel into the petrodollar states, mostly controlled by the US. It will undermine the global call for the immediate reduction of the use of fossil fuels.” 

He added: “Activists from both Israel and Palestine have worked together in the past to bring about a united front in addressing fossil fuel problems, access to clean air and water, and other environmental issues. We strongly hope that a ceasefire will allow these partnerships to mend. Now, more than ever, we need to work together to solve a crisis that threatens not only Israelis and Palestinians, but all of us.” 

Sanlakas Secretary-General Aaron Pedrosa emphasized that reparations must come after the ceasefire. “Millions of Palestinians are still refugees to this day. Meanwhile, the Israel government is unrelenting in its campaign to drive Palestinians out of the land that is rightfully theirs. This recent violence only adds more to the Israeli government’s huge debt in reparation to the Palestinian peoples. They must be held accountable. This finance will be used to provide proper food and shelter to innocent civilians displaced by the long-standing conflict.” 

Last October 27, 120 UN member states voted on a UN General Assembly resolution calling for an “immediate, durable, and sustained humanitarian truce” in Palestine. While no Asian country voted against the resolution, the Philippines and India voted to abstain. Groups participating in the solidarity actions in these countries are aiming to help build pressure for their governments to change their stance on the ceasefire call, and come out explicitly in its favor. 

The civil society groups pointed out that the billions in ramped-up military spending by Israel, the US, and its allies should have been used for climate finance, especially in the leadup to COP28. Israel spent $23.4 billion on its military spending in 2022, and received $3.8 billion from the United States just this year, with more military aid forthcoming. Both Israel and the US need to meet their climate pledges. 

“Israel and the US’s increasing military spending, geared towards propping up the illegal occupation, is diverting resources away from much-needed climate action. Military activities are instead contributing to the worsening climate crisis and ecological destruction,” said R Sreedhar, Managing Trustee, Environics Trust.