Free Palestine rally in Auckland rejects Israeli ‘genocide’ and ‘ethnic cleansing’
David Robie also blogs at Café Pacific
More than 2000 people took part in Auckland on Saturday in a demonstration for justice for Palestine and against “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing”.
While speakers welcomed the ceasefire on Thursday night in the Israeli attack on Gaza after 11 days of bombardment, they lamented the lack of progress in addressing the “root causes” of the conflict.
The protesters marched to the US consulate in Auckland and condemned uncritical US policy in support of Israel.
- READ MORE: Israel and Hamas claim victory as fragile ceasefire holds
- Time for NZ to speak up clearly for Palestinian rights and international law – John Minto
- Other Palestine reports
The Queen Street march for Palestinian freedom.
This is the second weekend in a row when protests in support of Palestinian statehood and self-determination have been held across Aotearoa New Zealand.
Palestinian community organisers set-up a pavement vigil for the 70 Palestinian children killed in the continuous barrage of Israeli jets and missiles.
At least 243 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli bombardment, including more than 100 women and children. The Gaza Health Ministry also said more than 1800 Palestinians had been wounded.
Twelve Israelis, including two children, were killed by Palestinian rockets, the country’s medical service said.
The United Nations estimated that at least 94 buildings in Gaza had been destroyed by the Israeli military, comprising 461 housing and commercial units.
1500 rockets Hammas sent into Israel,…where did those rockets come from? Iran , Russia? Now we can all see Israel’s hardware coming down the conduit from the USA ,… but where did the former come from?
What’s going on here and who’s doing this?
What’s the goal here?… using the Palestinians as meatsheild’s from some other country’s agenda? This didn’t just come out of nowhere, this was planned. And well supplied. By whom, I’d like to know.
How’s Hamas getting supplies for rockets and tunnels?
https://www.timesofisrael.com/hows-hamas-getting-supplies-for-rockets-and-tunnels-through-israel/
Biden.
Israeli airstrikes in the center of the occupied Gaza Strip on Monday caused severe damage to the territory’s lone coronavirus testing lab and the offices of the Palestinian Ministry of Health, an attack that was immediately condemned as a war crime.
Citing eyewitnesses to the bombing, Middle East Eye reported that Israeli war planes hit the six-story Ghazi al-Shwwa building with “at least three missiles, completely destroying the upper floors.”
MEE noted that the bombing damaged “dozens of adjacent buildings, including Gaza’s main coronavirus laboratory, an orphanage, a female high school, and the Palestinian Ministry of Health offices.”
“If the Ministry of Health is not safe, then there is no safe place in the Gaza Strip,” said Abu Hamed Abufoul, an eyewitness to the airstrikes. “This is a war crime and the world cannot remain silent.”
Speaking in front of the impacted buildings on Monday, Dr. Yousef Abu al-Rish—the undersecretary of Gaza’s health ministry—said the Israeli attack rendered the testing facility inoperable, badly wounded several health workers, and disrupted the territory’s ability to administer Covid-19 vaccines, compounding the difficulties caused by Israel’s blockade.
“Targeting the Ministry of Health building, al-Remal Clinic, and the medical staff is a heinous crime aimed at preventing the ministry from continuing its humanitarian work in saving the lives of the wounded and providing health care to citizens,” al-Rish said. “The international community must hold the occupation accountable for its heinous and ongoing crimes against medical personnel and health institutions.”
“Horrifying,” MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan tweeted in response to the bombing. “It was bad enough when Palestinians in Gaza weren’t able to get vaccinated, but now to reportedly lose their only coronavirus testing lab is… beyond words.”
The airstrikes came shortly after Israeli bombs killed two of Gaza’s senior doctors, including one of the officials leading the besieged territory’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
As the Washington Post reported last week, Israel’s latest assault—which has thus far killed more than 200 people and injured at least 1,300 in the occupied coastal strip—began as coronavirus infections and deaths in Gaza had started to decline after reaching record highs in April. Read more
Of all the arguments made by zionist apologists, the map thing is probably the most ludicrous.
Apart from the fact that maps do exist with that name emblazoned upon them from ancient times, long before Aotearoa NZ was “discovered” by Europeans, do the proponents of such arguments seriously claim that because that name has only recently become the unifying banner for the people whom Israeli geneticist Ariella Oppenheim called “descendants of a core population that lived in the area since prehistoric times” – they did not exist?
I suspect that one would be hard-pressed to find a map of Aotearoa. If one was to present that fact as evidence of the non-existence of an indigenous people of this land, one would be laughed at by all and sundry with the possible exception of hard-core racial supremacists.
Oh dear, what to believe?
Should one give credence to a reporter who has been on the ground for some of his live reporting and has usually provided even-handed observations? (https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2021/05/israel-palestine-explainer-newshub-s-mike-mcroberts-answers-commonly-asked-questions-about-ongoing-conflict.html).
On the other hand, one could give credence to a self-avowed Zionist Maori researcher but the topic of her doctorate is unrelated to her IINZ ‘report’. This is not acknowledged, as one might normally expect of an academic. Notably, the source links in Ms Trotters outing are all from sites that are generally recognised as having strongly pro-Israeli propagandist bents. Even the translation (see link) that is provided in the first accusative item is not from a neutral source as MEMRI claims to be. A quick check of that site’s content clearly shows its agenda.
The missing link: https://israelinstitute.nz/2021/05/dear-kanoa-no-its-not-a-tiny-bit-like-colonisation/