In response to Israel’s continued aggression against the
Palestinian people, activists associated with the Peterborough Coalition for
Palestinian Solidarity staged a banner drop over Highway 115 this morning.
Calling for people to support peace by joining the international Boycott,
Divestment, and Sanctions campaign against Israel, the activists hope to put
pressure on Israel in order to end the current military occupation of
Palestinian lands.
From the Larmer Line bridge over Highway 115, activists
unfurled a banner reading “Support Peace - Boycott Israel.” The giant banner
was highly visible to the south-bound rush hour traffic.
For decades, Israel has denied Palestinians their
fundamental rights of freedom, equality, and self-determination through ethnic
cleansing, colonization, racial discrimination, and military occupation,” says
Joe S., one of the activists involved. “Despite abundant condemnation of
Israeli policies by the UN, other international bodies, and preeminent human
rights organizations, Israel’s crimes have continued with impunity.”
Israeli violence against Palestinians is as ongoing as
the illegal occupation of Palestinian lands, but the level of aggression has
intensified during the current assault on the Gaza Strip. Since July 7th,
Israeli forces have killed at least 1,464 Palestinians, 75-80% of whom are
civilians (including at least 323 children). 44% of Gaza has been destroyed,
and over 160,000 people have been displaced. This is the third major military
attack on Gaza by Israel in six years, over which time thousands of
Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military.
The Gaza Strip - an area that has been called "the
world's largest open-air prison" because of the way that the population is
sealed in and controlled by the Israeli military in a process of collective
punishment - is largely populated by refugees from the 1948 ethnic cleansing
that created Israel. Israel, in direct violation of international law and at
least 65 UN resolutions, refuses to allow any Palestinians to return to their
homes. Instead, Israel has established a system of Apartheid - recognized as
such by prominent figures such as Desmond Tutu and Jimmy Carter - that subjects
Palestinians to different laws that Israelis.
In response, Palestinian civil society has called for a
global citizens’ response by launching boycotts, implementing divestment
initiatives, and demanding sanctions against Israel, until Palestinian rights
are recognized in full compliance with international law.
The campaign for boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS)
is shaped by a rights-based approach and urges various forms of boycott against
Israel until it meets its obligations under international law by:
1) Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab
lands occupied in June 1967 and dismantling the Wall;
2) Recognizing the fundamental rights of the
Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and
3) Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of
Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in
UN Resolution 194.
“Israel needs to be held accountable for the atrocities
it is committing,” Joe says. “Boycotting Israeli products is peaceful way of
putting pressure on Israel, and it is an effective means to call for peace.”
