As Grupo de Puebla and representatives of Latin American progressive forces, we feel compelled to talk about and express our active solidarity with the people of Palestine in the face of imminent annexation of occupied Palestinian territory, which Israel is planning to start tomorrow. Latin American progressive forces have solidarity amongst the people in its core values and we stand with Palestine for justice, freedom, and equality, which have been achieved through decades of concrete actions. We are committed with unrestricted respect for human rights and Right of peoples to self-determination. This is why we adopt an active position against the Israeli violations of international law.
The imminent annexation of parts of the West Bank of occupied Palestine territories added to many years of denial of the right to return to Palestinian refugees; the military occupation and the colonization of the West Bank, included eastern Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the Syrian Golan Heights. The International Court of Justice, in its 2004 decision on the legal consequences of Israel’s construction of the wall, has already recognized the persistence of the wall and settlements as a de facto annexation. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has warned that Gaza is uninhabitable since 2020.
Israel tries to take advantage of the Donald Trump administration and the rise of right-wing governments around the world, as well as the global health crisis, to carry out the final annexation of the occupied territories. This not only denies the possibility of the existence of the Palestinian State but it is part of a broader attempt to undermine the value of international law and weaken the United Nations as a framework for international relations. In its place comes the law of the jungle, racism, and impunity for crimes and human rights violations.
We listen to the call of Palestinian civil society, issued in light of the impending annexation, and understand that the current moment forces us to ask for concrete and effective countermeasures from the international community, as well as to commit ourselves to act.
The time has come for States, multilateral organizations, and the United Nations, in compliance with international law, to impose specific sanctions on Israel, including a military embargo and the
suspension of agreements and privileges granted. We need to stop the annexation of Palestinian territory. It is essential to reactivate the United Nations mechanisms to fight apartheid.
We call on our parliaments and governments to send a clear message to Israel, regarding respect for human rights and international law, and to take the actions recommended by the Palestinian civil society movement for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS). Regarding the prohibition of the entry of products and companies from illegal settlements. For this, it is important to support the database on companies in illegal settlements developed by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and to ensure that it is constantly improved, updated, and publicly shared.
Our peoples can only prosper in a world based on unrestricted respect for human rights, therefore the Palestinian cause is our cause as well.
- Jorge Taiana
- Celso Amorim
- José Miguel Insulza
- Clara López
- Marco Enríquez-Ominami
- Carlos Sotelo
- Carlos Ominami
- Gabriela Rivadeneira
- Esperanza Martínez
- Karol Cariola
- Fernando Lugo
- Hugo Martínez
- Alejandro Navarro
- Aloizio Mercandante
- Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas
- Guillaume Long
- Fernando Haddad
- Alejandro Navarro
- Mónica Xavier
- Ernesto Samper
- David Choquehuanca
- Daniel Martínez
- Verónika Mendoza
- Rafael Correa