A ceasefire between Israel and armed Palestinian groups in Gaza went into effect yesterday (Monday, May 6) at 4:30 a.m., ending two days of intense fighting. Beginning on Saturday, Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups fired rockets from Gaza at communities within Israel, and Israel once again dropped bombs on the Gaza Strip. The violence has already taken a toll in human life in both Gaza and Israel: 23 Palestinians and 4 Israelis were killed as a result of the bombardments on each side of the border. Scores of others were wounded.
On Sunday, Hadash and the Communist Party of Israel (CPI) published a statement against further military escalation. “Waging another war in the Gaza Strip is a folly that will enhance no-one’s safety or well being. It will merely exacerbate the suffering of civilians on both sides. The Israeli government must lift the stifling blockade it has imposed on the residents of the Gaza Strip; Hamas must cease firing at civilians. Only a peace agreement can bring peace and security to both sides,” the statement said.
MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash) conveyed his condolences on Monday “to the families who lost their loved ones, and reiterates: the deliberate targeting of civilians undermines every moral, legal and human standard. There is no possible justification for such attacks, and they are a war crime under international humanitarian law.”
Hadash and CPI also called upon the public to participate in a demonstration against Israel’s 13-year siege of the Gaza Strip that will be held in Tel Aviv on the eve of the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. The Eurovision competition is scheduled to take place in the Tel Aviv municipal convention center with two semi-finals on May 14th and 16th, and the final on May 18. The demonstration will be held Tuesday May 14, at 7 pm, outside the Habima Square in Central Tel Aviv.
Among the organizers of the protest: Hadash, the Communist Party of Israel, Young Communist League of Israel (Banki-Shabiba), Mesarvot, Academy for Equality, Anther Voice, Meretz’s Fight the Occupation Forum, Amnesty International – Israel, Ta’ayush, Parents Circle Families Forum, Coalition of Women for Peace, All That’s Left: Anti-Occupation Collective and Combatants for Peace.
The Facebook page for the May 14 demonstration in Tel Aviv: https://he-il.facebook.com/events/1061762164012173/