15 October 2023 | Yousef Mursi
Speech made at Stop the Cycle of Violence gathering in Prague on 15 October 2023. More speeches in Czech here.
Today, we gather in unity and solidarity, echoing the poignant words of the Jewish Voice for Peace, to shed light on the dire situation unfolding in the palestinian Israeli conflict, quoting a statement by the jewish voice for peace:
“Right now, Palestinians, Israelis and all of us with family on the ground are terrified for loved ones. We grieve the lives of those already lost and remain committed to a future where every life is precious, and all people live in freedom and safety.
Following 16 years of Israeli military blockade, Palestinian fighters from Gaza launched an unprecedented assault, in which hundreds of Israelis were killed and wounded, and civilians kidnapped. The Israeli government declared war, launching airstrikes, killing hundreds of Palestinians and wounding thousands, bombing residential buildings and threatening to commit war crimes against besieged Palestinians in Gaza.
The Israeli government may have just declared war, but its war on Palestinians started over 75 years ago. Israeli apartheid and occupation and United States complicity in that oppression – are the source of all this violence. Reality is shaped by when you start the clock.
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