Australian Muslims stand in solidarity with Palestinians Australia’s Muslim community is outraged at Israel’s mass murder of civilians in Gaza. United in their grief and concern for the escalating conflict in Gaza, Muslim communities across Australia will hold a Prayer Vigil at 8pm tonight as they gather at mosques. It is expected that approximately 150,000 people across the country will join the Prayer Vigil. The community is deeply disturbed by the Australian government’s silence. Sixteen days on and the international community, including Australia, remains largely silent as the Israeli army continues its deadly assault on Gaza. Over 650 innocent women, children and men have been killed in just 16 days. Entire families have been wiped out, hospitals bombed, and homes and suburbs destroyed. Indeed, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights yesterday expressed the view that Israel may be guilty of war crimes. Australia’s Muslim community condemns in the strongest possible terms the gross and disproportionate military assault by Israel– a military juggernaut and covert nuclear state– against the Palestinian people it occupies, besieges and controls. More than 1.5 million Palestinians are crammed into 140 square miles, the most densely populated area in the world. Israel controls Gaza’s airspace, waters and borders and has imposed a crippling blockade over Gaza. The community repudiates Israel’s claims to be acting in self defence. “It is sinister propaganda to suggest that Israel is acting in self-defence when it is raining down tonnes of bombs on a besieged, impoverished, defenceless population who, because of Israel’s blockade, are unable to even escape or flee,” says Randa Abdel-Fattah of PrayforGaza. Australia’s Muslim Community calls upon; • the Australian government to use its position at the UN Security Council to condemn Israel’s aggression and call upon Israel to put an end to their offensive, to acknowledge the oppression that the Palestinians endure, and to call for the blockade of Gaza to be lifted so that aid supplies can reach the Palestinian people; • the wider Australian community to lobby local government to take a position against Israel’s crimes against humanity and join the growing body of individuals and institutions who support the global Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement; • the international community to condemn the actions of Israel, call for an end to the airstrikes and incursions and prevent any further military action from taking place; • the United Nations to call out the human rights violations being committed against the Palestinians and implement sanctions against Israel; • media outlets to provide fair and objective reporting, to cease distorting coverage of Israel’s atrocities and to give Palestinians the dignity of having their plight reported truthfully. Australia’s Muslim Community urges the Australian government to stop being on the wrong side of history and to join the overwhelming majority of the world in recognizing all Palestinian Territories as occupied and all Israeli settlements as illegal.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 09:20:46 +0000
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