Justice for Palestine

The catastrophe facing the Palestinian people is one of the defining global justice issues of our time. A third generation of Palestinian children is now being brought up in refugee camps inside and outside Palestine, living in chronic poverty and denied the right to return to their family homes. Hundreds of thousands more Palestinians suffer discrimination over access to public services, land rights and employment within Israel itself.

For those living in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the situation is critical. Israel's siege of Gaza has condemned its 1.5 million inhabitants to levels of poverty more commonly associated with sub-Saharan Africa – a humanitarian disaster with no end in sight. In the West Bank, the expansion of Israeli settlements, the continued construction of the Apartheid Wall, the military closure of the Jordan Valley and the annexation of East Jerusalem are creating an irreversible reality of permanent Occupation.

All the above actions are illegal under international law. Yet no Western government has been willing to call Israel to account for its crimes. Instead, the US, UK and other governments have consistently rewarded Israeli aggression with economic benefits and closer political ties.

This is why it is up to ordinary people around the world to take action. War on Want supports the call from Palestinian civil society to build a global movement of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law and meets the following three demands: an end to the Occupation; the right of return for Palestinian refugees; and equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel itself.

Tags: campaigns | conflict zones | fighting occupation | palestine