THE Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) condemns Israel’s continued genocide in Gaza, the killing of Palestinians, and the wanton destruction of property in the Occupied West Bank, and its terrorist attack on the citizens of Lebanon.

Israel has now killed more than 41,000 Palestinians in Gaza, of which more than 60% are women and children.

Israel’s latest atrocity has been described by none other than former United States secretary of defence and former CIA chief Leon Panetta as terrorism. ‘I don’t think there’s any question that it’s a form of terrorism,’ said Panetta, who also served as secretary of defence under former US president Barack Obama.

Over 30 persons were killed and over 3,000 seriously wounded in the attack using small explosives in pagers. Doctors in Lebanon have reported that in treating the injured, they have had to remove one eye or both eyes in many of the cases. This was followed up by even more people being killed when bombs planted in walkie-talkies were exploded.

If any organisation or state engaged in such murders, the United States, Europe and their allies would have been extremely loud in their condemnation, labelling this an act of terrorism.

We note their deafening silence and hypocrisy when such acts are carried out by Israel. This has now opened a can of worms for other terrorists to now use these tactics in cellphones, tablets, laptops, etc, and has made the world a much more dangerous place.

MSJ congratulates the recent move by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to recognise the state of Palestine and establish diplomatic ties-an act that has been long overdue.

It is worthy to note that the states which refuse to support the aspirations of the people of Palestine are the traditional colonial and imperialist powers of the world headed by the United States. This group of countries is responsible for millions of deaths, many genocides and atrocities against people of the Global South, and they continue to seek hegemonic power and domination over the planet.

Israel has been condemned in the court of international opinion by a majority of the world’s nations; found guilty of genocide, racism and apartheid by the International Court of Justice and the Interna-tional Criminal Court. Israel, while claiming to be democratic, has killed more journalists than any other state in recent times, has jailed many others, has denied access to western media to Gaza and has shut down Al Jazeera, first in Israel and now in the West Bank. Any other state doing this would be condemned as being undemocratic. Israel continues to act with impunity because of the backing of the US and many European states.

We reiterate our call on the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to make a small contribution to the struggle of the people of Palestine and the Middle East for the right to live, for dignity and respect for their right to self-determination by further isolating Israel on the world stage by cutting all diplomatic, economic, cultural and sporting ties with this genocidal and apartheid state.

Gregory Fernandez chairperson, MSJ