Monday, March 23, 2015

GAZA CITY, GAZA - MARCH 21: Members of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) wave PFLP flags during solidarity demonstration with Venezuela on March 21, 2015 in Gaza City, Gaza. PFLP members stage a protest the US President Barack Obama's statements regarding Venezuela. (Photo by Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) Credit: Anadolu Agency / contributor

International Women’s Day: Statement from the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees


On March 8, International Women’s Day, the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees extend our solidarity and commitment to joint struggle to all activists and campaigners for freedom around the world who are confronting the forces of colonialism, exploitation, occupation, discrimination and racism and struggling for freedom, equality, justice and dignity; to those who defend self-determination of peoples, sovereignty over their resources and capabilities, and liberation from all forms of oppression; and to those who seek true peace with justice.

On this International Women’s Day, the rights of women around the world are violated in numerous ways: through wars and armed conflicts, through the power and oppression of racism; through reactionary forces in many regions, including in the Arab world, where such forces carry the support of imperalism to benefit its clear colonial objectives for control of peoples and their resources. Imperialism in our region has resulted in an increasing number of victims of its policies and ever more risk to the lives of people, especially women and children.

In Palestine, which is still under the yoke of Zionist settler colonialism, the Zionist movement seeks to proclaim its “democracy” and “progressiveness,” but in reality is committed to a mission of racism, murder, destruction and criminality. Palestinian women are struggling for the freedom of their people, and their message is one of insistence on freedom and refusal to compromise our rights, whether national or social, and thus continue their legitimate struggle for the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people, the right of return of Palestinian refugees, the right of self-determination, of full sovereignty, and the right to Jerusalem as capital of an independent Palestinian state. At the same time, Palestinian women struggle for full equality in all economic and social fields, ending all forms of discrimination against them in the legal and social fields and the development of laws in line with international conventions upholding the rights of women.

Mass rally in Amman demands cancellation of gas deal with Zionist state


The Jordanian National Campaign to Stop the Zionist Gas Deal organized a mass rally in Amman, Jordan, under the slogan “Yes to dignity and sovereignty, no to subordination and dependence,” with the participation of national figures, parliamentarians, political parties, labor unions and popular and youth movements in front of the Professional Associations Complex, denouncing official normalization and the gas deal with the Zionist entity.

The demonstration rejected the Wadi Araba agreement and all agreements with the occupation state,
noting that the gas deal is a disgrace that must come to an immediate end. The Jordanian people have rejected this deal while the government defends it, said the protest organizers. In addition, the protesters called for the cancellation of the “Red Sea – Dead Sea” water deal and cancelling the entire Wadi Araba treaty which represents humiliation and subjugation to the Zionist entity.

PFLP commemorates Martyrs’ Day in Gaza with commitment to resistance and liberation

PFLP commemorates Martyrs’ Day in Gaza with commitment to resistance and liberation

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in central Gaza held a large festival commemorating Martyrs’ Day, the 42nd anniversary of the martyrdom of the leader Comrade Mohammed al-Aswad (“Guevara Gaza”), member of the Political Bureau of the Front, and his comrades Abdelhadi al-Hayek and Kamel al-‘Amsi, who fought to their last breath against the Zionist forces on March 9, 1973. The PFLP forces they led were renowned for their strong military resistance to the occupation in Gaza.

The event included a ceremony honoring the families and children of the martyrs who have fallen in the struggle of the Front and of the Palestinian people, pledging to remain on the path for which they gave their lives, for the revolution and the liberation of Palestine.

A large number of families of martyrs and prisoners participated in the event, which was led by Comrade Jamil Mizher, leader of the PFLP in Gaza, and his comrades in the Political Bureau, Comrades Maryam Abu Daqqa, Rabah Muhanna, Kayed al-Ghoul and Ghazi Sourani.

Comrade Lina Abu Sharkh opened the event, recalling the Palestinian cities and villages that have produced the many martyrs who have fallen for Palestine, pledging that the Front will not forget the sacrifices of the martyrs.

7 wounded by occupation forces as Bir Zeit students march in memory of the martyr Comrade Saji Darwish

7 wounded by occupation forces as Bir Zeit students march in memory of the martyr Comrade Saji Darwish
The Progressive Democratic Student Pole at Bir Zeit University convened a rally of students on campus which traveled to Ofer Prison on Tuesday, March 10, commemorating the one-year anniversary of the slaying of Comrade Saji Darwish, a student at Bir Zeit University, by occupation forces.

Dozens of students were attacked by the Zionist occupation forces as they marched near Ofer, firing tear gas and rubber-coated metal bullets at the students and wounding 7. One student, Bayan Safi, was arrested, beaten and detained for several hours by occupation forces.

Progressive Student Action Front in Gaza launches “1 Shekel Book” campaign


The Progressive Student Action Front at the Islamic University of Gaza launched the “1 Shekel Book Campaign” in response to the economic crisis being experienced by students in Gaza as a result of the ongoing Israeli siege.

Hundreds of students from all fields and levels of study are participating in the campaign’s services, especially after being faced with large increases in the prices of textbooks.

Comrade Haithem Abu Warda, the secretary of the Progressive Student Action Front at the Islamic University noted that many students cannot afford textbooks and must borrow books from their fellow students; the main objective of this campaign is to reduce the burden on students, he noted. Abu Warda noted that all students have benefitted from the campaign, of diverse political organizations and backgrounds.

The campaign has so far found an overwhelming response, particularly for the distribution of the book “Palestine Studies,” because of its relatively high cost; it is also required for most students at the university.

Previous campaigns have include free textbook initiatives and campaigns for free education for all. This campaign is part of the Front’s commitment to struggle for education for all and defend the rights of the popular classes to education.

In a separate context, Musa Ahmed, a student at the university urged that student elections be conducted according to the principle of proportional representation rather than individual lists, in order to produce a committed student union of high responsibility and to prevent a monopoly within the student union. 

PFLP stands in solidarity with Venezuela against US sanctions and threats

PFLP stands in solidarity with Venezuela against US sanctions and threats
 
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine expressed its full solidarity with Venezuela in confronting US sanctions aimed at overthrowing the democratic Bolivarian government of Venezuela and undermining the will of its people, who have continually resisted US capitalism and imperialism.

  The US is making clear its ongoing and continuous policy seeking to return Venezuela under the boot of US imperialism and the dictates of US policy, as was the case in the past before the Bolivarian Revolution and the election of the late President Hugo Chavez. The Front expressed its solidarity with the people of Venezuela, the government and the President, Nicolas Maduro, in continuing to resist such attempts to undermine the future of Venezuela’s popular development.

Comrade Kayed al-Ghoul, member of the Political Bureau of the PFLP, urged all progressive and democratic movements in the world to stand with Venezuela, noting the mass support of the people – and governments – of Latin America for Venezuela’s self-determination and sovereignty, rejecting and resisting the US attempt to isolate the Bolivarian Republic for its leading role in Latin America and the world in rejecting US imperialism.

Al-Ghoul added that the Front is confident that Venezuela will continue to be a thorn in the side of US capitalism and global hegemony, and a country and people who consistently stand by the side of the Palestinian people and all peoples who stand for liberation and resistance to US imperialism, which pursues global policies of plunder, exploitation, underdevelopment, occupation, war and subjugation against the peoples and oppressed nations of the world in order to further its interests.