World Affairs
Great March of Return by Palestinian People
Decades long struggle of
Palestinian people for their Home
Land continues. All these years,
the imperialist powers, more
particularly the US imperialists, on
one hand, had been extending all
help to the Israeli rulers to wage
the wars of invasion, armed attacks,
grabbing of Palestinian lands and
commit all sorts of crimes against
the Palestinian people. On the
other hand, they were busy in
dividing the Palestinian people and
weakening their struggle so as to
push them into a helpless state
where the imperialists can dictate
a solution more favourable to
Israeli occupiers.
Certain areas of Palestine are
ruled by the Hamas as well as
Palestinian Authority. But these
areas are continuously attacked,
encroached upon and forcibly
occupied by the Israeli rulers.
Lakhs of people, who were forcibly
kicked out of their lands at various
times, are waiting to return to their
homes. Most of the Gaza residents
or their descendants are
“refugees” of the first Arab – Israel
War. These “refugees” are living in
wretched conditions of life always
threatened by attacks and
brutalities from the Israeli rulers. In
2009, the Israeli armed forces had
resorted to a war of aggression
against Gaza and subjected the
Palestinian people to the acts of
genocide. So, these conditions
have made the struggle to defend
their own lives, homes and means
of life an inseparable part of
Palestinian people’s lives.
An Israeli blockade is
continuing along a 225 km. long
strip of land along the Gaza’s Israel
border for over a decade. Egypt
too had joined this blockade in
recent times. Practically, these
blockades had cut off the entire
May - 2018
strip of land from rest of the world.
The blockade had heavily
restricted the movement of goods
as well as people into and out of
Gaza and had virtually turned the
entire territory into an open – air
prison for the Palestinian people.
So, the Palestinian people had
begun a six – week sit-in protest
March on March 30, 2018 along the
225 km. long Israeli – Palestinian
border to demand the lifting of
Israeli blockade and also in support
of the right of Palestinian people
to return to their homes from which
they were forcibly driven out by the
Israeli Zionists in 1948. This protest
March is participated by tens of
thousands of Palestinian people. It
is called “The Great March of
Return”. It is scheduled to
culminate on May 15, when the
Palestinian people mark “Nakba” or
“Catastrophe” – the day when
hundreds of thousands of
Palestinian people were forced to
flee or driven out of their homes in
1948. This March is considered as
the biggest mass action by the
Palestinian people since 2014.
But the Israeli troops had
indiscriminately fired at the
peaceful marchers and killed 27
people. They fired the teargas
shells and wounded at least 1400
people. These brutal attacks and
killings had triggered off wide-
spread condemnation from the
people and human Rights groups
in the world.
But, the Israeli rulers, as usual,
arrogantly refuse to take the
responsibility for the crimes of their
troops against the Palestinian
people. The Israeli Defence
Minister even said that the “Israeli
soldiers deserve a medal” as they
did what was necessary to protect
the borders. A statement, drafted
by Kuwait on March 31, 2018,
calling for an independent
investigation into the killings was
blockaded by the US in the UNSC.
So, the Palestinian pwop0le
have no other way except to
continue and further intensify their
struggle for their just rights. All the
justice and peace loving people
must extend their support and
solidarity to the ongoing protest
movement and demands of the
Palestinian people like; 1) The
Israeli rulers must lift the blockade
to enable the Palestinian people to
move freely and with no restrictions
in and out of Gaza; ii) to suitably
punish those responsible for the
killing of Palestinian people in the
context of March, 2018 peoples
March; iii) the Palestinian people
who were driven out of their homes
at different times since 1948 must
be allowed to freely return to their
homes and live with all rights.
C.P.I(ML) Publication
Centenary of
Great October Socialist Revolution
Seminar Papers
For Details:
P.Jaswantha Rao, Secretary,
T.N.Memorial Trust, 32-13-26/1,
M.R.Puram, Vijayawada, pin-520 010.
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