Crescent International
Monday May 14, 2018
Turkey recalled its ambassadors from Israel as well as from the US; the first for massacring innocent Palestinians and second for illegally moving its embassy to Jerusalem. Turkish President Recept Tayip Erdogan also denounced Israel as a "terrorist state". It will be interesting to see whether he would make a clean break with the Zionist regime for its brutal killings of innocent Palestinians.
As 40,000 Palestinians from Gaza Strip participated in the Great Return March, the Zionist occupation army opened fire with live ammunition.
As of this writing, the gun-toting Zionists have killed at least 52 and wounded 2238 Palestinians in Gaza.
This is the highest death toll of Palestinians since the Great Return March was launched on March 30. It will culminate on May 15 marking 70 years of the Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe).
Nakba refers to the Palestinians being driven out of their homes and villages in 1948 by armed Zionist gangs. Thousands were massacred in cold blood while others were forced to flee in terror.
May 14 and 15 this year marks a double catastrophe for the Palestinians. One is the massacre of Palestinians—52 as of this writing but this number is certainly expected to rise—and the other is the US moving of its embassy to Jerusalem.
Today’s ceremony in Jerusalem was presided over by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who waxed eloquent about the ‘special relationship’ between the US and Israel.
Trump sent his son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka to the ceremony along with US Christian rightist leader Pastor John Hagee, among others. Hagee is a notorious Islamophobe who has called Islam a “cult”.
Canada and most European states boycotted the ceremony. South Africa did one better. It denounced Israel’s massacre of the Palestinians and recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv in protest.
The Arabian regimes that have diplomatic relations with Zionist Israel did not withdraw their ambassadors from Tel Aviv despite the slaughter of Palestinians.
Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and other Arabian regimes remained mum about the slaughter and the illegal US move to locate its embassy to Jerusalem.
The South African foreign minister issued the following statement as news of the Gaza massacre emerged.
“The South African government condemns in the strongest terms possible the latest act of violent aggression carried out by Israeli armed forces along the Gaza border, which has led to the deaths of over 40 civilians (now stands at 52). The victims were taking part in a peaceful protest…given the indiscriminate and grave manner of the latest Israeli attack, the South African government has taken a decision to recall Ambassador Sisa Ngombane with immediate effect until further notice."
Amnesty International slammed the killings saying: "We are witnessing an abhorrent violation of international law & human rights in #Gaza...Many are reporting injuries to the head and chest. Over 500 injured (now more than 2200) with live ammunition. This must end immediately.”
Since March 30, Israel has killed more 90 Palestinians including three journalists and injured more than 11,000 (many left with life altering disabilities).
Palestinians have been involved in non-violent protests but even that is not acceptable to the Zionist killers.
A #FreePalestine protest led by the African National Congress and the Muslim Judicial Council alongside the Alliance, BDS South Africa, Al Quds Foundation and other solidarity groups is scheduled for Tuesday May 15.
It will begin at 11:00 am and start from Keizergracht to the Parliament Building in Cape Town.
This will be followed by a picket at the US consulate in Sandton (Johannesburg) at 3pm.
Israel’s killing of Palestinians has become so frequent that much of the rest of the world treats each new massacre with a hardly represse...
Killing unarmed Palestinians is routine for the Zionists, as is the unqualified support of Western regimes for such war crimes.
Zionist Israel’s relentless bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip on the eve of Ramadan has killed 17 Palestinians and injured 110 others...
We should keep a record of Zionist crimes in Palestine, especially in Gaza. These should be properly documented with names of people killed ...
