THE Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has reiterated its call for a ceasefire and end to the hostilities and appalling bloodshed being caused by the bombardments, shelling and ground invasion taking place between Israel and Palestine in Gaza.
This follows a statement made by President Donald Ramotar last week to the effect that the current situation is an apartheid one that is horrible from a humanitarian point of view, and amounts to the worst kind of human rights violation.
President Ramotar noted that “this is a tremendous blotch to the conscience of human beings all over the world, to have something like this taking place.
“This is an apartheid situation that exists, and the relationship that exists with Palestinians and Israelis; it is an unacceptable situation and terrible violation… the worst kind of violation of human rights that is existing at this point in time,” the President stressed.
Denouncing the current situation, which shows no sign of a truce in the near future, President Ramotar joined the call for an end to the situation, while maintaining that this type of action is “condemned most vehemently,” especially during the twenty-first century.
The Caribbean Community is questioning whether the principles of proportionality and the norms of international humanitarian law and international human rights are being respected in the assault on Gaza, considering that the vast majority of those brutally murdered and severely injured are women and children.
Added to this, hundreds of homes along with other civilian buildings, such as schools and hospitals, have been demolished or damaged to some extent.
“The continuing launching of rockets from Gaza targeting the Israeli civilian population is in breach of these norms, as is the location of firing sites and weapons close to United Nations schools used as shelters, as well as close to concentrations of civilians,” CARICOM has said.
As such, CARICOM member states are calling for all parties involved to cease hostilities and end the intolerable escalation of death, destruction and violence.
An escalation of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict began on June 7, 2014 following a series of events, including the collapse of American-sponsored peace talks; attempts by rival Palestinian factions to form a coalition government; the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers, and the subsequent kidnapping and murder of a Palestinian teenager; and increased rocket attacks on Israel by Hamas militants.
As the war between the Arabs and the Jews continue, the Palestinian death toll up until yesterday had mounted to at least 1,669 people, with more than 8,300 injured and wounded. These statistics were released by the Gaza Health Ministry, which also recorded that over 70% of medical institutes have been destroyed.
Sixty-three Israeli soldiers and three civilians were recorded to have been killed in the Gaza ground offensive as of yesterday.
