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As Israel’s bombardment of Gaza continues and its ground invasion looms, left parties from India, the Philippines and Malaysia stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people’s right to self determination and call for a political solution — not more loss of life.

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The Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) said: “The recent escalation of Palestinian resistance against Israel is the culmination of the anger and frustration of the Palestinian people over the prolonged blockade of the Gaza Strip, illegal occupation of the Palestinian homeland, ethnic cleansing, forced evictions, brutal assaults, violent repressions, bombings, and torture, committed by the Zionist apartheid regime of Israel.

“While we deplore the loss of civilian lives in the escalation of conflict, we must never forget to address the most fundamental cause of the Question of Palestine and the suffering of the Palestinian people – the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land for the last three-quarter century.

“The world needs a political solution to the conflict in Palestine and the Middle East, not a military solution, but any solution to bring about peace in the region can only be achieved through the recognition, respect, and realisation of the Palestinian right to self-determination, as well as an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

The PSM calls for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine; recognition, respect, and realization of the Palestinian right to self-determination; an immediate end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip; the fulfillment of the right of the Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland; a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel; and for all parties in the conflict to refrain from inflicting casualties on civilians.

“There will be no sustainable and lasting peace in Palestine and the Middle East, as long as the right to self-determination and justice for the Palestinian people are not upheld.”

The Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) in the Philippines is demanding an “immediate halt to Israel’s bombing and killing of the population of Gaza and for immediate peace negotiations towards a political settlement”.

The PLM called out “[t]he neo-fascist Netanyahu government” for intensifying its “violent repression of Palestinians since taking power earlier this year”.

The PLM recognises the Palestinians’ right to self-determination and “support[s] the Palestinian people’s right to self-defense and to resist the occupation”.

The PLM is calling for: an end to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine; an immediate end to the siege and blockade of Gaza; freedom for all Palestinian political prisoners; the right of return of all Palestinian refugees to their homeland; a boycott of Israel; and an end to the “neo-fascist Netanyahu regime”.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation (CPIML) said: “While the international community condemned the Hamas offensive and its brutal nature, Israel has turned it into a pretext to launch a genocidal war on the people of Gaza.

“Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has called Palestinians ‘human animals’ and the 'state of war' declared on Gaza entails actions including stopping all food supplies, water, electricity and fuel alongside a bombing campaign targeting hospitals, schools and homes.

“We appeal to the international community and the United Nations to intervene to save the lives of the more than 2 million people, nearly half of them children, who are trapped in the densely populated ‘open air concentration camp’ of Gaza. Shamefully, we are seeing the [United States] administration and its allies once again escalating military support for Israel, emboldening it to commit further war crimes.

“Narendra Modi was quick to express solidarity with Israel in the wake of the Hamas offensive but has kept quiet about the genocidal war declared by Israel on Gaza. Given the long history of colonial occupation of Palestine and the ongoing dispossession and oppression of its people, the only acceptable role for India is to help seek a political solution upholding the Palestinian right to a sovereign homeland, which is the only possible route to peace.

“Yet again, the Modi government and the BJP have turned a blind eye to the occupation and crimes perpetrated against the Palestinians, and are seeking to instrumentalise this situation to further fan the flames of hate against India’s own Muslim community.

“Students of Aligarh Muslim University have been booked for expressing solidarity with Palestine and a UP Minister has described AMU as a terrorist hub. Expressions of solidarity with Palestine are being branded as terrorism and 'jihad'.

“Indian foreign policy must work for immediate de-escalation of violence and enforcement of ceasefire and peace and facilitation of a political solution upholding the Palestinian right to freedom in a sovereign homeland.”

[Read the statements in full at links.org.au.]