The statement below was issued Oct. 7 by Muhammed Desai on behalf of Africa4Palestine

Early this morning, Palestinian resistance groups and fighters launched a massive, multipronged surprise operation on Apartheid Israel in response to the Israeli regime’s recent killings of civilians in the Palestinian West Bank and its ongoing illegal occupation of Palestine.

For decades, the people of Palestine have been enduring a brutal, illegal and unlawful occupation by Apartheid Israel. The human rights organization #Africa4Palestine, together with fellow Africans, salute the Palestinians as they continue to rise in defense of their land, families and human rights.

Under international law, all oppressed peoples have the right to armed self-defense. Several United Nations resolutions affirm this. The U.N. General Assembly, in 1983, reaffirmed “the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for their independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial domination, apartheid and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle.”

The international community should be consistent in supporting armed self-defense of sovereignty. Israel’s ongoing oppression and its military attacks on Gaza, together with its over 15 year siege, is entirely illegal under international law and the root cause of the issue.

In South Africa, the masses of our people, similar to the Palestinians, said enough is enough, and resorted, eventually, like the Palestinians, to armed struggle to gain our freedom.

Nelson Mandela, speaking in the Palestinian Gaza Strip in 1999, explained: “The lesson of history is that for the masses of the people, the methods of political action which they use are determined by the oppressor himself. If the oppressor uses peaceful means, the oppressed would never resort to violence. It is when the oppressor — in addition to his repressive policies — uses violence, that the oppressed have no alternative but to retaliate by similar forms of action. 

“And, therefore, the pains, the blood that was spilled, and the responsibility for that lies squarely on the shoulders of the [oppressive] regime … Our men and women with vision choose peace rather than confrontation, except in cases where we cannot proceed, where we cannot move forward, then, if the only alternative is violence, we will use violence.”

Africans across the continent will be rolling out solidarity actions in support of the Palestinian people and fellow peace-loving peoples are encouraged to join.

Africa4Palestine is a registered Non-Profit Company. For more info visit africa4palestine.com