Filipino youth under the Filipino Youth for Palestine, Anakbayan and League of Filipino Students marched to the Israeli embassy in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig City to once again condemn the US and Israel for their genocide in Gaza on May 15. As they neared the embassy, police and BGC guards blocked and violently attempted to disperse the rally. At least 15 youths were injured in police violence. After 45 minutes of insistence, they continued their program in front of the embassy.

The action is in solidarity with the international call to commemorate the 76th anniversary of Al Nakba when the Zionist movement first violently expelled the Palestinians from their land to establish the state of “Israel.” People worldwide are intensifying actions against Zionist Israel amid its indiscriminate bombing and attacks on Gaza. This includes the proliferation of encampments and protests inside US campuses.

“We condemn the Philippine National Police and the Taguig local government unit for violently dispersing, harassing and physically attacking young peaceful protesters in solidarity with the Palestinian people and against the ongoing genocide of the US and Israel in Palestine,” Kate Almenzo, Anakbayan spokesperson, said.

The Marcos regime is clearly standing with the genocide by the US and Israel in its mobilization of military and national resources to silence the youth, she said. They called on Taguig mayor Lani Cayetano and the Commission on Human Rights to investigate a police officer named Donato Jr (PMAJ 0-27649) who ordered the violent dispersal.

Other progressive and national-democratic groups held a separate protest in Quezon City on the same day.

“What we are witnessing today is worse than the 1948 Nakba,” said Liza Maza, general secretary of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS). “We stand with the Palestinians in their moral, historical, and just struggle to end the Zionist occupation, return to their lands, and live in a free and democratic Palestine.”

According to ILPS, the US-Zionist alliance has perpetuated misery not just for Palestinians but also for other peoples. “The very bullets and bombs claiming the lives of Palestinians are also used against the people of India and the Philippines,” it said.

In 2024, the Philippines is the second largest buyer of Israeli weapons, while India was the largest. Thus, Marcos and Modi (prime minister of India) are not only puppets of the US but also supporters of genocide in their continued support of the Zionist state’s arms, the ILPS said.

Since October 7, 2023 alone, Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza, and more than 1.9 million have been displaced and driven out of their communities.