The people of Negros strongly condemned the visit of Israeli Ambassador Ilan Fluss to the island on June 3 to meet with Negros Occidental governor Eugenio Lacson in Bacolod City. Negrenses for Palestine called on Lacson, and all government leaders, to suspend diplomatic relations with Israel in condemnation of the genocide it is waging against the Palestinians.

Lacson and Fluss discussed possible collaborations for sustainable agriculture and water management technology. “[This was discussed] while the Israeli government is destroying agricultural land in Palestine, imposing a water embargo on Palestinians in Gaza, and murdering thousands of Palestinians,” Negrenses for Palestine said.

The last count as of June 4, Zionist Israel’s genocide has killed 36,550, including 15,000 children, and 82,959 has been reportedly injured. Almost two million Palestinians have been driven from their homes and lands.

Even the Israeli-designated “safe zone” of Rafah in the southern part of Gaza has been repeatedly bombed and attacked. On May 26, an Israeli airstrike on the “tent camp” in Al-Sultan in Rafah killed at least 49 people and injured 250. Two days later, Israeli forces bombed the tent camp in Al-Masawi in Rafah killing 21 Palestinians and injuring 64 people.

Israel defied a ruling by the International Court of Justice, the main judicial organ of the United Nations, on May 24 that mandated an “immediate cessation of the military offensive, and any other action in Rafah.”

Negrenses for Palestine said it is important to cut ties with Israel to avoid being used, and fall for their propaganda and covering up over its war crimes in Gaza.

“We must join the broader international community in holding Israel accountable for its actions, in demanding an immediate halt to military offensives and full and safe access for humanitarian aid to the Palestinians,” he added.