The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), along with the Filipino working class and people, stands in solidarity with all democratic forces worldwide in their support of the revolutionary resistance of the Palestinian people as they mark one year in their fight against the aggression and occupation of their land by the US-supported Zionist forces in Israel.

The Party condemns the Zionist state of Israel for its indiscriminate and incessant bombing of homes and civilian infrastructure in Gaza. It has dropped thousands of tons of bombs, killing no fewer than 41,000 people, more than 27,000 of whom are women and children. At least 10,000 individuals remain missing and are believed to be buried in the rubble caused by the bombing. Almost the entire population of Gaza has been displaced, with over 60% of homes destroyed. Public utilities and medical facilities have almost completely collapsed. The people of Gaza, especially children, are suffering from disease due to hunger, as well as lack of clean water and sanitation. Even the news media, sympathizers, humanitarian agencies and aid are not spared from attacks by Israel.

The year-long bombing and occupation of Gaza represent a disproportionate response to the October 7, 2023 armed uprising carried out by the freedom fighters of Palestine. On that day, they mounted armed offensives against military bases and facilities of the so-called Israeli Defense Forces and took prisoners. This was launched by a broad array of resistance groups in Palestine, including Islamic forces (Hamas), the People’s Front for the Liberation of Palestine, as well as other democratic, armed and unarmed revolutionary forces.

The uprising, known as the Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, aimed to resist the escalating oppression and political repression by Zionist Israel against Palestinians in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank. It now forms another historic chapter in the continuing struggle of the Palestinian people for national liberation and their right to self-determination.

More than 75 years ago, Zionist or Jewish ultra-nationalist forces, supported by US and British imperialism, executed massacres and various forms of violence to drive the Palestinian people from their homes and land. The Al Nakba (or The Catastrophe) set the stage for establishing the state of Israel. The Palestinian people were forced to flee to Jordan (West Bank) and the Gaza Strip, or seek refuge in different parts of the world. Since 1967, the Zionist Israel has occupied the West Bank and imprisoned Palestinians in fenced off communities. The Gaza Strip has since been an open air prison, constantly under watch and under siege by Israeli forces.

The ruthlessness and barbarity of 75 years of Zionist and imperialist oppression have been matched only by the ardent and relentless resistance of the Palestinian people. They have manifested their determination to resist through wars and Intifadas, characterized by the heroism and selfless sacrifice of countless martyrs. The armed offensives on October 7, 2023, by the Palestinian resistance fighters marked a new milestone in their historic struggle to free their people from the shackles of oppression.

The past year has seen unprecedented suppression carried out by the Zionist Israeli state, supported by the US and its allied imperialists. Since October 2023, the US Congress has approved at least $12.5 billion in military assistance to Israel to expedite the delivery of missiles, bombs and other weapons that have been used to slaughter the Palestinian people. The US imperialists have delivered more than 10,000 tons of bombs and artillery to Israel, ignoring the worldwide calls for a stop to the bombing of Gaza and to the genocidal war of the Zionist state. The Biden government’s call for a ceasefire is hypocritical and merely aims to obscure its role in the genocide. It makes the grossly foolish claim that the genocide of Palestinians are part of “Israel’s right to defend itself.”

Israel’s genocidal war and expansion of US military aid have directly benefited American arms manufacturers such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, General Dynamics and Raytheon—all supplying Israel with various military equipment, vehicles, technologies, bombs and other weapons. Billions of dollars of US foreign military aid to Israel are funneled back to US arms manufacturers whose profits have skyrocketed since the bombing of Gaza began.

The strategic aim of US imperialism is to maintain and strengthen its hegemony in the Middle East in order to secure its interests in the vast oil reserves and other resources. The US has used Israel as its foothold by providing it with vast military and economic funding. Israel is the largest recipient of US foreign military financing, receiving $3 billion annually in 2009-2018; and $3.8 billion annually since 2019 until 2028.

With tacit US support, Israel has escalated its war in the Middle East through attacks against Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iran, whose people and resistance fighters have supported the Palestinians. Recently, the Zionist Israeli state remotely detonated pagers and walkie-talkies, and launched missile attacks on residential areas in southern Lebanon and Beirut, killing over 500 civilians, while assassinating key leaders of the Hezbollah movement. Acting as a US proxy, the Zionist state of Israel aims to provoke a wider war in the Middle East, targeting countries which have firmly defended their sovereignty, especially Iran, against which the US has openly declared hostilities.

The viciousness and wanton crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Zionist state of Israel in collusion with US imperialism have roused global indignation. Millions worldwide have demonstrated their outrage against the genocide in Gaza as well as in the Occupied West Bank. In a number of countries, including the US, they too are being suppressed because of their solidarity with the Palestinian people. They are, however, undeterred because they draw inspiration from the boundless determination of the Palestinian people and their revolutionary forces to continue their resistance. They seek not only justice, but also a lasting solution to the conflict that hinges on putting an end to both Zionism and imperialism.

The ruthless genocide being carried out by the Zionist state of Israel with support from the imperialist US government, is clear evidence of the bankruptcy and rottenness of the global capitalist system. Imperialist powers are increasingly obsessed with wars as they fight one another to secure and expand their hegemony and control over sources of raw materials, spheres of influence and fields of investment. The leading imperialist power, the US, is also the most active in promoting and provoking wars in different parts of the globe amid an increasingly desperate situation arising from an insoluble crisis.

The Party calls on the Filipino to heighten their support to the Palestinian people as they face the relentless armed aggression and occupation of Gaza by the Zionist Israeli forces. The Party enjoins the proletariat, working people and democratic classes across the globe to strengthen their support for the just and necessary struggle of the Palestinian people for national liberation and their right to self-determination. The fight to end Israel’s ruthless and genocidal war is firmly linked to the struggle of the working class, all the oppressed peoples, and countries defending national sovereignty, to fight and end all imperialist wars.

Fight the US-supported Zionist genocide against the Palestinian people!

Support the Palestinian people in their struggle for national liberation and the right to self-determination!

Workers, all oppressed peoples, and countries defending national sovereignty, unite and wage revolutionary wars to fight imperialist wars!

Dismantle the US war machine!

Down with Zionism! Down with imperialism!

Fight for national liberation and socialism!