MEMORANDUM ON THE CURRENT ISRAELI WAR ON GAZA, 9 JAN 2009

The Coalition of Malaysian NGOs Against Persecution of Palestinians (COMPLETE) condemns in no uncertain terms the current Israeli war on Gaza.

The tragedy speaks of yet another horrendous crime perpetrated by the Zionist regime of Israel on the occupied territory of Palestine. The 18-month old unprecendented total siege and blockade of Gaza by the Zionist regime, backed by the US, has never shown sign of let off. Instead it continues with the air and sea bombardments followed by the ground invasion of Gaza, killing nearly 800 and injuring more than 3000 Palestinians as of today, most of whom are civilians including a high number of women and children.

The Zionist regime in her true form, continues to deceive the international community by claiming legitimacy of such heinuous crime in the act of self defence. It targets the so-called ‘rocket launching’ sites of Palestinian fighters by indiscriminately pounding sites smacked right in the middle of a Palestinian neighbourhood. In defiance of international law and the Geneva convention, Israeli indiscrimately attacks innocent civilians by training their guns and weapons on population centres.

The end of the 6-month truce in December has provided Israel the long awaited moment to unleash her calculated military solution to deal with the Hamas government of Gaza. The truth is, Israel with unequivocal US backing, will never stop at anything to ensure a continued occupation of Gaza and the occupied Palestine. This is the reason behind the recent military incursions into Gaza.

This is the very reason why, against all sense of decency and humanitarian considerations, Gaza is placed under complete siege without access to food, medicine, fuel and assistance from the international community. There is only one single objective on the Zionist agenda i.e. to subjugate and break the spirit of the Palestinian people so that they give up their national aspirations and fight for the liberation of their land from occupation.

We call upon the United States of America to demand Israel to immediately cease all hostilities and aggression against the Palestinians in Gaza and withdraw from Gaza without any preconditions, lift the siege and allow uninterrupted flow of international humanitarian and medical aid across all border crossings permanently.

We urge the United States to be receptive to the demands of the United Nations and the International Community and hold Israel accountable and responsible for the current human tragedy sustained by the people of Gaza. We hold the government of the United States of America responsible for the deaths, destruction and sufferings of the Palestinians due to the wanton acts of Israel.

Yours faithfully,

Adnan Mohd Tahir
Chairman, COMPLETE