Greece: 15 Athens Economic Blockade for Palestine, Statement for April 15th

Monday April 15th

We are an initiative of people in Solidarity with the Palestinian Resistance and we denounce the genocide of the Palestinian people perpetrated by the colonial state of Israel.

The tactics of the Israeli army are among the most horrific and inhumane ever seen- the indiscriminate air strikes, the consistant humiliation and starvation,the bombardment of hospitals and camps -, and they confirm with certainty the historic will of the apartheid regime of Israel to annihilate Palestine and the Palestinian people, which began with the “Catastrophe”/”Naqba” in 1948 and led to the displacement of 7.6 million Palestinians, the majority of Palestinian society.

As we enter the seventh month of horrific attacks by the Zionist Occupation Military Forces throughout Gaza and other Palestinian territories, which have claimed over 35 000 victims, including over 13 000 children, the silence and complicity of most Western governments, supposed guardians of human rights, is intolerable.

At the same time, mass demonstrations around the world show that the people do not consent to the merciless violence being perpetrated in Palestine. As each month passes the number of those murdered by Israel increases in its thousands, and these passing months have demonstrated our ‘democracies’ do not listen to our chants, our placards and our banners calling for an end to genocide. It is clear that such protest actions are no longer enough to stop the Israeli/US/EU war machine.

This is why we are at the port of Perama today, following the international call from A15Action for a coordinated global economic blockade. Our aim is to stop and disrupt the smooth flow of the global economy that facilitates the war against the Palestinian people and from which many companies benefit. One of them is ZIM SHIPPING.

ZIM Shipping was founded in 1945 and is an Israeli freighter company which transports arms and military equipment to and from the State of Israel. It is also one of the top 20 global carriers involved in international trade. ZIM has played an integral and ongoing role in the development of the fascist occupation of Palestine and the subsequent Israeli war machine. No war and no genocide can happen without logistical assistance from companies like ZIM and without the support of allied governments including the Greek state.

Greece’s complicity in the genocide of the Palestinians is proven in many ways:

the broad military and economic agreements with Israel that are vital to the entire military logistics of Israel, NATO and the EU in the Middle East,

the $1.65 billion defence deal, whereby Israel’s Elbit Systems uses the Kalamata airbase as a training centre for the Greek air force.

ships leaving for the Red Sea to participate in military missions against Yemen that serve as locations for NATO- and Israel-operated bases.

For these reasons the war in Palestine is not far away, and we need today more than ever a strong international solidarity to unite us against regimes whose only interest is money and the division of peoples.

AGAINST COLONIALISM, IMPERIALISM, THE MURDERER STATE OF ISRAEL AND THE COMPLICIT GREEK STATE

FOR A FREE PALESTINE, WHICH WILL FREE US ALL.

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY IS OUR WEAPON