The Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) denounces the cowardly and illegal attack by Israeli commandos on a flotilla of six ships bearing humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, who have been suffering under a multi-year Israeli blockade.
Though the Israeli government claims they were attacked first, eyewitness accounts contradict this. At least nine and perhaps many more of the unarmed civilian volunteers, from several countries, were killed in the unprovoked attack, which took place in international waters on ships flying the Turkish and U.S. flags.
The CPUSA joins with nations, parties, organizations and people of goodwill everywhere in denouncing the attack and demanding an end to the inhumane blockade of Gaza, which has caused incalculable suffering to innocent men, women and children.
Further, the CPUSA congratulates the brave individuals, who include a Holocaust survivor, an Irish Nobel laureate and several retired U.S. civil and military officials as well as citizens of as many as 50 nations, who put their own lives on the line by accompanying the humanitarian flotilla.
The CPUSA expresses our sympathy and solidarity with the families of the people who were killed in the illegal Israeli action.
The CPUSA further demands:
* An accounting by the Israeli government for this violation of international law, with punishment for those who ordered and perpetrated it, no matter how high their position.
* The release of all persons detained in the illegal action, and authorization for the humanitarian aid to continue in safety to its destination in Gaza.
* An end to the illegal and inhumane blockade of Gaza.
* An end to the expansion of Israeli settlements in areas designated for a future Palestinian state, and to the “apartheid wall”.
* An end to the oppression of the Palestinian people in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.
* Firm action by the Obama administration to pressure the Israeli regime to engage in honest negotiations toward the creation of a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank. The Obama administration has the leverage to do this and should use it forcefully
The CPUSA urges its members and friends to initiate and join public protests against the Israeli action, and to contact the White House, the State Department and their congressional representatives to demand that our government condemn the attack on the aid ships and pressure the Israeli government to end the blockade of Gaza immediately.
Communist Party International Department
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