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Tobias Pflüger

Federal Government Must Take a Stand for Immediate and Lasting Truce Between Israel and Hamas

Given the fact of more than 1300 casualties in the war between Israel and Hamas, Tobias Pflüger, Vice-Chair of DIE LINKE, declares:

In the meantime at least 1260 people, most of them civilians, have been killed on the Palestinian side, more then 7000 were injured. Among the victims are also five staff members of the United Nations. On the Israel side 53 Israeli soldiers and three civilians died. This is an asymmetric war – assaults, injuries, and threats to civilians must immediately be stopped.

The German federal government still backs one-sidedly the acting of the Israeli government. DIE LINKE asks the federal government to decidedly take a stand for an immediate and lasting truce between Israel and Hamas. DIE LINKE welcomes the declaration of the UN Security Council demanding an unconditional truce. The therein contained will for peace must be, however, more resolutely pursued. An internationally binding UN resolution would be a first step.

The acting of the Israeli army in Gaza does not contribute to a lasting security in Israel. Quite to the contrary it endangers the security of Israel. The indiscriminate and permanent killing especially of civilians destroys the hope for a peaceful coexistence and further stirs up hate. This form of warfare has nothing to do with „self defense“.

International martial law and international humanitarian law resprectively set clear limitations for warfare. It is good that the UN Human Rights Council investigates the warfare of both sides. Both the hint of UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay that there is a „strong possibility“ of Israel „breaking international humanitarian law in a way that could represent war crimes,“ since obviously there was no real avoiding of attacking civilians and the reference to the „indiscriminate assaults“ of Hamas on inhabited areas are remarkable.

DIE LINKE asks the federal government to stop all arms imports and exports in the whole region, military cooperations are ever since this war totally inacceptable. What remains unalterable: Withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza strip, an end of the Israeli firing of the people in Gaza, an end of the missile attacks of Hamas on Israel. By the current escalation only the hardliner on both sides gain strength. Civilians suffer from the escalation. An exit from the spiral of violence is necessary.

Those in action for an end of the Gaza blockade and the occupation are our local allies, which strive for a peaceful, just, non-military conflict solution,  especially the Israeli peace movement. DIE LINKE opposes military action. DIE LINKE again points out that it will not put up with anti-Semitism but also with anti-Muslim rascim and nationalism in the debate about the war in Gaza.