It is 72 years since the beginning of the expulsion of the Palestinian population from their land, an ethnic cleansing that has endured to this day. The Palestinians call it “Nakba” in Arabic, Catastrophe, which means the loss of its soil and the fragmentation of an entire people, with a Diaspora, whose largest population – outside the Arab World – resides in our country, in Chile.
Chile has opened the door to thousands of Palestinian migrants and refugees, who found a new life opportunity, an immensely valued freedom by not living under an Israeli military occupation, which has generated well-known success stories of those who have come to Chilean soil and that is why we have much to thank this country.
But the dreams do not end there, Chileans of Palestinian origin want peace to reign in the land of our ancestors, but this requires a committed International Community, which puts the means to do so, and that it will take steps to help end the occupation of the Palestinian territory, urging Israel to respect international law.
Apartheid and settlement colonization in the West Bank and the Blockade of Gaza are considered crimes against humanity that continue to be committed with complete impunity, and today with greater force after Israel’s new government announced the annexation of the West Bank by July 1, just as the World is concerned with fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
Against this stage, 66 official and opposition DEPutIes signed a letter addressed to Chancellor Teodoro Ribera to rule against the Israeli annexation. In the missive, the parliamentarians noted that “the only way to peace is full recognition of the self-determination of the Palestinian People and the calling unrestricted attachment to international and humanitarian law”. This shows that in Chile there is a high awareness of what is happening in Palestine. In fact, many parliamentarians have visited the area and witnessed the precariousness in which the Israeli occupation puts the Palestinian people on a daily basis.
However, the multiple convictions of the United Nations Security Council or the European Union in the face of the imminent annexation of the West Bank no longer have any deterrent effect on the Israeli authorities. In view of this, the International Community – including Chile – must be able to change the strategy, so that, through the mechanisms granted to them by International Law, it imposes sanctions on Tel Aviv until it complies with its obligation as a member state of the international system.
72 years is too long. As a society, how long do we take to condemn how horrible the Armenian genocide, the Jewish Holocaust and South African Apartheid was, how much longer will the Palestinians have to wait?
The content poured into this opinion column is the sole responsibility of its author, and does not necessarily reflect the editorial line or position of El Mostrador.
