Cultural Survival condemns the escalation of violence by the Israeli armed forces against the Palestinian people. Far from seeking peaceful mechanisms to bring the conflict to an end, the Israeli government has dramatically scaled its military actions up. Since the beginning of the Israeli offensive on October 7, 2023, in response to Hamas’s horrific massacre of 1,400 Israelis and kidnapping of more than 200, the crisis has intensified and resulted in the deaths of approximately 35,000 Palestinians and injuries of 78,514 to date, mostly children and women.

Thousands of Palestinians who remain in the territories occupied by the Israeli armed forces have been deprived of humanitarian aid, as the army has killed and wounded more than 250 aid workers in the Gaza Strip and has broadly prevented entry of aid. The recent Israeli bombings in eastern Rafah, one of the main entry points for humanitarian aid, have increased the total displaced from their homes in the city and its surroundings to 80,000 people.

In many parts of the world, protest movements have arisen against Israel’s genocidal actions and the complicity of States. We recognize these acts of solidarity with the Palestinian people by students, academics, and university workers in the United States, Canada, and other countries in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Unfortunately, in most cases, the protesters have been criminalized and subjected to violence by local authorities and radical opposition groups. 

As an organization made up of Indigenous people and allies committed to defending the self-determination of Peoples and human and collective rights, we repudiate all actions of the Israeli government supported by the United States supplying arms that violate international law by committing daily crimes against humanity and apartheid towards the Palestinian people. We reject all manifestations of verbal and physical violence caused by Islamophobic, antisemitic, racist, and colonialist ideologies that only cause divisions in society and exacerbate this conflict. We continue to call for an immediate ceasefire, along with partner organizations, and for the ending of the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory by Israel.

We also demand the guarantee of access to humanitarian aid in Gaza, providing safety measures for its providers against any threat to their lives. We express our solidarity with protesters at universities around the world and other spaces of resistance that have been violated and demand that their right to freedom of expression be respected, putting an end to the persecution and violence against them. 

We support and uplift the UN resolution in favor of Palestinian statehood and denounce the United States’ use of its veto power to oppose it. States should seek a solution to this conflict immediately, using diplomacy and actions that guarantee lasting peace and security for all.