Statement of the Tudeh Party of Iran        

Condemning the Bloodshed and Occupation by Israel

12^th May 2021

In recent weeks, world public opinion has once again borne witness to an escalation in tension and military conflict, the escalation of a new wave of repression against the Palestinian people, the killing of dozens of innocent Palestinians, and the intensification of the inhumane policies of Israel's far-right and racist government. The restrictions placed around the Bab al-Amoud (Damascus Gate) in Jerusalem by Israeli police to prevent Palestinians from gathering in the vicinity earlieron during Ramadan this year marked the beginning of a cycle of Palestinian protests and bloody clashes that has led to the deaths of dozens of Palestinians, including 14 children, after massive aerial bombardments by Israel - as well as the deaths of a number of Israeli citizens. The next protest hub was the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem, where eviction orders had been issued to four Palestinian familiesresident in the neighborhood since 1956, in order to build Israeli settlements in their place. The [eviction] order was temporarily suspended due to Palestinian protests. In another move on Monday, May 10, Israeli forces fired tear gas and plastic-coated steel bullets at Palestinians in and around the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City in support of a right-wing Israeli march through Palestinian neighbourhoods to mark Israel's "Jerusalem Day" (celebrating the day of the occupation of Jerusalem in the 1967 war). Palestinians had been holding sit-ins and protesting Israel's previous actions in Bab al-Amoud and Sheikh Jarrah for some time, including at the al-Aqsa Mosque. The attack left hundreds injured. On the evening of the same day, rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory and Israeli air forces bombarded Gaza, killing at least 20 Palestinians.

Military confrontations on both sides continue, raising concerns in Israel and the Palestinian territories as well as other countries around the world. In responseto the recent clashes, mass protests have begun in the Palestinian territories and in cities across Israel since Monday night.

The Tudeh Party of Iran, along with other peace-loving and justice-seeking forces around the world, condemns the Israeli apartheid government's bloody assaultupon thePalestinians, including in the Gaza Strip, and calls for a halt to the military campaign. Our Party believes that the solution to the Palestinian issue is through respecting thelegal rights of the Palestinian people, based on the UN and Security Council resolutions, and peacefully resolving the issue in accordance with the UN Charter. World public opinion deems such a solution possible and achievable, by establishing an independent Palestinian state, within the pre-war borders of June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital city, and the right of return for all Palestinian refugees to their homeland.

The fact is that Israel's takeover and occupation of Palestinian territories has never stopped in the past decades and continues to this day. This time, Israel's right-wing government- facing a grave political crisis at home, while intent on pursuing its hegemonic plans in the region without regard to international law - is attempting to obscure its domestic crises and possibly pave the way for wider military aggression in the region by occupying and bringing about a bloodbath in the Palestinian territories. In addition, Israel's recent military actions in bombing civilian targets in Gaza are a grave violation of various UN resolutions on the protection of civilian lives, including the medics and press.

Our Party categorically condemns the repressive and occupying policies of the state of Israel, and while declaring solidarity with the Palestinian people and their national, democratic, and progressive forces, reaffirms itsposition of support for the realisation of Palestinian rights according to the UN resolutions.

TudehParty of Iran

12 May 2021