PNP raises Palestinian flag in support of Middle East state’s Land Day
Published:Monday | April 1, 2024 | 12:05 AMSashana Small/Staff Reporter
While blasting the governing Jamaica Labour Party for the “cowardly approach” it had taken in the Hamas-Israeli conflict, Opposition Spokesperson on Foreign and Foreign Trade Angela Brown Burke has reiterated the People’s National Party’s (PNP) support for Palestinians.
On Saturday, Brown Burke, along with Palestinian-Jamaica and attorney-at-law Jalil Dabdoub raised the Palestinian flag at the PNP headquarters on Old Hope Road in recognition of Land Day.
Observed since 1976, Land Day is a significant event in the Middle Eastern state commemorating the protests against confiscation by Israeli authorities.
“It is also a day to honour Palestinian heritage and culture,” Dabdoub explained. “It serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for land rights and sovereignty.”
Brown Burke outlined that the PNP’s decision to raise the Palestinian flag until 6 p.m. on Saturday was in line with its history of supporting principled causes.
“Our foreign policy is not based on what makes us popular, but is really deep-rooted in some principles we hold dear. Long before it became popular, under the People’s National Party it was that it supported South Africa against Apartheid,” she told The Gleaner.
“We have been very clear that what is happening between Israel and Palestine currently is grossly unfair, and we have joined the rest of the progressive world that has been calling for the ceasefire in Palestine and for the protection of the Palestinian people.”
UNGA vote backlash
Jamaica’s foreign ministry faced backlash after it was absent from the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) vote on a resolution calling for a “humanitarian truce” between Israel and Hamas. The non-binding resolution, presented in October, was the UNGA’s first response to the ongoing hostilities between Israel and the armed group.
A week ago, the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan, a period of fasting and introspection in the Muslim-majority Palestinian state.
The resolution also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
It was the first time the Council had called for a ceasefire since the war began in October, after several failed attempts.
The United States did not veto the measure, in a shift from its previous position.
On Sunday, Al-Jazeera, a Middle Eastern media company, reported a death toll in Gaza of 32,782, with 75,298 people wounded.
In a bid to end the spreading famine in the war-torn territory, the United Nations International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including opening more land crossings to allow food, water, fuel and other supplies into the war-ravaged enclave.
These two new provisional measures were brought in a case by South Africa, which accuses Israel of acts of genocide in its military campaign launched after the October 7 attacks by Hamas which killed more than 1,400 Israelis.
The order, which is legally binding, commands Israel to take measures “without delay” to ensure “the unhindered provision” of basic services and humanitarian assistance, including food, water, fuel and medical supplies.
Brown Burke is optimistic that these new provisional measures will be impactful in easing the suffering in the territory.
“When you look at the number of women and children who are starving, [and] on the conditions under which they are living… the hospitals that are no more, that have been eradicated, we believe that all progressive, well-thinking people should join in the call for a ceasefire in Palestine and to see how we can support any mechanism that would move towards resolving the long-standing issue that we have had in Gaza,” she said.