#standwiththe6 - Solidarity with Palestinian Organizations targeted by the Israeli Occupation

The International Women’s Alliance condemns in the strongest terms the attack against Palestinian Civil Society Organizations by the Israeli Occupation Forces on August 18, 2022. We stand in firm solidarity with the seven organizations who were targeted, six of whom were labeled as terrorists in October, 2021 by the illegal, Zionist, Israeli Government. These organizations seek to provide legal resources, empowerment, and mobilize the Palestinian people through campaigns that further enrich Palestinian life and challenge the occupation of Palestinian land. They are not terrorists, they are genuine people’s organizations and we are united with them.

IWA is especially angered at the attack against the Union of Palestian Women’s Committees. Founded in 1980 as a progressive feminist community organization, UPWC is part of the struggle to build a progressive, democratic Palestinian civil society free of all forms of discrimination in pursuit of justice. It seeks to empower Palestinian women to ensure true equality between men and women and social justice for all groups of society. UPWC is an integral part of the Palestinian national movement, which struggles against the Israeli occupation. UPWC has political campaigns which address violence against women, the issue of Palestinian political prisoners, empowering women to participate in democratic elections, and demanding the application of a minimum wage for all workers in Palestine.

Around the world, women’s organizations and people’s organizations are facing greater threats from militarized and fascist governments. In the Philippines the women’s organization Gabriela has been labeled as a terrorist organization by the previous Duterte regime and currently under the Marcos II regime. Reports of former and current Gabriela members show that they are being targeted and abducted from their homes, and illegally detained on trumped up charges. In Kashmir, women’s civil society organizations are not allowed to operate under the US-backed Indian Occupation. In the United States recent FBI raids targeted black liberation organizations all across the country. The increase in attacks against grassroots, institutions, and political organizations is alarming, and should mobilize us to greater action against US imperialism and fascism in all its forms. The Union of Palestinian Women’s Committee is an example of how women’s organizations are integral to the struggle against occupation, war, and exploitation and are part and parcel to the national liberation struggles being waged all over the world. We extend our solidarity to our sisters and brothers in Palestine who continue to struggle against the US-funded Zionist occupation of Palestine, and offer our support for their continued struggle against these recent attacks at the hands of the Occupation Forces.

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