Cuban President Rejects Israel's Genocide against Palestinians

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned on Saturday the relentless Israeli bombardments against the population in the besieged Gaza Strip during the last three weeks. 

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In statements to national television, Díaz-Canel rejected the genocide, the destruction of homes, hospitals and civilian infrastructure perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces in Palestinian territory. 

He pointed out that such acts of terrorism have been opposed by the Cuban government since the time of the Revolution of leader Fidel Castro. In this regard, he recalled Fidel Castro's speech before the United Nations General Assembly, where 63 years ago he condemned the Israeli occupation. 

On that occasion, Fidel told the world that the purpose of wars is to deprive others of their wealth and accused Israel of taking away the goods and lands that rightfully belong to the Palestinian people. 

This idea sums up the reason for the horror experienced today by the Palestinians confined by a new apartheid to a tiny strip of land, said Díaz-Canel.  

The tweet reads, "History will not forgive the indifferent. And we will not be among them. It is time to put an end to the philosophy of dispossession so that the philosophy of war dies for lack of incentive."

The president denounced the humanitarian catastrophe of unprecedented scale currently being experienced in Gaza. He regretted the more than 8,000 people killed in the last three weeks, including more than 3,000 Palestinian children and 1,700 women.

More than 40 percent of the homes in the Gaza Strip were destroyed, hospitals have been turned, little by little, into giant morgues for the Palestinian people, said Diaz Canel. 

He also condemned the more than 75 years of occupation, abuse and exclusion by Israeli forces, which now cause more pain, suffering and outrage to Palestinian families. 

The president called on the international community to join the protest against the Zionist regime and call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army has committed grave violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza, it is urgent to stop its genocide in the territory, he said. 

In this regard, he condemned each one of Israel's transgressions of UN resolutions and its obligations as an occupying power under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

In addition, Díaz-Canel rejected the inability of the UN Security Council to stop the massacre being carried out by Israel. 

He censured the position of the U.S. by vetoing in that Council a proposal aimed at seeking a humanitarian truce in the current conflict to allow the access of aid to Gaza and to guarantee the protection of civilians. 

The United States is the historical accomplice of "Zionist barbarism," he said. 

"Will the international community allow this unsustainable situation to continue, or will it remain hostage to an arbitrary exercise such as the right of veto that prevents it from acting as it should to stop the crime?" the Cuban president wondered. 

Draft Resolution Calling for an Immediate Ceasefire

Together with a group of countries, Cuba proposed to the United Nations General Assembly a draft resolution to demand an immediate ceasefire. It called for the urgent establishment of a mechanism for the protection of the Palestinian civilian population, the rejection of the forced displacement of civilians and to advocate the sending of emergency humanitarian aid. 

Speaking on behalf of the Cuban people, Diaz-Canel called for immediate action and to contribute to the legitimate international efforts to put an end to the "Zionist barbarism of Israel."

"History will not forgive the indifferent, and we will not be among them. It is time to put an end to the philosophy of dispossession so that the philosophy of war dies for lack of incentives," said the Cuban president.