November 23, 2023
The Honorable Saleh Asa’ad Fhied Mohammad
Ambassador of the State of Palestine in the Philippines
The Embassy of the State of Palestine in the Philippines
Chatham House, 22nd Floor, 116 Valero Corner Rufino,
Brgy. Bel-air, Makati, 1227 Metro Manila
Dear Ambassador Mohammad,
We, undersigned youth and student organizations, networks, and movements from the Philippines, express our wholehearted support for the worldwide call for an immediate, durable, and sustained humanitarian truce in Palestine.
We recall the overwhelming support given by 120 member states of the United Nations to the UN General Assembly resolution for an immediate ceasefire, which was adopted on October 26, 2023. It is our deep regret that the Philippine government chose to abstain from this call for a ceasefire. We are moved by our common humanity and our desire for sustainable peace in our generation to therefore assure you and the people of Palestine that, while our government as of yet does not take an unequivocal stance in support of a ceasefire leading towards peace talks, we youth of the Philippines do. The Palestinian people can be assured of the friendship and solidarity of the Filipino people.
We echo your previous statements on the decades-long unfair treatment and portrayal of the Palestinian people by the international community. This, we believe, is plainly visible in the “abstain” response of the Philippines towards the ceasefire resolution at the UNGA, a vote which refuses to recognize the overall historical context of the wholesale oppression and displacement of the Palestinian people at the hands of Israel. Nevertheless, we believe the tide is turning, and we are heartened that the Philippines voted to condemn Israel’s occupation of internationally-recognized Palestinian territory along with 144 other nations at the UNGA last November 14.
The Philippines, as a victim of centuries of colonial occupation, must see itself in the plight of the Palestinian people. The flagrant and repeated violations of international law by Israel perpetrated against the Palestinian people must be called out for what it is: it is genocidal violence, aimed at the eradication of the Palestinian people and the theft of their land. We reject any argument of a “right to self-defense” by Israel in the face of its sustained efforts to occupy Palestinian land, and to actively maintain a policy of racial discrimination against Palestinians inside its borders. A country such as the Philippines that grounds its foreign policy on international laws and norms cannot in the same breath accept the oppression of the Palestinian people.
We believe that an immediate ceasefire that opens the path towards peace talks offers the best chance to assure the safety of Filipinos living and working in Palestine and in Israeli territory. As of writing, four Filipinos have been killed in the ongoing conflict. We have no wish to see this number rise. Indeed, we have no wish to see any more death and any more conflict. While a ceasefire can halt further casualties in this current round of violence, talks for a just and lasting peace can prevent any further death, displacement, and destruction in the future.
Furthermore, we assert that the Philippines bears an immediate ethical responsibility to offer refuge and safety not only for its citizens in Palestine, but also to their Palestinian families and loved ones. We recall the noble act of the Philippines from 1937 to 1941 to shelter 1,200 Jewish people fleeing racist persecution in Europe at the hands of fascism. We believe that the same hand of solidarity must once again be extended by the Philippines to the best of its ability, this time to the people of Palestine.
The responsibility to shelter refugees from Palestine goes hand-in-hand with our call for an urgent cessation of conflict. We denounce Israel's cynical weaponization of Palestinians seeking refugee status. It is Israeli arms, and behind it Israeli policy, that is creating a refugee crisis in Gaza. Israel cannot make appeals to the world in the name of humanitarianism while it sends its occupation troops and settlers into Palestine.
We believe that, given the historical context of occupation, a just and lasting peace must rest on the premise of the Palestinian people’s right of return, under which victims of killings, displacement, and discrimination since even before the 1948 Nakba must be allowed to return to their homes and land, or otherwise be offered other equal forms of reparation by Israel. Be assured that our support for the Palestinian people is grounded in our desire for justice at home and abroad.
We join our voices with those of the many millions of people all around the world who are standing up to call for an immediate, durable, and sustained ceasefire, to support Palestine, and to condemn Israel’s brutal siege of Gaza and escalating illegal settlement of the West Bank. It is nothing less than our duty and our pride as a generation to do so. We are committed to doing our share to advancing a just peace in Palestine as part of our commitment to advance justice, peace, and popular power in our own country.
Falasteen hurra! Palayain ang Palestine! Free Palestine!
Signatories
Organizations: