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Statements on the killing of journalists in Gaza

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ALTERMIDYA: On the Gaza information crisis

The worsening conflict in Palestine’s Gaza amid Israel’s unrelenting offensives indicates a humanitarian crisis of global concern.

Since October 7, military operations between Israel and Palestinian armed group Hamas have killed over thousands of Palestinians and injured many more in the Gaza Strip. Compounding the conflict is a total Israeli blockade of food, fuel, and other necessities to millions of people in the occupied territory in what is grounds for an international war crime.

Now, an information crisis threatens to further distort the conflict’s causes and consequences. Gaza is experiencing a near information blackout with internet and phone services cut. Israel is to blame for cutting the communications, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Independent journalists like members of the Altermidya Network urge the United Nations and other human rights bodies to immediately intervene by doing everything possible to restore access to communications in Gaza.

In the same vein, we express deep concern for our fellow media workers who are covering the ongoing conflict from the front lines.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 29 journalists were killed in such operations. Most of these were Palestinians, as well as three Israelis and one Lebanese. This is on top of dozens of journalists who are injured, detained, or reported missing. Addressing the information crisis necessitates that the safety of journalists is upheld and guaranteed.

We call on all involved parties to stop killing and targeting civilians, including media workers based in Gaza. By extension, entities within the UN such as the Special Rapporteur to immediately investigate such brazen killings and attacks in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1948.

Protecting the media would serve to aid them in their job to report and explain the decades-long Palestine occupation.

Tens of thousands have been killed, while millions have been displaced in this conflict rooted in colonial acts. Unfortunately, this historically drawn out narrative will be buried along with the bodies of innocent civilians, media included, if we all silently wait as this conflict continues. The time to act is now. Those in observance of the conflict must speak out, while those in power must do all to address the very roots of this systemic violence.

For the UN and all related rights entities, the urgency to restore communications in Gaza cannot be understated. # (October 30, 2023/Quezon City, Philippines)

AMARC Asia-Pacific Condemns the killing of media workers and civilians in Gaza

The World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters, AMARC (Asia-Pacific) strongly protests the ongoing indiscriminate killings of civilians and media workers in Gaza by US-backed Israeli forces. Records show that the period since 7th of October 2023 has been the deadliest period for media workers.

The genocide in Gaza is also one of the most terrible media crises in recent times. International sources estimate that approximately 48 journalists have lost their lives while reporting from Gaza. According to a report from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 48 journalists and media workers have been confirmed dead including 43 Palestinian, 4 Israeli, and 1 Lebanese. According to sources, the deceased media workers include those representing media organizations as well as freelancers.

Since the 1940s, the political claims and cause of Palestinians has been subject to disinformation and distortion at the highest levels of international governance and law to justify violence in Gaza and West Bank. Since the recent Al-Aqsa Floods operation, there have been various kinds of moral obfuscations and disinformation on mainstream and social media platforms to justify genocide against the Palestinians. Free, independent, and critical-minded media organisations and journalists are one of the few factors that has helped mobilise large-scale protests against this genocide. It is no surprise that media workers are heavily under attack. Issuing this statement, Dr. Ramnath Bhat, President of AMARC Asia-Pacific has called the situation in Gaza as one of the gravest conditions for freedom of journalists and other media workers.

“Independent journalists reporting from the heart of the conflict in Gaza are the only source of any credible information that is received by the rest of the world. Targeting media workers is a clear sign of genocidal intent that does not wish to see itself exposed; creates an information blackout at the global level fostering disinformation; and finally lays the ground for further intensification of genocide”

AMARC Asia-Pacific deeply mourns the deceased media workers and condemns the mass killings going on in Gaza, specifically the blanket targeting of civilians. It calls upon all concerned, especially the Government of Israel and the US to immediately stop hostilities, affect a ceasefire and end the genocide.

Statement issued by the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters, AMARC (Asia-Pacific), [email protected], November 22, 2023/Kathmandu, Nepal

UAE: Climate activists in tears as they stage protest, call for ceasefire in Gaza

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COP28: Protestors at UN-controlled Blue Zone read out names of Palestinians who died in Israeli bombing

By Angel L. Tesorero / Khaleej Times

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates–Their call was loud and clear: Ceasefire now! But they were also not able to help but sob and quiver as, one by one, the names of those who tragically died in Gaza were called in a poignant protest calling for justice and respect for humanity.

Wearing keffiyehs and waving watermelon banners, more than 200 environmental activists staged an organised demonstration at the ongoing COP28 in Dubai on Sunday, calling for an ‘unconditional and immediate ceasefire in Gaza’ as the number of deaths continues to rise following the expiration of a temporary truce.

The protest held inside the UN-controlled Blue Zone commenced by calling the names of those who died in Gaza due to Israeli bombing. “The long list is still being written as we hold this protest,” the emcee, Gina Cortes, a climate activist from Colombia and member of COP28 Coalition, said while protesters wept.

A young female environmentalist started calling out the names. Her voice immediately quivered as she uttered the name of a six-year-old victim, followed by more names of infants and toddlers who tragically lost their lives. Despite her evident emotional strain, she persevered, systematically naming more victims — from months-old babies to the elderly.

Listen to the names of some victims in the video above by Angel Tesorero.

Climate justice and human rights

Bringing global attention to one of the world’s longstanding conflicts in the Middle East has added another dimension to the UN Climate Summit. There is no climate justice without human rights, the protesters strongly chanted.

Their call was loud and clear: Ceasefire now! But they were also not able to help but sob and quiver as, one by one, the names of those who tragically died in Gaza were called in a poignant protest calling for justice and respect for humanity.

Wearing keffiyehs and waving watermelon banners, more than 200 environmental activists staged an organised demonstration at the ongoing COP28 in Dubai on Sunday, calling for an ‘unconditional and immediate ceasefire in Gaza’ as the number of deaths continues to rise following the expiration of a temporary truce.

The protest held inside the UN-controlled Blue Zone commenced by calling the names of those who died in Gaza due to Israeli bombing. “The long list is still being written as we hold this protest,” the emcee, Gina Cortes, a climate activist from Colombia and member of COP28 Coalition, said while protesters wept.

A young female environmentalist started calling out the names. Her voice immediately quivered as she uttered the name of a six-year-old victim, followed by more names of infants and toddlers who tragically lost their lives. Despite her evident emotional strain, she persevered, systematically naming more victims — from months-old babies to the elderly.

Climate justice and human rights

Bringing global attention to one of the world’s longstanding conflicts in the Middle East has added another dimension to the UN Climate Summit. There is no climate justice without human rights, the protesters strongly chanted.

“It will be the height of hypocrisy if we call for just transition to clean energy if people are actually dying in refugee camps and hospitals, or we see our lands laid to waste in ashes and painted by blood. People are dying, and whole lineages are being wiped out. This is genocide,” US-based Palestinian poet and activist Tariq Luthun said during his protest speech.

People first

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Luke Espiritu, a labour leader from the Philippines and member of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), said: “We are making it clear: Climate advocates stand for victims of genocide. We fight for the oppressed as we stand for the environment.”

“There is no climate justice without human rights. We do not simply hug trees or cry ‘protect the dolphins and sea turtles’. If preserving other life forms is linked to our survival as a species, then clearly, we see that keeping within 1.5 degrees Celsius to save humanity becomes hollow if we allow the slaughter and degradation of human life not by extreme weather events but by bullets and bombs,” Espiritu added.

Luke Espiritu. Photo: Angel Tesorero

Luke Espiritu. Photo: Angel Tesorero

No to oppression

Climate activists added they could never remain neutral when thousands of people die under the yoke of oppression.

Arnold Padilla, coordinator at Food Sovereignty Programme–PAN Asia Pacific and Global Peoples Caravan for Food, Land, & Climate Justice campaign, said: “We strongly stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, whose lands, including for food production, have been forcibly grabbed by a Zionist regime long before the current bombings.

“We condemn the forced starvation that Israel has wreaked upon Palestine as part of its occupation and genocide campaign. These atrocities have made the Palestinian people even more vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis, something that we must also stress as the world gathers for COP28,” he added.

Lidy Nacpil, convenor of COP28 Coalition and Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice, composed of civil society organisations from 75 countries, added: “We condemn the continued killing and destruction in Gaza. It is clear that we cannot let this catastrophe continue.

“We have to speak up in support of Palestinians who are suffering from disaster upon disaster due to longstanding occupation and the climate crisis. We call for a ceasefire, the lifting of the blockade and an end to the occupation of Palestine. We stand in solidarity with all people and communities in their struggle for climate justice and against oppression, exploitation, racism, apartheid and colonialism,” she added.

‘Please stop – that is too much’

Other climate activists from South America, Europe and Asia gave short but emotionally charged speeches before the one-hour protest ended.

The powerful message resonated with the crowd — observers, passersby, and some in the media were moved by the impassioned plea to halt aggression against Gaza. Attendees at the protest felt the weight as the names of the victims were disclosed, and towards the conclusion of the programme, a few voices were heard urging, “Please stop – that is too much.”

Following the speeches, a moment of silence was observed. Protesters raised their arms, fists clenched in a show of defiance. Their silence spoke volumes, mirroring the chants that echoed at the protest’s outset: “When human rights are under attack, what do we do? We stand and fight back!”

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This report is original to The Khaleej Times where the reporter is senior deputy editor.

Isang kontemporaryong kwento ng paglikas

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Nagpapasalamat si Evelyn Cordonia na nakabalik na siya sa Pilipinas at ang kanyang pamilya matapos ang matinding paghihirap sa walang habas na pambobomba ng Israel sa Gaza. Isa siya sa mga Pilipinong napilitang sumunod sa utos ng Israel na lumikas mula sa Gaza sa pagsisimula ng panibagong giyera noong Oktubre 7.

Hindi lamang ang matinding takot mula sa mga bomba ang kanilang dinanas. Nagpahirap din sa kanila ang iba’t ibang uri ng karahasan mula sa kaniyang tinutuguriang “kabila.” Si Evelyn ay 18 taong nanirahan sa Gaza, kasama ang kanyang Palestinong asawa at kanilang anak.

“Wala kaming kuryente, walang tubig, walang wi-fi dahil pinutol lahat ito ng kabila. Nasira ang aming sasakyan kaya wala kaming magamit sa paglikas,” ani Evelyn sa isang media forum sa Lungsod Quezon noong Biyernes.

Hindi lamang galing sa lumulusob na zionistang estado ng Israel ang utos na lumikas na ang lahat sa Gaza. Panay na rin ang tawag ng embahada ng Pilipinas sa Amman, Jordan kina Evelyn at iba pang Pilipino na umalis na sa Gaza dahil sa bantang delubyo.

Sa kabutihang palad, may sasakyan ang isa nilang kapitbahay na gusto na ring lumikas. Subalit ang sasakyang iyon ay wala namang gasolina. “Kaya kinailangan naming ilipat ang gasolina mula sa sira naming sasakyan sa kanilang sasakyan,” kwento ni Evelyn.

Pagdating ng pamilya sa Raffa Crossing papasok ng Ehipto mula sa Gaza, inakala nina Evelyn na ligtas na silang mag-anak. Subalit tanging si Evelyn lamang ang naisumiteng pangalan ng embahada sa listahan at wala ang kaniyang asawa at anak. “Hindi ko maiwan ang aking mag-ama,” aniya kung kaya hindi siya tumawid.

Si Evelyn habang kausap ang mamamahayag sa Pilipinas. (Litrato ni Lito Ocampo)

Bumalik ang mag-anak sa kanilang bahay at kinailangan nilang magbayad ng mahal sa isang drayber upang sila’y ibalik sa binobombang erya. Muli nilang dinanas ang pagpapa-ulan ng bomba ng Israel gabi-gabi. “Naroon kami sa basement ng aming apartment building, patong-patong kami sa isang sulok, sinusubukang takpan ng aming mga katawan ang isa’t isa,” kanyang kwento.

Makalipas ang ilang araw ay may nahanap siyang isa pang kapitbahay na may generator kaya nakapag-charge ng telepono si Evelyn. Kumontak siya sa embahada ng Pilipinas at nakiusap na isama ang kanyang anak at asawa sa listahan ng mga lilikas. Muli silang pinabalik sa crossing sa kabila ng tumindi pang panganib sa biyahe.

“Ngunit sa pagbalik namin doon, ang anak ko lamang ang naidagdag, wala ang aking asawa sa listahan. Muli kaming nagpasya na walang lalabas ng Gaza na hindi kami kumpletong mag-anak,” kwento ni Evelyn.

Naulit ang kanilang hilakbot sa  muling pag-uwi upang hintayin ang pag-aayos ng embahada sa listahan. Sa ikatlong pagbabalik sa crossing, nasa listahan na ang kanyang asawa. Ngunit hindi agad binuksan ng Ehipto ang border at dalawang araw pa silang naghintay, walang matuluyan o masilungan man lamang. “Naglatag kami ng karton sa sahig kahit maginaw na,” ani Evelyn. Noon napagtanto nina Evelyn na sa kanilang panic, kung ano-ano na lamang ang kanilang nabitbit sa kanilang paglikas. “May nai-empake nga akong sapatos na walang pares,” aniya.

Photo by Ash Hayes on Unsplash

Sa kabila ng kanilang mahirap na kalagayan, pinagana ni Evelyn ang kanyang angking tapang at pagka-malikhain.  Gamit ang natitira nilang pera, namili si Evelyn sa mga kapwa bakwit ng kung ano-anong maaring ibenta. “Tinawag ko itong Manila Market. Ang kinita ko roon ay ipinambili ko naman ng aming kailangan, lalo na ng pagkain,” kanyang kwento.

Matapos ang dalawang araw at gabi, nakatawid na sila sa Ehipto. “Pangatlong batch na kami ng mga Pilipinong nakalabas sa Gaza,” aniya.

Subalit may panibagong hamon ang mga bakwit na tulad nina Evelyn pagdating dito sa Pilipinas. Samantalang may mga kapatid pa siyang nagpapatuloy sa kanila ng ilang araw, ninanais niyang may mas permanente silang matutuluyan habang naririto sa bansa. Umaalingawngaw sa kanyang isipan ang tanong sa kanya ng kanilang anak” “Paano na ang buhay natin, Mama?”

Para kay Evelyn, ang Gaza at Palestina ang kanilang tahanan at nais pa rin nilang bumalik sa lalong madaling panahon. Kung  tutuusin, si Evelyn at ang kanyang pamilya ay parang sina Maria, Jose at Hesus na lumikas mula sa Palestina patungong Ehipto mahigit dalawang libong taon na ang nakakaraan. Tulad nila, sana ay makabalik rin sila sa lalong madaling panahon. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

‘Stop bombing Gaza hospitals!’ Filipino health groups tell Israel

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Filipino health professionals and organizations called for an immediate stop to attacks on hospitals and civilians in Gaza as the Israeli siege of Palestinian territory enters its sixth week.

Fifty six doctors, nurses, other health workers and students in a petition said hospitals and other health facilities in the besieged territory must be spared from further attacks by Israeli military forces that started last October 7.

Officers and members of the Health Alliance for Democracy, Health Action for Human Rights, Council for Health and Development, Alliance of Health Workers, Community Medical Practitioners and Advocates Association, Filipino Nurses United, Philippine Medical Students Association (PMSA) and the Philippine Nursing Students Association called on Israel to uphold International Humanitarian Law that excludes hospitals from the list of military targets.

The petition was also signed by employees unions and associations of the National Children’s Hospital, the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Philippine General Hospital, Tondo Medical Center, Philippine Heart Center, San Lazaro Hospital, Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center and Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center as well as the Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center chapter of the PMSA.

“We denounce the November 15 raid of Israeli Defense Force in Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. Thousands were affected, vulnerable patients trapped, staff and other civilians displaced as they run out of medical supplies and fuel,” the petitioners said.

The petitioners also said they strongly condemn the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital bombing on October 17 that killed around 500 people and injured thousands more.

The groups, citing United Nations (UN) reports, said hospitals in North Gaza suffer heavy strikes and forcing almost all health facilities in the area to cease operations.

Some 1,000 kidney failure patients as well as 2,000 cancer patients and 130 premature babies in incubators are at immediate risk of death due to the collapse of the health care system, the groups cited.

Israel also repeatedly issued evacuation orders to hospitals and other medical facilities in Gaza, which the World Health Organization said is a “death sentence to the sick and injured.”

“We grieve for the more than 11,078 people killed, more than 4,600 of whom are children. We sympathize with the 27,490 people injured, and 1.6 million internally displaced. During the first month of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza, over 300 Gazans died each day, bringing the death toll to more than 12,000,” the petition further said.

The petitioners also said they salute the doctors, nurses and other health and humanitarian workers who continue treating the wounded and sick amid Israel’s evacuation orders and attacks despite, deaths among their ranks and threats to their lives.

As of November 12, over 102 UN employees have been killed inside Gaza, alongside 182 health care workers.

“We call for the protection of all civilians, medical and humanitarian personnel, and unimpeded access to essential humanitarian supplies, including food, water, shelter, medicine, fuel and electricity,” the groups said, adding they stand with the Palestinian people in their struggle for peace and freedom in Palestine. # (Raymund B.Villanueva)

Fil-Ams join largest pro-Palestine rally in US history

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Hundreds of Filipinos joined the largest pro-Palestine rally in United States of America (USA) history held in Washington DC last Saturday, November 4, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN USA) reported.

Over 300 Filipinos for Palestine members and allies participated in the historic National March on Washington for a Free Palestine event attended by over 300,000 protesters as Israel’s punitive action against Gazans enters its second month.

The Filipino-Americans said they demand an immediate ceasefire between Hamas and the State of Israel, for the latter to end its siege on Gaza, and for the US and the Philippines to end its support for Israel.

“As Filipinos, we know what it’s like to struggle against foreign occupation and domination, what it is like to fight for national liberation across generations,” BAYAN USA said.

“Long Live Gaza!” Filipinos for Palestine participants to the US|National March on Washington for a Free Palestine shout. (Photo by Malaya Movement-New Jersey)

“Philippine and Palestinian liberation are inextricably linked because we have a common enemy. So let us rise up and link arms across our movements and build anti-imperialist solidarity,” the group added.

The latest conflict began after Palestinian group Hamas conducted military strikes against Israel last October 7 that also killed civilians, including four overseas Filipino workers.

Hamas took as prisoners hundreds of Israelis they said they shall be freed in exchange for thousands of Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli prisons.

The State of Israel responded with massive air and ground strikes against all 2.2 million Gazans.

The Palestinian health ministry reported that at least 9770 people, 4,008 of whom were children, have been killed in nearly a month of Israeli strikes.

The massive rally in Washington came after the US government last October 18 vetoed the Brazil-led resolution at the United Nations (UN) calling for a ceasefire in Palestine.

The Philippine government abstained from voting on the resolution, the only Southeast Asian government that did not support the proposed measure. 

This prompted BAYAN in the Philippines to spearhead a protest action at the Israeli Embassy in Manila last Tuesday, October 31.

At the Manila rally, BAYAN president Renato Reyes revealed the Philippines had been the third largest buyer of Israeli weapons from 2018 to 2022 used among others in former president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody drug war that is under investigation by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, The Netherlands.

In Manila, pro-Palestine independence advocates protested at the Israeli Embassy last October 31. (Photo by Altermidya)

In Washington DC, BAYAN USA stated they demand an immediate end to the purchasing of weapons from Israel it said funnels hundreds of millions of dollars toward death rather than the needs of Filipinos.

“The Marcos administration’s silence on Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people is unacceptable. It is also a death sentence for the tens of thousands of overseas Filipino workers in occupied Palestine, who are also seen as ‘collateral damage’ by Israel in its attacks against Palestine,” BAYAN USA said.

The Filipinos for Palestine contingent was organized by BAYAN USA, Malaya Movement, Kabataan Alliance, Anakbayan USA, and GABRIELA USA that were among the over 500 endorsers of the march. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

BAYAN calls on Filipinos to stand with Palestinians

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The country’ biggest alliance of progressive organizations called on the Filipino people to stand behind Palestine in the latest act of genocide by the State of Israel.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) in a statement said more than 8,000 Palestinians, 3,500 of whom were children, have died since Israeli retaliation started after the October 7 attacks of Hamas.

“Israeli bombs have indiscriminately destroyed Palestinian homes, schools, hospitals and places of worship. Electric, water, internet and phone services had been cut off and food and other aid could not enter Gaza,” BAYAN said.

The group said the Israeli siege against the entire Palestinian people actually begun 75 years ago when Zionists started taking over vast territories of what used to be Palestine under the Ottoman Empire.

“The Israeli occupation of the Palestinians had been cruel. The looting of land and killing and imprisonment of Palestinians are nonstop. These are what drive them to resist with both unarmed and armed means,” BAYAN said.

BAYAN said the Palestinian resistance is similar to the revolution led by the Katipunan against Spanish colonialism or the struggles of Macario Sakay and General Antonio Luna against American colonialism in the Philippines.

The alliance added that the Western-backed Israeli genocide in Palestine violates international humanitarian law, a rule United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres appealed should be observed in full measure.

In a public briefing in Egypt this weekend, Guterres also said a 20-truck convoy is awaiting permission to be allowed into the besieged territory, noting the irony that just across the border, Palestinian children, women and elderly are starving while food aid awaits to be delivered.

In its appeal, BAYAN noted the deaths of at least four Filipinos since Hamas attacked and others who may be held hostage in Gaza are in danger from Israeli bombs raining daily into the territory.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan also called for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza. (BAYAN photo)

“There are many similarities between Filipinos and Palestinians. We both have a history of resistance against colonialism,” BAYAN added.

The alliance called on the Filipinos to join the call to end the bombing of civilians in Gaza and for the Palestinians to be allowed to return to their ancestral lands as the long-term solution to the war. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

OFW group sad at 2 Filipino deaths in Palestine

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Calls on PH government to stop sending Pinoys to conflict areas

A migrant group condoled with the families of two compatriots reported killed in the war in Palestine and called on the Philippine government to ready repatriation and job plans for Filipinos wishing to come home.

In a statement, Migrante International (MI) said it is deeply saddened by reports that two Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) have been killed since the outbreak of shooting last Saturday, October 7

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said a 32-year old newly-wed Filipina who hails from Pangasinan and a 42-year old Filipino who hails from Pampanga have become casualties in the military actions between the Israeli and Palestinian fighters

“We also express our deep concern for the more than 70 OFWs in Gaza who are reportedly seeking repatriation and more than 1,500 OFWs in the high conflict areas. Their numbers are expected to increase as the conflict is projected to escalate,” MI said.

The group said the Philippine government must speed up crafting an evacuation and repatriation plan as the conflict only show signs of escalating.

DFA said the Philippine Embassy in Amman, Jordan is implementing Alert Level 3 protocols that allow voluntary repatriation for Filipinos. The Embassy is also reportedly talking with Egypt for possible exit routes from Gaza.

‘No more deployment in war areas’

MI also said the Philippines must stop its deployment of OFWs in areas affected by war and conflict and instead create more decent jobs in the country.

“It should stop depending on other countries to provide jobs for Filipinos. It should beef up its funds and resources — not for confidential and intelligence funds under the control of a handful in government — for ensuring the safety and protection of our Filipino migrant workers and developing agriculture and national industries in our country,” the group said.

MI called on fellow OFWs and all Filipinos to study the conflict closely and refrain from blaming Hamas for the deaths of two compatriots, saying the Palestinian attacks in Israeli-occupied territories are the result of decades-old violence and occupation.

“The root cause of the conflict in Israel is the Israel government’s occupation of Palestine. This is one of the longest-running and most brutal occupations in recent world history. It should stop immediately,” MI said.

The group said it also condemns the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government for automatically expressing support for Israel in the conflict. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

ON PALESTINE: If you continue the struggle, you will be free–Leila Khaled

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War again rages in Palestine. Initial media reports parroted the narrative that it was started by a “terrorist attack” by Palestinians and that the Zionist government of Israel is only retaliating.

In November 2015, Palestinian struggle for freedom icon Leila Khaled visited the Philippines and granted Kodao an exclusive interview. In this video, she explains the Palestinians’ fight to reclaim their homeland from the imperialist-designed occupation by Zionists.

[Interviewer: Raymund B. Villanueva]

Filipino activists condemn Israel’s massacre of Palestinians

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A few hours after the massacre of 61 Palestinian civilians in Gaza by Israeli forces, activists held a protest action along EDSA in Quezon City Tuesday afternoon.

Various organizations led by the International League of People’s Struggles-Philippines condemned the latest massacre while the United States of America opened its new Embassy in Jerusalem.

INTERVIEW: If you continue the struggle, you will be free–Leila Khaled (Full)

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Palestinian struggle for freedom icon Leila Khaled visited the Philippines to attend an international anti-imperialist assembly and the launch of the Philippine-Palestine Friendship Association. She visited the Lumad camp at a church compound and attended an anti-APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) protest action on the streets of Manila.

On her last day in the country she sat with Kodao Productions in an interview about her assessment of the visit.

Watch the full interview here.