ON THE KILLINGS OF MORE THAN 370 PALESTINIAN CHILDREN BY ISRAELI TROOPS

NO MORE CHILDREN’S BLOOD FOR OIL & GAS!!!

Manila, Philippines, 19 January 2009 - The SALINLAHI Alliance for Children’s Concerns joined Gabriela in leading about a hundred women and children light candles at the Boy Scouts Circle at Tomas Morato corner Timog in Quezon City today. This gathering was initiated to express solidarity and demand justice for the Palestinian women and children who comprise a big number of those killed and wounded by Israeli attacks. Children from urban poor communities and day care centers in Quezon City laid to rest ragdolls wrapped in white gauze and lit candles to express their sympathies for the hundreds of Palestinian children killed.

“Lama (4 years old), Haia (12 years old) and Esmail (9 years old), all from the Hamdan family, are three innocent children whose lives were wantonly destroyed and whose bodies were irreverently shattered and found in three different locations as a result of hits from two missiles launched from an F16 plane last December 30, 2008 as the kids were taking out their family’s garbage to the public garbage bin. They are among the more than 370 children victimized by Israeli military attacks in less than a month,” explained Alphonse Rivera, Salinlahi spokesperson.

 “The Filipino women and children bore witness to the long struggle of Palestinian people against Zionism, racism and human rights violations committed by Israel’s army with support from the United States.  Once again, with the Israeli invasion and attacks on Gaza since December 27, 2008, hundreds of children were deprived of their rights to life, protection and development,” Rivera further explained.

 “Salinlahi and its allied child rights advocates are fully aware that geopolitics and US imperialism’s blind greed pushed Israel to attack the Palestinians and target the Hamas-controlled government in Palestine to take control over Palestine’s sovereign rights on offshore gas resources. The cessation of attacks by Israeli military troops and partial withdrawal out of Palestinian territory does not exculpate Israeli accountability over the Palestinian women and children killed in these recent weeks. Moreover, the just solution to the situation in Gaza should be an urgent priority action for Barrack Obama when he resumes the US Presidency tomorrow. Salinlahi and its allies will continue to be vigilant and call for a just solution to this situation in Gaza for as long as US and Israeli imperialism continue to violate children’s rights,” Rivera concluded. ###