By Issah Mohammed
Accra, Aug. 09, GNA – Some 14 emissaries in Ghana have joined the Palestinian embassy in Accra to mark the International Day of Support for the people of Gaza and Palestinian prisoners.
The emissaries were made up of ambassadors, high commissioners and deputy ambassadors from countries such as Cuba, Namibia, Algeria, Qatar, Kuwait, Libya, Sudan, Malaysia Angola, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Pakistan, Turkey, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
The International Day of Support for the people of Gaza and Palestinian prisoners was set aside this year to raise awareness of the sufferings of the people living in Gaza and the West Bank and the crimes against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Mr Abdalfatah Alsattari, the Palestinian Ambassador to Ghana, said it was important for Ghanaians to understand that the conflict between Israel and Palestine did not start on October 7 but rather started with the attempt of Israel to drive out Palestinians from their lands.
“For 75 years, my people were suffering under the occupation and Israel stealing our lands, building illegal settlements, arrested my people, as I said, killed every day from my people. Before the 7th of October, from 1948, Israel killed 134,000 Palestinian people and there was no Hamas in our history,” he said
He further dispelled the notion that the ongoing conflict in Gaza was between Israel and Hamas, a resistance group in Gaza but rather a conflict between an occupier and the entire people of Palestine.
“Let me ask, the 15,000 children Israel killed in Gaza, they are Hamas? The children, 1 year, 1 month, 2 years, 10 years, they are Hamas? Israel killed 11,000 women. Did these women attack Israel with the rockets? Did these women enter the border and attack the Israelis inside Israel?” he said.
He called on the Israeli government to seek peace and end the occupation of Palestinian land by adhering to the two-state solution and abide by international law.
Ms Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, the Namibian High Commissioner to Ghana, said her country will continue to stand with Palestine until the realisation of the inalienable right of Palestinians to reclaim their dignity and get back their land.
She said Gaza today represented a symbol of resistance, commitment, and dedication, that is making it difficult for the occupation of the territory.
“The blood of the Palestinian people, the tears of the mothers and children, will pave the way for the liberation of Palestine. For us, the international community, all we can do is advocate for support for the people of Palestine.
“I think only a person who is inhumane will not be moved by the suffering of the people of Palestine. But I also agree with you when you say that Palestine will be free. The people of Palestine will be free because there’s no occupation that lasts forever. We in Namibia are products of apartheid colonialism and today Namibia is an independent state,” she said.
Ms Ayesha Farhat, the High Commissioner of Pakistan to Ghana, called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, provision of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people, de-escalation of tension in the region and accountability for the war crimes committed.
GNA