Progressive Delegation Urges Israel Embargo After Palestine Visit

The delegation from Progressive International, which recently faced attacks by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank—a region under illegal occupation—called on Thursday for a global energy, economic, and arms embargo against Israel in response to its protracted 13-month assault on Gaza, supported by the U.S.

The delegation, a collaboration between Progressive International (PI), the National Lawyers Guild from the U.S., and the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, shared insights from a report featuring observations by Ada Colau, former mayor of Barcelona and head delegate; Marc Botenga, a Belgian European Parliament member from the Marxist-socialist Workers’ Party; and Jaume Asens, a progressive MEP from Spain.

“The Israeli regime must urgently be subject to total isolation on all fronts.”

“The findings are unmistakable: The genocide in Gaza and the organized mistreatment of Palestinian detainees are reminiscent of the darkest episodes of history perpetrated by colonial forces against native groups striving for freedom—from Britain’s concentration camps in Kenya to France’s mass detention of Algerians,” the report declares.

The ongoing Israeli campaign in Gaza has resulted in the death or injury of at least 155,000 Palestinians, including many missing and presumed dead. This assault has displaced virtually the entire population of the region, leading to severe famine and illness. The International Court of Justice at The Hague is currently considering allegations of genocide presented by South Africa, supported by over 30 countries, regional groups, and a multitude of experts and human rights organizations globally.

“Any nation that provides military, economic, or diplomatic support to Israel is an accomplice in these crimes against humanity and poses a threat to the fundamental principles of international law,” PI stated. “Complete isolation of the Israeli regime—economically, militarily, culturally, politically, and diplomatically—is crucial to halt the genocide and dismantle the colonial occupation in Palestine.”

The U.S. supplies Israel with significant military aid and steadfast diplomatic backing, amounting to tens of billions of dollars. Other countries such as Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and India also offer considerable support to Israel.

The PI delegation reported encountering significant obstacles from Israeli authorities trying to block access to the occupied territories and conceal the harsh realities of deprivation, detention, apartheid, and annexation faced by the Palestinian populace.

During their visit, delegation members experienced firsthand the challenges Palestinians face daily when they were attacked by armed Israeli settlers and Israel Defense Forces using tear gas and stun grenades. This occurred in the West Bank village of Qusra as they assisted local farmers in harvesting olives, a vital component of Palestine’s rural economy and a common target for aggressive land seizures by settlers.

In a related incident last month, IDF soldiers fatally shot Hanan Abu Salameh, a 59-year-old Palestinian woman, while she was tending to her family’s olive grove in the village of Faqqua, positioned to the east of Jenin in the northern West Bank.

“We are merely talking about olive harvesting,” Colau remarked, “Yet, this simple act has been transformed into a wartime aggression by the illegal settlers and the military.”

Recently, about 50 nations called for an arms embargo on Israel. With the exception of Norway, all these countries are part of the Global South, including Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Palestine, Russia, South Africa, Sudan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, and Vietnam.