Every act against defenceless civilians, the taking of hostages and the violation of the victims' dignity is for us at Un Ponte Per cause for outrage and condemnation.

Throughout our history we have taken the point of view of civilian victims, without discrimination of nationality, skin colour or colonial flavour. For us, every victim is a defeat of humanity, a crime that should be fought by the international community moving to stop the violence and not to add horror to more horror.

The equation Gaza=Hamas is therefore unacceptable because it disposes to a collective vengeance on a defenceless population, which cannot escape anywhere and which sees, neighbourhood after neighbourhood, the entire area heading towards total destruction. This is why we call on the European Union and the international community to use all pressure to induce the Israeli government to end the siege of Gaza and allow relief and protection of civilians, starting with the weakest and most vulnerable.
The civilians (including children) killed during the Israeli raid will not get justice if this massacre is compounded by new massacres of other children and civilians. Just as the Palestinian children murdered in recent years by the ruthless and blind occupation of their territories have not received justice.

The slaughter must stop, the weapons must stop!

We also express alarm and concern for the humanitarian workers who are trapped in Gaza and who are witnessing the terrible things that are happening to the civilian population, whose death toll, hour by hour, is growing exponentially.

We give all our solidarity to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa) who lost 9 staff members in the bombing tonight.

We find it unbelievable and irresponsible that the European Union, at the very time when one of the most densely populated areas in the world is under siege, is discussing the possible interruptionof cooperation fundsdirected to the Palestinian population.

We demand the release of every Israeli hostage, just as we renew our call for the release of the unjustly detained Palestinian political prisoners.

The massacre and destruction of Gaza in the face of the international community's immobility, may set the whole of West Asia on fire, strengthening fundamentalist sectarian components, with the risk of conflict expansion.

We must empty the wells of hatred, rebuild trust in international law, and work to replace the logic of war and weapons with that of dialogue and negotiation. Let the voices of men and women of culture rise from Arab and Israeli civil society against this bellicose drift.

Let us build bridges between civil societies because as Vittorio Arrigoni wrote, we must 'remain human, even when humanity seems to be lost around us'.

Resorting to the force of arms, the militarisation of territory, the building of walls, the apartheid system, and the denial of the Palestinian people's elementary rights have not made Israel safer.

Only a genuine peace process and decolonisation of the Palestinian territories and the implementation of UN resolutions can help rebuild mutual trust within a framework of respect for the fundamental rights of all.

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'Water for Gaza' is our campaign in response to the crisis resulting from Israel's complete siege of the Palestinian people.

Get active today for the Palestinian people and help us bring water to Gaza. With your donation we will provide immediate relief by guaranteeing clean water to 2000 families and support what remains of local agricultural activities.