Despite little-to-heavy rains, it did not hamper the rage of freedom fighters, rights advocates, church workers and progressive individuals to protest the continuing Israeli aggression, backed by the United States, in Palestine—asserting that Palestinian resistance is only just amid relentless attacks.
The groups began their protest assembly in Luneta Park along Roxas Boulevard. Supposedly, the march would traverse along Roxas Boulevard going to the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) complex but police personnel had already barred the road that is only a few meters away from the US embassy.
Still, the protesters knew where they were heading and directly trooped towards a different route, turning to Kalaw and then to Del Pilar St. while aiming to reach the CCP complex.
Palestinian resistance is justified
The march took place following the announcement of a 4-day humanitarian ceasefire brokered by Qatar between the Palestinian resistance and Israel. This aimed to facilitate the exchange of prisoners, including 150 women and children held in Israeli prisons.
According to the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS), while the ceasefire is a welcomed development, there are concerns that it may not be sufficient, given the expectation that Israel might resume the oppression of Palestinians immediately afterwards, following 45 days of continuous bombings.
As a matter of fact, there have been reports of escalated bombings in Gaza and the arrest of the director of Al Shifa Hospital along with other doctors involved in patient evacuation prior to the ceasefire taking effect.
It must be noted that settler colonialism in Palestine dates back to the French invasion in 1799 and continued with British colonial rule in the 19th century. The British Zionist movement played a key role in establishing Palestine as the “national home of the Jewish people” and led to the displacement of Palestinians from their homes as a Jewish state was formed.
“Makatwiran ang ginagawang armed resistance na ginagawa ng mga Palestino dahil sa okupasyon na ginagawa ng Israel na sinususugan ng US. Clearly, pandarahas ang ginagamit laban sa kanila,” said Ysabelle Briones of League of Filipino Students National Capital Region (LFS – NCR).
[The armed resistance carried out by the Palestinians due to the occupation by Israel, supported by the US, is justifiable. Clearly, violence is being used against them]
Briones quickly refuted that the aggression of Israel through Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did not only begin since the Hamas attack in October but ever since its occupation and forced displacement among Palestinians from their lands. This has further triggered widespread unrest and resistance across the Arab region.
“Hindi sila nakaranas ng tunay na kalayaan sa higit 70 taon na pambobomba, pang-aatake, mga tangke ang inihaharap sa kanila. Napipilitan nang gumamit ng dahas dahil dahas din ang ginagamit sa kanila,” Briones added.
[Palestinians have not experienced true freedom in over 70 years of bombings, attacks, and facing tanks. They are forced to resort to force because force is also being used against them]
The establishment of Israel through Zionist settler-colonialism peaked on May 15, 1948, known as “Nakba Day,”. During the Nakba, Israelis controlled 774 towns and villages, demolishing 531 of them. Israeli forces aslo committed over 70 massacres, resulting in the death of approximately 15,000 Palestinians.
Over the past 73 years, Israel has maintained an apartheid regime by systematically targeting and demolishing Palestinian communities alongside fueling robust resistance. Such resistance has manifested in two significant Intifada uprisings in the West Bank and Gaza, underscoring the steadfast determination of Palestinians to confront the illegal occupation of their lands.
The Palestinian death toll has reached 14,854 that is close to the 15,000 estimated killings during the Nakba. An approximate of 7,000 people are still missing, with over 4,700 of them being children.
Two-faced Israel
“Ilang beses na rin nagkaroon ng peace talks sa pagitan ng Israel at Palestine. Yung mga peace talks na ito, hindi ito sinusunod ng Israel at bina-bypass nila yong mga list na nandoon sa peace talks. Pinatutunayan nito na walang goal ang Israel for peace kaya kinakailangan makipaglaban ang peace. Dito makakamit ang tunay na kalayaan,” Briones discussed.
[There have been several instances of peace talks between Israel and Palestine. In these peace talks, Israel does not adhere to the agreements and bypasses the lists outlined in the negotiations. This proves that Israel has no goal for peace, which is why there is a need to fight for peace. True freedom can be achieved through this struggle]
The said agreements through the Oslo Accords were initiated in 1993 (Oslo I) and in 1995 (Oslo II) aiming to resolve the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian wars by establishing mutual recognition and ending hostilities.
The accords envisioned Palestinian self-determination through the creation of a state; however, alongside Israel to acknowledge its existence in the majority of historic Palestine.
Key provisions included the phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied territories since 1967, the transfer of authority to a Palestinian administration, and negotiations on final status issues such as Jerusalem and Israeli settlements. The accords led to the creation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the division of the West Bank into Areas A, B, and C, to achieve a final treaty within five years.
However, for numerous Palestinians, the accords are viewed only as a pretext for Israel to expand its illegal occupation.
Similarity of Palestine and Philippines in context of armed resistance
Martial law survivor Danilo Dela Fuente shared that Palestine and the Philippines share a common ground, especially in the context of the struggle for national liberation against US imperialism.
“Ang kanilang pakikibaka ay gustong abutin ang isang pambansang demokrasya at maituring na isang ganap na estado. Sa atin, naganap na ito na sinimulan pa noong rebolusyon ni Andres Bonifacio na nagtaguyod para kilalanin ang ating pambansyang kasarinlan,” Dela Fuente explained.
[Their struggle aims to attain a national democracy and be recognized as a fully-fledged state. In our case, this has already occurred, initiated during the revolution of Andres Bonifacio, who advocated for the acknowledgment of our national independence]
The martial law survivor emphasized how the US intervenes through its unwavering support of machinery, policies, and joint agreements to both the state of Israel and the Philippines only to boost its imperial powers in the world.
Israel has been the largest recipient of US foreign aid, receiving approximately $263 billion between 1946 and 2023.
In 2023, US military aid to Israel amounted to $3.8 billion, with $500 million allocated for missile defenses. This funding is part of a record $38 billion, 10-year deal signed in 2016 under former President Barack Obama.
Last November 14, progressive groups stormed the US embassy giving its support to the war crimes committed by Israel given the massive killings among Palestinian people.
“As US bombs rain down on Gaza for 37 days now, the US is giving Israel another $14.3 billion to pursue its war on the Palestinian people. The deaths of more than 4,000 children and the destruction of hospitals, schools and refugee camps, are the responsibility of the Biden government,” BAYAN said in a statement.
While The US imposes conditions on aid use, Israeli units have not faced penalties under the Leahy Law. The said law refers to two legal provisions that prohibit the US from allocating funds for aid to foreign security force units if there is credible evidence linking the unit committing grave human rights abuses.
Both US and Israel have intensified collaborations in joint exercises, technology development initiatives, and defense projects, with Israel being the largest recipient of US military aid.
Such a pact is seemingly similar to the relationship between the US and the Philippines with joint military exercises the Visiting Forces Agreement, Balikatan, and most recently the Kamandag exercises at work.
Armed resistance in PH
“Sa kanayunan, nagkakaroon din ng aerial bombings at napipilitan ding mag-aklas ng mga naninirahan dito,” Briones said.
[In rural areas, there are also aerial bombings, compelling the residents to rebel]
In a report from the Communist Party of the Philippines’s official publication Ang Bayan last July 23, displacements due to threats of air strafing and bombing also occur in Negros, Rizal and Mindanao. In October 2022 in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, where an estimated 18,000 residents of Barangay Carabalan and adjacent Barangay Mahalang were forced to evacuate from their homes by soldiers and crowd into the town center.
Accordingly, their barangays became a “no man’s land” within just a few days and were subjected to continuous bombing.
The Philippine government has long been accusing the CPP alongside the National Democratic Front and New People’s Army (CPP-NPA-NDF) of terrorist organizations. This paved the way for the government to enact laws and policies that even legal activists and critics were tagged as terrorists or subversives—this was observed since the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
Eventually, the enactment of Executive Order No. 70 or the whole-of-nation approach penned by the Duterte administration, which also conceived the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), alongside the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) was also the government’s continued efforts to pursue counterinsurgency.
“Hangga’t hindi sinosolusyonan ng gobyerno ang ugat ng mga kahirapan ay lagi’t laging makatwiran ang pag-aklas. For the longest time, tayo rin naman, ang nakikipagdigma, sa atin may peace talks pero ayaw maging bukas ng gobyerno para isagawa ito,” Briones added.
[As long as the government does not address the root causes of poverty, rebellion remains a justifiable recourse. Historically, we too have engaged in conflict, with peace talks on our part, but the government is unwilling to be open to conducting it]
However, the Marcos Jr. administration made recent pronouncements of giving amnesty to former rebels or what they accused of being linked or a member of terrorist organizations including the CPP-NPA-NDF. To Dela Fuente, such amnesty is deemed but a sham and only promotes “instant surrenderee”.
It must be noted that CPP-NPA-NDF has been waging armed resistance for more than five decades now since its reestablishment in 1968. This is even recognized by Manila court through judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar who differed “rebellion” from “terrorism” and affirmed armed struggle is only a means to achieve the CPP’s purpose.
Karapatan stated that the amnesty program also provides no protection against civil suits and offers limited guarantees as to how the information disclosed by the amnesty applicant will be used.
“Ang amnestiya ay dapat pangkalahatan. General, unconditional at omnibus amnesty. Itong inoffer ni Bongbong ay pagpapasuko. Kaya iyan ay kinokondena namin laluna sa konteksto ng armed struggle ay dapat lutasin ang ugat nito,” Dela Fuente reiterated.
[Amnesty should be comprehensive—general, unconditional, and omnibus. What Bongbong offered is a surrender. That’s why we condemn it, especially in the context of the armed struggle, where its root causes should be addressed.]
Karapatan further urged for the abolition of NTF-ELCAC and the rescinding of EO 70 used as instruments of repression. The rights group also called for the resumption of peace talks.
“It should ensure justice and accountability for all human rights and international humanitarian law violations, and the immediate release of all political prisoners. It should adhere to previously signed agreements in the government’s peace talks with the NDFP and implement thoroughgoing, comprehensive and substantial economic and political reforms. It should stop its doublespeak on human rights, social justice and just and lasting peace,” it said in a statement.
It was last November 2017 that the former Duterte administration signed Proclamation No. 360 to declare the termination of peace negotiations with the CPP and NPA, represented by the NDFP.
Since then, only localized peace talks or negotiations between the Philippine government (GRP) and the CPP. However, the CPP rejected the guidelines for localized peace talks citing the GRP’s inconsistency with prior joint agreements established in the three-decade-long peace negotiations.
