BAYAN Philippines' statement on the massacre by the Israeli armed forces of aid workers headed for Gaza

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) condemns in the strongest terms possible the barbaric killings of at least 19 aid workers belonging to the Freedom Flotilla which sought to bring much needed humanitarian aid to Gaza. The six ships had civilians on board, including Nobel laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire of Northern Ireland, European legislators and Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein, 85 according to reports.There is nothing that can justify the massacre of these aid workers by the Israeli armed forces.The US-backed Israeli government has long violated the rights of the Palestinian people, from the inhumane economic blockade and the large-scale destruction it inflicted when it bombed Gaza in 2008. The Israeli government now extends its atrocities to international waters after it blocked and boarded the six aid ships and opened fire on the people on board.We call on the Philippine government and the international community to protest this latest atrocity. We call on the US government to stop providing economic, political and military aid to the terroristic Israeli government. We call for an end to the occupation of Palestine by Israel and for the lifting of the inhumane blockade.We call for international solidarity for the Palestinian people and for justice for the victims of the massacre.