A Call for Justice & Compassion
Jedna BiH Coalition
Stands in Solidarity with Palestine
As a coalition comprising diverse organizations and individuals from various faiths and ethnicities, Jedna BiH stands unified in its unwavering commitment to advocating for the rights and dignity of all people, irrespective of their background or origin. Today, we are compelled to address a deeply troubling escalation of Israel’s war and ongoing massacre, forced expulsion and genocide of Palestinian civilians in the occupied territory of Gaza. We are mourning all of the lives that were lost and are horrified by the mounting human rights violations, the growing civilian toll, and the destruction of residences and public infrastructure across the occupied Palestinian territory.
The facts are stark and distressing: over 2000 civilians killed, 600+ children, in Gaza just this week; while over 180,000 people have been displaced from Gaza. Over the last 16 years the civilians of Gaza have been under the Israeli occupation where water, electricity, food, gas and other resources have been withheld in retaliation, whereas these resources have never been withheld from the residents of Israel as punishment. This week, Israel has severed access to these life-essential resources, leaving 2 million people in Gaza, half of whom are under the age of 18, in a state of extreme vulnerability. Emergency care is strained due to the severity of injuries, including injuries due to white phosphorous, and additionally strained due to the deadly illegal targeting of medical staff.
In this hour of darkness, we reflect upon our shared history, for Bosnia and Herzegovina knows the agony of injustice and oppression. We come from generations that were colonized, that survived multiple wars, survived and resisted Nazi aggression across the Balkans in the 1930s and 1940s, and that faced genocide in the 1990s. Many of us are old enough to remember what resource depravation looks like and we certainly remember the failure of the international community's duty to intervene. Today, we reaffirm our unequivocal support for all people who have had their human rights and child rights violated, as we express our solidarity with the Palestinian people’s demand for self-determination.
We are witnessing a string of atrocities that international law experts amount to war crimes. The situation is dire, as Israel urged 1.1 million people to evacuate, which as the UN has noted, is logistically impossible. The Israeli assault persisted even as people were trying to evacuate to safer ground. The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said that airstrikes had killed at least 70 Palestinians and injured 200 who were trying to flee the north by car on a main highway — one of the few routes to an area farther south. The deliberate targeting of residential neighborhoods, hospitals, schools, medical professionals and journalists cannot be ignored. The international community has a moral obligation to confront the grave offenses that have transpired.
Jedna BiH strongly supports the UN Secretary General’s call for International Humanitarian Law (IHL) to be upheld; to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure at all costs; to allow full and unrestricted access to aid for civilians in Gaza; and to mobilize the international community to provide immediate humanitarian support for those that need it.
It is not enough to merely bear witness to these injustices. We must act. As a coalition, we call upon our members and supporters to take concrete steps. In this spirit, we encourage you to make a meaningful difference by contributing to organizations providing vital assistance to the people of Gaza and to take steps to advocate for the civilians of the occupied Palestinian territories.
Call to Action
We believe all people, regardless of ethnicity, nationality or religion, deserve to live a life without the crushing effect of violence and we implore you to join us in solidarity, compassion, and advocacy. Let our actions speak louder than just words as we work tirelessly to ensure that justice and compassion prevail.
In Solidarity,
Members of the One BiH / Jedna BiH Coalition
info@jednabih.com
