Caracas, October 7, 2024 – The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), together with the Simón Bolívar Institute (ISB in Spanish), ALBA Movements, the People’s Power Ministry for Tourism, and the Platform for Solidarity with the Palestinian cause, sponsored the Antifascist and Anti-Zionist Cultural Forum in Solidarity with Palestine, titled “Resistance Until Liberation,” on Monday at the summit of Waraira Repano National Park in Caracas.

During the emotional event, ALBA-TCP Executive Secretary Jorge Arreaza, speaking on behalf of the bloc’s 10 member states and Honduras, emphasized that this type of event should be happening worldwide, led by “those who feel the pain in their hearts for the denial of life to a noble people.” He stressed that the sole cause of all the deaths in Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon “is the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories.”

“We have witnessed genocide live and direct for a year, through social media and the news, and we must fight against indifference, against normalization. The 42,000 dead in Palestine are not just numbers; they are human beings, souls, and a future being killed in Palestinian territory,” Arreaza emphasized.

Palestinian Ambassador Fadi Alzaben reminded those present that today, October 7, marks one year since the genocidal attacks carried out by Israel, the occupying power, in Gaza, which has claimed the lives of over 42,000 martyrs, mostly women, children, and the elderly. He highlighted that “Palestine is still being bombed, and Palestinians are being killed by air, sea, and land.”

Alzaben described how the infamous Israeli army aims to erase the Palestinian people and their resistance, noting that nearly 80% of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed, and more than 1,000 families have been wiped off the civil registry. “My words cannot describe the pain and helplessness felt by thousands of families in Gaza. How many more Palestinian children must die before the world stops Israel’s killing machine?” he asked, while expressing his gratitude to President Nicolás Maduro, Secretary Arreaza, and Foreign Minister Yván Gil for their unwavering support.

Ana Maldonado, representing social movements, read a proclamation: “We raise our fists and voices in solidarity with the Palestinian people, who have been victims of systematic genocide and countless atrocities that cannot be met with complicit silence.”

She stressed the importance of unity in the fight against the common enemy, stating that there is no way to survive this extermination plan or this total war if the peoples of the world remain divided. “The only thing we cannot tolerate is intolerance. We demand the immediate cessation of violence.”

Venezuela’s Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, expressed that the Palestinian cause is no longer just an issue for the Arab world or the Middle East, but for all of humanity. He pointed out that the Zionist state of Israel is simultaneously attacking four nations: Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, and Syria, “in full view of blindfolded transnational organizations and global superpowers that support Israel.”

Saab argued that ethnic cleansing is being carried out in Palestine. “They are seeking to exterminate its people” and committing genocide and crimes against humanity. In his view, international Zionism seeks to dominate the entire planet.

Diosdado Cabello, First Vice President of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV in Spanish), also participated in the forum: “When we raise the Palestinian flag, we are raising the flag of the free peoples of the world, of peoples who do not surrender and who fight.”

“As Commander Hugo Chávez always taught us, our solidarity is unwavering, our solidarity is absolute with peoples who love freedom, and our condemnation is total against imperialists, genocidal powers, the United States, and the Zionist state of Israel,” he declared.

Representing the youth sector, Alejandro Pino emphasized that over 76 years of Israeli occupation have undermined the rights of the Palestinian people, and after 2001, the U.S. government initiated its false war on terrorism, which in practice became the justification for invading countries: “They did it with Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, and now they are doing it with Palestine, with Syria, with Lebanon, trying to subjugate the peoples of the world through interventionism. Enough with the genocide against the Palestinian people!”

Yaency Moncada, speaking on behalf of the Arab community, emphasized that for too many years, the Palestinian people have been victims of systematic violence. “It is our responsibility to raise our voices in defense of human rights. We cannot remain silent in the face of injustices perpetuated in an endless cycle of hostilities. The war is not only fought on the battlefield but also in homes, streets, and the minds of those affected; the images of destruction that reach us testify to the suffering of a people yearning for peace. Every bombing, every displacement, every lost life is part of a narrative that must change.” Musical and cultural performances were provided by José Alejandro Delgado, Jesús Indriago, Rodbexa Poleo, and Surconciente, lending their artistic contributions to the solidarity event at the Caracas mountain Summit.