AS ISRAEL ramps up its war efforts to slaughter even more Palestinians in southern Gaza, in the US a group of White House interns are applying internal pressure on President Biden and demanding that he calls a permanent ceasefire.
‘We, the undersigned Fall 2023 White House and Executive Office of the President interns, will no longer remain silent on the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people,’ the interns wrote in a letter shared with NBC News, addressed to President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
They continued to make the point that they were not just speaking for themselves, stating: ‘We heed the voices of the American people and call on the Administration to demand a permanent ceasefire.’
The letter warns Biden: ‘We are not the decision makers of today, but we aspire to be the leaders of tomorrow, and we will never forget how the pleas of the American people have been heard and, thus far, ignored.’
Last month, more than 500 US officials also sent Biden a similar letter.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army has widened its attacks in southern and central Gaza, with some of the heaviest fighting of the war, seeing homes, sheltering displaced Palestinian men, women and children bombed, refugee camps hit and no safe place left to evacuate thousands of people already on the move for weeks.
From early yesterday morning, ‘under heavy aerial bombardment Israeli tanks started pushing deeper and deeper into the centre of Khan Younis city, coming from the eastern side,’ while in southern Gaza, the tank movement forced hundreds more people to flee the area, less their children be killed.
Everybody thought the eastern area of Khan Younis was the main target – as the leaflets that were dropped on the residents stated – but it seems the entire city of Khan Younis is now under heavy bombardment right now! Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher said that Israel’s military is gearing up for days of intense battle in Khan Younis, which it views as a key Hamas stronghold where many leaders could be stationed.
‘It’s all part of a plan to move the operation further south,’ Fisher said. ‘We’re likely to see the Israeli military’s intense operation extend four or five weeks until the middle of January.’
The next few days could bring the heaviest fighting of the two-months war, he added.
‘The number of wounded being brought to the hospital is massive. Doctors and paramedics have not been able to save them all.’ He described the intensity of the attacks noting: ‘It is very dangerous for people to leave for either the north or the south at the same time, conditions are very harsh. There is no food in the markets. Even the little food that was once available is not any more since the centre has been split off from the south.’
At least 16,248 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7th. In Israel, the official death toll stands at about 1,200.
On Saturday December 9th a massive London demonstration in support of the Palestinian people and opposed to US and UK imperialism and their Israeli allies will be assembling at Bank Junction at 12 noon.
In the morning, the TUC will be holding a Special Congress at its Congress House to discuss the battle against the Tory anti-union laws.
The TUC must strike a blow for the working class, not just of the UK but of the world, including Gaza, by moving that the Special Congress calls a general strike to bring down the Tories and bring in a workers’ government and socialism to smash the anti union laws and to give full support to the workers of Palestine to win their struggle against US and UK imperialism.
Now is our opportunity to strike a blow for freedom, to smash the anti-union laws and give massive support to the Palestinian people to allow them to refuse to continue to be occupied by Israel and being the servants of UK and US imperialism.
We urge workers to lobby the TUC at Congress House at 9am Saturday morning to demand that it call a general strike to smash the anti-union laws and to support the struggle of the Palestinian people to own and dispose of their oil wealth as they wish. We urge workers and youth to join the March for Palestine assembling at 11am at the Royal Exchange. Forward to the UK general strike – forward with the Palestinian revolution!
