No-one聽with a conscience聽can watch Israel鈥檚 bombardment of Gaza, as聽thousands of innocent Palestinian citizens try to flee south within their聽tiny, open-air prison and not feel horrified.
Israel has occupied the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip for 56 years and imposed a permanent blockade on Gaza for 16.
It is now using Hamas鈥 latest attack on nearby Israeli聽settlements as an excuse to unleash a massive, genocidal bombing campaign and聽another land grab.
There聽needs to聽be聽an immediate聽ceasefire and a聽just聽political resolution of this conflict.
This means addressing Palestinians鈥 right to self-determination and聽ending聽Israel鈥檚 occupation.
This is why聽聽stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to resist and defend themselves against ethnic cleansing, evictions,聽land grabbing,聽assaults and massacres.
Since the latest conflict began on October 7, almost every Western journalist has begun their interview of any Palestinian by asking the question: 鈥淒o you condemn the massacres of Israelis by Hamas?鈥
When the Palestinian responds by saying something along the lines of 鈥渁ll civilian deaths are tragic鈥, the Western journalist has聽tried to hammer聽them聽into聽solely聽condemning聽Hamas.
Few Western journalists accept that this current聽blow-up聽comes after decades of Palestinian people鈥檚 dispossession, genocide and untold suffering.
For Western politicians聽and聽their mass media mouthpieces,聽it seems聽that Palestinian lives do not matter聽as much as Israeli聽lives.
Israel鈥檚 indiscriminate bombing of Gazan civilians and聽its demand聽that聽they leave their homes, when they have nowhere to go, is inhumane.
But Australian, United States and European politicians have been quick to condemn Hamas 鈥 and, by implication, all Palestinians 鈥斅燼nd offer unconditional聽political and military support to the聽Israeli聽government.
US President Joe Biden has repeated unverified and gruesome stories about beheadings聽of Israelis聽鈥 a tactic aimed at building domestic support for Israel鈥檚 even more deadly聽attacks on聽Palestinian civilians.
Why is the West ignoring the injustices perpetuated by the Israeli apartheid state?
Why is it ignoring the almost daily killings of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank 鈥 185 this year alone prior to this latest outbreak?
Western governments also ignore Israel鈥檚 jailing of 500鈥700 children, annually,聽simply聽for throwing stones聽at Israeli聽occupation forces. They ignore the demolition of Palestinian homes and the destruction of Palestinian farms. They ignore Israel鈥檚 brazen violation of international laws.
They do this because Israel is a beachhead for imperialism鈥檚 interests in the Middle East.
Without Israel to play聽the role of reliable regional cop, kicking the heads of any country from Egypt to Iran that doesn鈥檛 play by its rules, imperialism doesn鈥檛 have a local enforcer.
No matter how brutal its system of apartheid is, the needs of the Israeli state are given full support聽by the US and its imperialist allies.
British and US imperialism have been covering for, and enabling, Israel鈥檚 domestic policies since the United Nations first divided Palestine into Jewish and Arab states in May 1948.
The UN鈥檚 justification was that Britain had been promising the Jews a homeland since 1917 and the horrors of the World War II Holocaust seemed to prove they deserved it.
But Palestine聽was not Britain鈥檚, or the UN鈥檚, to give.
This led to the 1948 war: the Arab states tried聽unsuccessfully聽to stop Zionist forces from killing 15,000 Palestinians, but 750,000 people became refugees and 78% of historic Palestine was stolen.
Palestinian resistance from that time onwards has been condemned as unjustified and unreasonable.
Palestinians have been vilified as terrorists, Muslim extremists and antisemites and now they are even being described聽as 鈥減ure evil鈥 and聽synonymous with the Islamic State.
The West never intervened when Israel broke international law聽in聽the 1967 Six Day War, which created hundreds of thousands more refugees.
The West has stood back as the Israeli government has taken more and more Palestinian land, built endless walls and settlements, turned Gaza into an open-air prison and, recently, bombed the tiny refugee camp of Jenin, killing 140 Palestinians.
Israel鈥檚 invasion of neighbouring countries, such as Lebanon in 1982, did not prompt Western condemnation.
Who can forget the horrific 3-day killing spree and rapes unleashed on Sabra and Shatila by the Lebanese Christian Phalangists armed by, and working with, the Israeli Defense Forces?聽Three thousand innocent Palestinian refugees and Lebanese civilians were massacred.
For there to be a just聽political settlement, we need to help build a powerful global solidarity movement聽with the Palestinian people and against Israeli apartheid.
Effective solidarity means building alliances with those who聽support聽justice for Palestine, such as the union movement, churches, community groups and Palestinian refugees.
The Anthony Albanese Labor government聽should聽call on Israel to stop its genocidal war on Gaza and lift the blockade.
It聽should impose and support a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel.
It聽should聽oppose ongoing Israeli land grabbing and ethnic cleansing support.聽And, it should support聽the right of Palestinian refugees to resettle in their traditional homelands聽with聽full rights.
Most Palestinians聽no longer聽believe that a聽鈥渢wo-state solution鈥澛爄s viable.聽Palestine must become an integrated non-racialised,聽democratic state, where every聽citizen聽has equal rights.
What we do in Australia聽now聽matters.聽This聽means attending every solidarity rally and聽defying attempts聽to criminalise pro-Palestinian聽protests.
Global solidarity helped end South African Apartheid and it can also help end Israeli Apartheid.聽The聽Palestinian people urgently need global solidarity聽to win their right to self-determination on their own against such a colossal international war machine.
[Sue Bull is a member of the聽聽national executive.]