Emergency Actions Demand: Hands off Rafah!
ANSWER Coalition

(February 18, 2024) — In outraged response to Israel’s threats to take its genocide in Gaza to new heights, protesters held emergency actions nationwide to Shut It Down for Palestine! The majority of Gaza’s population has been forced to flee to Rafah, the southernmost region along the border with Egypt. Roughly 1.5 million people are now packed into an area half the size of San Francisco, many without shelter or food. Now, the U.S.-supplied Israeli war machine is pledging to smash into the area with its full destructive force to achieve a horrific “final victory”.

Emergency action held in Houston, Texas

Mass marches numbering in the thousands broke out in major cities nationwide, and countless actions large and small took place in every part of the country. High school students in New York City took a stand and walked out of class on Friday, underscoring how young people in particular are disgusted with the genocidal policies of the Biden administration. Civil disobedience, die-ins and other forms of action disrupted business as usual.

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Hands off Rafah march in Washington, D.C.

An invasion of Rafah would be the final move in Israel’s plot to carry out a mass displacement of Palestinians of historic proportions, similar to the 1948 Nakba that led to the establishment of the colonial regime. Netanyahu wants to force people out of Gaza and into Egypt by the hundreds of thousands to make way for the colonization of the area. But amid massive pressure from the people of the world, Israel’s imperialist backers are beginning to hesitate. Now is the time to intensify the struggle!

Marchers take over Pike Place in Seattle

Shamefully, while this new massacre is being prepared, the politicians in Congress are maneuvering to pass a giant new package of military aid for Israel, totaling over $14 billion. Shut It Down for Palestine activists picketed the office of Senator Chuck Schumer all day on Thursday to demand money for people’s needs, not genocide against Gaza. Schumer is the top ranking leader in the Senate, and an ardent supporter of Israeli colonialism. But no matter how many politicians and powerful institutions line up behind Israel, nothing can stop the people from mobilizing for Palestine!