THE Communist Party of Israel and the Palestinian People’s Party (PPP) joined forces to condemn US aggression and called for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.

Communist and workers’ parties from across the world signed a statement to mark Friday’s International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

It stated that ending the illegal Israeli occupation was the “key to peace and stability in the Middle East,” along with the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.

More than 20 parties supported the decree, which also called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the borders of June 4 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital and the resolution of the refugee issue in accordance with UN resolution 194.

Signatories condemned Donald Trump’s foreign policy decisions which have substantially increased tensions in the region.

The recognition of East Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in 2017 sparked outcry from the international community.

This was followed in March this year when the US recognised the Golan Heights to be a legitimate part of Israel in opposition to the majority of world opinion which views the area to be Syrian territory.

US support for Israel’s expansion of its illegal settlement programme and annexation of Palestinian territory is in breach of international resolutions and international law, the parties warned, and is a threat to a “just peace” in the region.

“This US policy, which comes amid the resounding failure of imperialist plans in Syria and Yemen, seeks to give Israel an international umbrella and political compensation for America’s strategic withdrawal from the region. 

“This is a policy bound to fail due the insistence of the Palestinian people to be liberated from the Israeli occupation, to achieve their national independence and to exercise their historical rights, supported by the positions and struggles of revolutionary and progressive forces in the region and throughout the world,” the statement said.

Signatories called for international solidarity with the Palestinian people and for a just and comprehensive peace based on respect for the right to freedom and independence.