“In the early hours of today, the Israeli occupation launched large-scale airstrikes on Iran — a dangerous development that transforms what was already a genocidal campaign in Palestine into a regional war with unforeseeable consequences”, warned this Friday La Via Campesina.

“This marks a new phase in a long-standing colonial project, now fueled by imperialist impunity, aimed not only at crushing Palestinian resistance but also at destabilizing the entire region through military aggression, collective punishment, and political domination”, added the official comunication of the world’s largest peasant’s movement.

At the center of this dangerous moment stands the Sumoud Convoy, a powerful act of grassroots international solidarity, launched from Tunisia with the aim of reaching Rafah, in the Gaza Strip.
This convoy was stopped in eastern Libya by the authorities in Benghazi, near Sirte, preventing it from continuing its journey.

“La Via Campesina urgently calls on the authorities in Benghazi to facilitate the passage of the convoy, in accordance with the warm welcome it has received from the Libyan people. We hold the Egyptian government fully responsible — politically, legally, and morally — for the safety and freedom of all participants in the Sumoud Convoy and the Global March to Gaza, whether currently held at the airport or traveling toward Rafah by land, sea, or air”.

Real World Radio interviewed Hatem Aouini, representative of the Million Rural Women and the Landless in Tunisia, organisation member of La Via Campesina, which has been involved in the organisation of the Convoy for months. Hatem, also member of the Regional Secretariat of La Via Campesina in the Arab and North Africa Region (ARNA), was part of the Sumoud Convoy and speaks about the links between this solidarity movement and the attacks by Israel today in Iran.