Civil Society Organizations: Ramadan is an Occasion for Solidarity and Community Cohesion, Providing Protection for Vulnerable Groups and Supporting Citizens' Resilience

SadaNews - With the advent of the blessed month of Ramadan, the Palestinian Network of Civil Society Organizations extends its congratulations to the sons and daughters of our people and urges internal cohesion and solidarity, along with broad campaigns of moral and material support for the most vulnerable groups in society. This is particularly critical in the context of extremely harsh conditions due to the ongoing genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, which has led to an unprecedented humanitarian disaster, and the various forms of extermination happening in Jerusalem and the West Bank through different means. Notably, this includes the implementation of the annexation plan and control over the land, along with the daily plundering of it in favor of the colonial project that seeks to erase the Palestinian presence, along with the expansion of home demolition policies, and unleashing settlers to commit more assaults, attacking villages and towns, and entrenching the status quo.

This year's Ramadan comes amidst all of this, with an ongoing war where prisons and detention centers are also battlegrounds, alongside legislative attempts to execute prisoners (legally), not to mention the continuing executions that have claimed the lives of over 88 prisoners since October 7, 2023, as well as secret prisons, enforced disappearances, and other unprecedented conditions that the Palestinian people are experiencing during one of the most dangerous chapters for the future of the national cause. This necessitates work with political will to confront these racist policies through tangible and effective measures and steps, alongside popular movements to support citizens' resilience. In this context, we affirm the following:

-      Providing a social safety net for poor and vulnerable groups and supplying them with all the essential means for survival and resilience, and taking concrete steps to deliver humanitarian assistance in coordination with civil, official, and private institutions, and all components and organizations operating in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially for our people in the afflicted camps and in Gaza and targeted areas, within broad relief campaigns.

-      Official bodies must take responsibility regarding the wave of inflation, shortages of materials, and rising prices, especially of meat and poultry, and essential goods. They need to curb excessive pricing, stop manipulation of prices, protect citizens, and halt all forms of exploitation against them, while demanding the formation of popular oversight committees and boycotting merchants who engage in exploitation.

-      Working to boycott all forms of products from the occupation and deepening the culture of boycott against dates, foodstuffs, juices, and all items that have local or imported alternatives, ensuring that Ramadan tables are free from products of the occupation. This is a call for families, housewives, and citizens to make Ramadan an occasion to reaffirm the cessation of flooding our markets and homes with these products. Many food items, including carcinogenic dates, have been identified as unsuitable for human consumption, and we should work on boycotting them and preventing their entry into our homes.

-      Reviving the "Aouna" system, providing assistance and iftar tables for needy families in villages and towns, alongside working on the "Mussaharati" system to revive popular guardianship and protection committees for villages and towns that are under attack by settlers, returning to the noble values of our people in supporting one another, protecting our people in all meanings of solidarity and cohesion, and preserving the national and societal fabric under current circumstances.