Namibia Urges NAM Unity to Demand End to Israeli Genocide in Gaza

By Al Mayadeen English

24 Jan 2024 

The Namibian Deputy Prime Minister believes that NAM countries are small but can have a huge impact in support of Palestine against the occupation.

Namibian Deputy Prime Minister, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, spoke yesterday on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Kampala, urging the Non-Aligned Movement to unite in order to demand an end to the Israeli occupation's ongoing genocidal war on Gaza.

The Namibian official stated that "quite a number of member states," including Namibia, the Maldives, and Pakistan, had expressed support during the NAM summit for South Africa's lawsuit against the occupation at the International Court of Justice last month.

Earlier on Sunday, a Belgian minister also announced her country’s support for the case.

Nandi-Ndaitwah asserted that, despite being individually small in size, NAM's constituent members comprised the majority of the world's population and thus could do much in case they chose to work together.

Nandi-Ndaitwah stated, "We have to accept that we are in the world, where you have some who are strong. But now, as the Non-Aligned [Movement], we feel that in our number, no matter that individually we are small, in all the different characteristics I've mentioned, if we can work together, we'll be able at least to help the citizens, the majority of the world citizens," stressing that the NAM's members' unity is key in this case and can have a huge impact.

NAM is a forum of 120 countries not formally aligned with any major power bloc.

The Israeli genocide in Gaza

The Health Ministry in Gaza released a statement yesterday announcing that the number of Palestinians killed by "Israel" in its ongoing genocidal war on the Strip since October 7 surged to 25,490, in addition to 63,345 injuries.

The Ministry emphasized that the IOF committed 22 massacres in 24 hours only across the Gaza Strip, murdering 195 Palestinians and wounding 354 others.

“Many people are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads and rescuers can’t reach them,” the statement added.

According to the UN, about 85% of Gazans have been deliberately displaced by the occupation as it continues to starve them. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have no shelter, and ⁠less than half of aid trucks can enter the territory, knowing that in several instances, Israeli occupation forces opened fire and targeted those seeking aid and others who were distributing it.