New Delhi: Rockets fired by Palestinians against Israel are part of a “resistance” which is supported by international law, a group of writers and artistes led by Arundhati Roy and Nayantara Sahgal has declared, The Hindu said on Monday.

In a statement, the collective accused Israeli government of killing Palestinian children and blamed Israeli settlers for illegally trying to snatch Palestinian land. The collective, which includes actor Ratna Pathak Shah, Naseeruddin Shah, novelist Githa Hariharan and economist Prabhat Patnaik, said narration of the latest fighting in Gaza should not deprive Palestinians of their “dignity and right to resist”.

“Palestinians in Gaza fired rockets at Israel. The rockets did not start or define the brutality that followed. The rockets came as as part of a resistance — backed by international law — of an illegal occupation,” declared the statement from the collective.

It said Israeli retaliation with “extreme force” killed civilians, including children. India taking a stand on the flare-up has told the UN that the Gaza rockets were indiscriminate and the Israeli bombardment was retaliatory, a language not very different from President Joe Biden’s comments on the issue.

The collective urged the Egyptian air force to provide a ‘no-fly zone’ above Gaza strip and pointed to the lack of political will in the Arab world to protect the Palestinians.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2021