Palestinian women in the Gaza Strip are marking International Women’s Day on March 8th this year under the slogan: “Palestinian Women Want an End to the Division,” because Palestinian women embody the unity of the people and are pioneers in building civil peace, strengthening internal dialogue, and ending the division.

As they celebrate International Women’s Day, the General Union of Palestinian Women, along with women’s frameworks, centers, and associations, are demanding an immediate end to the political division in the Palestinian arena. They warn that its continuation has inflicted heavy losses on the Palestinian people at the national level and weakened the Palestinian cause at the Arab and international levels. This division has also led to the continuation of Israeli aggression and the devastating siege of all economic and social structures in the Gaza Strip, as well as the continuation of the Israeli occupation’s Judaization plans and settlement projects in the West Bank.

As Palestinian women commemorate March 8th, they emphasize the necessity of achieving national reconciliation and building the unity of the Palestinian people at home and abroad. They call on all political forces and factions to direct their efforts towards confronting the Israeli occupation and its repressive practices, working to strengthen the steadfastness of the Palestinian people, and activating popular resistance against the occupation. They also call for confronting its aggressive plans that aim to circumvent the fixed national rights of return, self-determination, embodying national independence, and establishing an independent Palestinian state on the borders of June 4, 1967, with Jerusalem as its capital.

Today, as we celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8th, we continue our tireless struggle for freedom and national liberation from the occupation and to build a democratic society governed by the values of social justice and equality, and we emphasize the following:

The General Union of Palestinian Women, along with women’s frameworks, centers, and associations, extend greetings to:

• All women of Palestine at home and abroad.
• The female prisoners of conscience, demanding their immediate release.
• The Arab women struggling for the legitimate rights of their peoples to freedom, democracy, and social justice.
• The women of the world struggling for their equal rights and against all forms of discrimination and oppression in the world.

Glory and immortality to our righteous martyrs.

Greetings to the soul of the martyred leader, symbol, Abu Ammar, the supporter of women on their holiday.

Long live our national unity… Long live the Eighth of March, “International Women’s Day.”

The General Union of Palestinian Women and the women’s frameworks, centers, and associations.

March 8, 2011