People around the world will take to the streets for Palestine on March 2 in a day of action called by an international coalition which includes the Palestinian Youth Movement, the International Peoples’ Assembly, Progressive International, ALBA Movimientos, Pan Africanism Today, La Via Campesina, World March of Women – Latin America, the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas, and the International League of People’s Struggle. Around 100 actions have been confirmed in Argentina, Venezuela, Jamaica, South Africa, El Salvador, Lebanon, Hawai’i, Morocco, Spain, Puerto Rico, Malaysia, South Korea, Indonesia, Canada, Sweden, the United States, and Japan.
In the United States, over 200 organizations have endorsed the day of action such as the ANSWER Coalition, CODEPINK, The People’s Forum, Al-Awda the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, American Muslims for Palestine, and Friends of the Congo.
March 2 marks a week before Israel’s scheduled invasion of Rafah, which is set to launch at the start of the holy month of Ramadan.
The mass movement for Palestine has been inspiring millions of people to take to the streets from all corners of the globe, from the Arab world where support for Palestine has historic roots, to the United States, the largest funder of Israel globally. The movement has been heightened since the October 7 launch of the Al-Aqsa Flood operation by the Palestinian resistance, followed by the genocidal Israeli response which has resulted in nearly 30,000 deaths and over 7,000 missing.
“The mass movement for Palestine has led to the isolation of the US and Israel on the world stage,” stated the coalition in announcing the upcoming protest. “With growing internal divisions and heightened political pressure on Israel and the United States, it’s time to push even harder. Our mobilizations at this moment can be more decisive than ever, and we must show our full strength now to ensure a lasting ceasefire and an end to the siege on Gaza.”
The upcoming day of action has drawn significant attention internationally, with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), one of the groups involved in the Palestinian resistance against Israel. On February 27, the PFLP wrote, “Expanding the area of mobilization for mass protest and expanding its frameworks through coordination with unions, parties, supporting and friendly forces and frameworks, overcoming any obstacles that prevent this, and rising to the level of duty towards the sacrifices of our people, and in this context, we call for the widest mass participation in the events of March 2, 2024 throughout the world.”
Miguel Diaz-Canel, the President of Cuba, announced that his country would be joining the March 2 mobilizations. “In all the provinces and in Havana we will take to the streets in solidarity with those brotherly people and to condemn the holocaust that Israel intends to cause in Rafah,” he wrote on X.
In the United States, actions have already been announced in dozens of cities, including New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Austin, Washington DC, Atlanta, and Baltimore.
In the US, the Palestine solidarity movement has seen record numbers of actions and participation since October. November 4 saw the largest pro-Palestine protest in the history of the country in Washington, DC, when 500,000 people gathered in the Freedom Plaza to call for a permanent ceasefire.
“The mass mobilizations have been absolutely key in not allowing Zionist forces to set the terms for the narrative on what’s unfolding in Gaza,” said Layan Fuleihan from The People’s Forum told Peoples Dispatch. “It’s become a major factor in limiting the way in which the White House is able to manufacture its own version of reality. For example, with the flour massacre, Israeli spokespeople said this was a stampede of people seeking aid. But because of the mass movement, and the way that people are now attuned to sources on the ground, and movements that have been fighting for Palestine that can verify what’s been going on, people are clear that this was an episode of genocidal extermination, firing on people just waiting for flour after Israel suffered defeat in other areas of occupied Gaza territory.”
The international movement for Palestine shows no signs of stopping until not only a permanent ceasefire, but also an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, freedom for all Palestinian political prisoners, an end to the siege on Gaza, and an end to US aid to Israel.
