The Movement for Black Lives, a collective of more than 50 organizations representing black people across the country, released a statement of support for the Palestinian people on Friday, May 18.

The organization said it stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people and those who have participated in peaceful protests called the Great March of Return beginning March 30 earlier this year. The Great March of Return is a protest in Gaza which calls for the Palestinian refugees' "right to return" to their homes in which they were expelled in 1948.

Though the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Israeli settlements and occupation has been long-standing, Israeli forces killing a reported number of at least 60 Palestinians on May 14 on the Gaza border has sparked international outrage.

The Movement for Black Lives is standing in support of Palestinians and particularly those who have "been engaging in resistance at the Gaza border," the statement read.

"As we watched the brutal attacks on these brave activists which continued during and after the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, we were painfully reminded of what happens when black people, here in the U.S., decide to resist," the statement read in part. "We know that the United States government sends the same weapons to Tel Aviv as it sends to Ferguson, and hundreds of other cities across the country. We know that police officers in the United States learn the tactics of war from Israeli police forces, who come annually to train U.S. officers in methods of oppression, surveillance and murder. We understand that we are connected to the Palestinian people by our shared demand for recognition and justice and our long histories of displacement, discrimination and violence."

President Trump moved to open the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem in May and controversially recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital last year.

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