British government must use all available pressure to end Israel’s attack on essential fuel supplies to the Gaza strip

British government must use all available pressure to end Israel ’s attack on essential fuel supplies to the Gaza strip

PSC, November 5, 2007

PSC statement on the hardship faced by the Gaza Strip

On Sunday 28 October, Israel began to reduce petrol and diesel supplies to the Gaza Strip, increasing hardship to a people already facing a humanitarian crisis. The previous decision to restrict electricity supplies had been described by UN General Secretary, Ban Ki-moon, as “punitive and unacceptable” and PSC welcomes the intervention of the Israeli attorney general to overturn a decision that should have been unthinkable. However, the plan to cut power supplies is only on hold until the end of the week and, according to the Jerusalem Post on 31 October, an Israeli defence official claimed ‘in the end, the sanction will be implemented’, and that ‘there might, however, be some changes to the dose and to the amount of time it is done for.’

The attorney general still finds it acceptable to cut fuel supplies, which are already reduced due to border closures. On Sunday, the Palestinian fuel authority reported that petrol and diesel deliveries to Gaza were down by more than 40 per cent. This will further harm ordinary civilians who are struggling to live with unprecedented levels of poverty and unemployment: over the past months UN building projects have been frozen, factories and businesses have closed, agricultural exports have been frozen, and fishing banned, all severely affecting the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people.

The action of further restricting fuel supplies, which Israel states it is taking in response to rocket attacks against Israel , is collective punishment against the entire Gazan civilian population. Israel is also threatening to increase its military action against Gaza , with Defence Minister Ehud Barak saying, “the time is approaching when we’ll have to undertake a broad operation in Gaza ”.

Despite the withdrawal of troops and settlers, Israel still occupies the Gaza strip. In his report in August 2007, John Dugard stated, “Arguments that Israel ceased its occupation of Gaza in 2005 following the evacuation of its settlements and the withdrawal of its troops take no account of the fact that Israel retains effective control over Gaza by means of its control over Gaza’s external borders, airspace, territorial waters, population registry, tax revenues and governmental functions. The effectiveness of this control is emphasized by regular military incursions and rocket attacks. Israel ’s conduct in respect of Gaza must therefore be measured against the standards of international humanitarian law and human rights”

Prime Minister Gordon Brown should therefore use every possible avenue to pressure Israel to abide by these obligations, but has so far shown an unwillingness to do so. He failed to use the opportunity of his meeting with Ehud Olmert in London on Tuesday 23 October to call on him to overturn the Israeli cabinet’s definition of Gaza as ‘hostile territory’ and end Israel ’s illegal actions against the Palestinians. Gordon Brown strongly supported the use of economic sanctions against the Iranian government as a powerful and effective tool, but made no similar references to placing economic sanctions on Israel to abide by international law and cease their human rights abuses of Palestinians.

PSC asks its members to urge their MPs to raise this matter urgently with the Prime Minister, and to ask the government to demand of Israel :

an end to the Israeli cabinet definition of Gaza as ‘hostile territory’
and end to the cutting of fuel supplies, which are collective punishment of a population already facing a humanitarian crisis
the immediate full reopening of border crossings
the release of all Palestinian parliamentarians still under detention by Israel

PSC also calls for the suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement until Israel complies with international law.

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End Israeli Occupation:

Peace for all

Lobby of Parliament

28 November 2007

2–6pm Westminster

London

Isolation

Our government must end the economic and political isolation of Gaza immediately. 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza are suffering a humanitarian disaster with 87% of Gazans living below the poverty line.

International law

Our government must insist that Israel complies with international law and ends its continuing expansion of settlements on occupied Palestinian land. There are currently 500,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem .

Illegal wall

Our government must respect the International Court of Justice advisory opinion regarding the illegal wall in the West Bank and Jerusalem and hold Israel to account. The route of the Wall is effectively annexing 10 per cent of the West Bank to Israel , leaving 49,400 Palestinians stranded between the Green Line and the wall.

Democratic principles

Our government must recognise those elected democratically by the Palestinian people and help to reconcile the differences between Fatah and Hamas. All illegally held political prisoners by both sides, especially children, must be released.

An end to 40 years of occupation and a just settlement is the only way to achieve peace for both Palestinians and Israelis.

Help make the change! Join the lobby and speak to your MP.

To lobby your MP:

Firstly, contact your MP as soon as possible and arrange a meeting with them on

Wednesday 28 November. If you don’t know who your MP is, go to www.faxyourmp.com or phone 020 7219 3000.

Briefly explain to your MP what you would like to speak to them about.

Secondly, please let us know when you have an appointment with your MP so we can co-ordinate with other people in the same constituency —

phone 020 7700 6192 or email info@palestinecampaign.org

or 020 7832 1310 / wattg@caabu.org

Even if you do not manage to contact your MP in advance, you can still try to meet them on the day — just come along to the lobby and ask for a ‘green card’ which you then fill in to request that your MP meets you.

We will be able to brief you on how to lobby your MP in the House of Commons on the lobby day.

For more information please contact:

PSC

Tel: 020 7700 6192

Email: info@palestinecampaign.org

www.palestinecampaign.org

CAABU

Tel: 020 7832 1310

Email: wattg@caabu.org

www.caabu.org

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This lobby is called by the following organisations on the occasion of the UN “International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people”:

the Enough Coalition Amicus; Amos Trust; Arab Labour

Group; Arab Media Watch; Association of the Palestinian Community in

the UK ; Bakers’, Food and Allied Workers’ Union ; Britain-Palestine All

Party Parliamentary Group; Britain Palestine Twinning Network; British

Committee for Universities of Palestine ; British Muslim Initiative; Council

for Arab-British Understanding; Communication Workers’ Union ; Christian

Peacemaker Teams UK ; Freedom Clothing Project; Friends of Al-Aqsa;

Friends of Birzeit University ; Friends of the Earth; Friends of Sabeel

UK ; GMB; Green Party; General Union of Palestinian Students; Interpal;

Iona Community; Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions — UK ;

Jewish Socialists’ Group; Jews Against Zionism; Jews for Boycotting

Israeli Goods; Jews for Justice for Palestinians; Liberal Democrat

Friends of Palestine ; Liberation; Medical Aid for Palestinians; Muslim

Association of Britain ; Muslim Council of Britain ; Muslim Parliament of

Great Britain ; Muslim Public Affairs Committee; National Association of

British Arabs; National Union of Mineworkers; 1990 Trust; NUS Black

Students’ Campaign; Open Bethlehem ; Palestine Solidarity Campaign;

Palestinian Forum in Britain ; Palestinian Return Centre; Pax Christi; Public

and Commercial Services Union ; Qattan Foundation; Quaker Peace and

Social Witness; Scottish Episcopal Church’s Justice Peace and Creation

Network; Scottish Friends of Palestine ; Scottish Palestinian Forum; Stop

the War Coalition; Trade Union Friends of Palestine ; Transport and General

Workers Union ; Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association; UNISON; War on

Want; Welfare Association; Women’s International League for Peace and

Freedom UK Section; Zaytoun Ltd

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For a listing of all events on Palestine in the UK please visit the PSC website: www.palestinecampaign.org

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Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Box BM PSA
London
WC1N 3XX

Email: info@palestinecampaign.org

Tel: 020 7700 6192
Fax: 020 7609 7779
Web: www.palestinecampaign.org

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