Last night, Israeli jets pounded the besieged Gaza Strip, killing at least five Palestinians and destroying several buildings. This occurred after seven Palestinians, and one Israeli soldier, were killed on Sunday after Israeli Special Forces entered the Gaza strip, in violation of the recently agreed Egyptian-brokered truce. This armed incursion provoked retaliation from resistance factions who fired homemade projectiles into Israel, killing one Israeli. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that Israel has made 262 similar ground incursions into Gaza since 2014, 70 of them in 2018
Since 2008 Israel has launched 3 major assaults on Gaza, killing thousands and heavily damaging Gaza’s infrastructure. Since March, over 200 Palestinians have been killed, and thousands wounded, by Israeli troops during weekly demonstrations demanding the right to return to the land from which they were expelled in 1948. Israel continues to maintain an 11 year old siege, the effects of which have led the UN to warn that the territory could become uninhabitable by 2020.
Urgent action is needed now to prevent further Israeli aggression. The Stop Arming Israel campaign is calling on the UK to implement a two-way arms embargo with Israel. Further, it is calling on HSBC to cut ties with companies that trade weapons with Israel. Sign the petition, and get involved with the campaign here: https://bit.ly/2JYssPq
We are also working to bring Palestine to Parliament. On November 28th we are holding a lobby day, during which hundreds of PSC supporters will ask their MP to support Palestinian human rights. Become part of the day by requesting a meeting with your MP, or if you can’t attend in person, ask them to meet with the PSC team for a briefing. More information can be found here: https://bit.ly/2TbCdhc
Whilst much of attention on Gaza tends to focus on how to prevent a further escalation of violence, it remains that it is only international pressure, applied through targeted boycott, divestment and sanction campaigns, that will bring an end to Israel’s continued violations of Palestinian human rights.