The temporary ceasefire is over and the bombing continues. The most recent figures from the Office of Coordination of Humanitarian affairs (OCHA) show 15,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza since October 8th; many more times that number have been injured. The suffering and loss among the civilian population is almost unimaginable. Apart from the dead and injured, 80% of the 2.2 million people are now internally displaced, surviving in makeshift accommodation and living in squalid conditions, among them scores of bereaved parents and orphans. Overcrowding and insanitary conditions are spreading disease, and the World Health Organisation says more than 111,000 cases of acute respiratory infection, 36,000 cases of diarrhoea in children below five, and 24,000 cases of skin rash have been reported since the start of the crisis. Some aid is now getting through, but in far too small amounts. There are still acute shortages of water, food, hospital supplies, fuel and electricity.
The Liberal Democrats called for an immediate, permanent cease-fire, and although the recent hostage/prisoner releases are being celebrated by families on both sides, the temporary pause will fade from memory as the bombing re-starts. The rhetoric from both sides remains the same. Hostilities will continue; Israel wants to eradicate Hamas, and what Hamas hopes to achieve is not clear.
The urgent need from the UK perspective is for our Government and other senior politicians to demand a permanent end to the bombing and to tell Israel’s leaders the world no longer accepts that they are simply exercising their right to self-defence. Experts in international law have called both the Hamas attack and the bombing of Gaza war crimes. What is happening to millions of Palestinians in Gaza – and increasingly in the West Bank – simply cannot be tolerated any longer. We also call for Hamas to stop launching attacks on Israel, but Israel’s leaders have to be the focus of attention. Israel was unquestionably the victim on October 7, but it is now the attacking force in Gaza, and is equipped with vastly superior weapons. Unlike Hamas, or any other country currently at war, Israel will listen to the heads of western governments. Meanwhile, Israeli spokespeople continue to assert that Israel always abides by international law. However, international lawyers say the prosecutors from the International Criminal Court are going to be “spoiled for choice” when it comes to choosing who to indict. [The ICC prosecutes individuals, not countries.]
There have been blood-curdling quotes from both sides, but although Hamas has repeated its aim to annihilate Israel, right now it is Israel which has the military capacity to carry out its threats, and some of those threats are dire. IDF Major General Giora Eiland said “creating a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza is a necessary means to achieve the goal,” and “Gaza will become a place where no human being can exist.” The Israeli Minister of Defence, Yoav Gallant, has declared that he has released all restraints (on the IDF) and that the Israeli army is “fighting human animals, and will act accordingly”, adding that the plan is to “eliminate everything”. Prime Minister Netanyahu has told the Israeli people that he is the only one who can prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state in Gaza, Judea and Samaria [the West Bank], so his aim is clear – to use the Hamas attack as an opportunity to attempt to complete the illegal annexation of Palestine. Most observers from across the world think the opposite, that the establishment of a free Palestine is the only way to prevent a recurrence of the kind of slaughter we are witnessing today. We must press for that view to prevail. You can help by writing to your MP.
Calls for a permanent ceasefire and a move towards peace talks are getting louder. Whatever happens with Hamas, the underlying issues will remain unresolved and there will never be a lasting military solution. Ongoing siege and occupation will continue to drive people towards armed resistance and terrorism – something that benefits neither Israelis nor Palestinians. A political solution is needed. If conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis is to be brought to an end, it will have to involve the two-state solution – a free Palestine. As Layla Moran, our Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, said last night on Question Time, the time to stop the killing and start talking is now.
Question Time November 30th
If you missed Layla last night you can catch up here. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001sy53/question-time-2023-30112023
The Gaza ceasefire is the final question.
Vigil this Sunday 3rd December at 3.00pm in Richmond Terrace, opposite Downing Street
Layla will be at a vigil on Sunday afternoon (details below). Certain to be a moving tribute to those affected by the destruction in Gaza, it will also be an opportunity to see and perhaps talk to Layla in person. She has asked us to urge as many people as can get to London to join her.
