Stop the carnage, tell Israel it must end the occupation or face consequences

Black smoke billows after an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City targeted the Intaj Bank linked to Hamas

JJP lobbied the Foreign Secretary on Friday, 14 May.

We urged the him to make every effort to achieve an immediate ceasefire and stop the carnage. Beyond that, we also reminded him that the occupation is the long-term cause for this and all the previous outbreaks of violence, and we urged him to make clear to Israel that it would face consequences if it didn’t agree to end the occupation.

Add your voice to our official JJP voice by writing to the Foreign Secretary and to your MP. 

Foreign Secretary’s address: Dominic.Raab@fco.gov.uk

MPs: You can find your MP’s parliamentary and constituency e-mail addresses on the Parliament UK website. Click on “MPs, Lords and offices”, then on the photo under “MPs”. There is an alphabetical list of MPs.

Please tell us if you write either to the Foreign Secretary or your MP. Thanks

Here is the text of our letter. You can use it, adapt it or write your own letter

Dominic Raab MP 14 May 2021

Foreign Secretary and first Secretary of State

Dear Foreign Secretary,

We are writing to express our deep concern about the escalating violence between Israel and the Palestinians. As of today, more than 115 Palestinians and seven Israelis have been killed.

While the rocket attacks by Hamas and Islamic Jihad and the Israeli army’s attacks on Gaza have accounted for most casualties, the violence began in Jerusalem with the Israeli police’s increasingly brutal tactics in repressing Palestinians protesting against being evicted from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah. The police also blockaded the Damascus Gate to the Old City and stormed the Al Aksa Mosque to expel alleged stone throwers. The tensions have spread to inter-communal violence between Jews and Palestinians in Israeli cities.

As we are sure you understand, the roots of the violence lie in the 54-year occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, and the concomitant denial of Palestinians’ rights. The Palestinians resist, Israel represses them, and tensions escalate periodically into large-scale violence.

As long as Israel persists in the occupation, the cycles of violence will be repeated. The current cycle could lead to a fifth assault on Gaza, with Palestinian casualties in the thousands. We urge you to make every effort to persuade the Israeli government, Hamas and Islamic Jihad to agree an immediate ceasefire.

However, beyond that, experience has shown that criticism by the international community or appeals to Israel’s best interests do not bring about long term change in Israeli policies, especially with right wing Israeli governments. We also urge you, therefore, to make it clear to the Israeli Government that the UK, acting with other countries, will impose consequences on Israel if it does not agree to negotiate meaningfully to end the occupation.

Arthur Goodman

Parliamentary and Diplomatic Officer

The Lobby Group wrote in a similar way to the London embassies of The Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Sweden, Ireland, Belgium, Italy and Poland. They are the nine EU member states (plus the UK), which have shown themselves willing to confront Prime Minister Netanyahu with a threat of consequences in particularly serious issues.