JFJFP

On 2 June, JJP followed up again with United Nations OCHA data that shows the rate of deaths and injuries since the joint statement was published have increased considerably.

Our letters are below

Letter to FCDO and Canadian and French Embassies

Stephen Hickey, Director, Middle East & North Africa, FCDO 2 June 2025

Jonathan Powell, National Security Adviser

Katrina Burgess, Political Counsellor, Canadian High Commission

Hugo Delcher, Political Counsellor, French Embassy

Dear Mr. Hickey, Mr. Powell, Ms. Burgess and Mr. Delcher,

We are now writing to update the data which we estimated in our letter of 27 May on the rate at which Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since you issued your joint statement. In fact, the rate is considerably higher then we estimated. When we wrote to you, data for this specific period had not been published by United Nations OCHA.

We therefore used Guardian data covering the period 18 March – 25 May as a guide. We said “In fact, since 19 May the Israeli attacks on Gaza have continued unabated, continuing to kill an average of more than 50 Palestinians every day.”

The OCHA “Humanitarian Situation Update #292, Gaza Strip”, dated 28 May, provides the specific data. From Israel breaking the ceasefire on 18 March up to 21 May, there was an average of 53 deaths and 153 injuries per day. From 22 May up to 28 May, there was an average of 61 deaths and 194 injuries per day. Those are increases of 16% and 29% respectively.¹

However, there has been no data at all for Northern Gaza since 23 May, because Ministry officials have been unable to get access there. Therefore, the increases in rates of deaths and injuries are certainly higher than the available data shows, and possibly much higher.

In addition to the increased rate of assault in Gaza, on 29 May the Israeli Defence Ministry announced the approval of 22 new West Bank settlements. The Ministry said “The new settlements are all placed within a long-term strategic vision, whose goal is to strengthen the Israeli hold on the territory, to avoid the establishment of a Palestinian state, and to create the basis for future development of settlement in the coming decades,” In fact, 11 will be new settlements, and 11 are existing settlement outposts to be regularised under Israeli law, which will allow them to expand. The announcement is significant.²

We believe both the increased assaults and the announcement are what hard-line Israeli nationalists call “suitable Zionist responses”. Your governments criticised Israel in very strong terms, so the Israeli government responded by doubling down on what you dared to criticise. The “price tag” operations by violent settlers are similar. On the very rare occasions when an Israeli government took down an unauthorised outpost to placate an American Administration, settlers attacked a nearby Palestinian village, torching cars, breaking windows and sometimes setting fire to a house. A baby died in one attack.

To reiterate some of what we said in our previous letters:

If the Israeli government is allowed to get its way, the consequences for the Palestinians will be devastating. The deaths and destruction will increase still further as the IDF uses live fire to force the Palestinians over the borders. The Palestinians of Gaza may well actually be destroyed “in whole or in part” as “a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such”.³

Very strong sanctions will be necessary to compel Israel to change course. They will actually have to hurt Israel. They should include suspending tariff-free status of all Israeli exports to your country, suspending all arms exports to Israel (if your government hasn’t already suspended them, as the UK hasn’t), and refusing entry to your country to all Israeli government ministers and senior military officers. Weaker sanctions will not suffice.

We are sure you realise the Israeli government has challenged your governments. If you don’t face it down, it will be further emboldened to continue ethnically cleansing Gaza and taking more and more of the West Bank. The credibility of your governments’ commitment to international law will be badly eroded, perhaps fatally.

Yours sincerely,

Arthur Goodman

Parliamentary and Diplomatic Officer

1. Our spreadsheet making these calculations based on the OCHA data is also attached to our email.

2. https://peacenow.org.il/en/cabinet-decision-22-settlements

3. https://jfjfp.com/voices/paper-on-legal-characterisation-of-israeli-assault-on-gaza/

2 June 2025

letter to 14 other embassies we lobbied

……..

………

Dear …….

We are now writing to update the data which we estimated in our letter of 27 May on the rate at which Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since Canada, the UK and France issued their joint statement on 19 May. In fact, the rate is considerably higher then we estimated.

When we wrote to you, data for this specific period had not been published by United Nations OCHA. We therefore used Guardian data covering the period 18 March – 25 May as a guide. We said “In fact, since 19 May the Israeli attacks on Gaza have continued unabated, continuing to kill an average of more than 50 Palestinians every day.”

We believe both the increased assaults and the announcement are what hard-line Israeli nationalists call “suitable Zionist responses”. The three governments criticised Israel in very strong terms, so the Israeli government responded by doubling down on what they dared to criticise. The “price tag” operations by violent settlers are similar. On the very rare occasions when an Israeli government took down an unauthorised outpost to placate an American Administration, settlers attacked a nearby Palestinian village, torching cars, breaking windows and sometimes setting fire to a house. A baby died in one attack.

To reiterate some of what we said in our previous letter:

In our meeting, we argued that the only way to prevent these Israeli policies from taking their course is for willing countries to issue a demarche on Israel that there will be severe diplomatic and economic consequences if it does not desist.

We therefore urge your government to join Canada, the UK and France in telling Israel it must desist in its attacks or face the most severe consequences. Those consequences should now include suspending tariff-free status of all Israeli exports to your country, suspending all arms exports to Israel (if your government hasn’t already suspended them), and refusing entry to your country of all Israeli government ministers and senior military officers. Weaker sanctions will not suffice.

Action is urgently needed. This Israeli government must be prevented from continuing its attacks, which would kill hundreds if not thousands more people, and from ethnically cleansing Gaza and the refugee camps of the West Bank.