JJP writes to all MPs about Gaza again
On 14 March, we wrote again to all Members of Parliament about Israel’s continuing attack on Gaza. This time we concentrated on Information coming into the public domain that revealed the Israeli government’s intention of strangulating humanitarian aid organisations operating in the occupied Palestinian Territories, regardless of the harm already done to their operations by the five months of bombing and displacement in Gaza.
Our letter is below:
14 March 2024
Dear Member of Parliament,
Thank you for replying to our paper of 19 February in support of the SNP motion for a ceasefire in Gaza.
We are writing to you again in the expectation that a debate will soon be held in the House of Commons on the whole issue of the Israeli occupation and its consequences, including the need for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, resumption of funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and the absolute need to end the Israeli occupation which has caused the violence of the past 56 years.
Information recently coming into the public domain has revealed the Israeli government’s intention of strangulating humanitarian aid organisations operating in the occupied Palestinian Territories, regardless of the harm already done to their operations by the five months of bombing and displacement in Gaza.
First, The Commissioner General of UNRWA, Phillipe Lazzarini, sent an open letter to the President of the General Assembly on 22 February which listed 11 Israeli measures that are quietly, bureaucratically, imposing severe restriction on UNRWA’s work. To list just five of them here:
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A Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem has taken steps to evict UNRWA from its HQ of 75 years in East Jerusalem.
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Visas for most international staff, including those in Gaza, have been limited to one or two months.
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The Minister for Finance has stated that he will revoke UNRWA’s tax exemption privileges.
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Customs authorities have suspended shipment of UNRWA goods.
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An Israeli bank has blocked an UNRWA account.
The Commissioner General also noted that the Israeli government had still not provided him with any evidence for its unproved allegations that 12 UNRWA employees, out of the 13,000 in Gaza, were involved in the 7 October attack.
He spoke the truth when he wrote ”Calls today by the Government of Israel for UNRWA’s closure are not about the Agency’s neutrality. Instead, they are about changing the long-standing political parameters for peace in the occupied Palestinian territory set by the General Assembly and the Security Council. They seek to eliminate UNRWA’s role in
protecting the rights of Palestine Refugees and acting as a witness to their continuing plight.”
Second, an article in The Guardian on 29 February revealed that “Dozens of foreign aid workers, including heads of organisations, have had to leave Israel and the Palestinian territories” because Israel was not renewing their visas. “Israel has stopped issuing visas for international staff.” “Emergency response teams, who have the specialist experience to deal with the multiple challenges of working in Gaza, are particularly affected…”
Reading all this in conjunction with the five months of ferocious bombing and destruction of infrastructure, it is hard not to conclude that the Israeli government is intent on forcing the Palestinians out of Gaza, if not by bombing than by starvation. The Egyptian government obviously thinks it will eventually be forced to accept tens of thousands of Palestinians fleeing for their lives from Rafah. The 21 sq. km walled refugee camp it is building on its side of the border testifies to that.
Western governments, including our own, have been profoundly shocked by the barbaric Hamas attack on 7th October, and even more so by Israel’s barbaric, continuing response. We implore you to use your voice to demand that our government reinstates its support for UNRWA, demands that Israel ceases forthwith blocking the work of UNRWA and other aid agencies, and supports the international demand for an immediate ceasefire.
More widely, our government must join with others to insist that Israel ends the occupation and accepts the establishment of a Palestinian state, if necessary applying meaningful economic and diplomatic pressure on Israel. Otherwise, violence and instability will be endemic in the future as in the past.
Yours sincerely,
Arthur Goodman
Diplomatic and Parliamentary Officer
links
Lazzarini letter to President of General Assembly, 22 February 2024
Guardian article about visa withdrawals
Egyptian refuge camp
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/16/satellite-photos-show-egypt-building-gaza-buffer-zone-as-rafah-push-looms