Intifada Voice
LONDON, Jan 21 (APP)- A delegation of European Union Parliamentarians have demanded economic and political sanctions on Israel to force the Jewish State to end its blockade of Gaza where the people continue to be denied essentials of life.Addressing a news conference Thursday at the House of Commons, the leader of the 50-strong delegation Sir Gerald Kaufmann described Israel as a ‘racist State which continues to ignore the appeal of the international community to alleviate the suffering of the Gazans even one year after its devastating offensive that killed some 1400 Palestinians including women and children and destroyed the entire infrastructure of the Strip.
The delegation paid a four-day visit to the Gaza Strip and also held talks with the Egyptian authorities on ways of lessening the difficulties of the people of Gaza.
Sir Gerald said the delegation was clearly moved by the destruction wrath on Gaza by the Israeli armed forces. “1.5 million People have no materials to rebuild, daily power outages, contaminated water and few jobs to support the families to struggling to survive. That is the overwhelming reality that met us when we entered Gaza on January 15.
The other members of the delegation who also spoke at the news conference called on their governments and civil society everywhere to put pressure on Israel to immediately open the borders on Gaza so that productive life can be resumed.
In addition, the delegation expressed its opposition to preferential trade treatment for Israel, calling for sanctions instead. Sir Gerald said the group members will meet with European Union officials and the foreign ministers of European countries to press for action.
Sir Gerald called on the British Foreign Secretary David Miliband to visit Gaza and see for himself the deplorable conditions. “We observed clear evidence that white phosphorus bombs were used by the Israeli Army to target heavily populated civilian areas. The perpetrators should be arrested and tried for war crimes,” he demanded.
Lord Nazir Ahmed spoke of complete destruction of Gaza and criticised the appeasement policy of the European countries towards Israel and urged the European Parliament to stand up and stop supporting the Jewish State as long as it continues with its blockade of Gaza..
During the delegation’s visit, the MPs met with the ruling government officials in Gaza including Prime Minister Ismail Haniya and the legislative council to discuss the stand-off with Israel and the ongoing efforts to reconcile differences between the two Palestinian parties in power, Hamas and Fatah.
In addition, they with various non-governmental organisations that serve the Palestinian residents, some 70 per cent of whom are refugees as well as with John Ging, Director of Operations, for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Gaza.
While touring the areas of Gaza Strip that were most damaged by the Israeli invasion, the MPs met with Al-Samouni clan that lost 22 of its members as a result of the attack.
Sir Gerald, himself a Jew, described the Israeli Prime Minister Natanyahu as ‘extremist and racist’ who is not ready to accept two State solutions. Asked whether he would like to travel to Israel, Sir Gerald said empathically no.
The Manchester MP recalled speech made by US President Barack Obama in Cairo calling for peace in the Middle East and said he could do a lot but has not been doing it.
The delegation met Ahmed Abu Al-Geit, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Dr.Fathi Sorour, Speaker of the Egyptian People’s Assembly and Amr Moussa, Secretary-General,League of Arab States. Among the issues discussed were the efforts to reconcile the feud between the two Palestinian political parties, the ongoing Israel siege and the construction of a steel wall to block off the tunnels that connect Egypt to Gaza.
The MPs agreed the tunnels should be closed but only if the border is opened to allow legal movement of people and goods.
Sir Gerald said a report of their visit would be placed before the British Parliament on March 1 to be followed by a general debate on Gaza.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan
January 21, 2010 Posted by Elias
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
The delegation paid a four-day visit to the Gaza Strip and also held talks with the Egyptian authorities on ways of lessening the difficulties of the people of Gaza.
Sir Gerald said the delegation was clearly moved by the destruction wrath on Gaza by the Israeli armed forces. “1.5 million People have no materials to rebuild, daily power outages, contaminated water and few jobs to support the families to struggling to survive. That is the overwhelming reality that met us when we entered Gaza on January 15.
The other members of the delegation who also spoke at the news conference called on their governments and civil society everywhere to put pressure on Israel to immediately open the borders on Gaza so that productive life can be resumed.
In addition, the delegation expressed its opposition to preferential trade treatment for Israel, calling for sanctions instead. Sir Gerald said the group members will meet with European Union officials and the foreign ministers of European countries to press for action.
Sir Gerald called on the British Foreign Secretary David Miliband to visit Gaza and see for himself the deplorable conditions. “We observed clear evidence that white phosphorus bombs were used by the Israeli Army to target heavily populated civilian areas. The perpetrators should be arrested and tried for war crimes,” he demanded.
Lord Nazir Ahmed spoke of complete destruction of Gaza and criticised the appeasement policy of the European countries towards Israel and urged the European Parliament to stand up and stop supporting the Jewish State as long as it continues with its blockade of Gaza..
During the delegation’s visit, the MPs met with the ruling government officials in Gaza including Prime Minister Ismail Haniya and the legislative council to discuss the stand-off with Israel and the ongoing efforts to reconcile differences between the two Palestinian parties in power, Hamas and Fatah.
In addition, they with various non-governmental organisations that serve the Palestinian residents, some 70 per cent of whom are refugees as well as with John Ging, Director of Operations, for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Gaza.
While touring the areas of Gaza Strip that were most damaged by the Israeli invasion, the MPs met with Al-Samouni clan that lost 22 of its members as a result of the attack.
Sir Gerald, himself a Jew, described the Israeli Prime Minister Natanyahu as ‘extremist and racist’ who is not ready to accept two State solutions. Asked whether he would like to travel to Israel, Sir Gerald said empathically no.
The Manchester MP recalled speech made by US President Barack Obama in Cairo calling for peace in the Middle East and said he could do a lot but has not been doing it.
The delegation met Ahmed Abu Al-Geit, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Dr.Fathi Sorour, Speaker of the Egyptian People’s Assembly and Amr Moussa, Secretary-General,League of Arab States. Among the issues discussed were the efforts to reconcile the feud between the two Palestinian political parties, the ongoing Israel siege and the construction of a steel wall to block off the tunnels that connect Egypt to Gaza.
The MPs agreed the tunnels should be closed but only if the border is opened to allow legal movement of people and goods.
Sir Gerald said a report of their visit would be placed before the British Parliament on March 1 to be followed by a general debate on Gaza.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan
January 21, 2010 Posted by Elias
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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