I usually restrict posts on this blog to the Climate and Nature Emergency, but the current crisis in the Middle East can’t be ignored. I was horrified that the Israeli flag was flown at both Sheffield and Rotherham Town Halls. I thought it showed a very poor understanding of the situation from those in charge to be displaying the flag of a country that is currently bombing the 2.3 million people in Gaza, half of whom are children. Denying them water, food, medicine and fuel is a war crime. They have nowhere to go to flee the bombing. Hamas has committed awful war crimes. Israel should not be responding by committing even worse crimes.
Tonight England play Australia at Wembley and there is still debate as to whether the Arch should be lit up in Israeli colours. How insulting would this be to our Palestinian friends? Now is not the time for flag-flying. Or if it is we should fly the Peace Flag.
I am also horrified that our Government is supporting Israel in these war crimes. Two UK warships are now in the Eastern Mediterranean. We should be sending them to help evacuate the Palestinian refugees, not support Israel in their war crimes.
Please join me in writing to your MP. Many thanks to War on Want whose original letter I have only slightly adjusted. I will post Mr Blomfield’s reply here when I get it.
War is actually a massive climate issue as 5% of greenhouse gas emissions result from the armed forces. The UK military emissions are equivalent to 6 million average vehicles. What a waste of the world’s extremely limited carbon budget it is to be destroying Gaza.
Here is my letter. Feel free to copy it to your MP or you may prefer to use War On Want’s original letter which is here.
Dear Mr Blomfield,
I’m writing to express my horror at the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip and to urge the UK government to take immediate action to protect all civilian life. Of course, it is right to condemn the terrorist activities of Hamas, but the UK government must act to stop Israel’s bombardment and lethal siege of the Gaza Strip and end the UK-Israel arms trade.
International law is clear that deliberate attacks on civilians, the taking of civilian hostages, and collective punishment of populations are war crimes. International law cannot be selectively applied. Whilst the government has condemned the killing of Israeli civilians by Hamas, it is staying silent about Israel’s ongoing targeting of Palestinian civilians — and continues to lend its support to the root cause of this current violence: Israel’s illegal occupation and apartheid regime.
Israel has imposed a complete siege on a population that it occupies, denying the entry of food, water and fuel into the Gaza Strip. Of the 2.3 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, half are children and 80% are refugees. Today, those 2.3 million people will be without electricity, and will soon run out of water. Whilst Israel continues to prevent Gaza’s besieged population from being able to seek safety, it is indiscriminately bombing civilian targets throughout the territory, including residential buildings, schools and hospitals. UN human rights experts have called Israel’s tactics ‘genocidal’.
Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu has signalled Israel’s intent to turn the Gaza Strip into ‘a deserted island’ and Gaza City into ‘a city of tents’, with Israeli politicians calling Palestinians ‘human beasts’ and ‘human animals’, calling for the ‘crushing and flattening’ of Gaza. It is clear that Israel is acting with total disregard for civilian life and international law, imposing deadly collective punishment on an occupied population – a war crime.
Despite this, the UK government continues to express support for Israel’s indiscriminate military assault. International law is universal, and the UK government has a duty to uphold it. It is imperative for the UK government to act to protect civilian life, and not to fuel war crimes. This means acting to end the illegal siege of the Gaza Strip and ending UK complicity in the indiscriminate bombardment of civilians by stopping the UK-Israel arms trade.
The UK should be working for an end to violence and a just peace. This can only be possible if the root causes of this violence are addressed through an end to Israel’s illegal occupation and fully realising the rights of the Palestinian people. In this year, preceding Saturday’s attack by Hamas, Israel had killed 240 Palestinians, including 45 children – the highest level of killing in almost two decades. In the past few weeks, organised attacks by Israeli settlers, backed by the Israeli state and military, have intensified, razing through Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank. For 16 years, Israel has imposed an illegal blockade on the Gaza Strip, condemning Palestinians to poverty and psychological violence.
The international community, including the UK government, has failed to act to prevent Israel’s violations of international law. The UK bears particular historical responsibility to the Palestinian people stemming from its colonial mandate in Palestine and subsequent failure to uphold the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination. Now, more than ever, it is crucial for the UK to fulfil its duties under international law by acting to end the targeting of Palestinian civilians, ending the UK-Israel arms trade and standing up for human rights.
Yours sincerely,
Graham Wroe
17th October 2023
Here is Paul Blomfield’s reply. I am disappointed that he has stopped short of calling Israel’s conduct a war crime. Bombing civilians in Gaza is a war crime. Denying access to water, food and medicine is a war crime. The forced evacuation of people in the north of Gaza when there is nowhere safe for them to go is a war crime. He has failed to agree with me that it is crucial for the UK to fulfil its duties under international law by ending the UK-Israel arms trade. There are some positive things in the letter, but Labour need to do much better.
Dear Graham,
Thank you for writing to me about the situation in Israel and Gaza following the devastating terrorist attack by Hamas on communities in southern Israel.
As I hope you know, I’m a strong supporter of Palestinian rights and have visited the West Bank. I have challenged the Government to press Israel over policies on child detention, evictions, demolitions, illegal settlements, annexation and Gaza – most recently in July I spoke in Parliament about that day’s Israeli attack on Jenin, the months of raids across the West Bank and settler attacks, killing and injuring Palestinians (see here for more on my work on the issue).
As such I was appalled by the barbaric Hamas attack, deliberately and systematically killing men, women, children and babies in their homes and at a music festival – as well as taking hostages who they have threatened to execute. It’s right that we showed our unequivocal condemnation of Hamas and solidarity with all those whose lives have been torn apart by the attack.
Last Wednesday I joined other local Labour MPs and civic leaders for a service at the Kingfield Synagogue in Nether Edge, in which we remembered the victims as the rabbi led prayers for all those affected and for peace in the region.
I’m now deeply worried about the escalating conflict and its impact on Palestinian and Israeli civilians. We must do all we can to avoid the loss of innocent lives. Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy has made it clear that, in exercising its right to defend itself and to rescue hostages, Israel’s response must be in line with international law. Keir Stamer emphasised it very clearly in Parliament.
David’s comments, which I completely endorse, echoed the call of the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that “democracies distinguish ourselves from terrorists by striving for a different standard even when it is difficult … that’s why it is so important to take every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians and that’s why we mourn the loss of every innocent life, civilians of every faith, every nationality”.
It’s also important that we distinguish between the Hamas terrorists and the Palestinian people, so there must be humanitarian access to Gaza for food, water, medicines and electricity as the UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged, saying that “crucial life-saving supplies – including fuel, food and water – must be allowed into Gaza. We need rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access now”.
So last Friday I wrote to the Foreign Secretary urging him to work with others in the international community to secure the release of hostages, the opening of an humanitarian corridor, and the de-escalation of the conflict to minimise the loss of life and suffering for all in the region. I’m pleased that the Prime Minister has since announced a significant increase in UK aid to the Palestinians.
We must of course go further and renew efforts for a lasting peace based on secure and sovereign states of Israel and Palestine, however remote that seems right now. We must also ensure that the appalling events in the region do not undermine community cohesion in our country, with no tolerance of antisemitic or antimuslim hatred.
Thanks again for writing to share your concerns. I hope you’ll stay in touch by signing up for my monthly e-newsletter if you don’t already receive it. Just reply ‘yes’ to this email and I’ll add you to the mailing list (see here for my data privacy policy).
With best wishes
Paul
Paul Blomfield
Labour MP for Sheffield Central
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