[Salon] Gaza ceasefire now - ArabDigest.org

[Salon] Gaza ceasefire now - - Gmail: Gaza ceasefire now Gaza ceasefire now Summary: the Balfour Project calls on the British Government to support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as a first step towards building hope for a better future for Palestinians and Israelis with equal rights and mutual security. We thank the Balfour Project for today’s newsletter and ask our members in the UK to support the Balfour Project’s request to forward the statement to their MPs. This cannot be allowed to continue: the civilian deaths and mass destruction of homes, hospitals and schools inflicted on Gaza over the last five weeks, with starvation and disease stemming from the bombardment and “complete siege”. There can be no military solution to this conflict. Only a just political solution will last. Any other outcome will only serve to foster radicalisation and violence. The toll in Palestinian civilian life already far outstrips that in Ukraine since the Russian invasion of 2022. Upholding international law – actions not just words Two-thirds of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have lost their homes and try to survive without the bare essentials of life – food, fuel, water, medicines and shelter. Denying civilians those essentials breaches Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law. It constitutes collective punishment, and it is happening before our eyes. The British Government needs to call it by its name, and call for it to end, now. Israel does not have the right to take revenge on the entire population of Gaza. Its military objectives do not override its responsibilities under international law. Forced displacement of civilians under occupation is prohibited under the Geneva Conventions. The actions of extremist Jewish settlers to force Palestinians from their homes and lands in the West Bank must therefore also stop and the Government of Israel must be required to end its incitement and enabling of these criminal actions. Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, who have been forcibly displaced must be guaranteed their right to return home. The acts of terrorism on October 7th committed by Hamas and other Palestinian groups, including the taking of hostages and ongoing rocket attacks on civilian areas, are also war crimes. The British Government is right to condemn them as such. In line with its own international obligations as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and as a High Contracting Party to the Geneva Conventions, our Government should make clear that there must be accountability for all war crimes, irrespective of who commits them and wherever they are committed. The International Criminal Court must be enabled to fulfil its role, investigating all alleged war crimes in Israel and Palestine. Failure to uphold international law in Israel and Palestine now will invite well-founded accusations of double standards. Further, it will help create the conditions for yet more acts of violence and terrorism.