All people of conscience will be horrified by the order issued by the Israeli Government for over 1 million people in the North of Gaza to immediately leave their homes. Such a mass evacuation would be nearly impossible to organise safely anywhere let alone in a besieged area that has been heavily bombed for a week and where basic infrastructure is collapsing . The UN is already reporting nearly 3000 home destroyed and 423,000 people, nearly 20% of the population of the Gaza strip displaced. These people have nowhere safe to go if Israel continues with its bombardment and launches a ground invasion.
Ben Jamal PSC Director said,
“This is not a humanitarian gesture. Israel is signalling its intention to commit war crimes on in immense scale. It is seeking to pre-emptively justify the mass slaughter of many thousands of civilians, on the basis that they were warned to leave and should do so if they care for their lives.
We believe that the statements by the leaders of the main political parties in the UK giving unqualified support for Israels actions, including the commission of war crimes, is giving Israel the greenlight to move ahead with the mass slaughter of civilians and contributing to the widespread dehumanising of Palestinians in political discourse here in the UK. We demand that the UK government and all political leaders in the UK call for an immediate ceasefire and a lifting of the siege on Gaza so that humanitarian aid – including food, fuel, and medical supplies can reach the beleaguered population.”
