A Question of Trading with Israel’s Occupation

Guest blogging for our society, Israeli journalist Haggai Matar discusses his experience and views on boycotting Israeli settlements

Haggai Matar at the Northern Ireland Assembly 25.02.2013. Photo: Saud Buhamdi

By spending more than a decade in demonstrating against and writing about the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories one gets to learn a thing or two about how the brutal reality of this 45 year old military regime works. However, the crazed reality of our region always has more in store to surprise even your average veteran activist. Preparing for a visit to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which discussed the question of trading with Israel’s occupation, I tried to catch up on my reading on settlement products, and ran into an amazing story, which I would like to share.

Our story takes place in the Jordan Valley, not far from where St. John was baptizing his followers. Although an inseparable part of the West Bank it is considered by many in the Israeli society as a “natural” part of Israel, control of which is necessary for the state’s security and future survival. In most peace negotiation talks Israeli delegations announced that the Valley would remain under Israeli control no matter what – a demand which was unacceptable for Palestinian representatives and was partly responsible for their collapse.

Like many activists I had often heard of the “Stolen Beauty” campaign of Palestinians and their supporters, focusing on the AHAVA cosmetics company, which sells Dead Sea minerals around the world. Based in the south of the Jordan Valley AHAVA, like so many other settlement companies, uses Palestinian lands and natural resources, taken from Palestinians by force and given to this Israeli company, and uses them for its own good without offering Palestinians any reparations. This is your classic pattern of colonialism, wherein natives are barred from entering their own lands which the occupier then openly uses to make a nice profit.

So just your classic military occupation with colonists taking advantage of the indigenous population’s natural resources and land – only here we see those indigenous people (the Palestinians) calling on the international community (That’s you guys) to boycott such activities and companies complicit in the occupation enterprise.

But the Jordan Valley, apparently, has much more to offer for anyone taking an interest in the economic angle of the decades’ long military rule. Along the valley one can find tens of thousands of dunams of lands, privately owned by Palestinian villagers’, yet farmed by Israelis. While AHAVA and most other settlement companies usually use state owned lands (which should according to international law be used to serve the occupied civilian population and not the occupying state), here Israeli farmers make their living by growing and exporting dates world wide, out of lands that even Israel recognizes are owned by Palestinians.

How can this possibly be justified? Following the 1967 Six Day War massive parts of the newly conquered Valley have been put under special military orders, barring Palestinians from entering them. Several years later these lands were “temporarily” transferred to safe keeping by the state’s legal guardian, with authorities making it clear that the lands were not confiscated in any way but rather protected by the guardian until such time that their owners may return. That time has yet to come. Instead, the guardian decided to rent the lands off to Jewish farmers from nearby illegal settlements. The result: Palestinians who had lived in the valley for generations are forced off their own land, kept away by the army, which is slowly banishing more and more Palestinians from the valley in quiet ethnic cleansing – and can only watch from a distance how others are selling the fruit of their trees. Ironically, the only chance they have of entering those very lands, are if military authorities give them special permits to work for the Israeli settlers. Working conditions in settlements, not surprisingly, are often reported to be harsh, and attempts at complaining or unionizing might lead to permits being revoked.

So what do Palestinians want when they call upon the international community to intervene on their behalf? They want to end the absurdities of situations such as the one in the Jordan Valley. Calls to boycott settlement produce are based upon a rejection of the crude Apartheid qualities of the Israeli military regime, which runs the occupied territories using two separate legal systems: one for Palestinians, another for Israelis. Any person aspiring to support and promote true democracy, real equality and a just peace in our parts must see the necessity in abiding such a call.

Haggai Matar is an award-winning Israeli journalist, blogger and activist who has been active in various groups working against the occupation, as well as in several class-based struggles within Israeli society. He writes frequently for +972 magazine.

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British MPs Do not let settlers expel Palestinians from their Homes in Sheikh Jarrah

16th May 2013

RE: Do not let settlers expel Palestinians from their Homes in Sheikh Jarrah 

Dear Honourable Members of Parliament,

We write to you today on behalf of a ten member family of Palestinians living in Um Haroun, Sheikh Jarrah, who have been ordered to leave their home after the property was released from the Israeli General Custodian into the hands of an Israeli settler organization, and headed by a man named Aryeh King. 

Sheikh Jarrah is one of the most contested strips of ground in occupied East Jerusalem. As many of you will know, East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel after the Six-Day War of 1967, though its future has remained hazy for many reasons, one in particular being that the International Community regards East Jerusalem as Occupied Palestinian Territory and subject to final status agreements in the “peace process”. This factor however has not stopped radical Jewish settlers making use of a 1970 Israeli law that allows Israelis to reclaim East Jerusalem properties that, prior to 1948, were owned by Jews and abandoned when the city was divided.

Under usual circumstances we are sure that all would agree that original land owners should be able to make legal claims and—theoretically—take back property and even evict current residents. However this false paradigm ignores the complexity of East Jerusalem and the wider political context that surrounds the situation today. 

Reviewing a brief history of the area reveals that in 1956 Palestinian families who had fled their homes in what became Israel during the 1948 Nakba were settled in Sheikh Jarrah and other areas by UNRWA and the Jordanian Government, on the condition that they renounce their refugee status.

Following on from the 1967 war East Jerusalem was occupied by Israel and the Israeli government enacted an ordinance which placed the properties in Sheikh Jarrah under the control of the Israeli Custodian for Absentees’ Property. This was then taken advantage of in 1970 when the Israeli Knesset enacted the “Legal and Administrative Matters” Law, which enabled Jews to make claims on property that they owned in East Jerusalem. 

The 1970 law makes it possible for Israeli settlers to claim that they hold prior rights to the land, and thus enable the eviction of Palestinian residents. However, this is a legal double standard, created so that the Palestinians living in East Jerusalem cannot reclaim their property in West Jerusalem and the rest of Israel yet Israeli settlers are able to claim property in Occupied Palestinian Territory.

All of this is part of a wider move to illegally settle East Jerusalem, creating facts on the ground to prevent Palestinians from having a capital city in East Jerusalem as part of a future state.

Now for the first time in more than three years, a Palestinian family in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah is facing immediate eviction and dispossession at the hands of the Israeli authorities and extremist Israeli settlers. According to the Jerusalem district court, the 10 members of the Shamanseh family must leave their home, which they’ve lived in for almost five decades – before the 1967 occupation of East Jerusalem. 

The Israeli General Custodian, which has claimed ownership of the property, was represented in the legal processes by private lawyers who are known to represent settler organizations, including Aryeh King’s “Israel Lands Fund”. This is the same group that is intent on taking over the Shamanseh family home to populate it with Jewish Israeli settlers. 

During and following the evictions in Sheikh Jarrah during 2009, the international community issued strong statements condemning Israel’s actions. US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton expressed opposition to the settlement of Sheikh Jarrah. A recent report issued by the EU Heads of Mission, described settlement activities as “systematically undermining the Palestinian presence” in Jerusalem.  They recommended potentially issuing sanctions on Israel in response to such occurrences in East Jerusalem. 

At the moment the eviction has been delayed due to the family’s appeal to the high court which shall be heard on 20th May 2013. This is the main reason we write to you today in order to add your voice of condemnation in the hopes of stopping the next eviction in Sheikh Jarrah and putting a halt to the on-going Israeli settlement of occupied East Jerusalem.

We must gather together to let the Israeli government and the settler organisations know that, across the globe, every family matters. Israel’s state policy in East Jerusalem enables and supports settler organizations to take over property, turning the Palestinians living there into refugees – some even for the second or third time. This policy has been many times based on institutionalised legal discrimination which allows one-sided actions, and evictions of Palestinian families throughout East Jerusalem.

Our society is calling for Members of Parliament, in particular those who are in government, to publicly condemn the eviction of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem. We further ask that MPs raise this issue as a matter of urgency with the foreign secretary and demand that the British government put pressure on Israel to prevent this forced home eviction. 

We only have a few days to act so please take this up as a matter of urgency, entire families depend on our ability to put their basic human rights first and take action on their behalf.

Yours faithfully, 

Mr Gary Spedding

Vice President – QUB Palestine Solidarity Society

Palestine.Solidarity@qub.ac.uk

07749409147

NOTES: 

You can gather further information from the following sources –

1.        http://settlementwatcheastjerusalem.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/sheikhjarrahhouse/

2.        http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/04/sheikh-jarrah-evictions-jerusalem-palestinians.html

3.        http://www.en.justjlm.org/ (Official site of Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity)

For updates via twitter – @justjerusalem

 

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QUB Students’ Union Council Votes to Stand with Israeli Conscientious objector Natan Blanc

Israeli conscientious objector Natan Blanc, a 19 year old Jewish Israeli from old Haifa has been imprisoned for the Ninth time for his refusal to become part of the Israeli army, and is held in Military Prison no. 6 near Atlit.

Blanc originally informed Israeli authorities of his conscientious objection to be part of the Israeli military on the 19th November 2012 stating that due to the on-going occupation of Palestinian territories and the constant militarization of the Israeli society which it entails he would not enlist.

On Monday 29th April 2013 a motion proposed at Queen’s University Belfast Students’ Union Council extending a message of solidarity to Natan Blanc was passed. The motion mandates the Executive Management Committee of our Students’ Union to write a letter on behalf of the membership to Natan Blanc at his address in military prison and via email to his inbox.

Society Vice President and Student Council member Gary Spedding stated that:

“The adoption of this motion and policy position by Student Council is an extremely positive step in terms of sending a strong message of solidarity from Northern Ireland to Natan Blanc and other conscientious objectors both presently and in any future instance.

Natan Blanc has been purposefully targeted by the Israeli military to be made an example out of and his imprisonment is unjust and against international law. In sending a message of solidarity from our society and Students’ Union we hope that it will demonstrate that conscientious objectors are not alone in their struggle and the deceptively sterile attempts to isolate them through repeated imprisonment by Israeli authorities shall not prevail.”

-ENDS-

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QUEEN’S STUDENT’S JOIN PALESTINE SOCIETY FOR TRIP TO ISRAEL – PALESTINE

-PRESS RELEASE-

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday 25th March 2013

QUEEN’S STUDENT’S JOIN PALESTINE SOCIETY FOR TRIP TO ISRAEL – PALESTINE

 

-STARTS-

A group of students from Queen’s University Belfast arrived today in Israel – Palestine for a planned 2013 visit.

The highly-commended student society trip was organized to allow students studying in Northern Ireland an opportunity to explore the reality on the ground from a multitude of perspectives. The diverse and exceptional range of meetings and tours that the student’s shall take part in will include a lecture from Rabbis for Human Rights, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) and discussions with Israeli settlers and some right-wingers.

The trip will run from the 25th – 31st of March during which time the students will also have the opportunity to experience the rich cultures of both Israel and Palestine during the holidays of Easter and Passover which have coincided this year.

Gary Spedding, Vice President of the Palestine Solidarity Society who organized the trip said:

“For me this trip is an opportunity to gather students from a range of backgrounds here in Northern Ireland and immerse them in the full complexity of the Israel – Palestine conflict in easy to digest chunks. My view is that students, whether holding a passionate or passing interest deserve to have a new level of positive engagement opened up to them direct from the ground. By bringing students out to the Middle East my main hope is that it will allow them to make up their own minds free from the bias that surrounds the conflict internationally.”

Aisling Coyne, a third year studying philosophy and politics, added:

“I have always shared an affinity and sympathy with the Palestinian people. I also have Israeli friends and I felt conflicted with the information available on day to day life in Israel – Palestine. My idea is to put feet on the ground to gain a genuine, undiluted understanding of what daily life is like and what people go through here, both Israelis and Palestinians”

Callum Galloway Green, Secretary of the society, said:

“People get a lot of misinformation from all directions and I wanted to see for first hand for myself what is happening on the ground in order to put things in perspective.

I have family living in Tel Aviv and its very important to me that I get to witness and understand the different perspectives that make up the conflict first hand rather than in a news report on TV”

 

Emilie Searle, a second year student of fine art at the University of Ulster, added:

 

“There is only so much you can understand about the situation through literature and the media, by seeing the reality and injustices with my own eyes I hope to gain a better understanding of life for Israelis and Palestinians. I also love hummus”

 

Background:

 

The QUB Palestine Solidarity Society places value on students and potential future activists gaining a more in-depth knowledge of the Israeli – Palestinian conflict from firsthand experience and verifiable facts gathered by reputable NGO’s and individuals working on the ground.

 

Our vision is to push for a genuine conflict resolution that utilizes a strategic and sustainable approach that is rooted in International Law and human rights.

 

We hope to make this trip an annual event, with the support of the University so that in the future if this trial run is successful more students can benefit from the enriched experiences we provide by bringing them to where everything is occurring on a daily basis.

 

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Photographs available on request

To contact the group whilst in Israel – Palestine call Gary Spedding on +44 (0) 7749409147

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QUB Palestine Society set direct challenge against the Injustice of illegal Israeli Settlement Policies

On Monday, 25th February 2013 the Queen’s University Belfast’s Palestine Solidarity Society held a successful event in the Long Gallery of the Northern Ireland Assembly that focused on the question ‘How can Northern Ireland respond to Israel’s illegal settlement policies’.

 

A No Day Named Motion submitted to the Assembly by MLAs Conall McDevitt and Colum Eastwood calling for an Ethical and Human Rights approach to the way in which Northern Ireland commences trade and investment, calls for “robust leadership from the Executive for a Northern Ireland wide boycott of companies that are complicit in illegal settlement of occupied territories and goods from those territories”.

 

The main body that deals with Northern Ireland’s trade is the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) which is tied into Invest NI, both of which are presently complicit in human rights abuses and International Law. As a society we wish to directly challenge the Northern Ireland executive to prove its commitment to human rights & international law by upholding ethical standards.

 

Our panel brought forward some of the latest information and facts. Exemplary presentations were heard from Prof. Brice Dickson - QUB School of Law, Micha Kurz – Grassroots Jerusalem, Haggai Matar – Israeli Journalist, blogger and activist and finally Linda Ramsden – Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (UK).

 

Speaking after the event society Vice-President Gary Spedding said “This event has shown that people in Northern Ireland can and are indeed willing to come together, regardless of political background or community.

 

By uniting around human rights principles and international law we can push a non-sectarian, sustainable and strategic way forward for Palestinians and Israelis. Through implementing accountability mechanisms we are adding a desperately needed action that may contribute towards bringing an end to Israel’s illegal settlement policies and get past this intractable impasse to peace. Pushing a motion to boycott and divest away from complicity in illegal activities is a basic step that Northern Ireland can take and I implore MLAs to support the motion when it reaches the Assembly floor.”

 

Discussing the current situation in Jerusalem Micha Kurz said “Jerusalem, the capital of the Palestinian nation (widely known as the future capital of the Palestinian state), is being ethnically cleansed of its Palestinians residents, and they don’t even have the democratic right to vote for change. But the good people of Northern Ireland do have the right and ability to democratically influence change”.

 

Commenting on how Northern Ireland can have an effective input toward a just peace Haggai Matar said “boycotting settlements’ products, and other occupation profiteering companies, should be obvious for anyone who cares for human rights. Settlements are illegal according to international law, they sit on stolen Palestinian land, mistreat Palestinian workers, and use Palestinian natural resources – again, violating international law, and making peaceful resolution less and less likely. Northern Ireland has a unique chance to become a leader of defending human rights by choosing to refuse complicity in their violations.”

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QUB Palestine Society to hold event challenging the Injustice of illegal Israeli Settlement Policies

Queen’s University Belfast’s Palestine Solidarity Society is to hold an event, focusing on Northern Ireland’s trade with Israel’s occupation enterprise at the parliament buildings on Monday the 25th of February. The event itself shall provide a platform for succinct delivery of information on Israel’s settlement policies. Hopefully the progressive discussion that we aim to have will reveal the links, both direct and indirect between our complicity in illegal settlement activities that must come to an end. With this event we shall lift the lid on Israel’s settlement enterprise.

Our hope is that with the right information, Northern Ireland can contribute a firm challenge to Israel’s continued breach of International Law in this particular area. This gives us an opportunity to have a real impact in terms of progressive peace, justice and accountability for the everyday people in Israel – Palestine who suffer because of the on-going conflict as a whole.

Our panel consists of four guest speakers, whose experience of the reality on the ground and dedicated expertise on Israel’s settlement policies will hopefully provide an informed understanding as to the very real and devastating human impact of the occupation and in particular the expansion of settlements. The guests shall deliver short presentations and answer questions on how Northern Ireland can have a positive contribution in urging a non-violent, just, equitable and peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The panel includes; Prof. Brice Dickson - QUB School of Law, Micha Kurz – Grassroots Jerusalem, Haggai Matar – Israeli Journalist, blogger with +972 Magazine and activist and finally Linda Ramsden – Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (UK). Our goal is to deliver an honest set of facts and analysis. In using information that utilises the voices of our guest speakers, who are coming to us direct from the ground in Israel – Palestine, we are combining such with the research & information of our UK based guests.

The event itself is an opportunity for political parties, policy makers, local NGOs, trade unionists and any interested members of the public to come along and gain first-hand insight into the issues surrounding Israel’s illegal settlement construction. This will also allow us to stress the importance of the motion submitted to the Northern Ireland assembly which calls for robust leadership from the Executive for a Northern Ireland wide boycott of companies that are complicit in illegal settlement of occupied territories and goods from those territories.

As a student society that represents some 300 students, we would urge the Northern Ireland Assembly and the people of Northern Ireland to reaffirm our commitment to practice the rejection of abuses of human rights. We also want the politicians of Northern Ireland to disassociate ourselves, as a devolved entity, from being complicit in breaches of International Law, which should in theory be inexcusable in everyone’s eyes.

QUB PSS President Thom Hinds said “This event gives a unique opportunity to share a rare and much needed bit of education on subjects fundamentally vital to a motion that our society has worked tirelessly to have submitted to the Northern Ireland Assembly over the past six months. The key now is for involvement on a cross-community basis to ensure we here in Northern Ireland are represented as no longer being complicit in illegal activities of the Israeli State that undermine the efforts of achieving peace in the Middle East”.

Vice President Gary Spedding said that “People everywhere in Northern Ireland, regardless of community background have an opportunity to break out of sectarian stereotypes and help us raise the issue of Illegal Settlement expansion and subsequent human rights abuses in Palestine by joining with us in robustly stating that we here in Northern Ireland not believe strongly in equality & human rights but also welcome positive affirmative action such as the proposed Ethical and Human Rights Trading Policy motion that is now before the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Surely the majority of the public will agree that a targeted boycott of businesses and goods complicit in breaches of International Law, which in turn has allowed for a perpetuation of a protracted conflict, is an appropriate step forward in holding those responsible to account.”

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QUB Palestine Society Welcomes Assembly Motion calling for a boycott of Israeli Settlements Goods

-PRESS RELEASE-

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

[12 February 2013]

 

RE: QUB Palestine Society Welcomes Assembly Motion calling for a boycott of Israeli Settlements Goods

 

-STARTS-

 

QUB Palestine Solidarity Society Vice President Gary Spedding has welcomed the tabling of a motion calling for robust leadership from the Northern Ireland Executive for a Northern Ireland wide boycott of companies that are complicit in illegal settlement of occupied territories. The Ethical and Human Rights Trading Policy motion asks the Northern Ireland assembly to affirm that cases exist where the status of a designated region or state is considered illegal, identifying such as being Israeli Settlements in occupied Palestinian and Syrian Territories and the Moroccan Settlement in Western Sahara.

This motion has the potential of setting a human rights standard that must be adhered to when looking at how Northern Ireland carries out trade and investment on an international level. Our society is grateful for the opportunity to have worked with MLAs in developing this motion prior to its submission to the Assembly.

Gary Spedding said: “I welcome the motion and hope that all MLAs from across the political spectrum can unite around the implementation of Ethical Trading that uses Human Rights as a basis for carrying forward trading agreements. This motion gives Northern Ireland an opportunity to robustly state that we do not accept remaining complicit in continued breaches of International Law, especially where human rights abuses are occurring on a continual basis. I hope this motion shows the rest of the UK that many of us wish to see action being taken to safeguard basic rights and uphold International Law.”

“I am well aware of the sensitivities found in Northern Ireland when looking at some of the conflicts that are named in the motion itself and I implore MLAs to step outside the sectarian stereotype in order to realise that upholding basic human rights is not only a positive for Northern Ireland but also good for everyone regardless of community background or political affiliation.”

“We should embrace the opportunity to safeguard the rights of our fellow human beings no matter where they may be in the world and we should also welcome the possibility of having a positive impact for genuine peace and conflict resolution, even if our contribution may seem small it still counts for a great deal”

“I look forward to seeing this motion debated on the Assembly floor and for those wishing to have a more informed approach our society is holding an event in the Long Gallery of the Parliament Buildings on the 25th of February 2013 which shall ask the question: ‘Trading with Israel’s occupation: How should Northern Ireland respond?’.”

 

-ENDS-

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Palestine Solidarity Society elects new Executive Committee

The QUB Palestine Solidarity Society has elected its new Executive Committee and we are urging all students and current members to get actively involved with Palestine Solidarity at Queen’s through the society and our work.

 

Our Society, founded in 2010 by Gary Spedding has had its ups and downs but throughout the past two years we have gone from strength to strength. The new executive bring with them an even stronger voice for Palestine, building on our many successes over the past two years. For us student and community engagement on the subject of Israel – Palestine is vital and the new committee has already started planning how it can best carry forward current work whilst developing fresh actions and activities.

 

Positive and progressive engagement will continue to be one of our main strategies allowing us to continue improving how we can be most effective in our advocacy and activism in seeking our goal of basic rights and justice for the Palestinian people.

 

Newly elected President Thom Hinds said: “This is a really exciting time for our society and the new executive committee. We have demonstrated the effectiveness of the positive work done so far and it has shown that the we can continue carrying forward our work and vision over the next year”

 

As a society we intend to continue highlighting the injustices that the Palestinian people face on a daily basis. From what I have seen many students at Queen’s wish to see an end to the crimes being committed against the Palestinian people. We continue our commitment to the well thought out principles of justice, human rights, nonviolence and international law in the hope that we can contribute positively toward building a future for Israelis and Palestinians free from hatred, division, violence, abuse and injustice. In the coming months we will develop our campaign plans and how we feel we can best deliver information about the middle east conflict to our students.

 

Newly elected Vice President Gary Spedding who founded and was President of the society since 2010 added: “During the past two years I have worked hard to develop the society despite occasional difficulties and obstacles, I have strong confidence that our new committee under Thom Hinds leadership shall deliver the best year ever for our students, the local community in Northern Ireland and the Palestinian people with whom we stand in solidarity”.

 

“QUB Palestine Solidarity Society will continue to be a space for all of those wishing to advocate justice, human rights and solidarity for the Palestinians regardless of what background or community they are from. The Palestinians are currently oppressed and occupied by the State of Israel and our goal is to end this oppression and occupation by uniting under the banner of Human Rights. In highlighting to students the plight of the Palestinian people by using an accurate fact based approach, we are ensuring that students who take an interest in this area are well informed enough to be the best possible advocates for Palestine”

 

The new committee members are: President Thom Hinds, Vice President Gary Spedding, Secretary Callum Green, Treasurer -, Public Relations Officer Naomi Armstrong, Online Media Coordinator Conal McNulty and Ordinary committee members Conor Elliott and Patrick O’Hare.

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Statement on the Escalation of Violence in Gaza:

Our society call upon our Students’ Union, elected Student Officers, our elected representatives at the Northern Ireland Assembly and Westminster to condemn the latest escalation of violence by the state of Israel.

Any group that knowingly targets areas of concentrated civilian population cannot justify their actions by using the argument of self-defense. In Gaza right now we have arrived yet again at a situation where the cycle of violence is constantly re-emerging with devastating impacts for both innocent Palestinian and Israeli civilians.

The State of Israel’s disproportionate use of violence evidently doesn’t stop the launching of rockets from the Gaza strip, but rather further perpetuates the conflict in a manner that destroys lives and traumatizes entire groups of people thus endangering Israeli and Palestinian lives a hundredfold.

Cases where genuine terrorists are found should be seen as an opportunity to arrest and put them on a fair trial with the use of evidence to gain a conviction.

We note that nothing is gained through judicial executions or the assassinating of people regardless of their guilt in crimes previously committed.

Israel has clearly outlined that its agenda is not one of peace but rather a deceptive divergence beyond the purported line of protection for its own citizens. It can be argued that violent actions from Israel and Hamas only further endanger the lives of Israeli civilians as evidenced by the increased number of injuries caused by the launching of projectiles into Israeli territory. Rocket fire from militant groups such as Hamas is also rightly condemned.

We request that our representatives seek a robust solution to real issues so as to safeguard the lives of civilians. Any activity that harms or targets civilians is to be rightly criticised and repudiated as a criminal act breaching international law.

Israel must be pressured into agreeing to a ceasefire as soon as possible in the hopes of safeguarding the basic rights of innocent human beings who suffer as a result of the continuing escalation of the resurgence in violence. No amount of stern words will bring about a resolution to this military assault which is why we firmly believe robust action and sanctions holding Israel to account for its knowing participation in the targeting and killing civilians is desperately needed.

It is time to for us to act for the sake of human rights and an end to human rights violations and corrosive violence.

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Open Letter to William Hague: Trading with Israel’s Illegal Settlements

Dear Mr Hague,

RE: Trading with Israel’s Illegal Settlements

Human rights should be at the forefront of any methodology seeking genuine conflict resolution.

We believe the UK governments approach to this should be straightforward and unambiguous.

We are deeply frustrated at the British government’s current position on the State of Israel.

Numerous methods exist that would allow us to challenge Israel on specific topics of serious concern such as the continued construction of illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Disappointingly it remains unclear how the UK will move forward on this issue as the Foreign Office has said they would be unlikely to initiate a direct attempt to tackle Israel’s settlements and do not want to be associated with any form of boycott, but has also indicated that if others lead the FCO may well follow.

On such a divisive issue we believe Britain should adopt a robust Human rights and trading policy in which to establish a basic set of rules that identify the exceptional circumstances under which the United Kingdom should withdraw investment and trade from a particular state, area or settlement.

We believe that trade, when undertaken responsibly and with respect for human rights, has enormous potential to lift people out of poverty. There are instances where robust action is needed to ensure human rights are safeguarded.

Challenging the framework of human rights abuses should be an essential part of any governing body whether central, local or national. Reflecting this belief the United Kingdom must develop and strengthen a set of robust human rights and trading policies that set out a clear and transparent commitment to the safeguarding of human lives and the human rights of civilians throughout the world.

We favour and praise the Cooperative’s Human Rights and Trading Policy adopted in 2009 which has led the way in setting a human rights approach to foreign trade and investment for the Cooperative.

Enormous struggles continue to take place in an attempt to establish and protect human rights.

Education and awareness raising around on-going human rights abuses is of fundamental value and importance.

The Cooperative’s policy acknowledges that trade is a force for good.

In exceptional circumstances; they recognise (as should we all) that the benefits of trade may be undermined. Withdrawing trade is not a decision any of us should take lightly, as we should all recognise that it may deprive people of an income when they are already suffering under oppression.

The Cooperative transparently outlines that they will only withdraw trade from a state or region if at least one of the following conditions are met:

1. Where the democratic representatives of a country call for a withdrawal of trade;

2. Where there is international consensus that the status of a designated region or state is illegal;

3. Where there is strong evidence that trade is a contributory factor to a conflict.

International jurisprudence and law coupled with International humanitarian and human rights law should also be applied when the UK government is reviewing a particular trading agreement.

Our opinion is that trade and investment should be withdrawn from any government body, company or business that is complicit in the breach of international law and human rights standards if they persistently refuse to comply or engage with calls to cease such activity.

One example of such a circumstance where we believe trade should be withdrawn is where there is a broad international consensus that the status of a settlement is illegal and human rights reports show serious abuses of human rights.

The current Cooperative policy states that there are two examples of such settlements: the Israeli settlements in the Palestinian Occupied Territories and the Moroccan settlements in Western Sahara.

Highlighting and challenging Israel’s illegal activities can admittedly be difficult. International consensus on this issue must be taken into account.

We believe that a boycott of goods and divestment from companies that are profiteering from the occupied Palestinian territories is an appropriate step forward.

If the UK government were to lead the way in applying robust policy which strengthens current Foreign Office opinion on the issue of Israel’s settlements then we may see progress in resolving the conflict in the Middle East.

By upholding international law standards and utilising a consensus driven approach we can make progress for peace by sending a clear message to the Israeli government that the United Kingdom will not accept the legitimacy of Israel’s appropriation of land, resources and agricultural produce from territories occupied.

The human rights impact of such activities such as the taking of water resources, the continued settler violence and the intolerable permit system designed to make life impossible throughout the occupied territories is also something we request the UK government to recognise in public.

We request the UK government to work in a measured manner that ensures the State of Israel is held accountable to international law standards on these issues which we note the FCO have repeatedly brought up with the Israeli government.

Yours Sincerely,

Mr Gary Spedding – President QUB Palestine Solidarity Society

Endorsed by:

Mark Durkan MP for Foyle

Margaret Ritchie MP for South Down

Alasdair Mcdonnell MP for Belfast South

Sir Gerald Kaufman MP for Manchester Gorton

Jeremy Corbyn MP for Islington North

Dame Joan Ruddock MP for Lewisham Deptford

Richard Burden MP for Birmingham, Northfield

Sir Peter Bottomley MP for Worthing West

Kelvin Hopkins MP for Luton North

None parliamentarian signatories:

John McHugo, Chair, Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine

Sally Fitzharris, Secretary, Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine

Supported by:

Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine

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