Tag: Palestine

UK bolsters humanitarian funding for Gaza

International community convene at Humanitarian Conference in Egypt to collaborate on boosting aid in Gaza

International Development Minister Anneliese Dodds will attend a humanitarian conference in Cairo today [Monday 2 December], meeting with international partners, to discuss how to urgently alleviate suffering in Gaza, as part of a three-day visit to the region.   

The Minister will announce £19 million of funding for Gaza, including £12 million in funding to the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and World Food Programme (WFP).

The UK has now committed £99 million to the OPTs this financial year, providing vital services to civilians in Gaza and the West Bank delivered through partner agencies. The UK’s humanitarian programme in Gaza has meant half a million people have received essential healthcare. 284,000 people have improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene services. 

To demonstrate the UK’s ongoing commitment to achieving stability in the region and to discuss how to improve economic stability for all Palestinians, Minister Dodds will then travel to the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel.  

The Minister will see first-hand the vital work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) at a refugee camp in the West Bank. She will also highlight the £7m of new UK funding that will go to UNRWA’s Flash Humanitarian Appeal for Gaza. It will support the international response to deliver essential services such as food, shelter and healthcare as winter conditions add to the already dire humanitarian situation.  

To underline UK support for the Palestinian Authority and their essential political and economic reform agenda, the Minister will meet with Palestinian Prime Minister, H.E. Dr. Mohammad Mustafa, and Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, H.E. Dr. Wael Zakout.  

Development Minister Anneliese Dodds said: “The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. Gazans​ are in desperate need of food, and shelter with the onset of winter. The Cairo​ conference will be an opportunity to get leading voices in one room and put forward real-world solutions to the humanitarian​ crisis.

“The UK is committed to supporting the region’s most vulnerable communities, pledging additional funding for UNRWA, and to supporting the Palestinian Authority reforms. 

“Israel must immediately act to ensure unimpeded aid access to Gaza. I will meet counterparts both in Israel and the OPTs to discuss the need to remove these impediments, bring about a ceasefire, free the hostages and find a lasting solution to the conflict.”

The Minister will also confirm the UK has provided £6 million each to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the Office for Coordinated Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) pooled humanitarian fund. This has gone towards lifesaving health, food, water, sanitation and protection services for Palestinians. 

This year the UK contribution to WFP will enable it to procure 4,465 metric tons of fortified wheat flour, sufficient to cover the needs of more than 451,000 severely food insecure people across Gaza for one month.

Whilst in the OPTs, the Minister will also visit a community in Area C of the West Bank that is subject to settler violence and is at risk of demolition and displacement.

Minister Dodds will then arrive in Israel, holding meetings with Israeli representatives. She will call on Israel to remove impediments to getting aid into Gaza and discuss finding a lasting resolution to the conflict. 

The Minister will also meet the families of UK and UK-linked hostages in Israel and will reiterate that the UK continues to exercise every possible diplomatic lever to see the hostages immediately and unconditionally released. 

Concluding the visit, the Minister will highlight that it is in the long-term interests of the Israelis, Palestinians and the wider region to agree to a ceasefire deal urgently and bring this devastating conflict to an end.

Stop The War Demonstration

SATURDAY 23rd NOVEMBER at NOON

Join the national demonstration in Glasgow this Saturday 23 November against Israel’s escalating war in the Middle East!

The UK Labour Government continues to support Israel despite condemnation at the United Nations and the massive anti-war movement on the streets around the world.

We need to make this protest as big as possible to say Not in Our Name and put pressure on the Scottish government to implement a policy of divestment and end financial support to companies in Scotland which supply the Israeli war machine.
We demand that our leaders do everything they can to stop the ongoing escalation of this war.

The demonstration, scheduled for 23rd of November in Glasgow, has been called jointly by Stop the War Scotland, Scottish CND and the Scottish Trade Union Congress.

It will bring together communities, trade unions, faith groups, and peace activists from across Scotland to stand united against the genocide in the Middle East under the following slogans:

– Stop All Arms Sales to Israel
– Hands off Gaza and Lebanon
– No war with Iran – Welfare not Warfare

The demonstration will be assembling from 11.30am at the Mclennan Arch at Glasgow Green following a route through the city centre and returning to Glasgow Green for the main rally where we will be hearing from a range of speakers from across the movement.

Speakers include:

Jeremy Corbyn – Independent MP and Deputy President of Stop the War Coalition
Lynn Jamieson – Chair of Scottish CND
Aamer Anwar – Human Rights Lawyer
Dave Moxham – STUC Deputy General Secretary
Richard Leonard – Scottish Labour MSP
Chris Nineham – Vice Chair Stop the War Coalition

With more to be announced in the coming days …

Travel from across Scotland!

Travelling from the North East? Register your place on the coach from Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth here!

Travelling from Edinburgh? Meet activists at 9.30pm outside Pret at Waverley Station!

Many Thanks for your support,

The Common Weal Team

Swinney issues call for peace in the Middle East

One year since Israel’s invasion of Gaza

Marking a year since Israeli forces began their ground invasion of Gaza, First Minister John Swinney said: “The ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is now entering its second year. The horror, suffering and killing we have watched unfold in Gaza in real-time, on such a devastating scale, has now spread across the region.

“The need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza is at the heart of reaching wider peace in the Middle East, and we must see the unconditional release of all hostages.

“International recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine, as part of a two-state solution, is also a fundamental pillar upon which we can build lasting peace.

“There have been repeated breaches of international law and violations of human rights since the conflict began, and Israel must stop blocking essential humanitarian aid from reaching wounded and starving civilians who are surviving in nightmarish conditions.

“I repeat the Scottish Government’s calls for an end to all UK arms sales to Israel.

“Tens of thousands of lives have been lost, and millions more have been directly affected by this catastrophe.

“I stand with our communities in Scotland who have lost loves ones and face the daily torment of not knowing if their family members will make it through the day.”

Lammy: ‘It’s never too late for peace in the Middle East’

‘we must break the cycle of violence’

David Lammy and his French counterpart Stéphane Séjourné write for The Observer on how a ceasefire could enable progress towards a two-state solution – the only long-term route to safety and security:

This is a perilous moment in the Middle East. Israel’s actions in Gaza continue to lead to intolerable loss of civilian life. Hostages taken by Hamas terrorists remain in chains, 316 days since the 7 October attack. There are French and British citizens among them.

Fighting between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah has intensified. Iranian threats of further escalation mean the risks of a full-scale regional war are rising.

What we are witnessing is a destructive cycle of violence. One miscalculation, and the situation risks spiralling into an even deeper and more intractable conflict. This cycle, with its tendency towards escalation, is making progress towards a political solution harder.

Our response is to reconnect – using the joint strengths of our diplomacy to press a common message. We, the foreign ministers of France and the United Kingdom, travelled together last week to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

By making the first joint visit by a British and French foreign minister for well over a decade, we are showing our commitment to working ever more closely together in a new spirit of cooperation, in the interests of our national security, Europe’s security and the Middle East’s security.

Our countries have a strong record of working together to tackle today’s challenges and, 80 years on from the D-day landings and the liberation of France, we must continue to exercise global leadership in an era of renewed geopolitical instability.

The UK and France are united behind a common set of messages which we delivered to Israelis and Palestinians, including in meetings with Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, and the Palestinian Authority’s prime minister, Mohammad Mustafa.

As UN security council permanent members, we share not only a common interest, but a common responsibility to play our part in the security of Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the stability of the region as a whole.

All sides should focus on the recently restarted negotiations on a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza. These talks offer a vital opportunity to secure an immediate ceasefire that ends the horrendous conflict in Gaza. A route to securing the release of all the hostages still cruelly held by Hamas. And a pathway to restoring stability to a region already under immense suffering and facing the prospect of far worse.

Our visit to a Palestine Red Crescent Society warehouse was a stark reminder of the toll of this conflict, which is unacceptable. Without progress towards a ceasefire, this will only worsen. Brave healthcare workers across humanitarian organisations are racing to prevent an all-out polio outbreak but they can only start vaccinating if it’s safe to do so.

It’s never too late for peace. An all-out conflict across the region is in nobody’s interests. All parties need to show restraint and invest in diplomacy. Any Iranian attack would have devastating consequences, not least in undermining current Gaza ceasefire negotiations.

The UK and France are not alone in highlighting the urgency of diplomacy to avoid further conflict. Both of us have talked to counterparts across the region and beyond, who share our desire to see a de-escalation in the current tensions. American, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are playing a particularly valuable role in coordinating the negotiations on a ceasefire and hostage deal.

And our engagement reinforces our conviction that urgently securing such a deal is in the interests of Israelis, Palestinians and the wider region. Only a deal can relieve civilian suffering. Only a deal can restore communities’ sense of security. Only a deal can open up the space for progress towards a two-state solution – the only long-term route to safety, security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

There can be no delays or excuses. We must all come together. Reconnect in the interests of peace.

Only a political solution can deliver the peace we so desperately need. That’s why we want not just a ceasefire in Gaza but why we are urging Israel, Hezbollah and Lebanon to engage with the US-led discussions to resolve their tensions diplomatically, based on the principles set out by UN security council resolution 1701.

Lammy has been criticised for removing a yellow pin badge expressing solidarity with Israeli hostages when meeting the Palestinian prime minister.

The Foreign Secretary and Stephane Sejourne, his French counterpart, wore the symbols on their suits as they met with Israel Katz, the foreign minister of Israel, on Friday.

Joint statement on the Middle East: 12th August 2024

Joint Statement from the Leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom on the Middle East:

We, the leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom, welcome the tireless work of our partners in Qatar, Egypt and the United States towards an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages.

We endorse the joint statement of HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, President Sisi and President Biden calling for the immediate resumption of negotiations. We agree that there can be no further delay.

We have been working with all parties to prevent escalation and will spare no effort to reduce tensions and find a path to stability. The fighting must end now, and all hostages still detained by Hamas must be released. The people of Gaza need urgent and unfettered delivery and distribution of aid.

We are deeply concerned by the heightened tensions in the region, and united in our commitment to de-escalation and regional stability. In this context, and in particular, we call on Iran and its allies to refrain from attacks that would further escalate regional tensions and jeopardise the opportunity to agree a ceasefire and the release of hostages.

They will bear responsibility for actions that jeopardise this opportunity for peace and stability. No country or nation stands to gain from a further escalation in the Middle East.

President Emmanuel Macron of France

Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany

Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom

Victory for campaigners fighting to defend the right to protest

WILLIE BLACK CLEARED

ANTI-WAR campaigners won their own battle yesterday when the Procurator Fiscal dropped charges against North Edinburgh activist Willie Black.

Protesters celebrated outside Edinburgh Sheriff Court on the news that three charges of organising illegal protests had been dropped.

A victory for those campaigning to defend the Right to Protest.

✊
🇵🇸

Foreign Secretary calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

David Lammy is visiting Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories to progress diplomatic efforts for long-term peace and security in the region

  • Foreign Secretary calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and a rapid increase of humanitarian aid into Gaza on first Middle East visit.
  • In meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas, David Lammy makes the urgent case for a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.
  • The Foreign Secretary announces £5.5m to UK-Med to support their ongoing work to provide humanitarian assistance and medical treatment to those in Gaza.

David Lammy visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories yesterday [Sunday, 14 July] on his first trip to the Middle East since becoming Foreign Secretary.   

He focused on the UK’s diplomatic role in helping to bring the conflict in Gaza to an end and making progress towards long-term peace and security in the Middle East.     

He raised the urgent need for a ceasefire agreed by both sides, which includes the release of all hostages and a rapid increase of aid into Gaza.     

The Foreign Secretary also announced that the UK will provide another £5.5m this year to UK-Med to fund their life-saving work in Gaza.

UK-Med is a frontline medical aid charity who send experienced humanitarian medics, including those working in the NHS, to crisis-hit regions to deliver life and limb-saving health care.  

This funding will be used to support the ongoing work of their field hospitals and the emergency department at Nasser Hospital. It will allow medics, including those from the UK, to continue carrying out vital work to treat thousands more patients suffering from acute respiratory illnesses, infections, and explosive fragmentation trauma cases.

Foreign Secretary, David Lammy said: “The death and destruction in Gaza is intolerable. This war must end now, with an immediate ceasefire, complied with by both sides. The fighting has got to stop, the hostages still cruelly detained by Hamas terrorists need to be released immediately and aid must be allowed in to reach the people of Gaza without restrictions.

“I am meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to stress the UK’s ambition and commitment to play its full diplomatic role in securing a ceasefire deal and creating the space for a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.

“The world needs a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state. 

“Central to this is to see an end to expanding illegal Israeli settlements and rising settler violence in the West Bank. Here, in what should be a crucial part of a Palestinian state, alongside Gaza and East Jerusalem, we need to see a reformed and empowered Palestinian Authority.”

In Israel, the Foreign Secretary held high-level talks with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Herzog to reiterate the need to end the conflict in Gaza and secure the release of hostages.

Mr Lammy met with hostage families with links to the UK whose loved ones have been murdered or taken by Hamas.   

Highlighting more than 680 tonnes of UK aid in the region and waiting to enter Gaza, including medicines, shelters and hygiene kits, the Foreign Secretary pushed the desperate need to rapidly increase aid into Gaza.    

In the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the Foreign Secretary welcomed the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to delivering reform and reiterate the UK’s support to PM Mustafa and his government.  

The UK has provided £10 million in aid to support the Palestinian Authority this financial year through the World Bank. The funding will provide vital support for key services, for example through the payment of salaries for 8,200 doctors, nurses and other health workers over two months.   

In meetings with President Abbas and Prime Minister Mustafa, he highlighted his commitment to recognising a Palestinian state as an undeniable right of the Palestinian people, and as a contribution to a renewed peace process which results in a two-state solution with a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.

He also called out settlements in the West Bank as illegal and harmful to a two-state solution on visit to a Palestinian community.

Israel to ‘legalise’ five outposts in West Bank

The UK government has released a statement in response to Israel announcing that five outposts are to be ‘legalised’ in the West Bank.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said: “The UK strongly opposes the announcement that five outposts are to be legalised in the West Bank as well as further punitive measures against the Palestinian Authority.

“Israel must halt its illegal settlement expansion and hold to account those responsible for extremist settler violence.

“We are clear that actions by Israel to weaken the Palestinian Authority must stop. We call for longer-term measures to be put in place to ensure continued correspondent banking relations and assurance that Israel will release frozen funds without delay.

“The UK’s priority is to bring the Gaza conflict to a sustainable end as quickly as possible and ensure a lasting peace in the Middle East, through an irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.”

Official condemnation, then – but all the while the UK continues to supply weapons to Israel.

More than 16,000 Palestinian children have been slaughtered during the current conflict. Tens of thousands of innocent families have seen their lives shattered.

I wonder if Sir Keir Starmer’s incoming Labour government will do anything different to address the plight of the Palestinian people, or will it be more of the same – business as usual for the arms dealers, words not deeds and more hand-wringing from our political leaders as the slaughter continues? – Ed.

Gaza: G7 Leaders back Biden Plan

The leaders of G7 countries issued a joint statement on Gaza yesterday:

‘We, the Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), fully endorse and will stand behind the comprehensive deal outlined by President Biden that would lead to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, a significant and sustained increase in humanitarian assistance for distribution throughout Gaza, and an enduring end to the crisis, with Israel’s security interests and Gazan civilian safety assured.

‘We reaffirm our support for a credible pathway towards peace leading to a two State solution.

‘We call on Hamas to accept this deal, that Israel is ready to move forward with, and we urge countries with influence over Hamas to help ensure that it does so.’

Foreign Secretary to bolster support for Ukraine in visit to Washington DC

The Foreign Secretary will travel to Washington DC to urge US partners to unlock additional funding for Ukraine

  • David Cameron visits Washington DC to reaffirm the joint UK-US commitment to support Ukraine, which remains vital for US and European security.   
  • In discussions with Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders, he will call for urgent further support for Ukraine.   
  • He will meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other senior US Government figures, reinforcing our steadfast partnership to defend freedom and democracy around the world as NATO allies.   

The Foreign Secretary will travel to Washington DC today (Tuesday 9th April) to urge US partners to unlock additional funding for Ukraine, giving them the tools they need to win its war with Russia.    

He will hold talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the UK’s continued support for Ukraine against Russian aggression which aims to redraw European borders by force. He will engage with key figures across Congress to call for them to change the narrative on Ukraine this year and provide the extra $60bn (over £47.5bn) in supplementary funding that’s going through Congress.

Over $184bn (over £145bn) has already been committed to Ukraine by European nations including over $15bn (nearly £12bn) from the UK, in addition to the nearly $74bn (nearly £59bn) already committed by the US – which is making a huge difference on the battlefields of Ukraine and the waters of the Black Sea. Ukraine has proven time and time again that with the right tools it can succeed.

The Foreign Secretary will reassert the importance of stepping up economic pressure on Russia now and continuing to give Ukraine the military and humanitarian support it needs to hold the line this year and go on the offensive in 2025.  

David Cameron will highlight how Europe and the US are united in their support for Ukraine, with European countries providing more than half of the total support. He will emphasise that nothing can match the pace and scale of US support which remains “the key stone in the arch” in the fight for freedom, democracy and the right of free countries to choose their own future.  

The Foreign Secretary, David Cameron said: “Success for Ukraine and failure for Putin are vital for American and European security.

“This will show that borders matter, that aggression doesn’t pay and that countries like Ukraine are free to choose their own future.

“The alternative would only encourage Putin in further attempts to re-draw European borders by force, and would be heard clearly in Beijing, Tehran and North Korea.

“US support for Ukraine has massively degraded the military capacity of a common adversary, Russia has lost half of its pre-invasion land combat power, and a quarter of its original Black Sea fleet, while creating jobs at home and strengthening the Western alliance and NATO.”

Two years on from Russia’s illegal invasion, it’s more important than ever that as NATO allies, the UK and US continue to defend its shared values, including by upholding Euro-Atlantic security. The visit will build on the strong ties between the US and the UK and our shared commitment to defending freedom and democracy around the world.    

While Ukraine continues to make gains against Russia, they are increasingly being overmatched by Russian artillery on the battlefield, underlining the importance of agreeing further US support.   

Talks will also focus on the Middle East, including the path to a sustainable ceasefire and the delivery of greater quantities of humanitarian aid in Gaza. Six months on from the 7 October attacks, the UK and US have stood united in their support for Israel who suffered the worst terror attack in its history at the hands of Hamas and have been clear in Israel’s right to self-defence in accordance with international law.  

The Foreign Secretary will continue to push for a full, urgent, and transparent investigation into the terrible events in Gaza last week, which saw three British aid workers lose their lives.

He will underline that the deaths of World Central Kitchen humanitarian workers are completely unacceptable and that major changes need to be made to ensure the safety of aid workers on the ground.  

Alongside the US, the UK and other partners recently announced plans for the opening of a maritime route, which will see aid delivered by sea to a new temporary US military pier in Gaza, through a maritime corridor from Cyprus. Partners including the United Nations, Cyprus, European Commission, the UAE, Qatar, Germany, Greece, Italy and The Netherlands, have joined the UK and the US in the creation of the route.  

The Foreign Secretary also will reinforce UK support for the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) in Haiti by announcing a £5m contribution to its deployment.

The MSS, working with the Haitian National Police, will help to tackle gang-related violence which is destabilising the country, worsening the humanitarian situation and causing daily pain and suffering to the people of Haiti.

He will emphasise that a Haitian-led political solution is the only way to tackle this insecurity head on and long-term.