Last July’s 51-day conflict in Gaza killed over 1,400 Palestinian civilians (including more than 500 children), and left some 11,000 injured and over 100,000 displaced. The British government has pledged millions of pounds towards reconstruction, and through the Department for International Development (DfID) has been supporting MAP to deploy small teams of British surgeons to Gaza to undertake specialised surgery for some of the injured. Nevertheless, no delegation of UK MPs has been granted access to Gaza to see the situation for themselves or assess the application of British aid since 2009.
MAP is urging MPs to sign an Early Day Motion (EDM) tabled in Parliament which recognises the ongoing humanitarian crisis affecting Gaza, and calls on the government to persuade the Israeli authorities to permit parliamentary access into Gaza. Such access is vital to monitoring the humanitarian situation and ensuring oversight of British aid to the beleaguered population.
The EDM reads:
That this House agrees with the United Nations Secretary-General that there is a dire humanitarian situation in Gaza; fears the outbreak of further hostilities unless the situation improves dramatically; notes the considerable amount of British and other international aid required to keep Gaza from deteriorating further and to assist in the reconstruction of infrastructure and homes; regrets that the Israeli authorities continue to refuse access to British elected representatives to visit Gaza via Erez checkpoint; further notes that, given the dangerous security situation in the Sinai, the Israeli-controlled Erez crossing is the only viable entry point; and asks the Government to do everything in its power to persuade the Israeli authorities to permit parliamentary access into Gaza to assess the situation, the needs of the population and how British funds are being spent.
Please help by asking your MP to sign the EDM by email, twitter or letter.
You can find your MP’s contact details here and their twitter handle here, and we have provided a sample email/letter and tweet below.
Tweet:
[MP twitter handle] MPs must be granted access to Gaza to oversee British aid! Please sign this EDM: http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2014-15/827 #UK2Gaza
Email/letter:
Dear [MP’s name],
Please support EDM 827 on the humanitarian situation in Gaza. It calls for the UK government to do everything in its power to get the Israeli authorities to permit parliamentary access into Gaza to assess the situation there.
It is vital, given the size of the UK's aid budget to Gaza, that backbench MPs are able to see the extent of Gaza's humanitarian crisis for themselves. The last such delegation via the Erez crossing was in 2009. Entry via Egypt is impossible due to the security situation in the Sinai.
The EDM reads:
That this House agrees with the United Nations Secretary-General that there is a dire humanitarian situation in Gaza; fears the outbreak of further hostilities unless the situation improves dramatically; notes the considerable amount of British and other international aid required to keep Gaza from deteriorating further and to assist in the reconstruction of infrastructure and homes; regrets that the Israeli authorities continue to refuse access to British elected representatives to visit Gaza via Erez checkpoint; further notes that, given the dangerous security situation in the Sinai, the Israeli-controlled Erez crossing is the only viable entry point; and asks the Government to do everything in its power to persuade the Israeli authorities to permit parliamentary access into Gaza to assess the situation, the needs of the population and how British funds are being spent.
I would be very grateful if you would be able to sign and urge your colleagues to do so too.
Best wishes,
[Your name]