Saturday, January 16, 2010

EU Parliamentarians on Crash Visit to Gaza!

Press TV:

A high ranking European parliamentary delegation in the Gaza Strip has called for the prosecution of Israeli officials over war crimes in the territory.

The high ranking delegation which includes 60 parliament members of 12 European countries, crossed into the strip on Friday afternoon through Rafah border crossing, Xinhua reported.

Speaking at a press conference at the crossing, British Labor Party legislator, Sir Gerald Kaufman who is also the head of the delegation described the visit as "a message of solidarity with Gaza to end the Israeli siege."

"Our suffering to arrive here is nothing compared with the longsuffering of the Gaza Strip population due to the suffocating [and] unfair Israeli siege imposed on them," said Kaufman.

He also called for the prosecution of Israeli officials who had "authorized the use of white phosphorus bombs" against the Palestinians during Tel Aviv's December 2008-January 2009 offensive against the Gaza Strip which left over 1,400 Palestinians dead.

He also expressed support for the attempts by pro-Palestinian groups in Britain to seek arrest warrants for Israeli politicians and army officers in the country.

Among the well-known faces I recognised Jeremy Corbyn, Nazir (Lord) Ahmed and Claire Short, notably absent was the Middle East Envoy, Tony Blair...

2 Comments:

At 8:56 PM, Blogger Ernie Halfdram said...

Every now and then, somebody points out that if some country, say Britain, really wanted to relieve the siege of Gaza, they could send shiploads of supplies, breaking the Israeli naval blockade. And I think it is fair to assume that Israel might not wish to provoke a war with a real country with a real military and refrain from ramming such ships, as they did with the Dignity. I hope these high ranking parliamentarians are engaging in more concrete forms of solidarity than sending a message.

 
At 9:42 PM, Blogger Gert said...

Well, we know that the governments of Britain and the overwhelming majority (ALL of them I think) of EU countries fully support the siege since the day Hamas came to power in Gaza. So, unless this handful, with the grassroots support of some in their resp. constituencies, can change these governments' stance on Hamas/Gaza and I/P, Gaza will continue to be blockaded.

Israel and its supporters will in the mean time continue to lament that the country is 'beleaguered' and 'singled out' by agenda-driven 'critics' and the 'Muslim bought' UN...

 

Post a Comment

<< Home