MPs outraged by Gaza suffering
Friday, 2 January 2009 12:25 PM
By Alex Stevenson
A growing number of MPs are backing urgent intervention in the Gaza Strip to prevent the ongoing violence there.
Violence between Hamas and Israel is continuing for a sixth successive day in the Palestinian territory with the death toll approaching 400.
The airstrikes which have caused the deaths appear to be only the first phase of a lengthy campaign already approved by its cabinet. Four Israelis have died because of Hamas rockets fired into southern Israel since the start of the recent fighting.
A statement backed by Labour MP Richard Burden, who chairs the all-party British-Palestine group, has attracted the signatures of 57 MPs to a statement condemning Israel's "disproportionate" actions.
"The continuing slaughter in Gaza is an outrage," he said.
"The international community has to make clear that respecting its calls for a ceasefire is not simply an optional extra for those launching attacks on either side. International humanitarian law must be upheld. That means protecting civilians from military attack.
"Common humanity also demands that food, medicines and other essential supplies must be allowed to get through to the one and a half million people who are under siege."
The British government, which has offered nearly £7 million in emergency aid to the Gaza Strip, has also called for access for humanitarian aid to civilians living in Gaza.
Foreign secretary David Miliband has repeatedly called for a renewed ceasefire and warned persisting violence will undermine efforts to achieve a two-state solution.
"Because in the end the crisis that we see in Gaza, the rockets going to Israel, the Israeli response, are a reflection of the weakness, the slow pace, of the political drive for the two state solution in the Middle East that is so important for a state for the Palestinians, but also security for Israel," he told BBC News earlier this week.
The international community is struggling to reach a unified stance on how to deal with the conflict, however.
An emergency meeting of the United Nations security council recently failed to agree on the text of a binding ceasefire resolution.
The resolution presented by Libya urged both sides to agree to "an immediate ceasefire" and criticised Israel for its "excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force" on the Palestinians.
There was no direct criticism of Hamas in the resolution which analysts have said caused discord in the 15-member body.
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