Posted on 16-6-2003
Jewish
UK MP Promotes Boycott Of Israel
by Oona King is Labour MP for Bethnal Green and Bow
miahr@parliament.uk
The no man's land separating Israel from the Gaza Strip
gives way to what can only be described as desecrated land.
Razor wire and crushed buildings line the route. Torn slabs
of concrete look like tattered cardboard on a rubbish heap.
In front of us two Israeli tanks block our path. Behind us,
the border will shortly be sealed to prevent Palestinian reprisals
for the helicopter attack launched hours earlier against the
extremist Hamas leader, Abdul-Aziz al-Rantissi - who is still
alive. A Palestinian woman and her young child, on their way
to hospital, are dead, and 35 are injured.
Later that afternoon we hurriedly leave the building we are
in when a missile lands nearby. As two British MPs travelling
with Christian Aid, myself and Jenny Tonge are alarmed. For
Gaza residents this is business as usual. More than 1 million
Palestinians live on this tiny piece of land (smaller than the
Isle of Wight) - more than three-quarters of on less than £1.30
a day. Life below the poverty line for these Palestinians contrasts
with the 5,000 Israeli settlers who occupy one-third of the
land and enjoy watered gardens, first world housing and protection
by the Israeli army. This protection means Palestinians wait
for hours - sometimes days - at Israeli checkpoints, trying
to find work or get access to essential services such as medical
care.
The sun is setting on Gaza. From my hotel balcony I hear demonstrations
in the street below. It occurs to me that I can put on a headscarf
and slip into the crowd as a Palestinian. No one will guess
I'm Jewish, still less that I'm a British MP. The sounds lead
me to the hospital where Rantissi is being treated. Cars rush
into the compound, horns blaring, people hanging out of windows.
A man carries an injured girl into the hospital. But most of
the Palestinians just stand waiting. They wait for Israelis
to stamp their permits, and they wait for a Palestinian state.
They are no different from us: deny them human rights and they
will respond with unacceptable terrorist violence.
That's what Jews did when they set up the Stern Gang and blew
up the King David Hotel in the 1940s. Ninety-four people died.
The leader of that terrorist group, on Britain's "most
wanted" list, went on to be the Israeli prime minister.
Many Jews revere him, even while they abhor the terrorism that
ruins their lives today. Israelis must be freed from terrorism
- such as yesterday's horrific attack in Jersualem. All terrorism,
not least Palestinian terrorism, is abhorrent. But it is also
predictable. When the Israeli government chose Tuesday to launch
an attack in Gaza (as it did again after yesterday's bombing),
it cannot have been ignorant of its effect on the peace process
and the certainty of Palestinian reprisals.
The original founders of the Jewish state could surely not imagine
the irony facing Israel today: in escaping the ashes of the
Holocaust, they have incarcerated another people in a hell similar
in its nature - though not its extent - to the Warsaw ghetto.
Any visitor to the Palestinian ghetto can see the signs: residents
are sealed off and live under curfew; the authorities view torture
as acceptable and use collective punishment as a means of control;
soldiers drive families from their homes, confiscate property
and demolish neighbourhoods; unemployment runs in places at
80%, and utilities such as water are withheld; the economy has
"client" status, and is subservient to the occupiers
in every way.
As the more powerful side in the dispute, Israel must break
the cycle of violence, comply with UN resolution 242 and withdraw
from territories occupied in 1967. As the occupying power, Israel
must uphold the fourth Geneva convention and end all collective
punishments. Illegal settlements must be dismantled. Repair
of water, sewage, and other essential infrastructure should
take place immediately.
Just under 80% of all water resources in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip are redirected from Palestinians to Israelis. The international
community has to recognise the scale of the humanitarian disaster
facing Palestinians and George Bush must put greater pressure
on Sharon to give meaning to the road map. Yes, there are two
sides to every story. But no story should hold within it the
horrors I have witnessed here, so similar in detail to humiliations
suffered by the Jews.
I have sadly come to the conclusion that, given the scale of
the atrocities and collective punishment waged by the Israelis
against the Palestinians, I have no choice but to boycott Israeli
products. On reflection, whether Jewish or not, you might decide
to do the same.
Oona King
is Labour MP for Bethnal Green and Bow
miahr@parliament.uk
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