World Press Network

A (Tory) MEP visits Gaza, and is clearly appalled and moved. Here's his published report.
http://cmec.org.uk/blog/the-rt-hon-sir- ... sits-gaza/
SUMMARY
1. The blockade is illegal, inhuman and designed to bleed the life out of Gaza. It must be lifted.
2. Israel, the USA, the ineffective Quartet and EU must include HAMAS in any negotiations. They are too influential and powerful to ignore and they are not going away.
3. Even in this most difficult economic climate, UNRWA funding for the poorest, sickest and most-deprived citizens of Gaza must be restored or alternatives found. Otherwise people will starve next year, children will not be educated and violent unrest, inevitably, will ensue.
4. Pressure must be exerted on Israel and her diaspora to realise that what they are doing in Palestine generally, and Gaza specifically, is not only illegal under international law but is also inhumane. It is reminiscent of the treatment experienced by Jews in Europe during parts of the last century.
5. There is incomprehension and dismay at the continual failure by Western nations to support Palestine in its campaign for nationhood, exacerbated by the complete refusal of Israel, supported by the US Congress, to negotiate on equal terms or to cease the construction of new settlements on Palestinian land.
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The core question is really quite simple. How much longer can Israel continue to get
away with it? Given her reliance on a fickle and uncritical US Administration and the purblind support of the US Congress, when will anyone stand up to her? With our historic and economic links to Palestine and the Arab world, and our traditions of justice and fair play, why does Britain not take up the challenge? Given a proper lead, most of Europe would follow and it would begin to resolve this intractable issue once and for all.
The Rt. Hon. Robert Atkins is a Conservative Member of the European Parliament for the North West Region. (UK)