Merton Greens have attended peace vigils and marches calling for the release of hostages and an end to the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
Statement issued by Merton Green Party in early January 2024
The Green Party has been calling for a full ceasefire in Gaza and the return of hostages since mid-October. We condemned the appalling murder of hundreds of Israeli civilians by Hamas on 7 October and, since then, have watched in horror as Israeli forces have committed war crimes that have, at the time of writing, caused the deaths of well over 22,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including more than 8000 children and 142 UN aid workers.
Around 1.9 million people – 85% of Gaza’s population – have been forced to flee their homes and are now, in the words of UNICEF, ‘caught in a nightmare’ as ‘intensifying conflict, malnutrition and disease in the Gaza Strip is creating a deadly cycle threatening over 1.1 million children.’
Much of Gaza has been rendered uninhabitable by Israel’s destruction of homes and civil infrastructure, and the illegally occupied West Bank has also seen attacks on universities, schools and hospitals, forced eviction by Israeli settlers, and the deaths of well over 300 Palestinians at the hands of Israeli troops or settlers.
We are witnessing one of the worst acts of collective punishment in modern history. This is clearly illegal under international law. UN experts have described the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza as a ‘genocide in the making’.
These events have also led to a rise in Islamophobia and antisemitism in the UK, both of which we absolutely condemn.
The Green Party’s position is clear: these war crimes must stop, and the UK must use all its influence at the UN and elsewhere to help make this happen. As our Co-leader Adrian Ramsay has said: ‘The long absence of a meaningful political dialogue and peace process has created a vacuum which has been filled by those who offer violence as a solution. The pathway to ending these waves of violence and bringing about a long-term political settlement must begin with an end to illegal occupation.’
Green Party statement issued on 7th April 2024
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