Dear Foreign Secretary,
Yesterday, on the 4th of December, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs answered an Urgent Question on the Humanitarian Situation in Gaza.
I asked the Minister if he could assure the House that there are no British soldiers on the ground in Gaza. The Minister refused to answer.
The Minister’s failure to provide this assurance is extremely alarming. More than 15,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including 6,000 children. 1.8 million people have been displaced. Almost half of all housing units have been destroyed. The UK government already provides ample political support to an Israeli army that is committing war crimes in front of our eyes. Could you confirm whether the UK government is providing military personnel too?
In the aftermath of horror, we need voices for peace. The terror attack by Hamas was deplorable and must be condemned. That cannot justify the massacre of the Palestinian people, who are being punished for a crime they did not commit. We are witnessing unconscionable death destruction; people in this country have a right to know if British troops are involved in its execution.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to re-issue our demand for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. Over the past several weeks, human beings have been forced to endure horrors that should haunt us forever. Regrettably, the recent truce has become a footnote in the ongoing ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. Israelis and Palestinians deserve more than a temporary pause in death and destruction. They deserve a just and lasting peace. That is why
millions of people around the world continue to demonstrate for an end to the killings, for the release of all hostages, for the end to the siege of Gaza, and for the only route out of this endless cycle of violence: the end to the occupation of Palestine.
Kind regards,
Rt Hon Jeremy Corbyn MP
