Sign here: http://act.palestinecampaign.org/petition/camerongaza

 http://act.palestinecampaign.org

Open letter to David Cameron

Dear Prime Minister

The world is following developments in Israel's war on Gaza with growing concern and disbelief. At the time of writing, the number of deaths has surpassed 700, 78% of whom are civilians. One in five of the dead are children and entire families have been killed in their homes. Patients have been killed in direct strikes on hospitals. On the 20th of July, Israel shelled the Al-Shuja’iyeh area of Gaza City, resulting in more than 70 deaths, overwhelmingly civilians. Medical teams were stopped from reaching the casualties, resulting in more unnecessary deaths. The number of those injured has surpassed 4,000 and more than 2,200 homes have been destroyed. The electricity, water supply and sewage treatment facilities have been further damaged.

We are deeply alarmed by the British Government's lack of response to the developing crisis and – in particular – the situation for Palestinian civilians. They are entitled to protection under the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law more broadly, which makes clear that civilians and civilian objects may not be the target of military attack. As a member-state and High Contracting Party to the Convention, Britain has a responsibility to ensure that this protection is achieved.

On the 19th of July, British people of all faiths and ages came out in their tens of thousands in London and around the country to demand action to stop Israel's attack on Gaza. They also demonstrated to ensure the underlying reasons that led to this are tackled, namely the illegal, military occupation of Palestine and the siege on Gaza.  

We demand that the British Government calls for an immediate end to Israel's action – which is fundamentally based on the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. Further we demand Britain informs Israel that it has completely broken the basic principles of international law with its attack on the civilian population of Gaza, which is unacceptable, and that unless it ends this bloody campaign the UK will move to impose sanctions on it until it adheres to international law. In particular, we demand that Britain will not buy or supply military equipment that has, or could be, used or tested as part of Israel's illegal occupation or as part of its collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

Yours sincerely