Vigils 11 & 18 September;
Scale of the war: Almost one year into the war between Israel and Hamas, the reported death toll in Gaza is more than 40,000. Of the 215 Israeli’s and foreigners kidnapped on 7 October, 97 are unaccounted for. 116 hostages have been released while some are still held and others have been killed. Tragically the war has spread into the West Bank where 652 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli Forces of illegal settlers since October 2023. Many in Israeli society believe the hostage crisis is being exacerbated by the on-going military action.
Impact of the war in Gaza: The on-going bombing campaign has destroyed the healthcare system, with 31 of 36 hospitals damaged or destroyed, according to the World Health Organization. About 90% of the 2.3 million people who live in the Gaza Strip have been displaced from their homes, struggling to find shelter, food and safe clean water. Polio was eradicated from the Gaza Strip in 1999, but a strain was detected in routine wastewater testing in July. Pauses in bombing and armed attacks have allowed the first round of the emergency polio vaccination campaign. Nearly 87,000 children were reached on the first day. With the infra structure destroyed, it is likely that other communicable diseases will spread among the community.
Impact of the war in the West Bank. Between 27 August and 2 September, Israeli forces killed 30 Palestinians in the West Bank, including seven children. Since 7 October 2023 Israeli authorities destroyed, demolished, confiscated, or forced the demolition of 1,478 Palestinian structures across the West Bank, displacing more than 3,477 Palestinians, including about 1,485 children. Thousands of Palestinian men and women have been detained without trial and are in Israeli prisons.
(Statistics from OCHA the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ochaopt.org/updates and Amnesty International)
Women in Black London call for an immediate, permanent ceasefire and an end to UK arms sales to Israel. The recent Government statement that 30 export licences have been cancelled is not enough. We call especially for the cancellation of all parts for Israel’s F-35 warplanes used in air attacks. Dialogue, diplomacy and nonviolent means of securing peace offer the only way forward for the people of Palestine and Israel. This is the only way to break the cycle of violence.
Women in Black in London stand in solidarity with Palestinian women in the Occupied Territories in their struggle for justice, peace, well-being and a secure, prosperous and nonviolent future for themselves and their children. We stand with Israeli partners too, such as Women in Black Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem, the Coalition of Women for Peace, Machsom Watch and other organizations in which Jewish and Palestinian Israeli women work together for a peace agreement and sustain contact with Palestinian women in the West Bank and Gaza. With them, we call for full equality in Israel for Jewish and non-Jewish citizens alike.
With a new government and many new Members of Parliament there are new opportunities for dialogue and advocacy. Please share this leaflet with others and write to your own MP (https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP) asking that they work to:
- End all arms trade between the UK and Israel.
- Support the negotiations that are underway for an unconditional, permanent ceasefire in Gaza
- Escalate efforts to ensure the immediate unconditional release of Israeli hostages and Palestinians in arbitrary administrative detention
Women in Black hold vigils every Wednesday between 6-7 pm at the Edith Cavell Statue, opposit theeNational Portrait Gallery, St. Martin’s Place, London WC2. Our vigils are silent, women-only and if possible we wear black. We welcome all women who support our call for an end to militarism and war. Contact us: Twitter @WIB_London FB @womeninblack.london
Donations for leaflets most welcome September 2024