1,000 days living in a prison – not knowing when the gates will open

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Published: 4 June 2010

ABOVE: One of the flotilla boats

A GENERATION of Palestinians is growing up in privation because of the blockade of Gaza, argues Jeremy Corbyn

Last Monday we awoke to the news of the shootings by Israeli commandos abseiling down onto unarmed vessels in international waters carrying 10,000 tons of aid to Gaza.

The 600 people on board included many activists from north London. None was armed and all were intent on breaking the siege of Gaza.

The siege has now lasted 1,000 days and the only secure supplies the people of Gaza get are the UN trucks that are allowed to trickle through some of the Israeli-controlled checkpoints.

On a good day, 100 trucks get through; on a bad day, fewer. 

No building materials, no metal, few medicines, and nothing but the most basic of food supplies are allowed in. 

There are terrible shortages, as I witnessed when I was there three months ago. 

The calls by the UN relief and works agency director John Ging for more aid must be heard.

I support and admire those that took part in the flotilla and those all around the world who collected money to buy wheelchairs for those with disabilities, medicines, cement and educational supplies.

Israel justifies the siege by referring to the sporadic and largely ineffective home-made rocket attacks on Sderot. In return, Israel has used F16 jets, and targeted assassination.

The attack on the flotilla and the worldwide condemnation of it have amounted to a sea change in attitudes towards Israel.

Israel has always claimed its security is at risk, and therefore it must restrain the Palestinian people from normal life, travel or economic development.

The living standards in Gaza and the West Bank are poor. Death rate, life expectancy and every other health indices show how badly off all Palestinians are.

But there is also a psychological price that is paid, of living in a prison and not knowing when the gates will open.

This psychological price has been paid by generations of Palestinians and if Israel is allowed to continue its blockade, it is the young people of Gaza whose lives will be so blighted by this experience.

At least in his response in Parliament on Wednesday the Foreign Secretary William Hague did call for the ending of the siege and the opening of checkpoints, promising all consul assistance to British nationals who had been arrested by Israel. But this is not enough.

Only 14 months ago Operation Cast Lead came to an end and the dead were counted. 1,400 including children perished in the bombardment.

Sir Richard Goldstone undertook an inquiry on behalf of the UN and his report has been referred to the UN Security Council for consideration of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Less than six months ago a number of British and other European passports were illegally cloned by Israeli security services and used to send an assassination squad to Dubai to kill a Hamas representative. Now, we have this attack on the flotilla.

There are people in Israel who condemned this action and the counter-productive policies adopted by successive Israeli governments.
It is time for serious action against Israel and in the House of Commons on Wednesday I called for the suspension of the trade arrangements between Israel and the European Union.  

These agreements include very specific human rights clauses which Israel is in breach of.

Additionally, the United States continues to provide massive aid to Israel and only a couple of weeks ago President Obama, for all his confused huffing and puffing over the illegal settlements in the West Bank, announced a further $150m for a missile defence system to Israel.
Demonstrations make a difference and help to force our governments to wake up to this “humanitarian” crisis caused by Israel’s blockade.
• Jeremy Corbyn is Labour MP for Islington North