Write to the Foreign Office: Israel's war on Palestinian children

Roughly half the population in the Gaza Strip are children. Like adults, they have been subjected to the same brutal Israeli attacks that have already killed over 31,000 Palestinians, 70% of whom are women and children.

Palestinians are currently starving as Israel blocks much needed aid reaching them, and children are at highest risk from these conditions. Doctors have been forced to amputate limbs from bombed kids, even without having access to anaesthetic or pain relief. Thousands have been killed, with many more orphaned or losing multiple family members.

The British government’s response has been shameful. Rather than holding Israel to account for its war crimes, the government has suspended funding to UNRWA over unsubstantiated allegations made by Israel. UNRWA is the primary agency providing food aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and the organisation responsible for the education of 543,057 Palestinian children. In the past weeks, the EU, Canada and Sweden have all resumed aid to UNRWA. Now Britain must do the same.

Please take 2 minutes to help change this. Your voice matters putting pressure on the government.

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Dear Lord Cameron,
I’m writing to raise the issue of Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip, and to urgently demand the UK reinstates funding to UNRWA and stops exporting weapons to Israel.
Roughly half the population in the Gaza Strip are children. Like adults, they have been subjected to the same brutal Israeli attacks that have already killed over 31,000 Palestinians.
Palestinians are currently starving as Israel blocks much needed aid reaching them, with children carrying the highest risk of death or long-term health implications. Doctors have been forced to amputate limbs without access to anaesthetic or pain relief. Thousands of children have been killed, with many more orphaned or losing multiple family members.
In January, the International Court of Justice handed down an interim ruling affirming that there is plausible evidence Israel is committing genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Among the ICJ provisional measures ordered was that essential aid must get to those in need.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is one of the key bodies delivering aid on the ground. UNRWA is the primary international body encapsulating the rights of Palestinian refugees, and as such is frequently subjected to politically motivated Israeli attacks. The EU, Canada and Sweden have recognised how vital and important the work of UNRWA is, and announced they will resume funding the organisation. The UK must now do the same immediately.
As well as ensuring international aid gets to those in need in Gaza, the ICJ ruling triggers further UK obligations. The Genocide Convention of 1948 requires States parties to employ all means reasonably available to them to prevent genocide in another state as far as possible. <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/arms-exports-israel-must-stop-immediately-un-experts">UN experts</a> have made it clear that this necessitates halting arms exports to Israel immediately.
In February, a Dutch court ordered that the Netherlands stops supplying Israel with F-35 fighter jet parts because of the clear risk that they’d be used in contravention of international law against Palestinians. Several other EU countries - including Spain, Belgium, and Italy - have also suspended arms transfers to Israel.
The UK’s own Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, under which all arms exports are assessed, states that export licences should not be issued if there is a “clear risk” arms exports might be used in a “serious violation of international humanitarian law”. Given that the most authoritative world court has ruled Israel is potentially committing genocide, or that there is a risk it will commit genocide, the UK has a clear requirement to immediately cease all arms exports to Israel.
Palestinian children are being killed every day, and the UK government is complicit in their suffering. I urge you to take immediate action to change this. As a minimum this means reinstating funding to UNRWA, and to stop exporting weapons and military technology to Israel.

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Write to the Foreign Office: Israel's war on Palestinian children