LONDON: UK charities and other organizations have called on the British government to ensure the ceasefire in Gaza marks the start of a process that ends Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and ensures “justice and accountability.”
An alliance of 18 groups, including the Council for Arab-British Understanding, Oxfam and Amnesty International, on Thursday signed a letter welcoming the Gaza ceasefire agreement, upon which the Israeli parliament was due to vote on Thursday evening.
But the groups said the temporary truce, expected to take effect on Sunday, must become permanent and represent a “starting point for justice and accountability.”
The letter stated: “This deal alone will not end Palestinian suffering in Gaza, and therefore must be the beginning, and not the end, of a process that will rapidly bring a comprehensive ceasefire, with a lifting of the 17-year long blockade, and end of Israel’s occupation of Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem.”
The agreement to end 15 months of devastating war in Gaza, during which at least 46,000 Palestinians were killed, was reached on Wednesday. It calls for a six-week ceasefire, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the freeing of hostages taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel during which 1,200 people were killed. Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel will also be released and a mammoth humanitarian aid operation launched in Gaza.
The letter calls for a halt to deliveries of arms to Israel, “including components for F-35 fighter jets sent indirectly,” as part of a series of actions that would “ensure accountability and justice for Palestinians.”
It outlines the terrible suffering endured by Palestinians during the war, including the forced displacement of more than 1.9 million people, representing nearly 90 percent of Gaza’s population.
It also accuses the UK government of failing to act in any meaningful way in response, despite a UN Commission of Inquiry accusing Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the conflict.
The UK, the letter says, “has neither secured a permanent ceasefire nor shown willingness to hold Israel accountable.”
Israeli authorities were repeatedly accused during the conflict of restricting deliveries of humanitarian aid to Gaza that could have alleviated the suffering of the civilian population. The organizations that signed the letter called for full humanitarian access now to be granted “to avert the risk of famine.”
They continued: “This is a moment of truth for the UK. To continue shielding Israel from accountability is to abandon the principles of justice and human rights that it claims to uphold.”
The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, welcomed the ceasefire agreement and said the focus should turn now to humanitarian aid and efforts to secure a better, long-term future for the region.
"After months of devastating bloodshed and countless lives lost, this is the long-overdue news that the Israeli and Palestinian people have desperately been waiting for,” he said.
The UK, the US and other European allies of Israel faced criticism throughout the conflict for failing to put pressure on Israel to end its military operations.
