Motion on the continuing Gaza Siege, AJDS Annual General Meeting, Feb 2010.

The Israeli government, while using propaganda to deny the facts, continues to besiege the Palestinian population though collective punishment for rocket attacks from Gaza. 13 Israelis have been killed by rocket attacks, 3 of whom were civilians.
As a result of Israel’s response, more than 1,300 Palestinians, including 410 children and over 100 women have been killed. More than 400,000 Gazans were left without running water, while 4,000 homes were destroyed or badly damaged during or after Operation Cast Lead. The civilian population of Gaza continues to suffer a year after Operation Cast Lead. The current protests against the siege by various international activists, Palestinians, and Israelis, though ignored by Israel, indicate that the problem will not just go away.
Because of this, Palestinians will continue to suffer far more than Israelis, and Israel itself become more cocooned, and internationally isolated. The current crisis also leads to increased hostility to Israel all too-often combined with unjustifiable anti-Semitism.
Egypt, though its closing of the Rafah crossing and other blockade measures, is also culpable in causing unnecessary suffering o f the civilian population of Gaza.
Motion:
1. We call upon Israel to end the blockade of the Gaza Strip and restore the supply of fuel, food and medicines, school supplies and other materials needed to support the population;
2. We call on Israel to immediately cease the practice of collective punishment and to stop any military action endangering the life of the civilian populations inside the Gaza Strip, and an end to Palestinian attacks;
3. We also call upon Egypt to open the Rafah border crossing to restore the fuel, food and medicines, school supplies and other materials needed to support the population;
4. Furthermore, we call upon Egypt and Israel to open the borders and airport to so that ordinary export and trade from Gaza can occur into local and international markets.
Endorsed at the AGM.