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| ‘We slept this night in complete darkness. We couldn’t even turn on our phones, not even for a faint light, because the small drones were roaming the alleys between houses, firing in all directions. We lowered the sound of our breathing so as not to draw attention.’ A ‘young friend in Gaza’ quoted by Heather Formaini in her regular mailing. Dear colleagues, UKPALMHN is issuing the urgent appeal asking you to take action on the catastrophic situation in Northern Gaza. While Israel is committing atrocities throughout the region, this is one that must be stopped before the entire population of Northern Gaza is either forcibly displaced or murdered. Please write to your MP and encourage others to do so. Here is a template letter to use if you wish. Dear MP, I/we are writing to you as a matter of extreme urgency because the population of Jabaliya refugee camp in Northern Gaza and the surrounding communities are under violent attack from Israeli forces as will soon be the whole of Northern Gaza with its remaining population of 400,000 people. This is a genocide in action and we cannot stand by while it happens. The Israeli army seeks to evacuate, starve or kill anyone who remains, in order to empty Northern Gaza of its entire Palestinian population. People who flee are being attacked as they do so. Hospitals have been ordered to evacuate. According to the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, Israeli forces have already forced over 70,000 people to flee their homes in Northern Gaza, cutting off the area and subjecting it to intense bombardment, while evacuation routes are blocked. You can imagine the horror that lies in store for the entire population of Northern Gaza if the International Community takes no steps to protect them. In January the International Court of Justice ordered measures to prevent genocide in Gaza, all of which have been ignored by Israel. The catastrophic failure of the international community to take action to enforce a ceasefire has enabled Israel to escalate its onslaught and forced displacement. While the world is distracted by the attacks on Lebanon and potential strikes against Iran, this deadly campaign of murder, forced displacement, destruction of infrastructure and starvation accelerates. I/We urge you to call upon the government to halt all arms supplies to Israel. Two further points 1 The government has declared itself to be in favour of abiding by international law, If it is serious about this intention, then it must act now to insist Israel follows the measures demanded by the ICJ. 2 The government repeats that it supports a two state solution. If it is serious about this, it has to take action to prevent Israel from blatant steps to abort this possibility by ethnically cleansing Northern Gaza, as well as stealing land all over the West Bank. The time for replacing empty slogans with action is now. Please, get together with other MP’s from whatever party or grouping who share the same moral outrage and insist that our government stops making excuses, stops uttering hollow words and takes meaningful steps. There is very little time left to stop the slaughter. Thank you Online and PDF versions of the above template letter are available here: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/ukpalmhn-urgent-action-11-october-2024/ OTHER RESOURCES: ‘Jabalia is being wiped out’: Gaza pleads for help as Israel intensifies assault One Palestinian journalist said that ‘the situation in the north is horrific and very dangerous’ and implored people to ‘please share what’s happening.’ https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-northern-gaza-2669359467 Israel subjects northern Gaza to one of the most violent campaigns of its genocide An unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe is imminent as the Israeli occupation tightens its siege on the Jabalia camp and Beit Lahia project in the northern Gaza Strip for the fourth consecutive day. Israel is accelerating the pace of its genocide against the Palestinians there by carrying out “mass and planned killings, as well as widespread forced displacements”. The international community, led by the United Nations, must act swiftly and decisively to save 10s of thousands of residents who are being subjected to one of the most violent campaigns of genocide the Strip has ever witnessed. https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/israel-subjects-northern-gaza-one-most-violent-campaigns-its-genocide-intl-intervention-required OTHER ACTIONS: Palestine Solidarity Campaign Letter writing campaign: Stop the extermination of Palestinians in northern Gaza Over a year into its genocidal assault on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military is now intensifying its massacres to forcibly displace the remaining Palestinian population in the north of Gaza – some 400,000 people. The situation amounts to an existential threat to Palestinians remaining in northern Gaza. Email the Foreign Secretary to demand the UK government take urgent steps, including imposing an arms embargo, to stop Israel’s extermination campaign in northern Gaza. https://palestinecampaign.eaction.online/northerngaza A list of current actions you can take from a range of different organisations (including PSC, Stop the War Coalition, Medical Aid for Palestinians and the Palestine Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee) is available on this page: https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ SYMPOSIUM Sumud and Solidarity: International Mental Health Networks United for Liberation and Justice Friday 18 October at 6pm – 8pm (UK time) The Brazil, Turkiye and South Africa Palestine Mental Health Networks invite you to attend this symposium. Speakers include Dr. Samah Jabr (Head of the Mental Health Unit at the Palestinian Ministry of Health) and Dr. Yasser Abu Jamei (Director of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme). Following the speakers, there will be a panel discussion as well as a Q&A session including: South Africa: Prof. Ashraf Kagee Turkey: Prof. Dr.Serdar M. Değirmencioğlu Brazil: Prof. Dr. Muna Muhammad Odeh Registration/Zoom link here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86135814190?pwd=NbLhfbvWsdWbJDqVZnjvfBP1Gs9XLM.1 Want to take Action? Our website has a list of up to date of petitions, letter writing campaigns and other ways you can express your solidarity. https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ Think it’s all hopeless? Look at this link celebrating the successes of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement on its 19th anniversary in July 2024: https://bdsmovement.net/BDS_Impacts-In-Times-Of-Genocide |
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الشبكة البريطانية الفلسطينية للصحة النفسية 