January 12, 2010

Egyptian and Israeli blockade of Gaza should end now!

To mark the first annual anniversary of the Israeli holocaust against the people of Gaza, the Social Justice party (SJP) has called for a vigil outside the Egyptian consulate in Sydney. The party took such this decision in response to calls from advocates of Palestinian rights around the world to target Egyptian embassies and consulates.

The move to target Egyptian diplomatic missions is necessary to highlight the participation of the Egyptian government in the crime of blockading Gaza from the outside world. This crime has cost so far more than 360 innocent deaths because of lack of medicines. It has also made Gaza the biggest jail on earth, where 1.5 million people are trapped against their will.

“The blockade resulted in horrific circumstances in the sieged strip. Because of this blockade, more than 80% of Gazans are unemployed” said Jamal Daoud, spokesperson of SJP. “This has been confirmed by the very bleak picture of life in the strip testified to by humanitarian agencies after 2 years of total blockade.”

Many humanitarian agencies have indicated that half of the Gazans are suffering from anaemia because of malnutrition. In addition to this, hundreds of students and workers cannot travel to their studies or jobs.

The hospitals in the strip after 2 years of total blockade are definitely unable to deal with the wide-scale catastrophe in the aftermath of last year’s barbaric invasion. The injured and sick people could not receive proper medical treatment as more than 150 important medicines are not available in the strip, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

“This total blockade is definitely a war crime against the most populated area on earth. The Goldstone report clearly mentioned this fact many times” said Jamal Daoud, spokesperson of SJP. “And the participation by Egypt in this blockade is definitely a crime against humanity”

In Australia, shamefully, no Australian politician has joined their international counterparts to travel to the strip after the barbaric invasion for solidarity or just for fact-finding. Our group’s efforts to form a wide delegation to visit the strip were lacking only politicians’ participation.

“This gives clear indication about the empty pre-election rhetoric of some so-called “progressive” politicians and “progressive” parties” added Mr Daoud. “In the next Federal election, we will remind the voters, especially those who support Palestinian rights and oppose occupation and colonisation, about this shameful stance of all political parties currently represented in the parliament”.

The vigil will be on Sunday, 17 December 09, outside the Egyptian consulate - 241 Commonwealth St, Surry Hills. The vigil will start at 2 pm.

For more information, Jamal Daoud can be contacted on 0404 447 272