Cambridge petition demands ceasefire in Gaza
A petition urging a ceasefire in Gaza can be signed via Cambridge City Council’s website.
Anyone who lives, works or studies in Cambridge is eligible to sign. It calls on the council to demand the government seeks a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, access to humanitarian aid, an end to Israeli military operations in the West Bank, and “an end to the underlying cause, namely the illegal occupation of Palestine”.
The petition can be signed until 4 February. Cambridge City Council says on its website: “If a petition contains more than 500 signatures it will be debated by the full council unless it is a petition asking for a senior council officer to give evidence at a public meeting.”
Meanwhile the Cambridge Palestinian Solidarity Society has welcomed the genocide case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
A spokesperson for the society said: “We welcome South Africa’s application to the ICJ to invoke the genocide convention. The number of people killed by Israel now numbers over 23,000 – 1 per cent of Gaza’s entire population with over 8,000 more missing, buried under the rubble. Almost 10,000 of those killed were children. Over 59,000 have been injured.
“The population is at severe risk of disease and famine as Israel continues to hinder the entry of humanitarian aid. Almost 100 journalists and over 200 healthcare staff have been murdered. Only five of Gaza’s 35 hospitals are still functioning. In the same period 340 people have been killed in the occupied West Bank, including 84 children and almost 4,000 people have been injured.
“We sincerely hope that the court will order provisional measures to protect Palestinians in Gaza. It is a matter of shame that our government does not back the application and continues to oppose a ceasefire.”
Foreign secretary David Cameron said in the House of Lords on Monday: “I think what would make a difference is if Israel recognised its responsibilities for making sure that food and medicine and supplies have to be delivered to people in Gaza and if it recognised that you need the UN staff who have the visas, the equipment and the fuel to help get it round.”
On Sunday Lord Cameron was asked in a TV interview whether South Africa has a valid case at the International Court of Justice.
“No I absolutely don’t. I think the South African action is wrong. It’s unhelpful, it shouldn’t be happening,” he said.
