Palestinian hospital patients burned alive in Israeli air strike should shame Labour into action
By Talat Yaqoob
Columnists
Published 19th Oct 2024
Since coming into power, the Labour government has suspended just 30 out of 350 licences to sell arms to Israel
Over the last year, I, along with so many others, have joined multiple rallies, marches, and vigils in solidarity with Palestinians calling for an immediate ceasefire and the protection of civilian lives. We have marched to demand an end to Israel’s disproportionate response and the collective punishment being inflicted upon Gaza and now Lebanon.
It is thought that more than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza – though the numbers are likely to be far higher. The United Nations estimates that 90 per cent of the population has been displaced, many repeatedly – the very definition of collective punishment. In Lebanon, over 2,500 people have been killed and Israel has repeatedly struck civilian areas with high populations.
These marches have been in pursuit of humanity, yet repeatedly they have been belittled and dismissed as hate marches. Surely hate is staying silent (or, for some, even endorsing) in the face of the continued bombardment and indiscriminate attacks on innocent lives?
Horrific accounts
These marches have continued, weekly, over the last year, with millions of people enraged at this ongoing injustice. Whilst more attention has been on Palestine over the last year, the occupation they have lived under has continued for decades.
In 2021, I was at rally in central Edinburgh when it was, at the time, found to be the deadliest year for children in the occupied Palestinian territories since 2014 with 73 children killed by Israeli forces. This last year the current estimate is that over 17,000 children have been killed.
An injured child receives medical attention at the al Aqsa Martyrs hospital after an Israeli missile strike in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, earlier this month
(Picture: Eyad Baba) | AFP via Getty Images
At these rallies, we often hear from Palestinians in Scotland who have lost their homes or lost family members. We hear from medics who tell harrowing stories of the reality on the ground: children with their limbs blown off, people being operated on without anaesthesia, medics trying to respond whilst their hospitals crumble around them in the latest attack.
I have listened along with hundreds of others with tears in my eyes. There is a constant stream of social media posts, news articles, and Whatsapp messages sharing the ongoing horrors in Gaza, in the West Bank, and in Lebanon. This is necessary, we must see the truth, we must acknowledge this reality and not simply turn off the news when it gets too much.
Burned alive
Over the last year, I thought I had witnessed the worst of humanity. But on Monday, images emerged of an Israeli air strike on the Al-Aqsa hospital compound, most of which has already fallen apart with patients in make-shift shelters.
In the early hours of the morning, the deadly strike set the tents alight. Whilst many ran, some patients were trapped inside – they burned alive. A video quickly circulated of a patient engulfed in flames, still attached to his IV drip. His name was Sha’ban Al-Dalou.
These are innocent people, already displaced from their homes, attempting to survive and recover from wounds in what they assumed would be a place of safety. He burned alive. That image will forever be in my mind and it should shame us all.
They may have assumed this would be a safe place because attacks on schools and hospitals during conflict is one of six grave violations of international law, according to the UN Security Council. Yet these violations continue. Over the last year, according to the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, 31 out of 36 hospitals in Gaza have been damaged or completely destroyed.
‘Plausible’ genocide case
I am genuinely broken and speechless at those who continue to stand in support of this. I cannot fathom how the world watches on, and how some world leaders do not simply watch on but enable the continuation of funding and arms sales.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has declared that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory, including the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, is unlawful. Back in May, an ICJ interim ruling found that it was “plausible” that Israel was committing a genocide in Gaza.
Since then, Israel’s attacks have only intensified and extended beyond Gaza. The UN, Amnesty, Save the Children, Human Rights Watch, Médecins Sans Frontières and countless other humanitarian and human rights organisations have demanded a ceasefire, have called out this collective punishment, and demanded an end to arms sales.
UK indifference reserved for Palestinians?
All of this has failed to move most of the world’s leaders and it is utterly reprehensible. Just this week, 38 aid organisations including Oxfam issued a stark warning that Northern Gaza is “being erased” and urged global leaders to immediately end the Israel government’s atrocities.
We have seen some movement from the leaders of France and Spain urging other nations to end arms sales to Israel, but this has not moved the UK Government. Since coming into power, the Labour government has suspended some arms sales but, to put this into context, only 30 out of 350 licenses have been suspended. This is not even a dent in the action needed to have any material effect on the lives of Gazans and, most importantly, to show any real courage and influence others on the world stage.
For those who tell us that the UK ending all arms sales would not make a difference given the higher number of arms sold by other nations or that calling for the UK to change its position will not be effective, these people need to make up their minds – is the UK a world leader? If not, then do we stop influencing on all issues beyond our own borders: Trade? AI? Climate change? Or is this indifference reserved for Palestinians?
If the UK seeks to be a world leader, then it is beyond time it learned to lead on humanity. If not, the harrowing images we see will continue, and they will, should, haunt us all.
Talat Yaqoob is an equalities consultant and campaigner
At these rallies, we often hear from Palestinians in Scotland who have lost their homes or lost family members. We hear from medics who tell harrowing stories of the reality on the ground: children with their limbs blown off, people being operated on without anaesthesia, medics trying to respond whilst their hospitals crumble around them in the latest attack.
I have listened along with hundreds of others with tears in my eyes. There is a constant stream of social media posts, news articles, and Whatsapp messages sharing the ongoing horrors in Gaza, in the West Bank, and in Lebanon. This is necessary, we must see the truth, we must acknowledge this reality and not simply turn off the news when it gets too much.
Burned alive
Over the last year, I thought I had witnessed the worst of humanity. But on Monday, images emerged of an Israeli air strike on the Al-Aqsa hospital compound, most of which has already fallen apart with patients in make-shift shelters.
In the early hours of the morning, the deadly strike set the tents alight. Whilst many ran, some patients were trapped inside – they burned alive. A video quickly circulated of a patient engulfed in flames, still attached to his IV drip. His name was Sha’ban Al-Dalou.
These are innocent people, already displaced from their homes, attempting to survive and recover from wounds in what they assumed would be a place of safety. He burned alive. That image will forever be in my mind and it should shame us all.
They may have assumed this would be a safe place because attacks on schools and hospitals during conflict is one of six grave violations of international law, according to the UN Security Council. Yet these violations continue. Over the last year, according to the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, 31 out of 36 hospitals in Gaza have been damaged or completely destroyed.
‘Plausible’ genocide case
I am genuinely broken and speechless at those who continue to stand in support of this. I cannot fathom how the world watches on, and how some world leaders do not simply watch on but enable the continuation of funding and arms sales.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has declared that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory, including the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, is unlawful. Back in May, an ICJ interim ruling found that it was “plausible” that Israel was committing a genocide in Gaza.
Since then, Israel’s attacks have only intensified and extended beyond Gaza. The UN, Amnesty, Save the Children, Human Rights Watch, Médecins Sans Frontières and countless other humanitarian and human rights organisations have demanded a ceasefire, have called out this collective punishment, and demanded an end to arms sales.
UK indifference reserved for Palestinians?
All of this has failed to move most of the world’s leaders and it is utterly reprehensible. Just this week, 38 aid organisations including Oxfam issued a stark warning that Northern Gaza is “being erased” and urged global leaders to immediately end the Israel government’s atrocities.
We have seen some movement from the leaders of France and Spain urging other nations to end arms sales to Israel, but this has not moved the UK Government. Since coming into power, the Labour government has suspended some arms sales but, to put this into context, only 30 out of 350 licenses have been suspended. This is not even a dent in the action needed to have any material effect on the lives of Gazans and, most importantly, to show any real courage and influence others on the world stage.
For those who tell us that the UK ending all arms sales would not make a difference given the higher number of arms sold by other nations or that calling for the UK to change its position will not be effective, these people need to make up their minds – is the UK a world leader? If not, then do we stop influencing on all issues beyond our own borders: Trade? AI? Climate change? Or is this indifference reserved for Palestinians?
If the UK seeks to be a world leader, then it is beyond time it learned to lead on humanity. If not, the harrowing images we see will continue, and they will, should, haunt us all.
Talat Yaqoob is an equalities consultant and campaigner
No comments:
Post a Comment