UK

My Hunger Strike Against Genocide

Lizzie Greenwood is on day 31 of her hunger strike, consuming just 250 calories a day — the same as what Palestinians in Gaza endure. Writing for Tribune, she vows to continue until arms sales stop.

UK activist Lizzie Greenwood is on day 31 of her hunger strike. (Credit: LG)

ByLizzie Greenwood
TRIBUNE
26.11.2024

Desperate times call for desperate measures, so the saying goes, and for the people of Gaza, times have never been as desperate as they are now. According to The Lancet, a world-renowned medical journal, the death toll in Gaza was estimated, conservatively by their own admission, to be 186,000 in August 2024 — three months ago.

It is not only the people of Gaza, however, who are desperate to see an end to the violence. In May 2024, a YouGov poll found that 69 percent of the British public thought Israel should immediately halt its attack on Gaza and call a ceasefire. Another poll found that 58 percent of Brits support an arms embargo against Israel, with just 18 percent opposed.

Despite this, in September, a government review of arms export licences to Israel decided to continue to allow 320 separate arms licences to facilitate what the International Court of Justice has recognised as plausible genocide, making the current Labour government more hawkish than the Conservative governments of Thatcher and Major who both imposed full arms embargoes on Israel during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The dissonance between public opinion and political action the world over on this matter has led to the despair of Gaza spreading into the hearts of people in every nation. In the face of politicians who are defying public opinion and international law, and into an abyss of media silence about their complicity, desperation is pushing people of conscience to take increasingly risky action to try and make themselves heard by those who are refusing to listen, those who turn their eyes from our peaceful protests and stuff their ears to our pleas for peace.

It is out of this desperation that I chose to go on hunger strike until the UK government halts arms sales and military support to Israel. I am currently on day 31 of my strike, during which I am consuming just 250 calories a day — the same amount that Palestinians in Gaza, who are suffering under Israel’s policy of enforced starvation, are currently expected to live on. Last week, I was admitted to hospital, and though I am not yet in immediate danger, I was informed that I am displaying key indicators of starvation.

While we despair over the bombs and bullets which so cruelly take Palestinian lives in Gaza, I hope through my strike to provide a reminder to mourn those who have died and who will die of famine because Israel blocks desperately needed aid from entering the Strip. The most vulnerable group of all in Gaza to the manmade famine are, of course, the children. So long as our leaders and media continue to be silent, and actively try to silence us, those of us with a conscience must make our voices even louder.

Though my hunger strike has left me tired and weak, my spirit and conscience remain strong. With growing numbers of activists taking increasingly desperate actions like mine, the question facing Britain’s political establishment will soon not only be ‘How many Palestinian lives is Israel’s so-called right to self-defence worth?’ but ‘How many British lives are 320 arms export licences worth?’

We, the people, do not wish to be forced to be complicit in the crimes of Israel and will continue to take direct action until our government listens to our demands. If you are reading this, I call on you to take direct action of your own, whatever that may be. Show your dissent and let your government know that you refuse to be silent. History tells us that when the pressure becomes too great, apartheid regimes cannot stand against the will of the people.

About the Author
Lizzie Greenwood is an activist.